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Psychoanalytic
Theory
“conscious becoming aware of
the unconscious…”
Psychoanalytic …
 Accepts the importance of early
childhood experiences and the
unconscious mind.
Important theorists……
 Sigmund Freud
 Primitive, Animalistic, Unconscious drives, motives
and instincts
 Carl Jung
 Analytic psychology with emphasis on
“collective unconscious”
 Alfred Adler
 Less emphasis on (freud’s) biological drives of
sex and aggressions and more on social
relationships.
Classic Theory: Sigmund Freud
Psychosexual
 Basic tenets:
 Constant struggles between desire to meet
biological urge and realities of living.
 Unconscious process influence behavior
Sigmund Freud
Father of the Psychoanalytic Theory
 Born in Moravia, on May 6, 1856
 Lived 78 years practicing in
Vienna, Austria and established a
private practice for the treatment of
nervous disorders.
 Youngest daughter, Anna, became
an important child psychoanalyst.
 Died of cancer of the jaw on
September 23, 1939, in London,
England.
What is Psychoanalytic Theory?
 Psychoanalytic personality theory emphasizes
the roles of intrapsychic events (processes
occurring in the mind), unconscious drives and
early childhood development. (1990, Liebert and
Spiegler, p. 43)
 Childhood experiences, repressed erotic
feelings, and unconscious conflicts can affect
adult behavior. (1999, Friedman and Schustack, p. 62)
Freud’s View of a Person
 Human nature is under the “dictatorship” of instinctual,
unconscious, and irrational forces.
 Human organisms are selfish beings, existing in a
state of external and internal turmoil. (displaying
aggressive and sexual excesses)
 Dominated by forces outside of conscious control.
 Humans are considered incapable of dealing with their
own psychological problems.
Determinism vs Choice
 All behavior is determined or
caused by some force within the
person.
 Behavior has meaning (none
occurs by chance).
 Biological determinism vs.
Psychological determinism Freud emphasized psychological
rather than biological
“consciousness knows nothing of.
. . neurons.”
Personality Structures
 What lies beneath the
surface of the
unconscious mind??
 ID,
 EGO,
and
 SUPEREGO
The Structure of Personality
 ID
• Operates according to the
pleasure principle
• Primitive and unconscious part
of personality
 EGO
• Operates according to the
reality principle
• Mediates between id and
superego
 SUPEREGO
• Moral ideals and conscience
The “ID”
 According to Freud…
 We
are born with our ID
 ID is an important part of our personality  as
newborns, it allows us to get our basic needs met.
 ID is based on our pleasure principle  id wants
whatever feels good at the time, with no
consideration for the reality of the situation.
 When the id wants something, nothing else is
important.
 The “ID” is the reservoir of instincts – powered by
libido “sexual desire in the broadest sense.”
The “EGO”
You need to get
organized !
I’m talking to you
ID, are you
listening?
 Within the next three years, as the child




interacts more and more with the world, the
second part of the personality (EGO) begins
to develop.
EGO  based on the reality principle.
understands that other people have needs &
desires, and that sometimes being impulsive
or selfish can hurt us in the long run.
Its the EGO's job to meet the needs of the
ID, while taking into consideration the reality
of the situation
Ego serves as a bridge to reality (not totally
conscious)
The ego calls on various defense
mechanisms in order to regain control over
threatening id instincts.
No
The “Superego”
 By the age of five, or the end of the phallic stage of




development  SUPEREGO develops.
Superego is the moral part of us and develops due to
the moral and ethical restraints placed on us by our
caregivers.
Many equate the superego with the conscience as it
dictates our belief of right and wrong.
Superego’s most important function – control id
impulses, direct energy towards inhibiting id’s
expression of sexual, aggressive and antisocial
instincts.
Incorporates the norms and standards of society
Codes of right & wrong in “Superego”
 Introjection – a process by which the personality
incorporates the norms and standards of its
culture
 Morality principle -equivalent to conscience
 Guilt – an intense feeling of regret over having
done something wrong
 Ego Ideal – pride and self respect through
positive standards of internal representations of
idealized parental figures
Freud’s 5 Stages of Psychosexual
Development

ORAL STAGE

ANAL STAGE
PHALLIC STAGE
LATENCY STAGE
GENITAL STAGE



According to Freud…….
 Human being develop through stages based
upon a particular erogenous zone.
 During each stage, an unsuccessful completion
means that a child becomes fixated on that
particular erogenous zone and either over– or
under-indulges once he or she becomes an
adult.
ORAL STAGE
BIRTH – ONE YEAR (18 MONTHS)





Mouth = erogenous zone
Focus on Oral Pleasure = sucking
ID dominant personality structure
TRAUMA = eating/weaning problems – not enough or too much
Too much or too little gratification can result in an Oral Fixation
or Oral Personality which is evidenced by a preoccupation with
oral activities.
 FIXATION OF PSYCHIC ENERGY = oral personality
characteristics (eating, drinking, smoking, kissing, sucking on
things)
 Oral personality = childlike, dependent, gullible OR excessively
aggressive (biting)
ANAL STAGE- 3 YEARS
 Anal region = erogenous zone
 Pleasure = defecation
 EGO plays role in delaying defecation desire through
TOILET TRAINING (fear). Parent either offers praise
for successful eliminations or punishment for failures
 FIXATION = ANAL PERSONALTIY (2 types)
Anal Expulsive: characteristics include being messy, cruel,
destructive, overtly hostile
 Anal Retentive: rigidity, obsessive style, and orderliness
(reaction against messiness of defecating)

 In terms of personality, after effects of an anal fixation
during this stage can result in an obsession with
cleanliness, perfection, and control (anal retentive)
On the opposite end of the spectrum, they may
become messy and disorganized (anal expulsive).
Phallic Stage (3-6)
 Pleasure zone switches to the genitals.
 The development of
 Oedipus Complex (for boys)
• Freud believed that during this stage boys develop unconscious
sexual desires for their mother.
• He becomes rivals with his father and sees him as competition for the
mother’s affection.
• During this time, boys also develop a fear that their father will punish
them for these feelings, such as by castrating them.

Electra Complex (for girls)
• Penis envy
• Female desire for feelings of strength and self worth that men have
by virtue of their male anatomy (penis)
LATENCY STAGE6 - PUBERTY
 ID, EGO, & SUPEREGO (personality structures) are
fully developed by age 5
 Sexual desires become dormant after resolution of the
oedipus complex
 Sex instinct is sublimated through school activities,
hobbies, sports, same sex friendships, etc. during this
time  Sexual energy is channeled into such activities
as going to school and making friends.
 It’s during this stage that sexual urges remain
repressed and children interact and play mostly with
same sex peers.
 Latency involves massive repression of sexual, as well
as, anal impulses.
GENITAL STAGE
ADOLESCENCE - ADULTHOOD
 Erogenous zone = adult genital regions
 The final stage of psychosexual development begins
at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once
again awakened  Development of sex-role identity
 Through the lessons learned during the previous
stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto
opposite sex peers.
 Development of adult social relationships
(“heterosexual”) if conflicts at all earlier stages were
resolved and little libido was fixated there

CONFLICT = conformity to societal norms, but not a big deal
and can be resolved through sublimation
 Genital personality type = finding satisfaction in work
and love
Defense Mechanisms
 A defence mechanism is an unconscious way to protect the
personality from unpleasant thoughts which may cause anxiety.
 However, a defence mechanism can also lead to a neurosis if it
causes a person to adopt ineffectual or inappropriate coping
strategies.
 Types of Defence Mechanism








Displacement
Introjection
Projection
Rationalisation
Reaction Formation
Regression
Repression
Sublimation
Types of defense mechanism
 Displacement.
 Redirecting emotion from a 'dangerous' object to a 'safe'
object. For example punching a cushion when angry at your
partner.
 Introjection.
 When an individual internalises the values or characteristics
of another person, usually someone who is significant to the
individual in some way.
 Projection.
 The opposite of introjection. Attributing one's own emotions
or desires to an external object or person. For example
saying others hate you when it's you who hates the others.
 Rationalisation.
 Inventing a logical reason after an emotional act is made.
Types of defense mechanism
 Reaction formation.
 A feeling is converted into its opposite, for example
turning hate into love.
 Regression.
 Behaviour reverts to a previous age.
 Repression.
 Thoughts unacceptable to the Ego are moved into
the unconscious where they cannot be easily
accessed.
 Sublimation.
 A 'healthy' form of displacement, for example
playing sport to relieve stress or anger.
Healthy vs Unhealthy Personality
 According to Freud, In a healthy person …
 EGO is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs
of the ID  Not upset the SUPEREGO,  and still
take into consideration the reality of every situation.
 If the ID gets too strong impulses and self
gratification take over the person's life.
 If the SUPEREGO becomes too strong, the person
would be driven by rigid morals, would be
judgmental & unbending in his or her interactions
with the world.
Strengths Of the Psychoanalytic
Approach
 Emphasizes the effects of patterns
established early in life on personality
development.
 Attempts to understand unconscious forces.
 Considers defense mechanisms as an
essential aspect of personality.
 Assumes multiple levels are operations in the
brain.
Limitations of the
Psychoanalytic Approach
 Pessimistic overemphasis on early experiences and
destructive inner urges
 Relatively unconcerned with interpersonal relations or
with the individual’s identity and adaptation throughout
life
 Difficult to test empirically
 Many ideas have been discredited by more modern
research on the brain
 Assumes any deviation from heterosexual relation is
pathological
 Focuses on male behavior as the norm and female
behavior as a deviation
Self Analysis
 Do you think Freud’s theory can help
you understand yourself?
 Do you think Freud really felt that
females were inferior?
 Do the strengths of Freud’s theory
outweigh the weaknesses?
 Do profound child experiences affect
later personality development?
References
 Allen, B.P. (2003). Personality Theories , 4th edition. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.
 Breger, L. (2000). Freud: In the Midst of Darkness. New York:John Wiley and
Sons, Inc.
 Friedman, H.S. & Schustack, M.W. (1999). Personality: Classic Theories and
Modern Research. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Websites
•“The Psychoanalytic Theory (Terms and Concepts)”
www.brocku.ca/english/courses/4f70/terms.html
•“The Psychoanalytic Theory of Emotions”
http://member.aol.com/donjohnr/sketch.html
•“Eddy M. Elmer Psychoanalytic Theory Personality Adjustment”
www.3.telus.net/eddyelmer/Tools/freud3.html
•“Brief Introduction to Psychoanalysis”
http://homepage.newschool.edu/~quiqleyt/vcs/psychoanalysis.html