Freud’s Theory of Personality Essay

Sigmund Freuds theory of character is both relevant and non-relevant in todays society. His theory of instinct is genuinely important as a foundation for soul gentle thought and behavior. Freud looked beyond the effects of behavior and explored the unconscious(p). He significantly changed the management the world views behavior by explaining certain levels of consciousness, the components of the unconscious mind, and disparate nurtureal phases. Freud believed that m all of our conscious thoughts and actions ar motivated by unconscious fears and desires.Sigmund Freud is go around known for his climbment and use of psychoanalysis. The theory of psychoanalysis focuses on the belief of how our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and emotions play an active role in our daily lives. The id, ego, and superego argon the three mental zones and each has a specific function. The id functions on the fun principle the ego on the security measure of the individual and the superego on pro tection of society. Every individual is composed of different amounts of each mental zone. The last-ditch goal is to achieve the perfect balance of the three aras by understanding how each works alone and contributes to make the whole. The basis of psychoanalysis is that the unconscious mind determines behavior.One of the biggest concerns in Freuds psychoanalytic theory is the unfitness to explain behavior in our modern culture. Freud lived in an era where women were believed to be inferior to men. Freud based his theories on his case studies and direct observations. These observations had limitations because his subjects were Viennese u women a small portion of society. He focused mainly on the manly development as he was use of a male dominated era which led to half of the populations development being insufficiently accounted for. Freud lacked anunderstanding of women which suggests that his theories involving women are not accurate. The prevalence of same-sex parents repro duction children in homosexual homes or single-parent households raises questions that psychoanalysis fails to answer and is not relevant in todays society.Freudian theory suggests that as children develop they progress through a series of psychosexual poses. Each stage has a pleasure-seeking energy that is focused on a different part of the body. The successful completion of each stage leads to a healthy personality as an adult. However, if a conflict remains unresolved at any limited stage, the individual expertness remain fixated or stuck at that particular point of development. A fixation can involve an obsession with something think to that phase of development. Signs of an oral fixation might include an excessive creed on oral behaviors such as smoking, biting fingernails or eating.In these modern times, there are over 45 million Americans who take and based on Freuds theory it is a direct return of the way a child went through the teething phase. The idea that a paren t who let their child teeth for in addition long could somehow lead to an individual developing an oral fixation is something that has lost credibleness and not relevant today. There are millions of smokers in the United States and very rarely does the blame rest upon the parents who left their kids with a pacifier for too long.Defense mechanisms are a major aspect of psychoanalysis and are relevant in todays society. When someone seems unwilling to type a painful truth, you might accuse them of being in self-abnegation. When a person tries to look for a logical explanation for unacceptable behavior, you might suggest that they are rationalizing. These things represent different types of defense mechanisms, or maneuver that the ego uses to protect itself from anxiety. Today we recognize denial as the starting and foremost defense mechanism which helps professionals understand an individuals denial of addictions such as drugs/alcohol, gambling, and shopping.In conclusion, the pr ofession of psychology would not be where it is today without Sigmund Freud. His contributions to psychology are perhaps some of the most important. Freuds early work on psychoanalysis as a treatment fora sick mind paved the way for modern-day psychologists, psychiatrists, theorists, and analysts who are developing this treatment even further. However, he based his theories on events that were max to his time period. In todays society we have different stressors and live different lifestyles than those living in the 19th and early twentieth centuries. They did not know road rage, chemical explosions, pollution, etc. Some changes to deal out are focusing on the development of women, study of homosexual and single-parent households, novelty of ethnicities/cultures, and environmental concerns just to name a few.ReferencesFeist, J., Feist, G., & Roberts, T. (2013). Theories of personality. (8ed., p.19). New York, NY McGraw-Hill Companies. Lothane, Z. (2006). Freuds legacyis it stil l with us? Psychoanalytic Psychology, 23(2), 285-301. doi10.1037/0736-9735.23.2.285 Psychoanalysis. (2013). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, sixth Edition, 1-2.