Psychosexual Theory

FREUD'S MOTIVATIONAL THEORY OF

PERSONALITY

Dr
Hanaa Mabrouk Ahmed
• The best known theory of personality
developed from the work of Sigmund Freud, a
Viennese physician. In his theory Freud put
emphasis on the concept of mental illness and
the use of psychotherapy to try to help people
with problems.
• A theory of personality emerged from Freud's
attempts to develop successful therapy
techniques.
 The Structure of Personality

• The id. According to Freud, the id is the most

primitive or instinctive part of personality. The
id operates according to the pleasure
principle, that is seeking pleasure and avoiding
pain regardless of societal beliefs or restraints.
This means actions generated predominantly
by me id are likely to be unsuppressed or
restricted. (The behavior of young children
often shows id control).
• The ego. In Freud's approach to personality,
the ego is the problem- solving part of
personality, which operates according to the
reality principle. The ego seeks pleasure and
avoids pain in rational ways that society
approves. The ego thus seems to take
demands of the id and determines how to
satisfy them in an acceptable manner.
• The superego. The third component of
personality, according to Freud, is the
superego. The superego reminds the person
of what would be ideal behaviors and what
behaviors are totally unacceptable. The
Conscience is found in the superego.
Stages of Development of Personality
• Freud proposed that the development of personality
advanced through several psychosexual stages. In each of
those stages, the libidinal energy found a particular focus If
the individual progressed through each stage without
serious difficulties, a mature adult expression of libidinal
energy could eventually be achieved. However,
disturbances in the form of frustration or excessive
gratification during one of the stages could lead to fixation
at that stage, meaning that some of the libidinal energy of
the adult would have to be used to satisfy responding
appropriate to that stage rather than responding
appropriate for an adult. A truly adult pattern of
personality reflects the successful completion of each of
the stages.
The oral stage (0-12 month):
• The first psychosexual stage is called the oral
stage. Libidinal energy centers around oral
activities, particularly feeding and weaning.
This stage lasts from birth into the second year
of life. Fixation at this stage means that a high
level of oral activity may be shown by the
adult.
• EXAMPLE. Fixation at the oral stage may be.
represented by activities such as excessive
gum-chewing, fingernail biting, talking, or
eating. These behaviors are thought to occur
because the person either has been satisfied
too much during the oral stage or because the
person has not had enough satisfaction during
the stage.
 The anal stage (1-3 years
• ). The anal stage is the second psychosexual
stage, where the focus of libidinal energy centers
around the external conflicts created for a child
who is being toilet trained. The way the parents
(or other significant adult) conduct toilet training
will affect adult personality characteristics.
Fixation at this stage may result in adult
difficulties with the given or withholding of love
approval, with stubbornness, and with conflicts
between neatness and sloppiness.
 The phallic stage (3-6 years).
• In the phallic stage, the source of libidinal
pleasure is in the genitalia. Characteristic
behaviors at this time include exploration of
the genitals, infantile masturbation, and
interest in the anatomical differences between
the sexes. Inability to achieve adult sexuality
and responsiveness may result from fixation at
this stage.
• Freud believed this was the period when what
he called the Oedipal complex (for boys) and
the Electra complex (for girls) had to be
resolved.
• Freud proposed that a child has sexual desires
for the parent of the opposite sex and feels
rivalry with the parent of the same sex.
However, fear of punishment causes the child
to identify with the parent of the same sex
and to adopt similar behaviors. According to
Freud, failure to complete this identification
process may result in incomplete gender
identity, difficulties in authority situation, or
homosexuality.
 The latency stage (6-12 years).
• At the end of the phallic stage (about the age
of 5 or 6), Freud believed the child entered a
latency stage,
• which means the psychosexual concerns no
longer existed. During this period, libidinal
energies are reduced dramatically.
 Adolescence and adulthood [Genital
stage]
• (12 - adulthood). With the onset of puberty, a
person goes into the final stage of
development. At this point, the libidinal
energies are rearoused, and the individual
attempts to achieve adult sexuality. If there
have been difficulties at earlier stages, the
giving and receiving of adult (mature) love
may be difficult or impossible to achieve.
• EXAMPLE. Suppose a person experiences
considerable frustration during the period of
toilet training. It is possible that the residual
fixation may cause the person to be stingy,
stubborn, or extremely fussy. All such
characteristics might prevail against the
mature expression of giving and receiving
love.
 Ego Defense Mechanisms

• Freud proposed mat actions or events that

offend the superego and do damage to one's
self-image result in anxiety in the ego. To keep
this damage and anxiety to a minimum, a
person develops and uses ego defense
mechanisms as a way of protecting the self.
Some examples of ego defense mechanisms
follow:
 Repression
• . The first step in all defense mechanisms ( and
thus the most prevalent of all) is repression,
when the individual "forgets" anxiety-
producing memories or keeps unacceptable
desires from surfacing in the conscious.
Sustained repression requires psychic energy,
so if the material repressed is especially
anxiety-producing, the individual may devote
a great deal of energy to it. This may result in
an abnormal personality pattern.
 Rationalization
• . A person who acts for a reason that is
considered unacceptable may account for that
action by claiming it was done for some other,
acceptable reason. A person who behaves in
this way is showing rationalization, the most
used defense mechanism after repression.
• EXAMPLE. Rationalization is sometimes
demonstrated when a person who reads a
pornographic magazine claims that he or she
is reading it because of its "great literary
content". Comparably, one person who
crushingly defeats another in a game of tennis
may claim to have done so in order to teach
the loser to cope with defeat, when in fact the
winner may . have done so in order to
increase his or her own sense of power
 Projection
• . People who attribute their own unacceptable
feelings to others are demonstrating
projection. Projection may allow the person to
express sentiments or beliefs that would
produce anxiety if they were accepted as his
or her own.
 Displacement
• . Displacement occurs when aggressive
reactions are directed toward some
"Innocent" stimulus rather than the one
actually producing anger. This is done because
direct attack upon the hostility- producing
stimulus is viewed as too stressful, and yet
relief is desired.
 Regression
• .A person who adopts an attitude that is
appropriate to a younger age level may be
showing regression. Adopting a more childlike
attitude may allow me person to avoid
responsibilities and yet not "lose face".
 Compensation
• Someone who feels deficient in some way may
defend himself or herself by emphasizing some
behavior that "covers up" me deficiency. This is
called compensation, and it may take two forms.
Using direct compensation, the person will
emphasize behaviors that are specifically meant
to be reactions to the felt deficiencies. Using
indirect compensation, the person will stress
behaviors that are associated with the felt
deficiency, but are rather substitutes.
 Criticisms of Freud's theory

• Freud constructs his theory on people with

mental illness or looked at things that people
should do to avoid becoming mentally ill. This
looking at illness rather than looking at illness.
Perspective limits the applicability f the theory
as a promotion of health measure.
Thanks