Sigmund Freud Research Paper

Submitted By oliviaarnone
Words: 505
Pages: 3

One of the most widely known psychiatrists and founder of psychoanalysis is the man Sigmund Freud. Even though he still gets ridiculed today for being too sexual in his research, his theories and perspectives are still used today. He strongly believed that personality relies on the unconscious mind and unresolved childhood conflicts. Freud believed that man was evil and that we had no free will because it was being controlled by the unconscious. His theories consist of free association, the types of consciousness, Id, Ego and Super Ego, defense mechanisms and the psychosexual stages. Freud discovered the technique called free association. It was basically a window to the unconscious mind. The patient would lay and say whatever was on their mind and he would interpret their thoughts. He also took this time to interpret people’s dreams. From this practice he introduced the “Freudian Slip”, things people wanted to say- it was in their unconscious. With Freud, he believed treating someone with a psychological disorder meant going into their unconscious and treating unresolved childhood conflicts. Freud looked at the mind as an iceberg. There are three types of consciousness that he developed: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. Conscious is at the tip of the iceberg that’s above water. We are aware of our surrounding and out environment in this part of the mind. The preconscious is just below the water line, it’s not conscious but easily retrievable information. The unconscious mind is completely below the water and we are unaware of it. In addition, Freud believed personality also acted as an iceberg. This consists of the Id, Super Ego and Ego. The Id unconscious and it demands gratification, shows aggression and makes “bad” decisions. The Super ego is the opposite, demanding perfection and makes the “good” decision. The ego is the mediator between the two and tries to rationalize. Stemming from the Freud’s theories of personality are his defense mechanisms, used subconsciously so reduce anxiety. There are 7 types of mechanisms: regression, repression, projection, retraction