Union County CollegeDepartment of PsychologyProfessor Thaddeus R. Tharney

Overview of Psychoanalytic Theory

Introduction

It is difficult, if not impossible, to understand any other developmental theories (or theircorresponding models of psychological functioning), without first assimilating andunderstanding Sigmund Freud’s theory, and his model of “

psychodynamics

”.All subsequent “

psychodynamic theories

” were strongly influenced by Freud’s work,and their views can be seen as modifications, expansions, or revisions of Freud’s earlierwork. The “Learning Theory” and “

Phenomenological

” models are based on attempts toaddress the shortcomings and criticism of “Psychoanalytic Theory”.In the fields of personality psychology, developmental psychology, and abnormalpsychology, no other individual has stimulated more interest, critical thought, scholarlyactivity, and more clinical research, that Sigmund Freud.Freud used structural, developmental, and motivational constructs to describe thecomplexity of human personality functioning. Many of the developmental theorists, thatwill be discussed later, focus their criticism, elaborations, modifications or revisions of Freud’s work on one or more of these constructs.It is important for the beginning student in developmental psychology to distinguishbetween these types of constructs and thus appreciate how Freud relied on a complexintegration of all three in order to explain personality development and psychologicalfunctioning. The psychoanalytic approach to personality assumes that ones personality is the endproduct of its own history; that past acquisitions continue to effect further psychologicaldevelopment; that study of the development of each aspect of the personality canprovide information about man that cannot be obtained in any other way; and thatpersonality develops in distinct “stages”.Freud’s theory also states that in both normal and abnormal development, the majorcharacteristics of personality are permanently established in early childhood, througheach child’s pleasures and frustrations in various developmental stages.Freud used the term “

fixations

” to refer to childish traits that become permanentfeatures of one’s later personality. These fixations result form the stunting of growth, as aresult of either excessive frustrations or excessive indulgence of a child’s needs, during aparticular phase of development. Reverting (either temporary or long term) to earlier,more childish, immature, or more primitive forms of thought, expressions or behavior, isreferred to as “

regression

”.According to Freud, certain regions of the body, at particular times, are of prominentpsychological significance, and so are the specific pleasures that result from thesatisfaction of needs associated with these regions which he referred to as “

erogenouszones

” of the body.Healthy gratification of these needs leads to normal development, while either indulgenceof too much frustration leads to fixation. The result of fixation is a particular type of character which can be identified by a set of traits or a “

personality syndrome

”. Everyperson can be described by one or more of these character types, and depending onwhich traits assume a dominant role, whether the person will be normal or abnormal.Freud also believed that sexual instincts strongly influenced the development of personality and emotionality, and therefore, he spoke of human development in terms of “

Psychosexual Stages

”. It should be noted, however, that Freud equated “sexuality”with any “

sensual

” pleasure (i.e., thus using the term “

sexuality

” in a much moregeneral way that it is commonly used). In addition to survival, sexuality is the other majormotive in life.

Crazy Joe’s Psych 101 Notes IIProf. T.R. Tharney: PSY101

Handout 4

pp. 1

Freud’s developmental theory emphasizes the animalistic nature of the child. Hecontended that the child is more animal than human. Sensual interest, concerns andexperiences and pleasures almost completely occupy the physical and psychologicalfunctioning of the infant and child. The “more human processes” such as higher mental functioning, more complexemotional states, learned interest, acquired attitudes, and the skills of social andinterpersonal functioning, are not yet present.Freud held that all of child’s needs (including the need for loving care) are sensual (i.e.,sexual), and therefore, the child is viewed as a highly sexual (sensual) animal, much likebeast of the wild.Freud related the needs and functions of the child to the “erogenous zones” of the body:the oral region, the anal region, and the genital region.Consider, from a Freudian perspective, the nature of the physical stimulation andsatisfaction that infants and children receive: feeding, changing, bathing, touching,rocking, patting, hugging, kissing, and physical movement and manipulation of the body.While Freud also recognized the more typical types of learning (such as conditioning,associative learning, and even insight learning), he did not choose to address or addanything to these concepts, but adhere to his original developmental concepts (some of which may be considered lea

ning principles) as a way of emphasizing that we must notforget that man is fundamentally animal, and that man’s “animal tendencies” should notbe forgotten or rejected as “foreign” to human beings.

Crazy Joe’s Psych 101 Notes IIProf. T.R. Tharney: PSY101

Handout 4

pp. 2

Developmental Constructs

Freud’s growth model of development states that in the normal developmental processthere is continuing growth and development in personality and character, so that theadult is distinctly different from the child.In this view, traits and characteristics acquired in infancy and early childhood becomepermanent features of one’s personality, and once these personality components areestablished, they are highly resistant to change.While much of the personality and character structure are formed by the age of five or sixyears, it must also be noted that the full development of the personality continuesthrough young adulthood.Specific traits and characteristics, whether normal or abnormal, are formed during each of Freud’s proposed five “Psychosexual Stages” and therefore the mature personalityrequires adequate development during all the stages (including the last stage). Therefore, the point is that although much of one’s personality is formed early in life,mature heterosexuality most certainly doesn’t occur in a six year old child.Freud believed that human personality develops is distinct stages early in life, and isoften criticized for his strict “determinism” (his belief that personality becomes fixed inchildhood years and cannot be changed b learning or maturation); and his failure toconsider significant changes in the adult personality (other that by means of therapeuticintervention).Freud’s developmental stages include the Oral Stage, the Anal Stage, the Phallic Stage,the Latency Stage, and the Genital Stage.In his view, first impressions and earliest experiences make the strongest impressionsbecause they cannot be compared to previous experiences. These “prototypic” experiences are the most outstanding, complete, and perfectexamples of something (i.e., people, situations, things, or events). Therefore, the purestform of anxiety (an utter sense of apprehension, isolation, and helplessness), the purestform of fear (utter dread and sense of terror), would occur early in life because the youngchild has not developed any defenses against such overwhelming emotions, and hasnothing to compare such experiences to. Thus, early in childhood, emotions are not under control; motive and needs reach highintensities; perceptions are easily distorted; cognitive elaboration and rational evaluationhave not yet developed; utilization of “defense mechanism” to facilitate adjustment is notyet possible; and the ability to control environmental circumstances and inner psychicreactions are still lacking.All of these factors make the early years of life difficult and extremely significant inemotional growth, personality development, and character formation.