Sigmund Freud

Biography and Contributions

to the Understanding
of the “Self”

GE1-E GROUP J
Amante
Baylosis
Daena
de la Fuente
 SHORT BIOGRAPHY
● Austrian neurologist; Creator of
Psychoanalysis
● Born May 6, 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia
● Married Martha Bernays in 1886
○ Had six children: including Anna
Freud
● First public appearance outside Vienna:
Presenting his views at Clark University,
Massachusetts in 1909
● Died in 1923 due to jaw cancer (aged 67)
 SHORT BIOGRAPHY

● Spent full life in Vienna

● Was spared from German invasion
due to his fame, but burnt his books
throughout Germany
● 1939, Freud and his wife escaped to
England
● Enrolled at medical school at
University of Vienna 1973
 SHORT BIOGRAPHY
● 1882, worked as clinical assistant at
Vienna’s Gen. Hospital
○ Teachers: Theodor Meynert and
Hermann Nothnagel
● 1885, accomplished study on the
medulla of the brain
● Josef Breuer: acquaintance who had
great influence on Freud
○ Hypnosis or the “talking cure”
 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
UNDERSTANDING OF “SELF”
● Established the psychoanalytic theory of
personality formation
○ Emphasizes the significance of
unconscious psychological tensions
in forming behavior and personality
● Three essential elements of human mind
○ Id
○ Ego
○ Superego
● Criticism: Single concentration on
sexuality as the primary engine of human
personality development
 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
UNDERSTANDING OF “SELF”
● ID
○ preoccupied with the immediate
satisfaction of basic bodily demands
and impulses
● SUPEREGO
○ concerned with social standards and
morality
● EGO
○ the intellectual, pragmatic aspect of
our psyche
○ Freud’s “Self”; balancing the id and
superego demands in the practical
context of reality
 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
UNDERSTANDING OF “SELF”
● Conflicts between the id, ego, and
superego alters through maturation
● Conflicts go through Five
Fundamental Stages
○ Oral Stage
○ Anal Stage
○ Phallic Stage
○ Latency Stage
○ Genital Stage
 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
UNDERSTANDING OF “SELF”
● ORAL STAGE
○ Birth to 18 months
○ A newborn derives the majority of
their pleasure through their lips
● ANAL STAGE
○ One to three years of age
○ Interest in the anus’ erogenous zone
● PHALLIC STAGE
○ Three to six years of age
○ Focused on genitalia as erogenous
zone
 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
UNDERSTANDING OF “SELF”
● LATENCY STAGE
○ Six years of age to puberty
○ No further psychosecual
development occurs; learning of new
skills
● GENITAL STAGE
○ Teen years to twenties
○ Sexual exploration; Heterosexual
pleasure, not self-pleasure
 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
UNDERSTANDING OF “SELF”
● His concept was dubbed the
“Psychosexual Theory of Development”
○ Each stage was tied to a particular
bodily center of pleasure
● Settling the internal conflicts, or stages,
impacts future ability to cope/operate as
an adult
● Failure to resolve a stage leads to fixation
on that stage
QUOTES ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE “SELF”
QUOTES ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE “SELF”
QUOTES ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE “SELF”
References
● Jay, M. Evan (2021, October 1). Sigmund Freud. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sigmund-Freud
● Cherry, K. (2021, March 22). Sigmund Freud's Life and Contributions to Psychology. Verywell Mind. Retrieved
from https://www.verywellmind.com/sigmund-freud-biography-1856-1939-2795544
● Bradford, A. (2016, May 16). Sigmund Freud: Life, Work & Theories. livescience.com. Retrieved from
https://www.livescience.com/54723-sigmund-freud-biography.html
● Psychodynamic Perspectives on Personality. LumenLearning. Retrieved from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/psychodynamic-perspectives-on-personality/
● Mcleod, S. (2019). Freud's 5 Stages of Psychosexual Development | Simply Psychology. Simplypsychology.org.
Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychosexual.html
● Davidson, N. (2022, January 7). Best Sigmund Freud quotes of all time - Thriveworks. Thriveworks. Retrieved
from https://thriveworks.com/blog/best-sigmund-freud-quotes/