Probably the most famous name in modern psychology, say Sigmund Freud and someone else will say ego, superego or id. His name appears in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and is the focus of most first year psychology students waxing lyrical.

While structuralism and functionalism focused on the conscious mind, it was an Austrian psychologist named Sigmund Freud who first focused on the unconscious mind and the effect it has on the conscious mind.

The Psychopathology of Everyday Life.

Freud worked with patients suffering from hysteria and other such mental health issues, which led to his hypothesis that childhood experiences and unconscious thought influences adult personality and behaviour. Freud believed that psychological illness occurs as a result of these unconscious thoughts being in conflict, or out of balance.

His book, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, expresses how these unconscious thoughts manifest. A ‘Freudian slip’, or ‘slip of the tongue’ (saying something you didn’t mean to say, yet the thought existed subconsciously and came out), and the dreams we have, are two such examples. He believed the human mind is made up of three parts.

The id, the ego and the superego.

The id is made up of unconscious psychic energy that focuses on appeasing our most basic urges, needs and desires. The superego is that which encourages us to act morally, our morals acquired through our parents, childhood and society throughout our lives. It’s the ego that sits in the middle and tries to achieve a balance between the two. It’s a largely unconscious part of our personality that manages the demands of the id, the superego and reality. Freud’s theories on dream symbolism, the unconscious mind and the psychosexual stages are still discussed today, and not without speculation.

Skepticism.

His work was largely based on case studies and clinical cases, making it hard to prove his theories and difficult to quantify the findings. It’s also a widely-held view that Freud’s work over-emphasised the influence of childhood experiences, sex, the unconscious mind and aggression.

Influence on modern psychotherapy and mental health.

The methods and theories used in psychoanalysis contributed to the rise of experimental psychology. Many of the theories created by the fathers of psychodynamic thinking, such as Freud and Erik Erikson, are still applicable today. Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory of personality is still highly influential in today’s understanding of human development, stressing the importance of growth throughout the lifespan.

Freud’s theory on the psychosexual stages, the unconscious mind and dreams changed the landscape of modern psychology, influenced Erikson, experimental psychology, art, literature and and popular culture in the 20th century like no other.