Lesson 5: Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

The foundation of Freud's psychoanalytic beliefs is his conviction that a person's childhood
experiences shape their adult personality, and that any stressful or upsetting childhood experiences
might lead to unfavorable adult features. His theories cover psychosexual stages of development,
defense mechanisms to deal with anxiety, the topographic model of the mind, the structural model of
personality, and psychoanalytic approaches.

A. Psychosexual Stages of Development

Sigmund Freud proposed that personality development in childhood takes place during five
psychosexual stages, which are the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. During each
stage, sexual energy (libido) is expressed in different ways and through different body parts.

According to Freud (1905), tension and pleasure are the foundation of life. Additionally,
Freud held that all pleasure resulted from the release of libido, or sexual energy, and that all
tension was caused by its accumulation. Freud intended to communicate that when he labeled the
evolution of human personality as psychosexual, what really happens is the id’s sexual energy is
building up and eventually being released as we mature biologically.

The first five years of life are critical to the development of an adult personality, according to
Freud. To meet social expectations, the id must be subdued; this creates tension between social
norms and unfulfilled desires. The ego and superego are developed in order to exert this control
and channel the need for fulfillment into avenues that are acceptable to society. The struggle at
each level is psychosexual because gratification centers in distinct body parts at different stages of
development.

The Role of Conflict

Every psychosexual stage has a corresponding conflict that needs to be resolved for the
person to be able to go on to the next one.

Fixation Psychology
Some people find it impossible to go on to the next stage. One explanation for this could be
that the growing person's needs at any given point haven't been sufficiently addressed, which
would lead to frustration. Alternatively, the individual's needs could have been met to such an
extent that they are unwilling to give up the psychological advantages of a certain phase of
overindulgence. At a specific psychosexual stage, frustration and/or overindulgence can result in
what psychoanalysts refer to as fixation. Fixation results from failure to satisfy the needs of a
particular psychosexual stage.
The Psychosexual Stages of Development

1. Oral Stage (birth to 1 year)

The Oral Stage is the first stage of Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychosexual development,
occurring from birth until approximately 18 months. During the oral stage, a baby’s libido, or
erogenous zone (a specific area that becomes the focus of pleasure), is the mouth.

2. Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)

The anal stage is the second stage of psychosexual development happens between the
ages of 18 months and three years. During the anal stage, the erogenous zone is the anal
sphincter or anus, and the child derives great pleasure from controlling and releasing their
bowels.

3. Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)

This period is marked by the child’s libido (or desire) focusing on their genitals as the
primary source of pleasure. In this stage, children become increasingly aware of their bodies,
exhibiting a heightened interest in their own genitals and those of the opposite sex.

Oedipus Complex
Boys become more possessive of their mother and develop feelings of rivalry and envy
towards their father. The ‘id’ wants the mother’s affection and resists the father.

Castration Anxiety
The boy (son) is afraid his genitalia or penis will be harmed by his father as retribution for
his sexual feelings toward his mother.

Identification
The fear of retaliation from the father (castration anxiety) eventually leads the boy to
repress these incestuous desires and identify with the father, adopting his characteristics and
values. Hence the boy takes on the male gender role, and adopts an ego ideal and values that
become the superego.

Electra Complex
The girl (daughter) unconsciously cultivates a sexual attraction towards her father,
viewing her mother as a competitor.

Penis Envy
A young girl experiences anxiety upon realization that she does not have a penis.
 4. Latency Stage (6 years to puberty)
In this stage, Freud believed sexual impulses are repressed, leading to a period of relative
calm, hence this stage is known as “the quiet stage”. During this stage, children’s sexual
impulses become suppressed (the libido is dormant), and no further psychosexual
development occurs (latent means hidden). Much of the child’s energy is channeled into
developing new skills and acquiring new knowledge, and play becomes largely confined to
other children of the same gender.

5. Genital Stage (puberty to adult)

The commencement of mature adult sexuality occurs at this stage, when libido re-
emerges from its latent period and is oriented towards peers of the other sex. People learn to
explore their sexual sensations and urges in a more responsible and adult manner as they
become more sexually mature. Intimate relationships begin to form throughout this time as
romantic and sexual emotions begin to emerge. Unlike during the phallic stage, when sexual
instinct is focused on self-pleasure, it is aimed toward heterosexual pleasure.

B. Sigmund Freud’s Structural Model of Personality

Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality states that interactions between the id, ego, and
superego—the three main components—determine human behavior and personality. Each
component contributes in a distinctive and noteworthy way to the development of the human
personality. This model focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in taking various decisions
and shaping the personality and behaviour of the person.

Id
- This structure of personality is present from the time of birth
- Operates on “Pleasure Principle” thus seeks immediate gratification
- It entails making instantaneous decisions quickly without giving careful thought to their causes
or effects.
- The decisions taken by the person are primarily from his/her unconscious part of the mind.
- As the only component that is present from birth, hence the behaviour of the children is mostly
controlled by the id, and they always focus on fulfilling their needs as early as possible.

Ego
- Serves as a mediator between the id and the superego
- Operates on the “Reality Priniciple”
- It entails making decisions that take into account actual behavior that is accepted by society in
addition to satisfying one's own interests and desires.
- The main purpose of the ego is to postpone demands and desires until they are reasonable
and suitable. Our ability to delay gratification increases with age.

Superego
- It begins to develop around the age of five
- The superego is focused on internalized moral ideas or values that we pick up from society and
our parents.
- It helps us make appropriate judgments by suppressing the id’s urges and forcing the ego to
work as per the moral principles rather than the realistic principles.
- The superego is divided into two parts, i.e., the ego ideal and the conscience
o The ego-ideal includes the set of rules for the appropriate behavior, which is
influenced by the authority figures such as parents and teachers
o The conscience involves the set of rules for behaviour that are considered as bad

C. Sigmund Freud’s Topographic Model of the Psyche

 Freud believed that a significant portion of our ideas, feelings, and wants are unconscious,
and that understanding and interpreting a person's unconscious plays a critical role in
psychoanalysis by providing a more thorough understanding of the mind of the individual. Freud
proposed that there exist three levels of awareness, i.e., consciousness, preconscious, and
unconsciousness

Consciousness
Everything that we are feeling, thinking, wishing, or paying attention to at the given
moment, comes under the consciousness of our mind.

Pre-consciousness
Everything that the person is not paying attention to at the given moment, but the
information is readily available to enter into the conscious of the person whenever it’s required.

Unconsciousness
The unconscious consists of all those feelings, thoughts, or desires that the person is not
aware of, but it influences almost every aspect of his/her daily life.

D. Sigmund Freud’s Iceberg Analogy

Sigmund Freud used the analogy of an iceberg to describe his model of the psyche and
personality. In his view, the tip of the iceberg represents a person's conscious ideas since we are
cognizant of our conscious thoughts and because the tip of the iceberg is obviously visible from
the outside. The region directly below the waterline is a representation of the pre-conscious
mind. The bigger and more deeply submerged portion of the iceberg symbolizes the
unconscious mind because most people's ideas are kept secret. As we are not consciously aware
of the effect of the id energy (natural desires, thoughts, or feelings) on our behaviour, the id
belongs to the unconscious part. The ego is the part of each three types of awareness, but it
majorly contributes to the conscious and the preconscious part than the unconscious part. The
superego consists of all three levels of awareness and hence comprises the entire iceberg.

References:

1. https://studiousguy.com/freuds-psychoanalytic-theories/ . Retrieved 11/5/2023

2. https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychosexual.html . Retrieved 11/5/2023
3. https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Castration+Anxiety . Retrieved
11/5/2023