Freud - Father Of Psychology

Section: Psychology Essays

Known as the father of psychology, Freud developed many of the first theories of modern physiology. His ideas and concepts will continue to be studied through the years. He put forth many new concepts about sexuality, consciousness, unconsciousness and instincts. He spent his whole life devoted to discovering the secrets of the human nature. Personally I think this guy was weird. Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856 in Freiburg. The town of Freiburg later became Pribor and was eventually absorbed into the modern state of Czechoslovakia. Freud's father, name Jakob Freud was a Jewish wool merchant. Freud's mother Amalie Nathanson was from Galicia. She was Jakob's second wife. Sigmund had eight brothers and sisters in all. Two of which were from Jakob's first marriage. The other six were from Amelia. His first influences to science were when he heard lectures on Goethe. In 1873 he applied to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Vienna, here was where he changed his name from Sigismund to Sigmund. He earned is doctorate in medicine and worked as a research assistant under Ernst Von Brucke, as a neurologist. In 1882, Freud became interested in the effects and benefits of cocaine. He spent long hours recording the effects they had on his body. These studies hurt his status as a scientist because other scientists already documented the harmful effects cocaine has on the body. In 1886 Freud started his first office of neurology in Vienna. That same year he married Martha Bernays. This marriage produced six children named Mathilde, Martin, Oliver, Ernst, Sophia and Anna. Also around that time in 1885 he produced his studies on hysteria. In 1900 Freud published his first book called the "Interpretation of Dreams", which made him famous. The next year he published "Psycho Pathology of Everyday Life".

Also in 1901 he became an associate professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Vienna, where he gained his doctorate. Later he founded the International Association of Psychoanalysis in 1910. In 1920 he was hired as a full professor of the University of Vienna where he gained vast experience with patients, sometimes spending up to twelve hours with single patients. Also in 1920 he published "Beyond the Pleasure Principle". In 1923 Freud became ill with cancer. To deal with the pain Freud developed an intense and uncontrollable cocaine habit. In 1939 Freud died of cancer in London at age 83. His daughter Anna later became a pioneer creating child psychoanalysis and founding the Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic. Freud developed theories about the parts of the conscious and unconscious which developed during the first eight years of life. He separated it into three parts: the id, ego and super ego. The id possesses the instincts that we gain at conception. The id is the most important part of the three components. The id provides the basic necessities, such as the will to survive, obtain food and seek shelter. The ego drives the voluntary behavior of the human body. It is the link between the id and the outside world. It is gives one as the ability to choose. The ego's main job is the awareness of stimuli. The id and the ego control the demands of instincts and they have many important defenses against anxiety. Displacement directs energy onto another object, e.g. blaming others. Rationalization, sublimation, and regression are among the other defense mechanisms of the id and ego. The third and last aspect of the mind is the super ego, also known as the conscience. It basically maintains the information learned from the parents' admonitions through the early years of life. It represents lessons and experiences a human goes through during his/her lifetime.

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