Sigmund Freud Essay, Research Paper

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A Subject: 033: Science: Psychology

A Title: Sigmund Freud

papers = Running Head: Sigmund Freud: Psycho-Analysis

Sigmund Freud: Psycho-Analysis

Frederick Stoller

Troy State University

Sigmund Freud’s views continue to influence the contemporary practices of many

psychologists today. Many theories of psychology have been influenced by Freud’s

psychoanalytic method. Many of his basic concepts are still used by many theorists.

Kno Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856 in Freiburg, a rural town near Ostrau in

northeastern Moravia. The town of Freiburg later became Pribor and was eventually

absorbed into the modern state of Czechoslovakia. Freud’s father Jakob Freud was a

Jewi In 1878 he changed his name from Sigismund to Sigmund. He obtained his

doctorate in medicine in March of 1881, and worked as a research assistant at the

Institute of Physiology under Ernst Brucke, with neurology as his main focus. In 1882

Freud did On April 25, 1886, Freud opened up his first neurologist office in Vienna. In

September of the same year he married Martha Bernays. The marriage between the

two produced six children and was very successful. In 1887 Martha gave birth to

Freud’s fi e studied the meaning of certain disorders. In that same year Freud was

appointed an associate professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of

Vienna. (Jones, 1970).

Freud decimated much time in his work. He held therapeutic sessions with patients

up to 12 hours a day and continued his works till the late hours in the morning. He

gave numerous lectures, first in the United States in 1909 at the University of Wo In

Freud’s book A General Introduction to Psycho-Analysis he makes a basic

assumption. “We Know two kinds of things about what we call our psyche (or mental

life): firstly, its bodily organ and sense of action, the brain (or nervous system) and, on

ost important throughout life. Under the influence of the real world a portion of the Id

has undergone development. Freud suggests because of birth there is now beginning

to develop an intermediate between the Id and the external world. Freud named this

The principal characteristics of the Ego are that it has voluntary movement at its

command. It has the task of self preservation. It also preforms the task of becoming

aware of stimuli, “by storing up storing up experiences about them (in memory), ed

from awareness. Denial is another defense mechanism that distorts what an

individual thinks or feels. Reaction formation is a defense against a threatening

impulse and then to express the opposite impulse. Projection is taking ones own acts

of unacc up positive traits for certain weaknesses. There is a total of eleven Ego

defense mechanisms. These mechanisms are there so the Ego will not be

overwhelmed by anxiety. The Ego gives up its connection in the external world in the

state of sleep. Accor The Ego has to contend with now a third power known as the

Super Ego. The relationship between the Ego and the Super Ego is traced back to

the individuals parental influences according to Freud. “This parental influence of

course includes in its op The second half of Freud’s book A General Introduction to

Psycho-Analysis deals with instincts and dream analysis. Freud believes that the

power of the Id expresses the true purpose of the individual. This consists of the

individual’s needs. Howev s also known as the love instinct, or the libido. The

biological functions of the two basic instincts operate against each other or combine

with each other. (Laplanche, 1987) & (Freud, 1924).

Freud also suggests that as long as an instinct operates internally it will remain silent

and is only noticed when it is forced outward as an instinct of destruction. An example

of this is the death instinct. Freud states that aggressive instincts There is no question

that the libido steams to the Ego from various organs and parts of the body. For

example through sexual stimulation. The erotogenic zones are known as the most

prominent, and Freud even suggests that the whole body is an erotog Freud also

suggests that there are certain stages to the development of personality. First is the

oral stage. The oral stage goes from birth to the end of the first year. It produces the

sucking reflex in means to produce pleasure. In this partic sh him by castration. This

is known as the Oedipus complex. The female phallic stage is known as the Electra

complex where she discovers the absence of a penis and develops penis envy. The

fourth stage is the latency stage. During this stage the major Freud also believes that

dreams in an unconscious state have hidden meaning. In The origins of

psychoanalysis: Letters to Wilhelm Fliess, drafts and notes, Freud discusses a dream

by a patient known only as “E”:

“I suppose that this is a wish dream,” said E. “I dreamed that, just as I

arrived at my house with a lady, I was arrested by a policeman, who

requested me to get into a carriage. I demanded more time to put my

affairs in order, and so on. It was in the morning after I had spent the

night with this lady.”- “Were you horrified?” – “No.” ” Do you know

what you were charged with?”- “Yes. With having killed a child. – “Has

that any connection with reality?” – “I was once responsible for the

abortion of a child resulting from an affair. I dislike thinking about it.”-

“Well, had nothing happened on the morning before the dream?” – “Yes,

I woke up and had intercourse.” – “But you took precautions?” – “Yes.

By withdrawing.” – “Then you were afraid that you might have made a

child, and the dream shows you the fulfillment of your wish that nothing

should happen, that you nipped the child in the bud. You made use of

the feeling of anxiety that arises after a coitus of that kind as material

For your dream.” (Bonaparte, 1950).

Freud suggests that the dream is using patient E’s frustrated sexual energy to drive a

fantasy of punishment for his affair. Freud also believes that many details in the

dreams by patients have certain meanings, for example the remembering of a clock

rep In conclusion, Dr. Sigmund Freud has obviously opened a huge door way to the

behavior of the human being. The science of psychology is still very young and there

is no telling what will be discovering in the future about the human psyche. Many of t

References

Bonaparte, M., Freud, A., & Kris, E. (Eds.) (1954). The origins of psychoanalysis:

Letters to Wilhelm Fliess, drafts and notes: 1887-1902. (E. Mosbacher & J. Stachey,

Trans.). New York: Basic Books. (Original work published 1950).

Corey, G. Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, (Fifth Edition).

California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1996.

Freud, Sigmund. A General Introduction to Psycho-Analysis. New York: Pocket

Books, 1953.

Jones, E. The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud. New York: Basic Books, 1957.

Laplanche. New foundations for Psychoanalysis. Oxford: Blackwell,1989. (Original

work published in 1987.)

McGrath, W.J. Freud’s discovery of psychoanalysis: The politics of hysteria. Ithaca,

N.Y. Cornell University Press, 1986.

Ricoeur, P. Freud and philosophy (D. Savage, Trans.) New York: Yale University

Press, 1970.

Rudnytsky, P.L. Freud and Oedipus. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987.

Schur, M. Freud: Living and dying. New York: International Universities Press, 1972.

Sulloway, F.J. Freud, biologist of the mind: Beyond the psychological legend. New

York: Basic Books, 1979.