Personality Theorist Paper

Running head: PERSONALITY THEORIST PAPER

Personality Theorist Paper – Sigmund Freud

Oct 14, 2007


Personality Theorist Paper
This paper will examine Sigmund Freud and will delve into his Psychoanalytic Theories This paper will discuss Sigmund Freud’s school of thought, his contributions to the field of personality psychology and will further discuss occurrences in Sigmund Freud’s lifetime that may have influenced his perspectives.
School of thought
Sigmund Freud is well known for his Psychoanalytic school of thought. “This school of thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego” (Van Wagner, 2007, p. 1).
While now common to assume that Freud was alone with this school of thought, this is untrue, “In the latter part of the nineteenth century many men reared in Vienna or other leading European cities were trained in medicine and steeped in the tradition of physiological psychology, but Freud alone went on to practice neurology, then to use hypnotherapy with hysterics, and finally to invent psychoanalysis” (Hunt, 1993, p. 175).
Freud’s school of thought is based upon conflicts during childhood, with specific conflicts to overcome at each stage of psychosexual development and solving the conflict between the id, ego, and superego. The principals of his theories included pleasure principle and the Death Principle and the notion that all behavior is goal-directed.
Individual’s contributions to the field of psychology of personality
Freud is one of the best known psychologists of his day. Terms such as repression, self, the later theory (id, ego, superego), the Oedipus complex, neurosis and psychosis, transference and the unconscious to name a few, are attributed to his studies and work in psychology.
Occurrences during Freud’s lifetime that influenced perspectives
Freud was born in a small town and raised amongst siblings;... [continues]

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