On the Psychoanalytic Approach

The psychoanalytic theory is centered on the thought that humans are controlled by the unconscious mind.  The concepts of the unconscious mind, defense mechanisms, the id, ego, and the superego are Freud’s. The unconscious mind is the part of a person’s mental life that the person is unaware of. The id resides in the unconscious mind, and operates according to the pleasure principle in which the goal is the immediate reduction of tension and the maximization of satisfaction. The ego strives to balance the desires of the id and the realities of the objective, outside world. It operates according to the reality principle. The superego is the aspect of the personality that holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society.

Freud proposes that the underlying motivation to human development is a dynamic, psychic energy, which he calls libido. According to Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, the personality develops in five stages from birth to adulthood.  The libido changes its location of emphasis within the body from one stage to another. Therefore, a particular body area has special significance to a client at a particular stage. If the individual does not achieve a satisfactory progression at each stage, the personality becomes fixated at each stage.  Fixation is immobilization or the inability of the personality to proceed to the next stage because of anxiety.

             If we follow Freud’s thinking, that human development lies on sexuality, which constitutes his theory on psychosexual development, then everything he says perfectly makes sense. The very foundation of his theory is unshakable and coming from that theory, then all else that follows sounds logical. However, the theory only looks at one aspect of man --- that is, man as a sexual being. Probably the reason why a lot of people find Freud’s theory hard to accept. Because of people’s religious beliefs on sexuality, accepting Freud’s theory won’t very easy to come. So, if you’re a person who believes that man is a sexual being, then the theory would sound sensible, otherwise, it wouldn’t.

            In the psychoanalytic perspective, it says that humans are controlled by the unconscious mind. And with that thought, Freud came up with three distinct sub-divisions of the theory: the Theory of Personality Structure, the Theory of Personality Development, and the Theory of Personality Dynamics. And all these concepts of the human personality came from the thought of the ruling of the unconscious mind. So, yes, the concepts are well-interrelated as these concepts support one another.

            The three concepts of personality on the psychoanalytic level by Freud are distinct of  one another. According to the theory, our personality can be explained in three aspects --- that is, in its structure, development and dynamics. In its structure, it has been clearly defined how our conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind work together that constitutes our own personality. In the theory on personality development, we are able to see how our personality develops by looking at our nature as a sexual being. And by personality dynamics, we are looking at the very basic of man’s nature to survive as a being and a species that drives us to be who we are now.

            The labels being used by Freud are clear and distinct. Each concept has its precise meaning. They are very distinct that it’s hard not to remember these terms and concepts. The libido, id ego, or superego are easily distinguished as Freud's. 

           The concepts by Freud have been most interesting to all people and quite helpful in better understanding ourselves. Although at first, a person might find the concepts a little too bizarre, but it’s probably the intrigue that keeps us wanting to know more of. It may be quite misleading to some. So, one has to keep an open mind.