Lesson 1: Psychology – A Look into the Past

3 - Sigmund Freud: World Renown Psychologist

Sigmund Freud was a brilliant scientist, physician, psychologist, and psychoanalyst who lived in Vienna, Austria, from 1856 until the onset of World War II. He has been credited with contributing more to psychological thought than any other person in the 20th century.

A few of his basic theories are commonly known to the lay person as well.

Sigmund Freud, Psychologist

Freud wanted to be a scientist, but because he needed a substantial salary to support his large family, he took up the practice of medicine. As a medical man, he was concerned with the treatment and cure of mental disorders. Freud developed the theory of psychoanalysis to treat the nervous disorders of his patients. Psychoanalysis is based on the theory of personality that states that unconscious thoughts and desires determine a person’s attitudes and behaviours. Psychoanalysis used a variety of valuable techniques to obtain information from the unconscious mind. This data could then be examined and any conflicts with the ideas could be resolved, restoring the person’s mental health. This was not easy because many of the conflicts result from early childhood experiences.

From Freud’s view, our conscious mind is fully aware of the circumstances of our everyday lives and makes important decisions about appropriate behaviour we should follow. The unconscious mind contains information, memories, and emotions that we are not aware of, but they have a direct affect on our lives just the same. Sometimes the effect of data from the unconscious mind can be very disturbing. Freud believed that the unconscious mind was much larger in scope than the conscious mind. To compare the conscious and unconscious mind, he used the iceberg analogy. Only the tip of the iceberg shows above the surface of the water; underneath and out of sight is a huge expanse of ice. That makes an iceberg so dangerous; its great bulk is not visible. Likewise, the conscious mind represents only a small part of the person as well.

Do not confuse Freud’s ideas of the unconscious mind with the serious medical condition of being unconscious or in a coma. Freud believed the mind of every individual has an unconscious component.

Between the conscious and the unconscious mind was a transition zone known as the preconscious. Generally people are not fully aware of information in the preconscious, but with some effort and concentration, they may be able to become aware of it. For example, what did you do last Thursday? You may not remember immediately. But if you are able to work backward day by day, and are given a few clues to help you, you might be able to recall much of the information. This data is stored in the preconscious.  All kinds of data are stored in the preconscious mind and can be moved into the conscious mind with a little effort.

Now we are faced with a tough question: How can the unconscious mind be investigated and treated for mental disorders if we do not understand what is in the unconscious mind? One of the first methods Freud used was hypnosis, which is like an artificially induced state of sleep in which the person’s eyes are closed and he or she is deeply relaxed. In the drowsy state of hypnosis, many forgotten memories come back to the person.

Eventually Freud decided to explore other methods for getting to the unconscious mind. One technique he encouraged his patients to use was free association. This is also known as “talking out” because the patient relaxed and discussed personal problems while Freud listened and tried to find a pattern in what was said. Word association is used by psychologists to get the patient through obstacles blocking the memory. The psychologist says a series of words and watches for unusual responses that indicates problem areas. For example, bedtime —punishment would be considered an abnormal grouping of ideas. Sometimes with free association, Freud was able to go back to some of the patient’s earliest memories that led him to clues pointing to the person’s maladjustments later in life. Free association proved to be a useful instrument for psychoanalysis or treating disorders of the unconscious mind. Freud believed that practically all neurotic disturbances had their origin in some sexual experience that often occurred very early in life, sometimes even in infancy.

Freud eventually turned to a third method of gaining information from the unconscious mind — dream interpretation.

Freud argued that there is a reasonable cause and a valid explanation for all dreams; they are not just night-time fantasies. People experience a variety of sensations during their everyday lives such as pain, noise, cold, and/or hunger. The dream has its origins in the person’s mind, particularly in the emotions. When the person is in the relaxed state of sleep, all of the ideas and emotions experienced during the day’s activities are expressed in dreams. According to Freud, every dream results from an unfulfilled wish of some kind. We do not always dream what we wish for in a literal or actual sense; rather, our dreams are usually disguised in some form or another. Dreams are often altered in some way if we believe our real wishes are either too evil or too naughty to be acceptable.

For example, you might get into an argument with a parent or a friend. You feel guilty about the situation. Because this confrontation is full of emotional turmoil, you may dream about it. Instead of being angry with the person (in your dreams), you see them caught up in an embarrassing but harmless situation to repay for arguing with you.