Psychodynamic Perspective
Freud’s clinical experience led him to develop the first comprehensive theory of personality, which
included the unconscious mind, psychosexual stages, and defense mechanisms.
The Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic theory aims at explaining how personality develops and how the
underlying personality process interact to determine our behavior
Sigmund Freud and his followers developed this approach to personality beginning in the late 1800’s.
Freud is considered one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th Century and his theory is considered by
many to be the most influential in all of psychology
Today it is also one of the most criticized theories
Psychodynamic Perspective
 Personality is primarily unconscious
 Early experiences with parents sculpt the individual’s personality
 Understanding personality involves exploring the symbolic meanings of behavior and the
unconscious mind
Model of Mind - The mind is like an iceberg. It is mostly hidden, and below the surface lies the
unconscious mind. The preconscious stores temporary memories
Personality Structure- Personality develops as a result of our efforts to resolve conflicts between our
biological impulses (id) and social restraints (superego).
The Id unconsciously strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives demanding immediate
gratification (Pleasure principle)
The ego functions as the “executive” and mediates the demands of the id and superego (Reality
principle)
The superego provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations. (Ideal
principle)
Personality Development - Freud believed that personality formed during the first few years of life
divided into psychosexual stages. During these stages the id’s pleasure-seeking energies focus on
pleasure sensitive body areas called erogenous zones.
Psychosexual Stages
Oral Stage: 0-18 Months
Infant’s pleasure centers on the mouth
Anal Stage: 18-36 Months
Child’s pleasure involves eliminative functions
Phallic Stage: 3-6 Years
Child’s pleasure focuses on the genitals
Oedipus Complex - A boy’s sexual desire for his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival
father.
A girl’s desire for her father is called the Electra complex.
Identification- Children cope with threatening feelings by repressing them and by identifying with the
rival parent.
Through this process of identification, their superego gains strength that incorporates their parents’
values.
Latency Stage: 6 Years - Puberty
Psychic “time-out”
Interest in sexuality is repressed
Genital State: Adolescence and Adulthood
Sexual reawakening
Source of sexual pleasure is someone else
Fixation - Remain locked in earlier developmental stage
Defense Mechanisms
Conflict between the id, ego, and superego results in anxiety
Defense mechanisms reduce anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
Repression - Foundation for all defense mechanisms
Push unacceptable impulses out of awareness
Regression leads an individual faced with anxiety to retreat to a more infantile psychosexual stage.
Reaction Formation causes the ego to unconsciously switch unacceptable impulses into their opposites.
People may express feelings of purity when they may be suffering anxiety from unconscious feelings
about sex.
Projection leads people to disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.
Rationalization offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious
reasons for one’s actions.
Displacement shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object
or person, redirecting anger toward a safer outlet.
Evaluating Psychodynamic Theory
Criticisms
 Too much emphasis on early experiences
 Too much faith in unconscious mind’s control
 Too much emphasis on sexual and aggressive instincts
Contributions
 Childhood is important to later functioning
 Unconscious processes play a significant role in human development
The Neo-Freudians
Jung believed in the collective unconscious, which contained a common reservoir of images derived
from our species’ past. This is why many cultures share certain myths and images such as the mother
being a symbol of nurturance.
Like Freud, Adler believed in childhood tensions. Perfection, not pleasure, is primary motivator
A child struggles with an inferiority complex during growth and strives for superiority and power.
Like Adler, Horney believed in the social aspects of childhood growth and development. She countered
Freud’s assumption that women have weak superegos and suffer from “penis envy.” Need for security,
not sex, is primary motivator