Psychology

Sigmund Freud is considered as a pioneer in the field of psychodynamics which is the study of the human behavior based on the conscious and unconscious psychological forces. Freud emphasized that there is a psychological energy existing in the brain which underlies the psychological processes. Freud applied the law of dynamics to the human personality which he considered similar to an energy system. The theory is based on the belief that human personality is a function of the transformations, exchanges, modifications and conversions of energy within the personality. Freud has particularly stressed on the role of unconscious in influencing human behavior though humans are unaware of that. This unconscious refers to the thoughts, drives and feelings which influence his behavior and shape his personality. It is on this concept of unconsciousness that his theories are mostly based (Jarvis, 2003).

Freuds drive model is based on the belief that there are certain drives and motivations which force humans to exhibit certain behavior in order to satisfy the need. He considered man as an animal which is motivated by drives and instincts. The drive model says that there are two basic drives shaping human behavior sex and aggression and the source of these drives is mainly the unconscious.

According to Freudian theory there are three distinctive parts to a human personality which give rise to the psychological processes in the brain. The first part is id which represents the physical or biological needs whose fulfillment provides energy to the human body. Examples of this need include hunger, thirst, sex etc. Freud describes this part to be selfish and amoral since it aims to attain maximum pleasure and avoid pain.

The second part is Ego which represents the conscious mind of the human personality governed by his thoughts, judgments and memories. Ego is at the heart of the human personality since it enables one to make sense of the world around while balancing the desires of the id, superego and external world. It strives to attain a balance between passion and reality. The ego makes use of the defense mechanisms to overcome the conflict between id and the superego. For example, denial is used for denying the source of conflict or anxiety, repression is used to make the anxiety dormant by banishing it, reaction formation is thinking the opposite to overcome the conflict and displacement occurs when the anxiety is moved from one object to another. Other mechanisms include regression, projection, rationalization, sublimation, intellectualization etc (Cervone  Pervin, 2007).

The last part is the Superego which represents the society ideals and conscientious behavior. It is also called the voice of conscience. This is in contrast to id which emphasizes pleasure over society rules while superego emphasizes social acceptable behavior and often stands against the desires of id (Jarvis, 2003).

These three parts to a human personality are interrelated and govern the psychological processes in a human mind. The psychic energy underlying these processes converts itself from one form to another as one progress through the stages of development. Freud stressed the fact that childhood experiences play a critical role in shaping ones personality where he undergoes through different psychosexual stages from birth to puberty. If the needs of a child are unmet or overindulgence occurs during any of the stages then it affects his or her personality.

The first one is the oral stage which lasts for about 18 months deriving satisfaction by focusing on the mouth. This need is satisfied when the mother feeds a child through the mouth. A child becomes frustrated if this need is not satisfied or may become extremely optimistic and gullible if the need is overly satisfied. Next is the anal stage which lasts for another 2 years where the focus is on the erogenous zone of the anus and satisfaction derived through expulsion or retention of feces. The child who derives satisfaction from expulsion becomes careless and disorganized while the one deriving satisfaction from retention of feces becomes orderly and organized. From the age of 3 to 6 is the phallic stage where the child derives pleasure by focusing on his genitals. During this stage the child feels love for his opposite sex parent which also becomes sexual. Those who deal with this conflict successfully at this stage become resilient and assured while those who are incapable of doing so become afraid and lose confidence. This is followed by the latency period in which sexual drives are repressed. Finally puberty is reached with the genital stage and once again the sexual instincts are aroused and the child desires relationship with the opposite sex. A child develops normal relationships if he devotes less psychic energy to the unresolved conflicts.  Conflicts arising during these stages affect a childs personality that is also shaped for his adulthood (Cervone  Pervin, 2007).

Thus, the psychodynamic theory of Freud helps a person to understand his personality which is basically a function of the psychic energy and unconscious desires acting within the personality. To sum up, Freud believed that human mind is a place of conscious and unconscious wishes, desires, motivations and needs whose satisfaction determines human personality.