Freudian Theory in a Nutshell

Notorious for linking all human behavior back to sex and aggression, Sigmund Freud did actually make many advancements in the field of psychology despite controversy generated by his theories. He is known as the father of psychoanalysis and is credited with the concepts of free association, the unconscious, repression, and psychosexual development ("Freud, Sigmund"). Most of his theories remain just that, theories, because they cannot be proven concretely to be true in all humans. Regardless, today he remains as one of psychology's most influential contributors.

Most of the things we experience in our lives, according to Freud, are inaccessible for they are in our unconscious. This includes things such as feelings, beliefs, impulses, and emotions. A metaphorical way to comprehend this is the Iceberg model, where the unconscious is the part of the iceberg submerged under water, things we are unaware of or may have not experienced; the tip of the iceberg out of the water is the conscious, what we are "conscious" of and know of ("Id, Ego, Superego, and the Unconscious in Psychology 101"). Many psychologists disagree with Freud's view, but still use the same terminology to describe what they believe is the unconscious (Bernstein and Nash 138).

Linked to the unconscious are Id, Ego, and Superego, the different parts of the mind according to Freud. These three terms define Freud's idea of human personality and how it operates. The Id contains primitive impulses such as a child has when it cries when it is hungry or needs to be change. The Id demands what it wants, regardless of the circumstance or taking anything else into account. It can also be said, it is like an animal instinct. Its two main goals are "the seeking of pleasure and the avoidance of pain", also known as the pleasure principle ("Freud's Personality Factors").

The Ego functions in reality and tries to find a solution to what the person wants, extracting itself from the Id's fantasy world. It operates on the reality principle, which "takes into account the constraints of the social world" (Bernstein and Nash 420). After trial and error with the Id, the ego comes to understand that in needs to compromise and negotiate rationally. Ego can roughly be translated to being an adult and maturity. It balances pleasures and commitment simultaneously to be in harmony with the Id. Anxiety is the result of clashes between the different sectors of the mind ("Structure of Mind: Freud's Id, Ego, & Superego").

Oppressing all unacceptable desires is the moral and just, Superego. It restricts what the Id finds natural and acceptable ("Freud's Theories"). Our parents or caregivers harvest the Superego within all of us by teaching us what is ethical and moral. Decision making such as "right or wrong" are attributed to the Superego ("Definition: Super-Ego").

Closely related to the Superego is another of Freud's theories, the Oedipus complex. It is "a set of feelings that young boys have including impulses involving sexual feelings for the mother and the desire to eliminate the father" (Bernstein and Nash 422). The complex is an unconscious antagonism sons develop towards their fathers, which all boys are supposed to experience at some point, according to Freud. The son sees his own father as a rival for his mother's care, affection, and attention ("Oedipus Complex"). The incestuous fantasies for his own mother create fear, but are suppressed by the Ego and soon, the Superego begins to develop as the son begins to mimic his father (Bernstein and Nash 423).

Similar to the Oedipus complex is its female version, the Electra complex. It is a part of girls' development and "describes unresolved conflicts during childhood development toward the father which subsequently influence a woman's relationships with men ("Definition: Electra complex"). Girls also developed a rivalry with their mothers for their father's affection.

Freudian repression describes the refusal of threatening impulses or urges into the unconscious, such as when people try to "forget" events that were less than pleasant to them (Fenichel). This is just one of Freud's many defense mechanisms, or devices he theorized are used by the Ego to reduce and mediate clashes between the Id and Superego. Among other mechanism are rationalization, sublimation, projection, reaction formation, denial, displacement, and compensation (Bernstein and Nash 422). Rationalization is making excuses seem plausible or justified for a reason that really is not. Sublimation is giving a socially acceptable façade to sex and aggressiveness by deeming it athletic or artistic. Putting one's thoughts into someone else's mouth is projection while reaction formation is doing the opposite of unacceptable impulses to defend against them. Denial is verbatim to its nomenclatural definition, not accepting a threatening impulse. "Taking out your anger" on someone else in simple terms is displacement while compensation finding an excuse for unconscious fears (Bernstein and Nash 422).

Personality development was no longer looked at the same way after Freud was finished disassembling it, analyzing it, and putting it back together in his own terminology. He believed that there were stages that all children underwent in their path to becoming adults that transitioned as we moved through the psychosexual stages. Naturally, all of his theories lead back to his fixation on sex. In order to have a healthy personality upon reaching adulthood, one has to go through all of the stages. An unhealthy personality results when one gets "stuck" at one stage and does not grow out of it ("Freud's Theory of 'Psychosexual Development'").

From birth to 15 months of age, babies are supposedly in their oral stage since the mouth becomes the central source of pleasure. This can be inferred by how babies are always putting things in their mouths as a method of exploration. Only the Id is present at this stage and it seeks "immediate gratification" ("Freud's Theory of 'Psychosexual Development'"). "Personality problems arise when oral needs are either neglected or overindulged" (Bernstein and Nash 423).

The anal stage is during the 2^nd year of life when toddlers become toilet trained. Children experience pleasure when they rid themselves of their feces and doing so when they please upsets their parents, leading to the formation of the Ego that tells them it is morally wrong to relieve oneself when one pleases (Bernstein and Nash 423). Too little gratification in this stage causes the person to grow orderly and rigid, thus we have anal retentiveness.

Between three and five, the phallic stage takes place in which gratification is now focused on the genitals. The Oedipus/Electra complex may develop at this stage and if one does not move on from the phallic stage, homosexuality or authority conflicts. A latency period (5 years to puberty) serves as the transition between the phallic and genital stages. "Sexual impulses stay in the background as the youngster focuses on education, same-sex peer play, and the development of social skills" (Bernstein and Nash 424).

The genital stage spans the rest of a human's life. A person becomes sexual, forms loving relationships, and takes on large responsibilities while simultaneously fulfilling their energy drive. Failure to move from this stage causes immaturity in not being able to "shift the focus from their own body" ("Freud's Theory of 'Psychosexual Development'").

Freud's theories have been controversial for decades and continue to be so. Most of his analysis does fit in with common sense and may explain some of the questions that surface in the field of psychology. The father of psychoanalysis makes a myriad of valid arguments for developmental psychology and gives straight forward, uncut answers.