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  • All right.

  • So let's dive into the first theory of personality,

  • called the psychoanalytic theory.

  • Now, you've probably heard of someone super

  • famous in the psychology world named Sigmund Freud.

  • So let's write his name down here,

  • because it's very important for this theory.

  • OK.

  • So Sigmund Freud.

  • Well, it so happens-- fun fact here--

  • that Freud was not even a psychologist.

  • He was a physician, more specifically a neurologist.

  • And in 1885, he went to Paris to study hypnosis

  • with a fellow neurologist.

  • But this experience is actually what turned him

  • towards medical psychopathology.

  • And psychiatry as we know it was actually

  • unknown at the time Freud began his work.

  • So there you have it.

  • There's your history lesson for the day.

  • OK.

  • So let's go back and talk about the psychoanalytic theory.

  • The psychoanalytic theory says that our childhood experiences

  • and unconscious desires influence behavior.

  • So this is a key word for this theory, "unconscious."

  • So our personalities have memories, beliefs, urges,

  • drives, and instincts that we are not always aware of

  • and that make up this unconscious.

  • And the major driving force behind Freud's

  • instinctual theory is the concept of libido.

  • And you may have heard of this in a different context,

  • but we'll go over it in terms of this theory.

  • So libido is natural energy source

  • that fuels the mechanisms of the mind.

  • And when this libidinal energy is stuck or fixated

  • at various stages of psychosexual development--

  • there's another keyword.

  • So when this fixation occurs at this psychosexual development

  • and stages, conflicts can occur that have lifelong effects.

  • So fixation at a particular stage

  • is what predicts adult personality

  • according to this theory.

  • For example, someone fixated at the oral stage,

  • which is actually the first stage

  • in psychosexual development, might have oral personality

  • characteristics like being overly talkative

  • or having a smoking habit when they grow up.

  • OK.

  • So Freud breaks down those mental structures

  • that I was talking about into three parts.

  • And we can look at this by looking at an iceberg.

  • So let's break this down into two parts first.

  • The top of the iceberg, which is shown up here,

  • above the surface of the water, is the conscious part

  • of our mind.

  • So this is everything we are aware of.

  • And if that's the conscious, what

  • do you think this bottom is?

  • If you said unconscious, you are right.

  • So it's the unconscious mind.

  • And what do you notice?

  • The unconscious is a lot larger than the conscious.

  • You know that saying, it's only the tip of the iceberg

  • that we see?

  • Well, it's true.

  • Most of our mind is hidden below the surface.

  • OK.

  • Let's go into the first structure of our mind.

  • And that is the id.

  • So the id is located down here in this compartment.

  • And it's the unconscious part of our mind

  • that makes up most of the mind.

  • It's hidden below the surface.

  • And it develops right after birth,

  • and demands immediate gratification.

  • Now, the second part of this structure is the ego.

  • So the ego is right here in this compartment.

  • And it's part of our conscious and our unconscious mind.

  • OK.

  • We'll see why that's the case in a little bit.

  • But the ego is involved in our perceptions, thoughts,

  • and judgments.

  • And it seeks long-term gratification as opposed

  • to the id's immediate gratification.

  • In the third compartment, right over here,

  • I'm going to try to fit it in, is the superego.

  • Now, the superego develops around the age of four.

  • And it's our moral compass or our conscience.

  • Don't get that confused with conscious.

  • Conscience, it's a little tongue-twister.

  • OK.

  • So let's go back to these psychosexual stages

  • I was talking about.

  • So our libidinal impulses, right here,

  • are what want to be gratified.

  • And when they are either over-gratified or not gratified

  • at all or partially gratified, fixation

  • occurs at a psychosexual stage, and we

  • face either conflict or anxiety.

  • Now, what I mean by "conflict" is not

  • this whole battle or drama that plays out.

  • But it's a conflict between these three mental structures

  • of our mind, the ego, the superego, and the id.

  • Because all of them are competing for demands,

  • so they're in a conflict.

  • Think of it like this.

  • I'm going to draw out ourselves right here, like that.

  • And there's the rest of us.

  • You get the picture

  • Well, this person has really big arms, but you get the idea.

  • OK.

  • So think of it like this.

  • We have the id sitting on one shoulder over here.

  • And this is us, looking-- we're in little bit of a conflict.

  • OK.

  • So the id is sitting on one shoulder here.

  • And it's really, really upset, because it's

  • demanding gratification and it isn't immediately getting it.

  • Remember, I said it wants immediate gratification.

  • But then, over here, you have the superego.

  • And the superego is sitting on its high horse.

  • And it's preaching to the id about what's moral.

  • And then what about the ego?

  • What happens to the ego?

  • What role does that have?

  • Well, it's going to be in the middle.

  • Because the id wants gratification,

  • and only gratification.

  • And it's going back and forth with the superego.

  • So the ego, right over here, is trying to gratify the id,

  • but it also has to take into account

  • what the superego is saying.

  • The superego is moral oversight, which

  • represents the values of society.

  • Now, remember I said earlier that the ego is

  • part of the conscious and the unconscious minds.

  • So it basically acts as a mediator

  • between the unconscious desires of the id

  • and the moral demands of the superego.

  • So have you ever heard of a Freudian slip?

  • That's actually an example of a mental conflict.

  • So for example, a financially stressed patient

  • tells his doctor, oh, doctor, please don't give me any bills.

  • Well, what he really meant to say was,

  • please don't give me any pills.

  • So this whole process that I went

  • through of the ego, the superego, and the id

  • becoming fixated in psychosexual development due to conflicts

  • is all part of the psychoanalytic theory.

  • And this process is part of personality development

  • for all individuals.

  • But it's especially problematic when

  • there's a problem with gratification

  • in a particular psychosexual stage.

All right.

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