outline, explain, evaluate: the neo-freudians*

Erik Erikson and Carl Jung were neo-Freudians who built upon Sigmund Freud’s theories on human behavior and the structure and function of personality. Erikson’s main departure from Freud was the theory of the 8 stages of personality development, which emphasized adulthood, contrasting Freud’s great focus on childhood experiences. Jung proposed the idea of a biologically shared collective unconscious in addition to the personal unconscious, modifying Freud’s classic idea that the unconscious is only based on personal experiences. By broadening views on the functioning of personality and elaborating upon the unconscious, Jung contributed to modern psychology and helped develop a further understanding of human behavior.

Jung broke new ground by developing the idea of the collective unconscious, the second portion of the unconscious level of awareness that personality functions upon. The collective unconscious, which Jung said is biologically inherited and shared throughout different cultures, contains ideas and themes that are not related to personal experience. He argued that it is composed of archetypes, or patterns that arrange experiences; its forms are the animus, anima, and shadow. The animus represents the femininity of men, including sentimentality and emotionality; the anima represents the masculinity of women, including assertiveness; the shadow represents the aggressive and sexual urges of human nature. Overall, Jung emphasized on the role of symbols and the idea of complementary opposites.

Erikson proposed the ground-breaking theory of psychosocial stages. According to him, development involves resolving various conflicts in life, including those related to relationships and self-image, and that social drives motivate human behavior. He defined his stages by social interactions. The task of the 1^st stage is gaining trust in oneself and others, and minimizing mistrust. Reliable, caring parents help children develop a sense of safeness in the external world; ignorant parents may cause insecurity and distrust. Erikson argued that stage 2’s goal is to gain autonomy and self-esteem with little shame, which is influenced by the amount of freedom parents provide and may lead to impulsiveness or compulsiveness. Stage 3 deals with learning to optimistically take the initiative with little guilt, and developing new abilities. During stage 4, the child learns social skills and develops competency as the social network expands, and school activities become significant parts of life. Stage 5 involves identity formation and avoiding role confusion by learning to fit into the community, which may cause an identity crisis. Adolescence may be influenced by dating partners, friends and conflicts with parents.

According to Erikson, adulthood begins at stage 6, in which one learns to achieve intimacy and commitment to relationships, instead of isolation. The success in balancing intimacy and independence and isolation means acquiring the “psychosocial strength called love”. At stage 7, the individual learns to contribute to the community and extend love and care to younger generations without expecting compensation and being stagnated. Lastly, in stage 8, the ultimate goal is to achieve wisdom and integrity while feeling little despair of learning to accept the past. This happens if one is able to overcome losses of loved ones and face death without fear.

Erikson, who proposed that personality development occurs throughout the entire life cycle, not focusing only on childhood, altered Freud’s classic theory that personality functions on 5 psychosexual stages. Freud argued that childhood experiences and sexual causes are crucial in influencing personality development; conversely, Erikson stated that adulthood was no less important, and focused 4 of the psychosocial stages on years after puberty. Erikson argued that development is more biologically psychosocial rather than psychosexual, and that basic drives are social ones, unlike Freud’s pessimistic viewpoints of repressed sexual desires and death wishes.

Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious also modified a classic psychoanalytic theory. Freud argued that personality operates only on a personal unconscious, which contains repressed past experiences and inner drives. Conversely, Jung argued that there is a second portion to the unconscious—the collective unconscious, which is shared cross-culturally. Jung also stated that everyone inherits the same universal archetypes that may influence human behavior; on the contrary, Freudian symbols represent sexual aspects. Jung placed more emphasis on mythology and spirituality, and de-emphasized sexual drives. Because of modifications made to certain aspects of classic theories, Erikson and Jung used Freud’s ideas only as a basis, and further developed new, ground-breaking ideas.

Some critics say Jung’s approach of the theory of the collective unconscious contributed to the understanding of human behavior in more mystical ways. It gave modern psychologists a broader view of the functioning of personality and psychodynamics that is very rich in detail, and provided a modification, a different theory they could consider—not just one Freudian theory of the personal unconscious. Therefore, his works provided a deeper understanding of psychodynamics and identified new possible causes. However, there is vague evidence to prove the presence of archetypes, and there may be many different interpretations of its meaning. Critics have questioned the nature of Jung’s theories because he was spiritual and religious. They aren’t falsifiable, as the collective unconscious could not be accessed through conscious awareness; therefore they are unscientific and possibly inaccurate. Although he found cross-cultural similarities in mythology, generalization is difficult. Whether inaccurate or not, Jung influenced modern psychologists’ views, who used his ideas as bases for further studies.

Erikson and Jung proposed new, innovative neo-Freudian theories that contributed to modern psychology, and provided modifications of classic Freudian ones. Both influenced new views of human behavior that have never been studied before. Overall, Erikson’s stages and Jung’s collective unconscious has opened a new approach to understanding psychodynamics.

-- yuki

explain: freudian theories of structure/functioning of personality*

Sigmund Freud had proposed various theories regarding the structure and functioning of personality. These psychodynamic models of personality include, firstly, the three portions of id, ego, and superego, and how each part influences human behavior. The second theory is concerned with the different levels of consciousness: the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. Thirdly, Freud placed some importance on the sexual and aggressive drives and their effects on personality. Lastly, the five psychosexual stages of development shapes up the identity and personality of the adult a child develops into, as its ego develops. An empirical study of Little Hans’ case illustrates each of the theories.

According to Sigmund Freud, the structure of personality is composed of three parts: the id, ego and superego. Firstly, the id is the unconscious part of this model of personality that is the basis of all drives, including sexuality and aggression. It involves the pleasure principle, in which an individual is driven to obtain maximum pleasure—the id seeks for immediate gratification of these desires. Primary process thinking occurs with the id—it does not differentiate between external reality and fantasy, or a desire and its gratification. On the contrary, the superego is composed of moral restrictions of the society and family. It is like the inner authoritative voice that directs one to “do this because it’s moral”, and not “do that because it’s unethical”. The superego is in constant conflict with the id, as it leads people to act morally and do what is ‘right’. It isn’t possible to always be perfect and satisfy everybody, or always be self-centered and obtain immediate pleasure. Because of this, the ego mediates between the id and superego, as it balances the demands of both and also takes note of reality (defined as the reality principle, in which the external surroundings come into awareness). The ego strives to make the most rational decision and shows in our outward behavior, although this is a very difficult responsibility. In Little Hans’ case study, it is possible to see that Hans’ ego is still undergoing development, and could not yet balance the demands of the id and external reality, as he still feels sexual desires for his mother, and feels a childish jealousy and hatred for his sister. He still fears that his mother would shun him aside and pay attention to his sister instead, and hopes for the death of his father; his id says “But I don’t want a baby sister!” Hans is not heeding his superego, which tells him that killing his sister and father off to achieve his mother’s love and care is morally wrong.

Freud also proposed that awareness is divided into different levels of consciousness, and includes the conscious and subconscious (further divided into the preconscious and unconscious), and that they influence personality. These layers make up the topographical model of the mind. The conscious is the portion of the mind which contains the emotions and thoughts that one is immediately aware of at any particular time, and contrarily, the subconscious contains desires, ideas, and feelings that are beneath the conscious level of awareness that cannot be accessed at once. The preconscious, therefore, contains the mind’s contents that could be recalled by choice and brought back to consciousness but with a little effort. However, Freud said the unconscious contains motivations, fears, and thoughts that may be the real reasons behind human behavior—it cannot be accessed simply by recalling, but only through dreams, humor, and Freudian slips. These contents are blocked from conscious awareness through defense mechanisms, such as repression or rationalization, to protect the ego from anxiety and threatening thoughts that may negatively alter the perception of oneself. Freud believed that the unconscious was a very influential part of the mind that affects behavior, and may be expressed as physical symptoms in patients with mental disorders. In Little Hans’ case, he was repressing his sexual curiosity, guilt, and fear that he was developing and pushing the thoughts into his unconscious. Freud believed Hans wished to see others’ widdlers for comparison and display his own to others. He repressed sexual desires for his mother and the castration fear from conscious awareness. Hans’ unconscious contains sexual and aggressive motivations that show in his personality.

Freud also placed great emphasis on drives, pleasure and aggression, as they motivate humans to behave in certain ways and shapes up personality. He placed an importance on biological influences and the survival instinct of humans to obtain the basic needs and gain maximum pleasure, as described in the pleasure principle. When World War I struck, Freud observed soldiers suffering from traumas, and proposed the theory of the self-destructive aggressive drive, which may be one of the causes of psychological conflicts. Freud used comparisons from Greek mythology, comparing Eros, god of love, to the sexual, optimistic drive, and Thanatos, symbol of death, to the aggressive drive and the death wish—both are present but conflicting forces in behavior. Freud stated that both drives are involved with seeking gratification. Little Hans’ behavior was influenced by the sexual drive, shown as feelings for his mother and pleasure in touching his widdler, and by the aggressive drive, as the death wish towards eliminating his father and sister to be alone with his mom. As they shape personality, Hans’ strong drives may be the cause of psychological problems he experienced.

Additionally, Freud emphasized on the theory of the five psychosexual stages of development, which will shape up the personality of the adult one will grow up to be. He stated that during the course of our lives, we are driven by basic drives to obtain gratification of needs, and the expression of these needs change from each stage to another in different erogenous zones. Most stages occur during childhood, placing importance of childhood experiences’ role on determining one’s future personality. At each stage, challenges and are met, and how each individual confronts them is different and could have negative or positive impacts on personality. The first oral stage occurs from birth to 15 months, where the mouth is the focus of gratification. The child learns to delay gratification, realizing that it has to wait for its needs from the parent, and develops a body image that is different from others. Another important experience is weaning, when a child does not receive as much intimate contact with the mother as before, therefore it is the first loss of life that influences he child’s awareness of the external reality and ego formation. The second stage is the anal stage, from 15 months to 3 years of age, with the libido’s focus on the anus, when the child takes pleasure in handling feces. The key challenge is toilet training, because the child’s id doesn’t want to clean up but the parents (external world) think of feces as dirty and unhealthy. If the parents emphasize it too much, the child may grow up to be over-organized, and if the parents always give in, the child will grow up with an unequal balance of heeding the id and the external world, and be messy. The phallic stage, the third stage, is a crucial step in development during 4 to 5 years of age. The child experiences the oedipal conflict, in which the sexual desires for the parent of the opposite sex begin, and the libido’s focus is the penis. A boy develops castration fear and anxiety, as he becomes afraid that the father would realize his desires for the mother and that he will be punished for these feelings. However, a girl may develop penis envy when she realizes she doesn’t have a penis like her mother, therefore she develops sexual attraction towards the father. Eventually, both genders would cease their sexual desires and identify with the parent of the same sex’s values and characteristics. Fixation at this stage may result in an over-sexual nature, or an asexual one. During the fourth stage, the latency stage, there is no focus of gratification as sexual desires are repressed, and social life becomes important to children of ages 6 to 12. Lastly, in the genital stage, sexuality is brought back to consciousness and again the focus is the genitals; however, it is expressed as adult sexuality and symbolic gratification in which the ultimate goal is to have sexual intercourse. This stage covers most of life, as it is from age 12 onwards until death, and was not emphasized by Freud as important compared to previous stages. Concerning Little Hans’ case, which occurred during the phallic stage, the warning that Hans’ mother gave to him (threatening to have the widdler cut off if he kept playing with it to gain sexual pleasure) instilled castration fear in Hans. As Freud said, Hans was seeking gratification by touching and thinking about the sexual organ, and developing the fear of the father, who was more powerful. Hans was referred to as a ‘little Oedipus’, as he wanted to ‘get his father out of the way’ and be alone with his mother.

To understand the development and structure of personality, Freud’s theories regarding the three-part structure, the levels of consciousness, drives, and the psychosexual stages of development should be considered. These structures may influence human behavior and have an impact on personality development, as illustrated by Little Hans’ case study. Also, the theories have formed a basis on the structure and functioning of personality, and the workings of the mind, although they are still controversial.

-- yuki

what i learned from my first essay*

I found out the toughness of IB grading--I never expected to get a C for my essay. I learned to take good care of using the right words--one word could make a difference and change the meaning of the entire paragraph or essay. Therefore, I think I should revise everything twice in case a 'wrong' word affected the entire meaning of the essay. Also, I've learned to structure my paragraph properly, and use a road map for the introduction to guide the rest of the essay.

-- yuki

discuss: historical/cultural context of freud's theories of behavior*

Various historical and cultural influences during Sigmund Freud’s lifetime have significantly shaped up his theories of human behavior, whether negative or positive. His psychodynamic theories described the conscious and unconscious, intrapsychic and interpersonal conflicts, inner drives, impulsiveness and self-control, and others. Freud’s childhood experiences and influences from people surrounding him greatly impacted his theories. Also, scientific developments during his time were thriving and contributed to his ideas, as well as the disturbing events of the early 20^th century, which accounted for his pessimistic views on human instinct.

Sigmund Freud has developed numerous theories regarding the psychodynamic perspective that have formed the basic ideas for psychological studies nowadays. Firstly, Freud proposed that awareness includes two contrasting levels of consciousness: the conscious, which contains thoughts and emotions that one could instantly be aware of at any particular time, and the subconscious, which contains real memories and motivations that are not usually accessible except through Freudian slips or dreams. Secondly, Freud introduced the intrapsychic and interpersonal conflicts—that we are in conflict both within ourselves and with others, which leads to anxiety that everyone experiences during a lifetime. Thirdly, he stated that humans are driven by pleasure and aggression and seek to gratify those desires involving maximum pleasure and violence. Freud also thought about the effects on behavior that impulsiveness, the tendency to act without thinking the consequences through, and self-control, the ability to restrain oneself from this and mind the surroundings, could have. Additionally, he said that childhood experiences play a determining role in shaping up the adult we become—regardless of whether the memories are traumatic or delightful.

During Sigmund Freud’s childhood, experiences including meeting influential people and putting up with traumatic, emotional tension involving his family background have also affected his psychodynamic theories. As a child, Sigmund Freud showed an unusually high intelligence, and was a favorite child. Despite being loved tremendously by his mother, his father treated him with disapproval—however, as he passed away, unexplainable guilt and sorrow struck Freud, and he wondered why. Later, he developed the theory of psychosexual stages and the death wish children feel toward their fathers, as well as the sexual desire for their mothers—from this, he stated that childhood experiences have direct effects on future relationships and personality. He grew up studying medicine and law, defined as a ‘Jewish major’, and met various influential people, including Jean-Martin Charcot, Brücke, and Breuer. Charcot and Breuer prompted his interest in hysteria, and Freud came up with the idea of catharsis (in which recalling events releases emotional tension and relieves patients). It is significant how Freud’s surroundings and others’ ideas during the time could have impacted Freud’s theories.

Scientific theories of Freud’s time played a vital role in explaining human behavior for him. For example, Helmholtz’s theory of the conservation of energy, which states that energy could neither be created nor destroyed, gave rise to Freud’s theory that humans are driven by a ‘psychic energy’, because we are all part of nature. Additionally, after influence from Charles Darwin, Freud related evolution to psychology. Adaptation could be linked to the ego compromising with the id, superego, and external environment, to survive in the society. The id (baby-like self that seeks immediate gratification) could be compared to the instincts of apes—which are the animals we have possibly evolved from. This explains why, in the early part of human development, babies seek to gratify their need and desires instantly. Also, animals’ and humans’ survival instincts are like the real motivations and drives within ourselves.

It is possible to see how the early part of the twentieth century, which was very much disturbing and chaotic, could have affected Freud’s theories. Despite the fact that people were optimistic and inspired by various new advances in science and technology, troubling, depressing events shook the peace of Europe. When WWI struck, science was used, shockingly for many, to destroy cities and part families, resulting in devastating effects. Although Sigmund Freud did not take part in fighting, he observed returning soldiers suffering from trauma and pain, and this altered his views on the basic human instinct: that humans are basically evil by nature and that the self-destructive aggressive drive was just as important as the sexual. He came up with the ‘death wish’—the wish to eliminate and kill rivals. After WWI came the rise of Hitler’s Nazism, during which Freud’s family was captured, his books censored, and his ideas criticized—partly because he was Jewish. Because of this, he proposed that violent behavior and wars were the causes of psychological problems. Overall, these historical aspects directly influenced Freud’s pessimistic views on behavior.

To understand Freud’s theories regarding human behavior, the historical and cultural context of Freud’s experiences and surroundings must be considered. It has led him to develop thoughtful, positive and negative ideas about human instinct and the conflicts of the mind, and the basic psychodynamic ideas that modern psychologists nowadays in the twenty-first century still research on. Although he has shocked the Victorian society and brought taboo ideas into a repressed culture, Sigmund Freud is remembered by his introspective theories and will be for many years to come.

-- yuki