Module 5

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist born in 1856, is often referred to as the “father of
modern psychology.” Freud revolutionized how we think about and treat mental health
conditions. Freud founded psychoanalysis as a way of listening to patients and better
understanding how their minds work.
Erogenous Zone – specific area that becomes the focus of pleasure
Fixation- results from failure to satisfy the needs of particular psychosexual stage.
Freud’s stages of Psychosexual Development
 Oral Stage - oral stage, in Freudian psychoanalytic theory, initial psychosexual stage
during which the developing infant's main concerns are with oral gratification. The oral
phase in the normal infant has a direct bearing on the infant's activities during the first
18 months of life.
 Anal Stage - The anal stage, in Freudian psychology, is the period of human
development occurring at about one to three years of age. Around this age, the child
begins to toilet train, which brings about the child's fascination in the erogenous zone of
the anus. The erogenous zone is focused on the bowel and bladder control.
 Phallic stage – The phallic stage is the third stage of psychosexual development,
spanning the ages of three to six years, wherein the infant’s libido (desire) centers upon
their genitalia as the erogenous zone.
 Latency stage- The latency stage is the forth stage of psychosexual development,
spanning the period of six years to puberty. During this stage the libido is dormant and
no further psychosexual development takes place
 Genital stage - the final stage in Freud's theory of psychosexual development and begins
in puberty. During this stage, the teenager has overcome latency, made associations
with one gender or the other, and now seeks out pleasure through sexual contact with
others.
Freud’s Personal Components
Freud proposed that the mind is divided into three components: id, ego, and superego, and
that the interactions and conflicts among the components create personality
Id ( internal desires )
Ego ( reality )
Superego ( conscience )
Topographical models
The unconscious – Freud believed that most of what influence us is unconscious.
The conscious – Freud said that all that we aware of is stored in our conscious mind.
The subconscious – In this part us that we can reach if prompted , but is not our active
conscious.