Lecture 8. Psychoanalytic concept (S. Freud)

Those who have moved on

The psychoanalytic theory of S. Freud is the basis of one of the directions in psychology and psychiatry. But the psychoanalyst himself modulated his theory, and his followers put their own vision of the problem into the scientific concept. The most famous are the works of Freud's students - Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred Adler, as well as neo-Freudians - Harry Stack Sullivan, Erich Seligman Fromm, Karen Horney. Based on the work of Freud himself and his followers in the formation of the principles of psychoanalysis, several directions of this teaching were created. They are:

Classical theory of drives (S. Freud).
Interpersonal psychoanalysis (G.S. Sullivan, K. Thompson).
Intersubjective approach (R. Stolorow).
Self-psychology (H. Kohut).
Structural psychoanalysis (J. Lacan).
Object relations theories.
M. Klein School.
Ego psychology.

Each of the above schools has its own nuances in justifying the development of the individual’s psyche. The main psychoanalytic theories - from classics to neo-developments - speak about their vision of the problem of psychoanalysis. The features of the directions either complement the origins or contradict each other. In addition to classical psychoanalysis developed by Sigmund Freud, Jung's psychoanalytic theory is popular both in practice and in theoretical study. She complements Freud's work with the presence of the collective unconscious as a complement and continuation of the individual unconscious.

Self-defense

Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality describes defense mechanisms by which the human psyche copes with certain potential problems.

Substitution - energy and emotions are redirected to a less dangerous object.
Reactive formation is an experience that, in the opinion of the individual, is unworthy of him, is suppressed, and then replaced by the exact opposite feeling.
Compensation is an unconscious attempt to cope with real or imagined shortcomings and can be both social and antisocial in nature.
Repression is the forced transfer into the sphere of the unconscious of those subconscious drives and experiences that pose a threat to self-consciousness.
Denial is the unwillingness to come to terms with existing reality.
Projection is the transfer to other people of one’s own experiences and qualities that are unacceptable both by society and by the person himself.
Sublimation - changing unacceptable behavior and goals to socially acceptable ones.
Rationalization is, in other words, self-justification. A person tries to rationally explain actions committed under the influence of the unconscious.
Regression is a return to early forms of behavior, as they sometimes say a person relapses into childhood. This method of defense is mainly used by immature, infantile people, but in some situations it can also be used by completely normal adults.

But not only Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of development contains a description of the defense mechanisms of the psyche. Other psychoanalysts, developing Freud's theory or developing their own projects, expanded the list of self-defense of the individual's psyche, which currently includes about 30 items.

Origins of psychoanalysis

Man has long been interested in how, in what way, why people individually relate to the reality around them, trying to influence it and perceive it in accordance with their personality characteristics. Psychology as a science appeared in the practice of studying humans more than 1000 years ago. But in terms of its development, this branch of medicine is only at the initial stage of its development. The basis of psychology is a philosophy united by hundreds of years of practical human research. As a science, psychology is closely intertwined with almost any other science that is subject to man. But such a connection has a dual character, because psychology itself is developing in two directions - as an applied science and as a field of study of the mental activity of a person as an individual and as a component of society. Since ancient times, psychology was more of a philosophical direction, only by the 19th century acquiring the features of an applied science. Since that moment, psychoanalytic theories of child development, personality formation, and the characteristics of an individual’s behavioral facets have been studied, helping specialists - psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts in their work.

Childhood as the basis for growing up

“We all come from childhood” - this famous phrase of the great French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry correctly reveals a person’s memories and his attitude to the surrounding reality from the moment of growing up until death. Psychoanalysis talks about the same thing less romantically, dividing the phases of childhood in accordance with the main points of development at each age stage. The author of the psychoanalytic theory of child development is the German neurologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. It was in his works that the psyche was structured and it was proven that the main influence on human development is exerted by another person, who is directly related to the upbringing and training of a growing personality. Freud's work in this direction was continued by his daughter Anna. A feature of her work was the decision that the result of the conflict between the child’s internal instinctive drives and the restrictive demands of the external social environment on him becomes the facets of the individual’s character. The child's psyche develops as a consequence of the child's gradual socialization, and at each period the concept is learned that the desired pleasure does not always coincide with the real requirements of society. The task of parents and educators, as well as teachers, is to promote a smoother perception of reality by conveying certain requirements to the child in a high-quality manner and instilling skills for living in society in such a way that the child’s psyche does not suffer from the discrepancy between “I want” and “I can.”

The psychoanalytic theory of human development is a long-term, ongoing work of psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychoanalysts. The scientific beginning was given by Sigmund Freud and continued by his students and followers. Today, some aspects of this teaching cause a lot of controversy, but the theory of psychoanalysis is successfully used in many methods of work to identify and treat mental disorders and diseases.

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The main stages in the development of the science of mental development of personality

Psychology today has applied significance as a field of medicine, philosophy, pedagogy, and other sciences. Psychoanalytic theories of development are of particular importance in working with the individual. Each such theory has its own nuances in explaining the current personality and was developed by one or another specialist. But the history of this work proceeded in several stages. The most famous person whose name is associated with the study of mental characteristics of the individual is Sigmund Freud. But studies of this facet of the human individual, akin to the concept of psychoanalysis proposed by Freud, developed before the 19th century. The future world-famous psychologist, neurologist and psychoanalyst himself interned at the Salpêtrière clinic in Paris with neurologist and syphilologist Jean-Martin Charcot, who deeply studied the neuropsychiatric disorder paresis, as a consequence of syphilis. In 1985, the work of Sigmund Freud and Joseph Breuer, “Studies on Hysteria,” was published, which substantiates the origin of hysteria on repressed memories of any unpleasant situations for the patient, most often based on sexual associations. This view of one of the mental characteristics of the individual led to the fact that the majority of the scientific elite turned away from Freud, who exposed the novice psychoanalyst as an ordinary charlatan.

During the same period, the future psychoanalyst tries to formulate and build into a logical chain a neurophysiological theory of unconscious mental mechanisms. This work remained unfinished, and the world learned about it only after the death of the scientist. Then Freud became interested in the symbolism of dreams, the result of these thoughts was the hypothesis that the unconscious, on which the plot of dreams is based, is a “primary process”, since it has a concentrated and symbolic content. The “secondary process,” on the contrary, is based on logical, conscious content. This hypothesis became the basis of the monograph The Interpretation of Dreams, published by Freud in 1900. A feature of this psychologist’s work, which was developed in subsequent work, was Chapter 7. This describes an early “topographic model” - due to social sexual prohibitions, unacceptable sexual desires are squeezed into the “unconscious” system, which becomes the basis of individual anxiety.

In our country, a widespread passion for psychoanalysis occurred in the 20s of the 20th century. Then the State Psychoanalytic Institute was opened in Moscow. But gradually psychoanalysis ceases to be a branch of science and is subject to persecution. Only at the end of the century this area of human research regained life in Russian psychology and psychiatry. Currently, the areas of psychoanalysis have become an integral part of medical practice, and the theory itself is constantly supplemented by new theoretical developments. Psychologists unite around the world for high-quality scientific research into the human psyche. for example, the International Psychoanalytic Association, which has about 12,000 members, deals with the problems of psychoanalysis. Modern psychology operates with more than one school of psychoanalysis, because Freud’s students and followers organized their own schools and areas of study in this area of science, for example, Jung, Fromm, Adler.

Facets of character

Freud's psychoanalytic theory of development, defining the stages of psychosexual development, focuses the attention of psychologists on the character of each person, linking it with one or another phase of personal maturation. Followers of Freud's psychoanalysis developed the concept of characterological types, linking personality traits with certain stages of psychosexual development. Otto Fenichel, a psychoanalyst known for his concept of the development of neuroses, identified several character types:

oral;
anal;
urethral;
phallic;
genital

Features of one type or another are positioned by Freud, Fenichel and other psychoanalysts as a connection with the characteristics of the development and upbringing of the child. All psychoanalytic theories of development are based to one degree or another on the work of Freud, taking into account the phases of a child’s psychosexual development from birth to puberty, which have a direct impact on his character.

Stages of psychosexual development

A special place in psychoanalytic theory is given to psychosexual development. It was explained on the basis of changes in the biological functioning of an individual that occur as he grows up. Each stage of development has a clear time frame, and the experiences gained at each time stage affect the character, values and personality traits. The author of the psychoanalytic theory of child development, Sigmund Freud, identified five stages of child psychosexual development, called phases:

From birth to one and a half years, a person lives through the so-called oral phase. It is characterized only by desire - the Id, since the main instinct is the satisfaction of a natural physiological need, which is expressed in sucking. biting and swallowing.
At the age of one and a half to three and a half years, the anal phase occurs, during which the Ego (I) is formed - the main requirement is to cope with the physiological need of emptying the intestines and bladder in a designated place - a potty, a toilet, due to which the ability to fulfill prohibitions is formed society.
The period from three and a half to 6 years is characterized by knowledge of one’s body and an understanding of one’s gender, which is why it is called the phallic phase. It is during this period that a child may develop an Oedipus complex or Electra complex.
A child aged 6-12 years develops physically, intellectually, his sexual development experiences a lull, which is why the phase is called latent.
At the age of 12, the genital phase begins, the characteristic feature of which is puberty, the first experience of sexual activity.