Sigmund Freud was without doubt one of the most controversial psychologists of the twentieth century. His theories of psychoanalysis-personality structure, dynamics, psychosexual development, mechanism, and psychotherapy technique were really accepted at the time. However he did have his critics. Not only opposing psychologists doubted his theories but also some of his own followers. Within this essay we shall look at certain theories that Freud had and also look at some of the opposing ideas from his critics.

According to Freud the mind or personality included the ID, EGO and SUPEREGO, and mans behaviour relies on a balance of these structures. The id contains those basic instincts which require satisfaction, known as the pleasure principle. For example, a baby wants something and will cry until he gets it; this basic instinct is with us from birth. The superego is essentially the person's conscience. This is made up of values and ideals that are taught from the world about, in the first instance the parents. Superego develops in response to parental rewards and punishments. The ego differentiates between the basic instincts of the id and the reality of the r

Jung differed from Freud in his concept of the unconscious. Jung believed that it is not confined to an individuals life experiences, but includes fundamental truths shared by the human species. He described three levels of consciousness: the conscious, the personal conscious, and the collective conscious. Jung's conscious constitutes the only part immediately available to the individual. His personal conscious is similar to Freud's unconscious, but it also includes things we are unable to call to mind because of their lack of importance. However it is the collective conscious that really separates Jung from Freud. According to Jung this contains basic psychological truths which he called universal archetypes. These are from our ancestral past and are shared by all humans. They are revealed by our innate understanding of primitive myths, art and symbols. These arhetypes are supposed to make us act the same way our ancestors did. For example we do not need to learn to be afraid of the dark or snakes: rather we are predisposed to such fears. Jung also set out a different version of the libido, which he said had greater importance than just a sexual drive. Jung became a major figure and many psychologists today carry out analysis according to Jungian principles.

At one and a half years, the child enters the anal stage; with the advent of toilet training comes the child's obsession with the anus and with the retention or expulsion of the faeces. This represents a classic conflict between the id, which would deride pleasure from the expulsion of bodily wastes, and the ego and superego, which represent the practical and societal pressures to control the bodily functions. The child meets the conflict between the demands of the parents and the capabilities in one of two ways: he can put up a fight and refuse to go. The child who does this will take pleasure in excreting maliciously, maybe even just before or just after being placed on the potty or toilet. There is the other side though, the child may opt to retain the faeces, thereby spiting his parents while enjoying the pleasurable pressure of the built up faeces on his intestine. This stage lasts from one and a half years to two years.

However the genitals soon become the focus of attention again as puberty arrives and brings with it the final stage the genital stage. The child in this stage will put his interests in the pursuit of heterosexual relationships.

A major weakness can be found in the way Freud obtained his evidence. This was based on the thoughts and memories of his patients. These memories may not be accurate. Also Freud did not make notes as things were happening, he would wait until after the session, relying on his own memory. This was not a good way of doing things as his memory might not have been very good and his own viewpoint would have taken over.

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Approximate Word count = 2420
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)