Freud Vs Social Learning

4 Pages 1013 Words

Freud’s Theory of Personality vs. The Social Learning Theory


During Freud’s time he was not appreciated for the work that he was doing. Before he developed his theory of personality he used psychoanalysis for people with certain psychopathologies. After a while Sigmund Freud began to use this as a treatment for regular people and people suffering from mental illness. Eventually it developed into his theory of personality.
For Freud to believe in and formulate his theory he had to hold certain beliefs. A main idea that he had was that the body is the sole source for all mental experiences. Another belief that Freud held was that mental events are brought about by conscious or unconscious intention and are determined by events that proceed it. He believed in three types of consciousness the conscious, unconscious, and preconscious. The conscious is the part that we use for everything we are aware of in a given moment. The unconscious mind is the storehouse of unacceptable images according to Freud. It also has instinctual elements that we are unaware of. The preconscious is part of the unconscious that holds memories that the conscious needs in order to perform its functions. In Freud’s theory of personality there are three parts. Those three parts are the id, ego, and superego.
One part of a person’s personality is the id. The id is totally unconscious. When you start out this is all that exists. It works on the pleasure principal. That means that it always requires instant gratification for what it desires or needs. When it comes to basic body functions or needs like hunger or thirst the id demands it immediately. He felt the libido was controlled by the id. He referred to the libido as psychic energy. This energy fueled the thought processes, perception, imagination, memory, and sexual urges. Freud did not think that energy could be lost or gained only transferred. Freud believed that your dr...