Personality Theories


        Sigmund Freud founded what today is known as the psychodynamic approach to understanding personality.  Psychodynamic approach is one of the most important approaches to psychological therapy.  Freud is well known because of his work, it has made a big impact on our everyday thinking about psychology.  Many of his ideas have turned out to be at least a bit incorrect, and his theories have influenced other psychologist.  There are six ideas that we will be covering in the upcoming paragraphs.

The six ideas of Freud's Theory were:

  • The Case of Anna O
  • The Unconscious Mind
  • The Psyche
    • Id
    • Ego
    • Superego
  • Defense Mechanisms
    • Repression
    • Denial
    • Projection
    • Displacement
    • Regression
    • Sublimation
  • Psychosexual Stages
  • Dream Analysis

Impression on one of the theories from Freud:
        My impression of Freud's Theory was that I could relate to it and agree to some terms.  I can see how my life decisions are related to his theory of The Psyche. There are three parts to The Psyche theory.  One of them is Id, it is the primitive and instinctive components of personality.  The other two are Ego and Superego.  Ego is the decision-making component of personality, and Superego controls the Id's impulses like sex and aggression.  Superego also has the function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones.  I agree with this theory because this is all so relatable.  We all have these personalities and we all experience them in different circumstances.  These three parts all work together, they interact to form a whole, and each part makes a relative contribution to an individual behavior.

Explanation from some of Freud's other theories and their potential application:
        The Case of Anna O is one where a lady was suffering from hysteria and a young Viennese neuropathologist named Sigmund Freud concluded that the problem with her was all because of repressed conflicts that cause physical symptoms.  This was where Freud's career took off.  The Unconscious Mind theory that Freud developed was compared to an iceberg because most of it is hidden by the mind from everyone on the outside and sometimes even from the person whose mind it is.  There is so much going on in the unconscious mind that is enormous compared to the top part of the iceberg that is what you are thinking of at that particular moment.  The Psyche is the structural model of the mind which is three different parts, Instincts (Id), Reality(Ego), and Mortality (Superego).  These are all different parts of the mind hypothetically.  All three of these do and have different responsibilities.
       Defense Mechanisms, according to Freud, are things that protect us from a certain feeling of anxiety or guilt.  He also says that there are six defense mechanisms which are repression, denial, projection, displacement, regression, and sublimation.  Psychosexual stages is a theory that shows how adult personality is determined by childhood experiences.  Freud thought that dreams are the best way to the unconscious mind and dream analysis is the best way to see the learn about a person's unconscious mind.  Dreams can help you get over stuff as well as let you see what you really want and how your mind works.



Sources:
Sigmund Freud's Theories | Simply Psychology
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html
A Science Odyssey: That's My Theory: Freud: Menu
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/mytheory/freud/menu2.html
Sigmund Freud Archives
http://www.freudarchives.org

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