Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory and Existential Psychology Essay

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory and Existential Psychology - Essay Example Freud thinks that the human mind is made up of three components—the id, the ego, and the superego. Through his actual experience with mentally ill individuals, Freud realized that unconscious needs and childhood experiences determine behavioral patterns. From these observations, Freud created a theory that portrayed development in the form of psychosexual stages. Freud’s theory explains that as children grow or mature, they move through psychosexual stages. At every stage, the pleasure-oriented drive of the libido is concentrated on a specific body part. The effective completion of every stage results in a stable, strong personality later in life. But if a conflict stays unsettled at any specific stage, the person may stay absorbed or trapped at that specific developmental stage (Mitchell & Black 49). An obsession may arise. For instance, an individual with an ‘oral obsession’ is thought to be trapped at the oral developmental stage. Indications of an oral obsession may involve too much dependence on oral activities like eating or smoking (Cavell 214). Freud believes that conflicts in every stage can have a permanent impact on behavior and personality (Guntrip 33). ... Freud’s psychoanalytic theory had a massive influence on twentieth-century knowledge, influencing the field of psychology and mental health. Although a large number of his ideas are criticized or treated with skepticism nowadays, his impact on or contribution to psychology is unquestionable. Psychoanalytic theory was very influential at the time and until now. Those influenced by the ideas of Freud tried to expand his theory and create their own. The theories of Erik Erikson, who is considered a neo-Freudian, have been possibly the most widely recognized. Erikson’s psychosocial development stages explain change and progress all over the lifespan, placing emphasis on conflicts and social relations that emerge during each stage of development (Guntrip 29). One of the Freudian psychoanalytic concepts that was very influential was the structure of personality—the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the mind is composed of two major components—the unconscious and conscious. The unconscious part involves all those external to an individual’s awareness, such as memories, impulses, desires, and aspirations that reside outside the awareness but keep on affecting behavior. On the contrary, the conscious part involves those things that an individual is aware of (Mitchell & Black 48). Freud thinks that the mind is like an iceberg. The visible part of the iceberg, which is the tip, comprises only a small fraction of the mind, while the massive portion of submerged ice embodies the much bigger unconscious part. Besides these two key portions of the mind, Freud classifies human personality into three key parts—the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the basic component of personality that