By: Bogdan Prus, Kostya Pudzerej
Psychodynamic Theory
Sigmund Freud
Freud’s Life
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Born 1865 in Freiberg, Moravia to Jacob, his woolmerchant father. Mother was Jacob's third wife.
Moved to Vienna in 1860 until 1938.
Vienna was an exciting place full of opportunity and optimism. In
1867, Jews granted political rights and accepted into
society.
Freud assimilated, identifying as a German.
About the time he was 15, liberal political atmosphere
evaporated and anti-Semitism became virulent,
shattering assimilation
Graduated from the University of Vienna medical school
with strong interest in research but quickly married and
realized only private practice would provide needed
financial support.
Published well received scholarly papers on
neurological disorders.
Outbreak of WWII forced him to flee to London,
where he died a year later in 1939.
Freud’s theory is complex, because:
He kept modifying it as he went along
He never presented a comprehensive
summary of his final views
His theory is more comprehensive than must
since it has a number of aspects. For
example, he gives us:
● A theory of motivation
● A theory of thinking (which includes
dreaming, etc.)
● A theory of personality development
(psychosexual theory)
● A theory of mental structures (id, ego,
superego)
● A theory of psychopathology and symptom
formation
● A theory of psychotherapy
Personality theory according to Freud
Personality is defined as follows:
Our characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling,
and acting.
Freud's psychoanalytic perspective proposed that
childhood sexuality and unconscious
motivations influence personality.
Freud called his theory and associated techniques
psychoanalysis.
Unconscious-large below the surface area which
contains thoughts, wishes, feelings and
memories, of which we are unaware.
Free association-the patient is asked to relax and
say whatever comes to mind, no matter how
embarrassing or trivial.
Personality Structure according to Freud
ID - a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy constantly striving to satisfy basic
drives to survive, reproduce, and aggress.
The id operates on the pleasure principle: If not constrained but reality, it
seeks immediate gratification.
Ego - the largely conscious, “executive”
part of personality that, according to Freud,
mediates the demands of the ID, superego, and reality.
The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways
that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.
Superego - represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the
conscious) and for future aspirations.
Thanks for the attention!