Sigmund Freud biography - AskMen
Messages You have no messages
    Notifications You have no notifications

      Sigmund Freud: The Ultimate Shrink

      Page 2 of 3

      freud's theories

      Although modern psychology was not invented by the Viennese doctor, he is responsible for some of its most important notions. Some of them include:

      Human mind
      Freud theorized that the human mind is made up of three parts: conscious, preconscious and unconscious.

    • The conscious mind contains your fantasies, desires, memories, and thoughts.

    • The preconscious mind contains memories you're not currently thinking of but which could be called upon at any moment.

    • The unconscious mind is the largest part and it includes instincts and drives that you may not be aware of or that you consciously cannot bear because of a traumatic experience.
    • Mind structure
      In 1923, Freud determined that the unconscious mind was divided into three elements: ego, id and superego.

    • The id stands on one side and is about our primary thinking process, the fulfillment of our most basic needs. Imagine a little devil on your shoulder.

    • All the way on the other side is the superego, which stands in for our conscience, much like the little angel on your shoulder.

    • In between is the ego, the part of your mind weighing the good and the bad of every situation, making informed decisions.
    • Oedipal & Electra complexes
      Freud was very interested in children's development. He hypothesized that between the ages of 3 and 5, children become sexually attracted to the parent of the opposite sex and want to kill the other. Using the Greek tragedy to illustrate his point, he deemed this condition the Oedipal complex for boys and the Electra complex for girls. To this day, this remains a very controversial theory.

      Childhood stages
      Continuing his studies on child psychology, Freud shocked many by claiming children are motivated in their development by their sex drive, which he divided into three stages: oral, anal and phallic.

      First, there is the oral phase, explaining our fascination with nursing. Then, there's the anal phase, which explains why babies are fascinated by fecal matter. Finally, Freud believed there's the phallic phase, which explains why phallic symbols give men power and trigger penis envy in some women.

      Death instinct
      According to Freud, there are two particular instincts that drive people: libidinal energy/Eros and the death instinct/Thanatos. Eros/Libido is all about creativity and life-producing instincts. However, the death instinct sees a person wanting to instinctively go back to a state of tranquility; basically, to cease to exist.

      Freudian slip
      This is a notion with which everyone is familiar. It consists of saying something when you actually mean something else such as "I like your breasts" instead of "I like your dress." Freud believed that since the unconscious part is the leader of the mind, sometimes your inner desires are inadvertently expressed through a Freudian slip. This is a perfect example of a Freudian theory becoming part of pop culture.

      Freud's legacy...

      Show comments