Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud believed that behavior and personality derive from the constant and unique interaction of conflicting psychological forces operating at three different levels of consciousness: the preconscious, the conscious, and the unconscious. The psychoanalytic theory of the conscious and unconscious mind is often explained using an iceberg metaphor: Conscious knowledge is the tip of the iceberg, while the unconscious is represented by ice hidden beneath the surface of the water..
What do these expressions mean? What exactly happens at each level of consciousness?
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Many of us have experienced what is commonly known as a failed act. These errors are believed to reveal unconscious thoughts or feelings. For example:
Antonio has just started a new relationship with a woman he met in high school. While talking to her one afternoon, he accidentally calls her by the name of his ex-girlfriend.
If you found yourself in this situation, how would you explain this error? Many of us could say it was a distraction or describe it as a simple accident. However, a psychoanalytic theorist may say that this is much more than a chance accident..
The psychoanalytic view holds that there are forces internal, unconscious or outside of our consciousness that in some way direct our behavior. For example, a psychoanalyst might say that Antonio expressed himself poorly because of his ex's unresolved feelings, or perhaps because of doubts about his new relationship..
The unconscious includes thoughts, emotions, memories, desires, and motivations that are outside our awareness, yet they continue to influence our behavior..
As we all know, Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalytic theory. While his ideas were considered somewhat shocking in his time, today they continue to create debate and controversy.Even now, his work had a profound influence on a number of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, literature, and the art.
The term psychoanalysis is used to refer to many aspects of Freud's work and research, including Freudian therapy and the research methodology he uses to develop his theories. Freud drew heavily on his observations and case studies of his patients when formulating his theory of personality development..
Before we can understand Freud's theory of personality, we must first understand his view of how the mind is organized..
According to Freud, the mind can be divided into three different levels:
It includes everything that we are aware of. This is the aspect of our mental process that allows us to think and speak rationally. Apart from this, it includes our memory, which is not always part of consciousness, but can be easily retrieved at any time and is brought to our attention. Freud called this the preconscious.
It is the part of the mind that represents ordinary memory. While we are not aware of this information at any given time, we can retrieve it and pull it into consciousness when necessary..
It is where we store our feelings, thoughts, impulses, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious, according to Freud, are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety or conflict. For him, the unconscious can influence our behavior and experience, even though we are not aware of these underlying influences..
In this way, Freud compared these three levels of the mind to an iceberg:
Each person also possesses a certain amount of psychological energy that forms the three basic structures of the personality: the id, the ego and the superego. These three structures have different functions and act at different levels of the mind..
According to Sigmund Freud, each component adds its own unique contribution to personality and the three elements work together to form complex human behaviors..
According to this theory, certain aspects of our personality are more primitive and that can pressure us to act on our most basic impulses. Other parts of the personality may be able to counteract these impulses and work to make them conform to the demands of reality..
We are going to look at each of these key parts of the personality, how they work individually and how they interact.
The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate satisfaction of all wants, desires, and needs. If these needs are not met immediately, the result is a state of anxiety or tension..
For example, increased thirst or hunger should produce an immediate attempt to eat or drink..
It is very important from the earliest moments of life, as it ensures that a baby's needs are met. If the baby is hungry or uncomfortable, he or she will cry until the It demands are met..
However, the immediate fulfillment of these needs is not always realistic or possible. If we were governed entirely by the pleasure principle, as we get older we could just take the things we want without caring about other people, to satisfy our own desires.
This type of behavior would be both harmful and socially unacceptable. According to Freud, the Id tries to resolve the tension created by the pleasure principle through the primary process, which consists of the formation of a mental image of the desired object as a way to satisfy the need..
The Ego functions on the basis of the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the desires of the Id in a realistic and socially appropriate way. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act on impulses or give up. In many cases, Id impulses can be satisfied through a delayed gratification process. The Self will finally allow the behavior that the Id seeks, but only in the right place and time..
The Self also discharges the tension created by unsatisfied impulses through a secondary process, in which the Self tries to find an object in the real world that matches the mental image created by the primary process of the Id..
The last component of the personality described by Freud is the superego.
There are two fundamental parts of the superego:
The superego acts to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works to suppress all unacceptable Id impulses and strives to make the acts of I conform to social norms rather than realistic principles. The superego is present in the conscious, preconscious and unconscious.
With so many competing forces, it is easy to see how a conflict could arise between the Id, the Self, and the Superego. Freud used the term ego strength to refer to the ego's ability to function despite these grieving forces. A person with good ego strength is able to effectively manage these pressures, while those with very little ego strength may become too inflexible or antisocial..
According to Freud, the key to a healthy personality is a balance between the id, the ego and the superego.
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