Man in psychoanalysis in the context of the theory of needs. Personality structure according to Freud. Basic provisions of the Freudian concept responsible for satisfying biological needs

For me personally, Freud's theory is of more antique than practical value. It does not satisfy Popper's scientific criterion and, therefore, is closer to religion. It is important because it was the first (it separated practical psychology from medicine and philosophy) and was very suitable for its time (Puritan society “without sex”).

The main book (The Interpretation of Dreams) was published in 1899, but Sigmund asked the publisher to print 1900 on the cover. Initially, the psychoanalytic society consisted of a small group of Jews who met every Wednesday to analyze their dreams. The first non-Jew among them was C. G. Jung, on whom hopes were pinned “to popularize psychoanalysis among other people.”

1. Personality structure

Observing the then popular method of treating people diagnosed with neurosis using hypnosis, Freud notes: the treatment itself is not very effective, but if a suggestion is given for a simple action + amnesia, then the person carries it out and even comes up with a reason why he did it.

Once upon a time, Bernheim suggested to his subject that after he was brought out of a hypnotic trance, he should take the umbrella of one of the guests, open it and walk twice back and forth on the veranda. Having woken up, this man took, as he was told, an umbrella. True, he did not open the umbrella, but he left the room and walked twice from end to end along the veranda, after which he returned to the room. When asked to explain his strange behavior, he replied that he was “breathing air,” insisting that he was in the habit of sometimes walking like that. But when he was then asked why he had someone else’s umbrella, he was extremely amazed and hastily took it to the hanger.

The next obvious step was the idea: inside we have something that manages our behavior and we we don't know about this since our brain later comes up with an explanation for the behavior (rationalization). Analyzing the stories of his patients, Freud noticed that most of them had sexy trauma or pent-up sexual fantasies (in fact, society then strongly suppressed open sexuality and it is clear that this became problem number one). Evil tongues say that even Sigmund’s father loved to help him as a child.

It was then that the original (topographical) model of consciousness/preconscious/unconscious was transformed into the famous It/I/Superego= Id/Ego/SuperEgo (in another translation). “I/Ego” is actually what I know about myself and perceive now, the thinking and planning part. “Superego/Superego” - moral attitudes brought up by society. And that very “It/Id” is the core of unconscious instinctual drives. It/I/Superego are not “three evil men inside us”, but names for various mental processes that obey systemic principles.

Freud was a staunch biological determinist and believed that society suppresses people who initially want to mate with each other and aggressively fight for it.

2. Personality dynamics

What motivates a personality

He considered the driving forces of humanity and a specific individual to be psychological energy, which he called Libido. Early Freud took sexual instinctual drives (Eros) for Libido and divided them into erogenous zones of the body. A little later he also added aggressive urges (death - Thanatos). These forces rush out from the depths of the personality, which gives rise to never ending conflict them with conscious control and cultural norms of behavior in society.

Stages/stages of personality development

Since he was the first, he could write anything. I won't even go into detail.

From birth, a person goes through five stages of psychosexual development. Freud's typology is based on the stage at which a person is stuck. A mature person is at the genital stage.

3. Practical application

Norms and pathology - a healthy personality

Libido always flows, creates tension/excitement: demands détente and if this does not happen (there are significant obstacles), then the anxiety, inability to cope with your arousal.

In order to reduce anxiety (there is a small typology of it), the EGO can use the so-called mental defense mechanisms, which . Any such mechanism is self-deception, as it distorts the perception of reality. The only useful mechanism is considered sublimation: directions of Libido towards the creation of socially useful actions (surgeons, butchers) and the development of culture (painters, actors). The basic mechanisms are crowding out: the transition of conscious anxiety into the unconscious. There it remains and makes itself felt in dreams, fantasies and slips of the tongue.

In addition, in childhood various complexes, especially the famous Oedipus complex (a boy's sexual desire for his mother). Psychoanalysis is huge - there’s just so much there.

Healthy man According to Freud, it combines the pleasure principle and the reality principle. That is, he accepts and always follows his instincts as much as the situation allows. The purpose of society is the public good, which, according to Freud, is to balance the chances of satisfying the desires of each of its members.

Working methods

Freud wrote down his dreams from early childhood. The psychoanalyst takes material from the patient from retellings of dreams, or from free associations - stream of consciousness. The main rule psychoanalysis: “the patient must speak All whatever comes into his head." Next, this is analyzed using fairly complex algorithms, and protective mechanisms are revealed. Freud believed that if you discover, bring to consciousness, the initial event of the emergence of any complex, then this complex disappears.

Additionally, during psychoanalysis there may be transfer: when the patient begins to treat the therapist as another person important to him. Revealing transferences is also part of therapy.

It has already become a meme how slowly psychoanalysis works: on average, from 10 to 20 years - they say that Freud believed that it was very desirable for patients to never leave their therapist. As always,

The great minds of our planet have been studying the structure of the human personality for many decades. But there are many different questions that scientists cannot answer. Why do people have dreams and what information do they carry? Why can events of past years cause a certain emotional state and provoke rash actions? Why does a person try to save a hopeless marriage and not let go of his half? In order to answer questions related to the topic of psychic reality, the technique of psychoanalysis is used. Freud's psychoanalytic theory is the main topic of this article.

The founder of psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud

The theory of psychoanalysis has made a real revolution in the field of psychology. This method was created and put into operation by the great scientist from Austria, doctor of psychiatry Sigmund Freud. Early in his career, Freud worked closely with many eminent scientists. Physiology professor Ernst Brücke, founder of the cathartic method of psychotherapy Joseph Breuer, founder of the theory of the psychogenic nature of hysteria Jean-Marais Charcot are just a small part of the historical figures with whom Sigmund Freud worked together. According to Freud himself, the peculiar basis of his method arose precisely at the moment of collaboration with the above-mentioned people.

While engaged in scientific activities, Freud came to the conclusion that some clinical manifestations of hysteria cannot be interpreted from a physiological point of view. How to explain the fact that one part of the human body completely loses sensitivity, while neighboring areas still feel the influence of various stimuli? How to explain the behavior of people in a state of hypnosis? According to the scientist himself, the above questions are a kind of proof of the fact that only a part of mental processes are a manifestation of central nervous system reactions.

Many people have heard that a person immersed in a hypnotic state can be given a psychological setting, which he will definitely fulfill. It is quite interesting that if you ask such a person about the motives for his actions, he can easily find arguments explaining his behavior. Based on this fact, we can say that human consciousness independently selects arguments for completed actions, even in cases where there is no particular need for explanations.

During the years of Sigmund Freud's life, the fact that human behavior can depend on external factors and motives secret to consciousness was a real shock. It should be noted that it was Freud who introduced such concepts as “unconsciousness” and “subconsciousness”.

Freud was the first person who, using the method of psychoanalysis, was able to cure a patient with a half-paralyzed body

What is the basis of psychoanalysis According to Freud, human mental nature is continuous and consistent.

. The appearance of any thoughts, desires and actions taken have their own reasons, which are characterized by unconscious or conscious motives. Thus, all actions performed have a direct reflection in the future of the individual.

Even in situations where emotional experiences seem unreasonable, there is a hidden connection between various events in human life.

• Based on the above facts, Freud came to the conclusion that the human psyche consists of three different areas:
• consciousness;
• unconscious sphere;

The unconscious sphere includes basic instincts that are an integral part of human nature.

This area also includes ideas and emotions that are repressed from consciousness. The reason for their repression may be the perception of such thoughts as prohibited, dirty and not worthy of existence. The unconscious area has no time frame. In order to explain this fact, it should be said that childhood experiences that enter the consciousness of an adult are perceived just as intensely as the first time.

1. The area of ​​preconsciousness includes part of the unconscious area, which in certain life situations becomes accessible to consciousness. The area of ​​consciousness contains everything that a person is aware of throughout his life. According to Freud's idea, the human psyche is driven by instincts and incentives that force an individual to perform various actions. Among all the instincts, 2 stimuli should be highlighted that have a dominant role:
2. Vital energy– libido.

Aggressive Energy

- death instinct.

1. The classical psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud is aimed largely at the study of libido, the basis of which is sexual nature. Libido is a vital energy that is closely related to human behavior, experiences and emotions. In addition, the characteristics of this energy can be interpreted as the cause of the development of mental disorders. Human personality contains three components:
2. "Super-ego"– Superego;
3. "I"– Ego;

"It"- Id.

This structure includes basic instincts and heredity. It cannot be described using logic, since “It” is characterized as disorganized and chaotic. It is important to note that the “It” has unlimited influence on the ego and superego. The topical model of the mental apparatus consists of 2 components: conscious and unconscious

"It" and "I", we should consider the example of sexual needs. “It” is a basic instinct, that is, the need for sexual contact. “I” determines under what conditions and when this contact will be realized. This means that “I” has the ability to restrain and control “It,” which is the key to internal psycho-emotional balance.

The “super-ego” originates in the “I” and is a kind of base where moral laws and rules are stored that limit the personality and prohibit certain actions.

According to Freud, the task of the superego includes the construction of ideals, introspection and conscience.

All of the above structures have an important role in the development of human personality. They maintain a delicate balance between the danger associated with displeasure and the desire that leads to satisfaction.

• The energy that originates in “It” is reflected in “It.” The task of the “Super-I” is to determine the boundaries of the action of this energy. It should be noted that the requirements of external reality may differ from the requirements of the “Super-I” and “It”. This contradiction is the cause of the development of internal conflicts. The following methods are used to resolve such conflicts:
• compensation;
• sublimation;

defense mechanisms. Based on the above, we can conclude that dreams are a recreation of human desires that cannot be realized in reality. Recurring dreams clearly indicate the presence of unrealized stimuli.

Unrealized incentives interfere with self-expression and psychological growth. Sublimation is a mechanism for redirecting sexual energy to those goals that are approved in society

. Such goals include intellectual, social and creative activities. Sublimation is one of the protective mechanisms of the human psyche, and the energy created by it is the basis of civilization.

Anxiety caused by unsatisfied desires can be neutralized by directly addressing the internal conflict. Since internal energy is unable to find a way out, it is necessary to redirect it to overcome existing obstacles. In addition, it is necessary to reduce the consequences that these barriers can provide and compensate for unmet incentives. An example of such compensation is perfect hearing in people with visual impairments.

A person who suffers from a lack of certain skills and wants to achieve success can achieve his goal through assertiveness and unmatched performance. But there are examples when the tension that arises can be distorted due to the operation of special protective mechanisms. Such mechanisms include:

• insulation;
• suppression;
• overcompensation;
• negation;
• projection;
• regression.

An example of how these defense mechanisms work should be considered in situations with unrequited love. The suppression of these feelings can be expressed by the phrase “I don’t remember this feeling,” the mechanism of rejection is expressed as “There is no love, and never was,” and isolation can be described as “I don’t need love.”

Summarizing

Freud's theory of psychoanalysis was briefly and clearly presented in this article. To summarize, we can say that this method is one of the attempts to understand those features of the human psyche that were previously incomprehensible. In the modern world, the term “psychoanalysis” is used in the following areas:

1. As the name of a scientific discipline.
2. A collective name for a set of events dedicated to research into the functioning of the psyche.
3. As a method of treating neurotic disorders.

Many modern scientists often criticize Sigmund Freud's theory. However, today, the concepts that were introduced by these scientists are a kind of basis for the science of psychology.

is the belief that all human behavior is at least partially determined by unconscious impulses. The basis of behavioral motivation, according to Freud, is the desire to satisfy innate instincts - the physical needs of the body. The individual strives to reduce stress to a minimum level. And in this regard, Freud’s concept is similar to the behaviorist point of view: the same principle of homeostasis and stress relief.

But there are also significant differences. The individual strives to return to some initial state (which was disrupted by birth and subsequent development) up to non-existence. The basic instincts, according to Freud, are the instincts of life and death. The life instinct can take two main forms: reproduction of one's own kind (sexual need) and maintaining the life of the individual (ordinary physiological needs). It should be noted, however, that the life instinct of the first type (sexual need) plays a particularly important role in Freud’s concept. The death instinct is the opposite of the life instinct and is expressed, for example, in forms of behavior such as aggression, masochism, self-blame, and self-abasement.

At first glance, the assumption of the existence of a death instinct looks strange, to say the least. However, it must be borne in mind that Freud’s philosophical views were characterized by mental dualism: emphasizing the struggle and opposition of two opposing principles. The dynamics of this struggle is actually the basis for the development and functioning of both the individual and society as a whole. Everything in the universe tends toward inevitable decay, disappearance, and life as a method of organization and unification is only that short period of time when an individual triumphs over this decay. But even during this short period of time the individual is carried away by the death instinct. The instincts of life (Eros) and death (Thanatos) go hand in hand: love coexists with hatred, nutrition with gluttony, self-love with self-destruction and self-destruction.

Sublimation is the direction of the energy of instinct to perform activities that are not related to the direct satisfaction of needs.

Instincts provide the individual with energy, which is the source of his activity. Moreover, if direct satisfaction of an instinctive need is impossible for some reason (the presence of moral restrictions, fear of punishment, etc.), the energy of the instinct can be directed in another direction: the release of tension can occur through completely different tasks - not related to the instinct - types of activities. Imagine a steam boiler, it has high pressure, and if the steam is not released, it can burst. The valve needs to be opened. If one of the main valves is closed (for example, immediate sexual satisfaction is impossible), you have to use others (politics, creativity, business). This direction of instinctual energy in a different channel - as opposed to direct satisfaction of needs - is called sublimation. The solution to the problem of explaining human behavior, therefore, consists in finding out the reasons for the direction of instinctive energy in one direction or another.

Society consists of individuals who have their own biological characteristics - health status, characteristics of physiological processes in the body, differences in the structure and functioning of the nervous system, which determine the natural inclinations of a person. Based on natural inclinations, the abilities that a person realizes in his life are formed. The formation of a person’s needs is influenced by both his natural individual traits and the influence of the social environment.

In different eras, society had a need to use various natural inclinations and abilities of people. Thus, under the conditions of a caste system, abilities not related to the occupation prescribed for a given caste seemed unnecessary. For example, a person born in the merchant caste had the right to engage only in trade, in the laundry caste - only in laundry, etc.

One of the main trends in the development of relations between man and society is the individualization of the individual. Economic development and increasingly complex production processes required increasingly qualified, competent and independent workers. Currently, this leads to the gradual formation of an individual style of production activity and an associated individual style of consumption. The mechanism of interaction between the individual and society is modified and rebuilt. This is reflected in the relationship between individual and social needs.

In human societies there have always been differences between the needs of individuals, groups of people and society as a whole. As already noted, special mechanisms have been developed to regulate relations between society and the individual - these are, first of all, morality and law.

In the study of the problem of personality, psychology relies largely on the principles of philosophy, which determines what content is put into this concept and which of the aspects of the personality - social, individual, rational or ethical - is leading. Psychology is primarily interested in questions of personality structure, driving forces and mechanisms of its development. It is they who have become the focus of most theories.

One of the first and most famous is the theory of an Austrian psychiatrist. In 1900, his book “The Interpretation of Dreams” appeared, in which he first published the most important provisions of his concept, supplemented in his subsequent books “Psychopathology of Everyday Life” (1901), “I and It” (1923), “Totem and Taboo” (1913), “Psychology of the masses and analysis of the human “I” (1921). Freud's views can be divided into three areas - a method of treating functional mental illness, a theory of personality and a theory of society, while the core of the entire system is his views on the development and structure of human personality.

What is a person's personality? Many leading psychologists in the world have been looking for answers to this question for decades. Over the course of a long time, all assumptions and hypotheses about the mechanisms and nature of personality development have been formed into several basic theories. The most popular among them: the analytical theory of C. G. Jung, the humanistic theory, the authors of which are C. Rogers and A. Maslow, the cognitive theory of personality of J. Kelly, the activity theory of S. L. Rubenstein and a number of other researchers, behavioral and dispositive theories , and finally, the psychodynamic theory known as classical psychoanalysis, authored by the Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud. We will talk in more detail about the last item on this list and the most striking example among others of research into personality structure.

Sigmund Freud - personality structure

Before the advent of Freudian theory, the study of personality structure was reduced to the very phenomenon of human consciousness. The hidden motives of behavior and its features were not considered in depth. Freud believed that the psyche is not only “conscious”. It is multidimensional and consists of several levels and components that reflect not only conscious, but also subconscious processes. Thus, according to Freud, the mental structure of personality consists of three interconnected elements - the unconscious, the preconscious and consciousness. The concept of preconscious processes comes down to the fact that they are not always in consciousness, but can sometimes be caused by it.

During the period when Freud was actively developing his hypothesis, the use of hypnosis in psychological practice was quite common. However, according to the father of psychoanalysis, putting a person into a state of hypnosis makes it impossible to attempt to bring unconscious experience into a conscious state. That is why the psychologist created his own methods of working with patients. They became the interpretation of dreams and the method of free association that are still famous today.

Thus, the structure of personality and its psyche according to Freud has three components: Id, Ego and Superego.

1. "It". Primitive matter that is responsible for innate processes. This is the unconscious, which includes desires, pleasures and libido of a person.
2. "Ego" ("I"). Consciousness that follows reality. Develops mechanisms that allow you to adapt to the environment.
3. “SuperEgo” (“Super Ego”). The unconscious, acquired before the appearance of speech function. It includes norms of behavior, rules, prohibitions and various taboos that are a product of the influence of other people.

According to Freud, a special place in the psychological structure of personality is occupied by the stages of development that a child goes through before growing up.

• oral– characterized by receiving pleasure through the oral cavity. Any feeling of a deficiency of these pleasures in childhood can lead to alcoholism, smoking or gluttony in adulthood;
• anal– associated with control over bowel movements. There may be a special delay in the excretion of feces from the body for the sake of receiving pleasure from the subsequent relief. At an older age, this may have consequences in the form of greed or frequent constipation;
• genital– the stage that manifests itself in personal gender identification. The peculiarity here is that the child, aware of his gender, views the parent as a potential sexual partner. The concepts introduced by Freud such as the Oedipus complex and the Electra complex are associated with this phenomenon. That is, boys view their mother as a sexual partner and are jealous of their father as a rival, while girls show the same thing in relation to their fathers with jealousy of their mother.

According to Freud's psychoanalysis, the structure of a harmonious personality implies an equal combination of “It” and “Superego”. Any excess in one of these substances can lead to deviations in mental processes and even the occurrence of pathologies.

Also, do not forget about the protective mechanisms that are developed through the interaction of all three components of the personality. They allow a person to adapt to the world around him and interact adequately with it. The main human defense mechanisms are as follows:

Freud's personality structure has many facets. It is not for nothing that psychoanalysis is still one of the leading areas in psychology. Although Freud's works were not published for many decades and were criticized in every possible way, they have survived to this day and serve as an excellent example of how to develop a harmonious personality, working not only on your consciousness, but also on the unexplored corners of the subconscious.