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Fundamentals of Psychoanalytic Psychology

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By tmdehart
Words 1392
Pages 6
Fundamentals of Psychoanalytic Psychology
T-ata DeHart-Williams
PSY/250
August 23, 2012
Dr. Wendy Conaway

Fundamentals of Psychoanalytic Psychology

Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Adler influenced psychology and psychiatry with their psychoanalytic theories that continue to impact modern psychology. This paper will compare and contrast their theories and reveal those with which I agree and disagree. I will also discuss Freud’s psychosexual theory and explain the effects on the characteristics of personality, in addition to the concept of id, ego, and superego.
Freudism
Freud’s theory maintained that the unconscious mind is driven by psychosexual urges and can best be accessed through one’s dreams. Manifest content is the part of the dreams or psychological experiences that is easily remembered. Latent content is the parts that contain hidden messages or a deeper meaning than what the manifest content yields. Freud’s theory categorized the structure of the mind into 3 parts. Id represents the primitive core of personality, present at birth that contains the source of all psychic energy and operates on the pleasure principle. Id seeks instant gratification of needs and desires and if there is not instant gratification, tension and anxiety surface. Individuals absent of a properly functioning id often act on impulse and are self-centered. “Throughout life the pleasure seeking id constantly struggles with the reality checking ego.” (Friedman & Schustack, 2012, p. 65). The ego is the part of the mind that must discriminate, memorize, judge, and reason (Hall, p. 41, 1954). Superego develops around age five in response to parental approval and criticism and ensures socially acceptable behavior. Consequently, healthy superego development results in socially acceptable individuals, while dysfunctional superegos produce morally and socially

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