HNC Health Care

Behavioural Science

The Psychoanalytical Approach

Freud practised in Vienna and collected a body of data from his patients about their feelings and experiences, especially those related to early childhood. From this data he constructed a theory (Psychoanalytic theory) and a form of therapy (Psychoanalysis).

Psychoanalytic theory seeks to explain human development in terms of an interaction between innate drives (such as the desire for pleasure) and early experience (the extent to which these desires were gratified) Individual personality differences can be traced back to the way early conflicts between desire and experience were handled. These conflicts remain with the adult and exert pressure through unconsciously motivated behaviour.

Freud developed a model of the human mind as being like an iceberg, with most of it hidden below the surface. The part of the mind of which we are aware he called the Conscious mind. We also have memories and thoughts which are temporally forgotten, but which can be brought to consciousness if necessary: the preconscious mind. Buried below those, Freud thought, was a deeper layer of the mind, which never came to consciousness: the unconscious . It was this part of the human psyche which kept those buried conflicts & traumas which had being laid down in earlier life. Although we were not aware of it, Freud believed that the unconscious would influence our behaviour & our emotions often causing severe disturbance, such as hysteria

Freud considered that there were three parts to the human personality: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id was the first part of personality to develop, & contained all the basic drives, impulses & instincts. It was totally selfish, operating entirely on the pleasure principle of immediate satisfaction of any wish. The id was also very extreme in its reactions: frustration would result in total aggression, or hunger might result in grabbing the first possible thing to eat.

As the child developed from infancy, though it was clear that such behaviour would not be socially acceptable, & so a more realistic offshoot of the id began to emerge. This worked according to the reality principle, trying to satisfy the id’s demands but in such a way that it also fitted in with reality & didn’t just produce more difficulties later on. This part of the personality was called the ego, and it rapidly became entirely separated from the id.

A 3rd part of the personality also developed as the child grew older. This formed a kind of ‘internalised parent’, issuing commands about what the individual ‘ought’ or ‘ought not’ to do. & containing all the ides, duties and responsibilities which the individual had to develop as part of growing up in society. In many ways this part of the personality was as unrealistic as the id, since it would make such high demands on the person that they would be impossible to fulfil. It was up to the ego again, operating on the reality principle , to keep a balance between reality & the demands of the superego.

This kind of approach to personality is often referred to as psychodynamic, because it portrays the ego as keeping a dynamic (constantly changing) balance between the three sets of demands which are on it: those from the id, from the superego, and from reality. The id & the superego, though, were in the unconscious mind and it was important that the ego prevented them from breaking through to consciousness, because that would be far too threatening for the individual to face up to. Accordingly, the ego developed a series of Defence Mechanisms which allowed it to protect itself against the pressures from the id & the superego.

There are several of these defence mechanisms, including:

1. Projection – e.g. attributing a ‘bad’ feeling or idea to another person. For example, someone who is very unfriendly may accuse other people of being unfriendly.

2. Repression - burying a memory so thoroughly that it is not recalled at all. E.g. a person may not remember a dental appointment because it is going to be painful.

3. Denial . Refusing to accept the existence or reality of a threatening event. For example , patients suffering from life threatening diseases often deny that these diseases are affecting their lives.

4. Rationalisation - finding a reasonable excuse for a particular action,

when really the action was just made up on the spur of the moment. I ran across the busy road because I was late and could see the bus coming.

5. Displacement – Unconsciously moving impulses away from a threatening object and towards a less threatening object. E.g someone who has been made angry by their boss may go home and kick the cat.

Many people consider that it was the identification of these defence mechanisms which was the main contribution of Freud’s work, often psychologists who disagree with the overall Freudian approach acknowledge that these are very useful concepts.

One of Freud’s key assumptions was that adult personality depends very much on childhood experiences. In his theory of Psychosexual Development, Freud assumed that all children go through five stages as described below:

1. Oral stage: this occurs during the first 18months of life, in this stage the infant obtains satisfaction from eating, sucking and other activities using the mouth.
2. Anal Stage: Between about 18 months and 3 years. Toilet training takes place during this stage, which helps to explain why the anal region becomes so important.
3. Phallic stage: Between 3 & 6 years of age. The genitals become the key source of satisfaction during this stage. At about the age of 5 boys acquire the Oedipus complex, in which they have sexual desires for their mother and therefore want to get rid of their father, who is a bigger rival. They also fear their father might realise what they are thinking. This complex is resolved by identification with their father, involving adopting many of their father’s attitudes and developing a superego. Jung ( a follower of Freud) suggested that a similar process operates in Girls called the Electra complex, in which girl’s desire their fathers. Freud’s own view was that during the phallic stage, girls come to recognise that they don’t have a penis and they blame their mother for this. The girl’s father becomes her ‘love-object’ and she substitutes her ‘penis-envy’ with a wish to have a child. This leads a resolution and ultimate identification with her same sex parent.
4. Latency Stage: this lasts from about 6 till the onset of puberty. During this time boys and girls spend very little time together.
5. Genital stage: this starts from the onset of puberty and continues throughout adult life. During this stage, the main source of sexual pleasure is the genitals.

Freud suggested that adult personality types could be linked with fixations at each stage of development. As below:

Freud coupled the theory of psychosexual development with a theory of personality. If a child experiences severe problems or excessive pleasure at any stage of development, this can lead to fixation, in which basic energy or libido becomes attached to that stage for many years. Later in life, adults who experience very stressful conditions are likely to show regression in which their behaviour becomes less mature and more like that displayed during the psychosexual stage at which they fixated as a child. According to Freud, these processes of fixation and regression play important roles in determining adult personalities. Some personality types are shown in the boxes above, along with descriptions and a link to the psychosexual stage at which the fixation may have occurred.

Psychoanalytic theory is both an account of personality development and a therapy. The basic principle is that early experiences may result in unconscious conflicts which motivate adult behaviour. Freud described personality in terms of three structures the id, ego and superego, which are likely to come into conflict because they are motivated by different principles. Conflicts create anxieties which may be coped with by defence mechanisms such as repression, displacement, projection, denial and intellectualisation. Freud also described five stages in development: the oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. At each of these stages the child may develop a fixation and this can be linked to their later adult personality.

Freud’s work has faced considerable criticism it also has had enormous influence on the work of psychologist’s ans society in general.