Freudian Theory

The Human Mind

Freud viewed the human mind as being composed of three major parts, each performing a distinctly different function for the individual. The first of these parts, the conscious mind, is represented by the individual's current awareness. This generalized and current knowledge of self is made up of our feelings, our perceptions, and our considerations of both. The second part, the preconscious, is composed of memories of experiences that are not presently in the conscious mind but which can be brought into immediate awareness without much effort from the individual. Finally, the unconscious is a part of the mind of which a person is unaware but that nonetheless exerts a great deal of control over the individual's behavior.

The unconscious contains two major sources of influence: (1) repressed memories and thoughts and (2) universally present and innate drives that are basic to the individual's personal evolution. Repression is a psycho-dynamic mechanism that allows the individual to keep threatening ideation out of the conscious and helps the person reconcile his or her current state of being with reality. In addition to these individually acquired and repressed influences, Freud also postulated that [Page 346]there exists in every individual two basic drives, one sexual and one hostile in nature, that are stored in the unconscious. Because of the social consequences associated with expressing these basic impulses, they too are kept repressed but also influence action.

In its simplest conceptualization, Freud suggested a very deterministic view of human behavior. He felt that there are no accidents. Rather, dynamic unconscious forces constantly move the individual's behavior and conscious thoughts in one manner or another; and when these unconscious forces came into conflict, aberrations in behavior could occur.

The Human Personality

Freud also believed that the human personality, like the human mind, comprised three parts. These he called the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the most primitive of these three parts of personality and is contained in the unconscious. The id is governed by the need for immediate gratification, and it has no concern for the needs or welfare of others. Freud called this most basic reality of the human personality the pleasure principle. We are all driven toward, sex, food, aggression, and all life necessities. The impulsive natures of the id suggest that we will act toward these wants in potentially socially unacceptable manners. The sex drive Freud called the libido, and the drive toward aggression and death he termed thanatos. These life and death drives and the conflict between them are at the core of the impulse laden id.

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