Freudian Concepts

Siegmund Freud, the father of modern Psychology, is a very importance theorist. You may not agree with his work, but you need to know about it. He is one of the most written about and quoted scientists of his generation.

Freud was born in Austria and did most of his work there, although he later lived and died in London. His home in London (in Hampstead) is now a museum to his work and life.

Freud is so important because he came up with a number of key theories:

• The human mind can be separated into conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious.
• Humans are driven by the 'pleasure principle'
• Personality is made up of 3 parts - id, ego and superego
• Ego defence mechanisms are created to protect the ego
• We all go through a series of psychosexual stages of development - the oral, anal, genital, latent and puberty. What happens to us in these stages determines the kind of personality we develop.
• If we are frustrated or over-indulged (spoilt) during any stage of development, this can affect our personalities.

So what have I missed out and what do you think of Freud's theories? How plausible are they and just how useful are they more than one hundred years after Freud was working?

What do you think of Freud? What do you find complicated or confusing?