SIGMUND FREUD

“We are simply actors in the drama of our minds, pushed by desire, pulled by conscience. Underneath the surface, our personalities represent the power struggles going on deep within us.”

Born on May 6, 1856 in a small town of Freiberg. 

Freud was Jewish and was the eldest of eight kids.

The field he studied was psychology Freud is considered founding father of

psychoanalysis. His books were burned by the Nazi during

WWII. Worked with and inspired many famous

psychologists.

WHO WAS HE?

Best known for his studies of the unconscious mind, dreams interpretation, theory of Psychosexual Development, Id, Ego, and Superego and repression

The Father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud is best known for his tendency to trace nearly all psychological problems back to sexual issues.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Psychoanalysis: method of studying the mind and treating mental and emotional disorders based by investigating the role of the unconscious mind. Erikson expanded upon Freud's theories and stressed the importance of growth throughout the lifespan.

Repression: is the psychological attempt by an individual to repel one's own desires.

Dream interpretation: Analyzed dreams in order to understand aspects of personality. He believes that nothing you do occurs by chance; every action and thought is motivated by your unconscious.

In the society, we have a tendency to hold back our urges and repress our impulses. However, these urges and impulses are released is through your dreams. Freud believes that the unconscious expresses itself in a symbolic language.

CONTINUED

Id: the impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that operates on the "pleasure principle" and only takes into account what it wants and disregards all consequences.Id is equivalent to the devil sitting on one's shoulder.

Ego: the organized, realistic portion on the psyche that acts according to the "reality principle" and seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief.Ego is equivalent to one's conscience.

Super-Ego: Aims for perfection, includes ego's ideals, punishes misbehaviour with feelings of guilt.Super-ego is equivalent to the angel on one's shoulder.

Continued

Id: The seat of our impulses.Ego: Negotiates with the id, pleases the superego.Superego: Keeps us on the straight and narrow

Freud used the Talking Cure for adults to tap into their unconscious repressions of abuse, whether it had actually occurred or was unawareness and non-expression of guilt about having sexual feelings toward a parent.

Used hypnosis as a form of treatment

Many of Freud's observations and theories were based on clinical cases and case studies.

TYPE OF RESEARCH

Many people criticized Freud because a lot of Freud’s studies were based on clinical cases his findings were difficult to generalize to a larger population.

Freud's model of psycho-sexual development has been criticized from different perspectives. Some have attacked Freud's claim and called him crazy for . Others have accepted Freud's expanded notion of sexuality.

People that were against him includes Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, George Groddeck and Wilhelm Reich.

Throughout his life, Freud endeavored to understand religion and spirituality and wrote several books devoted to the subject

Participant observation

He was superstitious, and had an obsession with numbers. Some of this may have came from his knowledge of Jewish mysticism. Freud was obsessed with the number 51, believing it to be the age at which he would die.

Freud was a cocaine user, he developed an interest in the potential antidepressant effects of cocaine.

 Sigmund Freud had a morbid fear of ferns. Freud was deathly afraid of the number 62 and would

not book a room in any hotel with more than 62 rooms. Diagnosed with cancer in 1923 due to frequent cigar

smoking, Freud underwent over 30 surgeries over the next 16 years.

He was 83 years old when he asked his doctor to end his life, and died of a physician-assisted morphine overdose in London

INTERESTING FACTS

Kendra , C. (2011). 10 facts about Sigmund Freud . Retrieved from http://www.climateers.org/eng/

Kendra , C. (2011). Sigmund Freud biography(1856-1939) . Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers

Freud’s scientific approach to the talking cure~ curiosity not judgement. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.psipsychologytutor.org

Sigmund Freud. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.nndb.com/people/736/000029649/

G , O. (2010, December 21). Sigmund Freud. Retrieved from http://www.nndb.com/people/736/000029649/

Adam , C. (2010). Understanding the id, ego, and superego in psychology. Retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-id-ego-and-superego-in-psycholog.html

Five interesting facts about Sigmund Freud that you probably didn't know. (2010). Retrieved from http://teutophile.hubpages.com/hub/