Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud was born Frieberg, Moravia in 1856. His family later moved to Vienna when he was a young child. Freud is considered to be the father of psychoanalysis and is famous for his creation of the Oedipus Complex, the concepts of Id, Ego, and Superego, and Psychosexual development.
What is psychoanalysis?
Psychoanalysis is a method of investigating the mind, especially the unconscious mind. By analyzing the mind, one could use this method as a form of therapy to try and treat psychological problems.
What is Psychosexual development?
Psychosexual development is the central element in Freudian psychology. According to this theory, humans are born with instinctual sexual desire that develops in five stages:
1. Oral stage (Birth-1)
2. Anal stage (1-3)
3. Phallic stage (3-6)
4. Latency stage (6-puberty)
5. Genital stage (puberty-death)
1. Oral stage (Birth-1)
2. Anal stage (1-3)
3. Phallic stage (3-6)
4. Latency stage (6-puberty)
5. Genital stage (puberty-death)
What are Id, Ego, and Superego?
Id, Ego, and Superego are three parts of the psyche. Id represents unorganized, instinctual, animal-like thoughts. Superego represents moral and cultural thoughts. Ego represents organized, realistic thoughts. The Superego and Id are always in conflict with each other to dominate the psyche.
What is the Oedipus Complex?
The Oedipus Complex concentrates on a child's desire to have sexual relations with a parent of the opposite sex. (i.e.: sons to mothers, daughters to fathers) The complex according to Freud usually appears during the phallic stage of a child's psychosexual development.
What is the significance of Freud's contributions?
The creation of psychoanalysis gave importance to the observation of children from childhood to adulthood in order to understand human psychological development. Freud's observations on his daughter, Anna Freud lead her to studying her father's methods and applying them to child psychology. Although Psychosexual development is questioned due to its experimental validity and Freud's bias towards human sexuality, the concept of dividing growth into stages lead to other leading psychologists, such as Erik Erikson to develop their own stages of development of the human mind.