Sigmund Freud
Psychosexual Theory
Tell me what you know about Freud’s
theory.
Why is it called psychosexual?
What does Freud mean when he talks about
Infantile Sexuality?
What is biological determinism?
Who were Freud’s patients?
Freud’s Assumptions
Energy is neither created nor destroyed -
ONLY transformed
Human Nature has energetic qualities ---
libido
Infants are born with a fixed amount of
energy
The Dynamic System
-- Psychic Energy
Good – Eros
Bad -- Thanatos
Structural System
Id -- Unconscious --
pleasure, irrational
Ego -- Preconscious –
reality, reason and sanity
Superego -- Conscious --
conscience, moral reasoning
Sequential System
Oral - incorporate outside world
Anal - acquisition of personal power and control
Phallic - development of sex role
Latent - hidden, reorganization
Genital - puberty
Too much or too little? Come on
Freud make up your mind.
Id – oral
What do you look like when our
suitcase contains oral?
Smokers,
Fingernail biters
Gossipers
Overeaters
Rumor spreaders
Potty training, what’s the big deal?
Anal
What do we look like when our suitcase
contains effects of Anal?
The odd couple.
Phallic, why do I love and hate my
parents?
Opposite sex parent love
Same sex parent competition, fear, hate.
Learn sex role through competition
What about our suitcase here?
We are attracted to those who have the same
qualities as our opposite parent
Latency, how am I doing
next to my friends?
Comparing my newly developed sex role to that of my
peers
First time outside the family
Hidden and underground
What’s the effect on our suitcase?
Supermale, superfemales. We don’t ever assume a role
that is counter to our own gender.
Genital, why am I having such
difficulty with my mother?
Connect with the opposite sex
Expressing energy toward that group
For the first time Freud’s theory is actually
PsychoSEXUAL.
What about our suitcase here?
I’ve got to throw off my mother, already in my
suitcase so that I can express my energies to
“Barbara.”
Freud’s Methods of Study
Free Association – tell me what that means to you
Projective Tests – Ink blot tests
Dream Interpretation – Manifest and Latent
Hypnosis – early but abandoned due to false memories of
the id.
Defense Mechanisms
Protection for the fragile ego.
Repression – I forgot my wife’s name
Regression – I want my kids to enjoy
the same games I played.
Projection – I want to have an affair, I
project these feelings to my wife
Reaction Formation – I’m jealous of my
wife’s attention to our newborn. I’ll be
overprotective.
Displacement – usually in dreams.
So What do you think of Freud
Now?
Was he fixated on sex?
Does his theory help to explain behavior?
Do you live your life by any of Freud’s
principles?
How could Freud’s theory help you better
understand your students?