His work on sexuality and perversions led to the wider theory of sexuality whereby he differentiated the sexual aim (the desire for pleasure) and the object (the person or thing used to fulfil the desire). He asserted that sexuality is more than just genital copulation between adults and this work is the background to his theory on infantile sexuality. He emphasised particular erogenous zones as being of primary importance at different stages of infancy. Each stage impacts in three significant ways: physical focus where the child’s energy may be concentrated and their gratification obtained; psychologically through demands being made of the child by the outside world as he or she develops – either doing too much or not enough of what is ideal;
This essay will also look at the role of women and homosexuality and discuss whether Freud’s views where based on a cultural prejudice when he devised the psychosexual theory. Freud’s theory of psychosexual development. Freud’s theory of psychosexual development was devised in the late 19th century and was tested and researched on middle class, Viennese women. Freud believed that in order to understand a client’s presenting issue then we would need to look into their childhood to establish why the client was suffering neuroses. Freud believed that it was possible to link the psychosexual stages of development with adult neuroses.
The psychodynamic approach to abnormality assumes that adult behaviour reflects complex dynamic interactions between the conscious and unconscious processes, many of which have their origin in development from birth onwards. There are many approaches, all of which have their origins in the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud dedicated his life to the investigation of the human mind, particularly repressed material during hypnosis and the interaction between conscious and unconscious. Elements of the psychodynamic approach include, The structure of personality and psychosexual development. The structure of personality, this is something Freud said was made up of three interacting elements.
Sigmund Freud was the first to challenge the view that mental disorders were caused by physical illness and proposed that psychological factors were responsible for the illness. The psychodynamic approach highlights the importance of the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences. Psychodynamic psychologist’s attempt to deal with the mental health issues of their patients by incorporating these ideas and creating therapies using these ideas. The basic concept behind psychoanalysis is that a patient that suffers from mental health problems such as depression can address any regressed feelings thus, the patient gains insight of and can learn to work through their emotional baggage. It is a generalised concept that if the cause of the symptoms were tackled it would only be logical that the symptoms would then cease.
In The Three Essays, Freud outlines his theory of libido. Freud believed that sexuality was a key component of childrens’ development and that we develop in stages as our sexual energy shifts around the body. Looking at children, Freud claimed that a number of practices which looked innocuous, but were really forms of sexual activity (thumb-sucking being a primary example). The Essays also include the concepts of penis envy, castration anxiety and Oedipus Complex. It is the aim of this essay to explore Freuds’ argument for a psychodynamic perspective on development; establishing whether there is indeed evidence that child development can be linked to sexual urges, particularly an unconscious level.
To what extent does Freud’s theory of psychosexual development help us to understand the way that a persons personality develops in relation to their childhood experiences? Psychologist Sigmund Freud did various researches into psychosexual development. While doing research into the physical symptoms of hysteria on women, he discovered talking to patients helped them to relax, thus aiding their physical symptoms. While talking to his patients, it became apparent that a recurring theme was talk of sexual abuse in their childhood. This resulted in Freud doing further research into psychosexual development and caused Freud to believe that personality develops through a series of childhood stages.
3. Personality is shaped by the manner in which children cope with sexual urges. According to psychoanalytic theory, personalities arise because of attempts to resolve conflicts between unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses and societal demands to restrain these impulses. The Iceberg Theory The metaphor of an iceberg helps in the understanding of Freud's topographical theory. Only a small amount 10% of the iceberg is visible (conscious awareness) whereas the other 90% is beneath the water made up of subconscious and the unconscious.
Of the different theories of Lifespan Development, Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory and Erik Erikson's theory of Psychosocial Development are among the key theories of Lifespan Development (Berger, 2008). Like one another, together they search inside at inner divergences and diverge into the humans ability to manage internal drive and moments of crisis. Within Freud's theory, human behavior begins with the subconscious crisis and drive. He constructed three steps in child development that include "oral, anal, and phallic," and finished that reaction of parents creates a large influence on personality and lifespan development (Berger, 2008). Freud's idea, he illustrated that the body parts (oral, anal, and phallic) to have a erotic nature (Berger, 2008).
In 1905, Sigmund Freud proposed that psychological development in childhood takes place in a series of fixed stages. These stages are called psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido (sexual drives or instincts) on different areas of the body. As a person grows physically certain areas of their body become more important as sources of potential frustration, pleasure or both. Freud believed that life was built around tension and pleasure. Freud also believed that all tension was due to the built up of sexual energy and that all pleasure came from its discharge.
In late pre-school years a child then develops what is called asuperego, or simply put, a conscience. At this stage values are internalized, andthe intricate connection between the id, ego, and superego ensues. The superegocomes into account when the id and ego desire to be expressed. In order for thechild to successfully continue developing, Freud believed that at each stage oflife, tension need be expelled. This was possible through pleasure of differentorgans of the body including the mouth, anus, and genitalia.