Sigmund Freud's work as a psychologist brought him to an almost unparalleled fame in the psychoanalytic world. Freud can be seen as the predecessor of modern psychology. His views on the unconscious mind were groundbreaking to the 19th century world. He became interested in women's psychoanalysis and the fact that their sexual drive could cause them to become hysterical. During this time the world had believed that humans had control over both the knowledge they retained about themselves and their environment. This was when Freud came up with the idea of the unconscious mind. Through this theory, Freud suggested that individuals do not even know what they are thinking most of the time. In the case of Dora, Freud would conclude that she was sexually attracted to her father, his mistress, and the husband of her father's mistress subconsciously. In doing this, some people see Freud as a pioneer in the science of psychoanalysis. However, Freud is far from what most people consider to be scientific in both his methods and the facts he uses as evidence. Freud applies his theories to Dora and her case of hysteria; but he does it in such a way that is very unscientific and as a result is not convincing. Freud had developed his theory of hysteria and how its origin came from repressed sexual desire. He diagnosed Dora as someone who was suffering from hysteria as a result of this repressed desire. He used the fact that when Herr K. was not around, Dora was unable to talk, and that showed that her symptoms of hysteria were directly correlated with Herr K. He concluded from his invalid evidence, which consisted of Dora's dreams and her past childhood experiences, that she was indeed repressing her love for Herr K. and this cam... ... middle of paper ... ... admitting to her sexual desires. Freud believed that a person's dreams fulfilled wishes and gave that person a sense of accomplishment to something that may only be achieved in the unconscious. Although Freud may have had persuasive views on certain issues, he by no means goes about proving these views in a scientific way. His approach is entirely skewed because he is trying to make Dora fit into his model theory so that her case provides concrete evidence to support those theories. However in doing this, he disrupts the natural essence of Dora. Scientists act in the reverse manner, in that they try to observe things in their natural state without disturbing them. Freud's biased views and way of conducting his sessions make it hard to believe that he has any suitable scientific data to support his theory, and thus is not to be considered a real scientist.
Freud’s adoption of the oppressive qualities in which he attributes Dora’s hysteria to and his reliance on weak conjectures directly lead to the failure of his treatment. Throughout the analysis of Dora’s symptoms, Freud spews an endless stream of unsupported assumptions leading to an overall insignificant argument. He manipulates Dora’s dreams to become suitable proofs for his theories rather than genuinely attempting to cure her hysteria. Although Dora voices her disagreements, Freud overlooks her emotions for the sake of completing his case, which ultimately leads to her premature departure. Freud, being one of the many oppressive males of his time, seems to misinterpret penis envy for a simple hatred towards men.
Sigmund Freud believed that he “occupies a special place in the history of psychoanalysis and marks a turning point, it was with it that analysis took the step from being a psychotherapeutic procedure to being in depth-psychology” (Jones). Psychoanalysis is a theory or therapy to decode the puzzle of neurotic disorders like hysteria. During the therapy sessions, the patients would talk about their dreams. Freud would analyze not only the manifest content (what the dreamer remembers) of the dreams, but the disguise that caused the repressions of the idea. During our dreams, the decision making part of personality’s defenses are lowered allowing some of the repressed material to become more aware in a distorted form. He distinguished between
He began his university studies at the University of Vienna in 1873. He was enrolled in medical school, but focused his attention on biology (Thornton par. 3). Between the years 1885 and 1886, Freud spent his time in Paris. He was amazed by the work of Jean Charcot and his hypnotism. However, once back in Vienna, he discovered that the effects of hypnotism did not last long. He worked with Josef Breuer and together they discovered that neuroses were caused by traumatic experiences. They tried to find way to bring out these experiences in their patients, hoping to cure them. They published their finding under the title, Studies in Hysteria (1895). Freud and Breuer soon parted, due to Breuer not agreeing with Freud’s belief on sexual origins. Freud believed sexual desires and instincts drove people to think and act they way they do (McLeod par. 2) Freud's theories were not received well by society until 1908. After he was invited to teach courses in the United States, he gained the reputation he is known for today (Thornton par. 6). He developed psychoanalysis as a new science. Freud's successful and, appearance wise, happy career contrasted against his personal
2) Hansel - Hansel is a 14 year old Caucasian male and his ethnicity is German. He has had no formal education, but learned what he could from his father and mother while they were both alive. He is very skinny and has an average health at the beginning of the story. His social status is fairly low as a person within the forest; this is because he is poor, has a lack of resources and was not born as a female witch. Hansel on a daily basis attempts to help his father gather food, although he is not very good at it. When Hansel has free time he enjoys exploring in the forest.
During the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, a psychologist named Sigmund Freud welcomed the new age with his socially unacceptable yet undoubtedly intriguing ideologies; one of many was his Psychoanalytic Theory of Dreams. Freud believed that dreams are the gateway into a person’s unconscious mind and repressed desires. He was also determined to prove his theory and the structure, mechanism, and symbolism behind it through a study of his patients’ as well as his own dreams. He contended that all dreams had meaning and were the representation of a person’s repressed wish. While the weaknesses of his theory allowed many people to deem it as merely wishful thinking, he was a brilliant man, and his theory on dreams also had many strengths. Freud’s theories of the unconscious mind enabled him to go down in history as the prominent creator of Psychoanalysis.
Freud, Sigmund. “Fragment of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria (“Dora”).” The Freud Reader. Ed. Peter Gay. Trans. James Strachey. New York: Norton, 1995. 172-239.
Sigmund Freud was a pioneer within the field of psychology who developed multiple theories that introduced the world to the inner meanings of the human unconscious. He created the theory of psychoanalysis, which allowed him to enter the world of the unconscious mind. He also proposed that humans go through a transition of various psychosexual stages, each level containing a different drive and desire. These urges were governed by the three components of the mind: the id, the ego, and the superego. He also believed that humans create defense mechanisms in order to drive away anxiety, guilt, and depression. However, he believed his greatest work resided within his interpretation of dreams through a method he called dream analysis. Each aspect of his studies and theories attempt to identify the reason behind human behavior.
The methods he used to obtain his information and data raised questions by other scientists. His research on children was lacking, as was his use of empirical studies, his research was male-dominated and also lacked universality. The theory of the id, ego and superego develops from birth into childhood therefore the use of case studies on adults and the lack of empirical study does not seem feasible enough to have developed this theory. First of all there is no guarantee that the memories of these adults on their childhood would be accurate, there was not any factual, re-testable data so it lacked reliability and validity secondly each case and person’s experience is different and therefore cannot be use to determine the development of an entire population. Freud’s theory was further biased due to him overlooking social and environmental aspects, which prevent universality; he was a European man who researched other upper middle class Europeans whose everyday living and circumstances differed greatly from others in
Freud first developed these methods of psychoanalysis when he met with patients whose disorders did not make neurological sense. A patient, for example, may have suddenly gone blind. The problem is that there is no damage to either of his eyes. Freud began to wonder if this disorder might be psychological rather than physiological. A patient not wanting to see something that aroused anxiety might have caused his own blindness, he hypothes...
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian psychoanalyst in the twentieth century whose studies and interests were focused on psychosexual behavior, psychosocial behavior, and the unconscious. He blames incestual desires and acts on neurosis and believes neurotics were victimized and molested in their youth. Congruently, this is his explanation for sexual urges in children. He watched psychiatrists fail at inventions of electrical and chemical treatments for mental disorders, only for them to turn to treatments that followed concepts of psychoanalysis. Even though drugs diminish symptoms of suffering he believed psychoanalytic or talking therapy would truly restore a patient’s self-esteem and welfare. As quoted by Ernst G. Beier:
The aim of this essay is to clarify the basic principles of Freud’s theories and to raise the main issues.
According to Freud, personality is built from internal psychological forces. The theory provides an elaborative framework which describes human personality. Through the theory, new treatments were derived to help people in mental distress. Freud encouraged a more positive way to approach psychological distress so that even the mental illnesses themselves could be treated; many of the therapies that the theory suggested have helped to treat people with different psychological issues. Another strength of the theory is that it acknowledges the existence of a subconscious which has an impact on our behavior and not only superficial thoughts. The theory was an eye opener to health professionals of the time, by introducing insights into the human mind, and how it functions, the psychoanalysis approach became greatly important for dealing with psychological treatment (Langs 83). Many researchers claim that, even though the psychoanalysis theory has its strengths, the weaknesses outweigh them in that, from the start, this theory had no scientific evidence, only theoretical explanations. For example, the psychodynamic model explains why or what causes abnormalities in children but it lacks research evidence to back it up. Sigmund Freud based all his arguments in his own analysis. It is evident that psychoanalysis is mainly dependent on what the therapist
...the mother’s love. These ideas led to a greater acceptance, as all people were to have these natural urges and desires. Freud altered traditional thinking through his studies of the human subconscious and how the mind works.
There have been many theorist in psychology such as Erik Erickson, Gordon Allport, and Raymond Cattell, among others. They have all made significant contributions to psychology and understanding human behavior. However, two theorist have distinguished themselves over the rest of them. Sigmund Freud is known as the father of psychoanalysis. He developed numerous theories to facilitate the understanding of the different stages humans go through. As well as Freud, Karen Horney also created her own theories. Her theories were relatively similar to Freud’s, however, they also have their differences. It is essential to have general knowledge of their background and to understand both of their theories before we begin contrasting them.
Sigmund Freud was one of the original pioneers in the field of Psychology. The work that he accomplished throughout his lifetime laid a foundation for many theorists after him. The theorists that worked in Psychology, after Freud, were able to form their own thoughts, ideas, and hypotheses about the human mind after learning from his work. Sigmund Freud’s major contribution in the field of Psychology was his theory about the human psyche; which he called the Id, the Ego, and the Super-Ego. This theory was based on the human personality and its formation. Many of Freud’s analysis strategies became common practice in the field of Psychology and are still used today. Sigmund Freud will always be one of the most influential figures in the