Freud and Behaviourist's Theories

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Created by Mike Kell

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Freud and Behaviourist’s Theories

In the late 19th and early 20th Century, there were many important theories developed explaining, or trying to explain, human behaviour and personality development.  In this essay, I aim to compare and contrast the Freudian Theory and the Theories of the Behaviourists.  These were some of the main theories constructed with aims at looking at the way our behaviour is, or isn’t, controlled by our personality.  The way I have decided to structure this essay is to firstly describe each theory separately.  I will make my comparisons between the two theories and finally I will conclude with some criticisms aimed at each theory.

Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) dedicated his life to developing his ‘Psychoanalytic Theory’.  This theory comprises of several different factors; each one contributing to our mental make up, thus governing our actions, thoughts and behaviour.  He completed the theory in 1926, at the age of 70, although he continued to re-present it, rethink its implications and apply it in new ways until his death.  (Padel, 1987.)

One of the factors making up his theory was the ‘levels of mind’.  Freud said that it was as if the mind was separated into three sections.  These sections being the ‘conscious’ mind, the ‘pre-conscious’ mind and the ‘unconscious mind’.  The first section, the conscious mind, being our awake state or our state of awareness.  It is this section of our mind that we use when we are consciously thinking about something of which we are aware.  The next section is the pre-conscious mind.  This is our store of readily available memories.  Memories of which we are aware and know that we are aware, but are not consciously thinking about at the current time.  These memories can be recalled easily and are often recalled for everyday use.  The final section is our unconscious mind.  This is our store of long term memories or memories that cannot be recalled so easily.  We may not even be aware of all the memories within this section because they are stored so deeply within the section but these memories can be triggered unknowingly as a result of sensory stimulation.  i.e. a particular smell could trigger a memory of when we first experienced that smell.  (Horle, 2002.)

Another factor in the makeup of the psychoanalytic theory is Freud’s view on ‘personality’.  He claimed that our personality is made up three elements, the ‘Id’, the ‘Ego’ and the ‘Superego’.  Three elements interacting with each other and thus governing our behaviour.  He said the id is our unconscious reservoir of primitive instincts.  This part of our makeup is out to satisfy our basic urges without any consideration of the consequences and without waiting to be polite.  The id is totally un-socialised.  On the other hand, we have our superego, which consists of ideas influenced by our parents, which restricts us from doing wrong and is set from early childhood before the child gets a chance to question them.  This leaves our ego, which is aware of the id, and of the superego, and often finds the two in conflict.  It is the job of the ego to balance the other two in order to maximise pleasure and minimise un-pleasure.  It adapts the demands of the id to the morals of the superego and strikes a happy medium that is acceptable in society.  i.e. The ego satisfies our basic urges as demanded by the id, after first considering the consequences and after waiting to be polite as set out in the superego.  (Horle, 2002, Zangwill, 1987.)

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Freud also claimed that during the first few years of our lives, our development follows a particular pattern.  He called this ‘Psychosexual Development’.  He said the first five years are the most important in determining our personality for the rest of our lives and separated the process into stages.  The first stage he called the ‘Oral Stage’ and said that between birth and around 1 to 2 years old, infants gain satisfaction from putting things into their mouths.  Freud called this ‘Oral Fixation’ and claimed that if weaned of milk, via the breast, too early we could become orally ...

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For GCSE level this is a very good essay on Freud and Behaviourism. The writer has covered a great deal of detail, especially with regard to Freud. The latter part of the essay is a little less organised but many of the salient points have been included. The essay needs more organisation when explaining behaviourism to improve the score. However, overall this is a very good GCSE level essay which summarises succinctly both Freud and Behaviourism. Overall 4 *