Psychoanalytic Theories

 Hi, today we are gonna talk about another category of theories. As the title already says, today we are talking about the psychoanalytic theories. Let's start with the definition, shall we?

This set of psychological theories focus on the study of the unconscious, giving a key importance to the persistence in the subconscious of the repressed impulses.

They think that the events lived during childhood are fundamental for the development of the person, as well as that the human behavior and the cognition are determined by irrational units that have their roots in the unconscious.

    1. Psychoanalysis

This theory emerges in the 19th century by Freud, a neurologist who is considered the father of psychoanalysis.

Freud attaches great importance to the unconscious and to the analysis of internal conflicts since he thinks that much of what the person does and thinks is determined by unconscious processes.

The term psychoanalysis designates a method of investigation and analysis of mental processes, a psychotherapeutic technique and a body of psychological knowledge.

For him, the components that make up the personality of individual are the id, which acts only on the basis of pleasure and the satisfaction of impulses; the self, which represents reason and common sense and the superego, an ethical and moral part that internalizes repressive forces as a consequence of education.

On the other hand, psychosexual development which people follow as they go through a series of stages. Each of them focuses on various activities related to the satisfaction of the impulses present in each phase. The phases are the oral phase(birth to year), the anal phase (from 1 to 3 years), the phallic phase(from 3 to 6 years), the lag phase(from 6 to 12 years) and the genital phase(from the age of 12 onwards).

If the stages are adequately overcome, a healthy personality will develop. However, if this does not occur the person will develop a life with repressions.

Such repressions are irrational defence mechanisms that the ego uses in the face of repressed drives.

    2. Psychosocial theory

This theory was developed by Erikson, a psychoanalyst who thanks to his theory has marked the basis of the Evolutionary Psychology.

This psychologist has tried to explain how the person matures in all aspects of his life. He thinks that the environment surrounding the individual is key as well as the adaptation of this to that environment.

There are eight stages in which it divides the psychosocial development of the person and as each stage is successfully overcome, it would be moved to the next stage. But if this does not happen, the person will have a conflict at that stage that will lead to difficulties in that area.

        1st - Stage of trust versus mistrust from birth to 1 year.

        2nd - Stage of autonomy versus shame and doubt from 1 to 3 years.

        3rd - Stage of initiative versus guilt from 3 to 6 years.

        4th - Stage of labor versus inferiority from 7 to 12 years.

        5th - Stage of identity versus role confusion from 12 to 20 years.

        6th - Stage of intimacy versus isolation from 20 to 40 years.

        7th - Stage of productivity versus stagnation from 40 to 60-70 years.

        8th - Stage of the integrity of the self versus the despair from 60-70 years until death.

Erikson divides the lives of people into eight phases that are constituted by emotional crises with two possible solutions, one favorable and one unfavorable. The resolution of these will lead to the development of a certain personality.

This was it for today, if you liked this one don't forget to check the other ones and maybe even leave a comment.