Psychoanalysis – The Underlying Cause for all Behavior
...the case with the “Freudian slip”, where something is said which is actually a alteration of what is actually meant. This goes along with what are called symbolic acts, which are actions we take that, although we insist they have no meaning, or were accidental, are actually intentional. For example, the act of forgetting is, according to Freud, a kind of intentional defense mechanism that we unconsciously use to repress memories. Although much of Freud’s work has been highly criticized by many of his detractors, there are certain aspects of his theories which I find quite important to the study of personality. I am sure than it is not only me who finds this to be the case, as many of Freud’s ideas, such as the Freudian slip, are common knowledge 70 years later. As the founder of modern psychoanalytic theory, I cannot help but see Freud’s work as critical in understanding personality. Freud’s ideas of the unconscious, though disputed time and time again, have played a key role in understanding personality and are the cornerstone for all psychoanalytic theory. Works by those who chose to break away from Freud’s strict, almost non-conditional ideas, such as Jung, Adler and Horney contain subtle references to Freud’s theories, as well as neo-Freudians like Erikson. Jung claimed there were two natural psychological types of behavior which people can be placed in: introverts and extroverts. Extroverts, according to Jung, behave in a manner that they feel would produce approval from the social crowd, and are more likely to experience positive emotion that introverts. Unlike extroverts, whose actions are highly motivated by external factors, introverts tend to act on their own beliefs and internal motives. Both introversion and extroversion are extremes on a scale, according to Jung, where “normal” people would fall in the middle, being equally influenced by both internal and external motives. Jung also went on to describe four separate conscious orientations which sub-type introversion and extroversion, categorized as: sensation types, thinking types, feeling types, and intuitive types. Sensation types focus on experiencing the world via the senses, while thinking types are more rational and use a cognitive approach to things. While feeling types tend to focus on emotion, the intuitive type concerns themselves about possibilities in life, stemming from the unconscious. According to Jung, it is necessary for one to exhibit several of these types, there is always one type which stands out more than the others. Adler, like other Humanists, believed that people were not only good, but were constantly striving to be better, and to attain superiority. This is not to be confused with the desire to dominate, but rather to reach one’s potential as a human and to contribute to society as much as possible. The negative aspects of this, however, appear in our choosing of love relationships, where we pick mates whom we know we can dominate. These “disturbed relationships”, as Adler terms them, where we seek to hold power over a partner, or to choose a partner on the basis of the knowledge of their subordinate tendencies. I have witnessed several of my close friends in such relationships, where they believe that, although their partner is an annoying or is inattentive, they can change them. Adler also speaks of unrequited love, or that which is unattainable, as a form of marriage avoidance, which, in typical Freudian thinking, may be masking a problem much deeper. Adler’s theories, which, while probably more inciting to ...