Full transcript
0:00[Music]
0:08one of the most famous historical
0:11figures in psychology is Sigmund Freud
0:13who used his psychodynamic theory to
0:15explain everything from child
0:17development to abnormal psychology to
0:19personality each person's unique
0:21patterns of thoughts feelings and
0:23behaviors while a lot of Freud's theory
0:25has been replaced with more modern
0:27research based approaches his work is
0:29important for its historical
0:30contributions and the revolutionary
0:32nature of what he proposed were
0:34revolutionary and suggestion that most
0:36mental activity takes place outside of
0:38our conscious thought and awareness that
0:41unconscious motivations and not just
0:43conscious ones influence our thoughts
0:45feelings and personality specifically he
0:48believed that the internal mind was
0:49built on three unconscious parts the
0:52idiy go and super-ego that are always in
0:54conflict with one another and that it's
0:57through this internal conflict the
0:59anxiety it produces and our desires to
1:01reduce it that shape who we are
1:03according to Freud the first unconscious
1:06influence to emerge is the aid which
1:08emerges at birth and wants immediate
1:10gratification of primitive urges like
1:12hunger and thirst the it is driven by
1:14the pleasure principle or the
1:16instinctive drive to seek pleasure and
1:18avoid pain over time and through the
1:20influence of parents the infant develops
1:22the second unconscious influence of the
1:24super-ego Freud described the super-ego
1:27as the part of the mind that acts as the
1:29conscious and moral compass this leads
1:32the development of new emotions like the
1:33ability to feel pride in our
1:35accomplishments but also guilt about our
1:37shortcomings the end the super-ego
1:39battled it out in the unconscious realm
1:41not unlike the devil an angel on
1:43someone's shoulders until eventually a
1:45new unconscious construct emerges to try
1:48to bring peace the ego or the self is
1:51the rational part of a person as seen by
1:54the ego is driven by the reality
1:56principle attempting to satisfy the
1:58needs of the ID's and the idealism of
2:00the super-ego while urging us to adopt
2:02behaviors that will work in the real
2:04world in other words the ego finds the
2:07middle path between the ID's primal
2:09desires and the super-ego stunts and
2:12guilt these three aspects of personality
2:14are always interacting within a person
2:17to influence his or her personality and
2:19behavior for example the in Miguel I'm
2:22hungry I need to eat right now and the
2:25super-ego yells back you can't we're in
2:28the middle of class and then the ego
2:30offers a compromise drink some water
2:32true a stick of gum and then go eat
2:34after class is done according to Freud
2:40this power struggle can also lead to
2:42unhealthy behaviors and neuroses a
2:44tendency to experience negative emotions
2:46for example an overpowered it might lead
2:50to impulsivity while an underpowered it
2:52might lead someone to deny their needs a
2:54dominant super-ego could lead to
2:56crippling guilt while a weak one could
2:58lead to selfish and cruel behavior small
3:01imbalances could lead to the infamous
3:03Freudian slips where repressed
3:05unconscious urges can sometimes surface
3:07through a slip of the tongue like saying
3:09I'm sad you're here when you intended to
3:12say I'm glad you're here to a visiting
3:14aunt who pinches your cheeks too hard
3:17when larger imbalances occur people try
3:20to handle the resulting anxiety with
3:21defense mechanisms unconscious sometimes
3:24unhealthy behaviors intended to reduce
3:27anxiety and protect ourselves from
3:28discomfort some of these defense
3:31mechanisms are helpful like sublimation
3:33or redirecting our socially unacceptable
3:35desires into socially appropriate
3:38behavior like handling your aggressive
3:41desires by enrolling in a martial arts
3:42class others such as denial or refusing
3:46to accept unpleasant events as real can
3:49lead to a problematic distortion of
3:50reality other defense mechanisms like
3:53displacement or transferring
3:55inappropriate urges on to a safer target
3:57can be harder to classify as good or bad
4:00they could involve you hitting a pillow
4:02instead of your friend which isn't the
4:05healthiest behavior but it is still fine
4:07but it could also involve yelling at a
4:09child after being humiliated by your
4:11boss which I think we would all agree is
4:13not fine which defense mechanism we use
4:17depends on many factors such as the
4:19behaviors that we've seen modeled for us
4:20or what has been successful for us in
4:23the past or even what kind of anxiety is
4:25being produced by the unresolved
4:27conflict
4:30in addition to the development of the
4:33aide ego and superego
4:34freud also believe that children went
4:36through a series of developmental stages
4:38and that failure to resolve conflicts at
4:40each of these developmental stages could
4:42result in habits and behaviors expressed
4:44when we reach adulthood everything from
4:47smoking to obsessing about cleanliness
4:49Freud believed that during each of these
4:52stages the it produces a
4:53pleasure-seeking urge that corresponds
4:56to a different part of the body called
4:57erogenous zones these zones also give us
5:00the names of each of the five stages of
5:02psychosexual development oral anal
5:05phallic latency or a time between stages
5:09and genital Freud believed that an
5:12individual must shift through each of
5:13these stages and in this particular
5:15order in order to develop a healthy
5:18adult personality the shifting zones
5:21during development is driven by the
5:23libido or the energy generated by our
5:25sexual and survival instincts this
5:28energy drives the urges of the in each
5:30stage which leads to push back from the
5:32super-ego and the resulting conflict and
5:35our resolving it moves us through the
5:37developmental stages but importantly if
5:40a person does not resolve the conflicts
5:42at a given stage they will become
5:44fixated or stuck at this stage which has
5:47a huge impact on our adult personality
5:49the first stage is the oral stage which
5:53lasts from birth to about one year of
5:55age in this stage pleasure is focused on
5:57the mouth and so the infant receives
5:59satisfaction through things like feeding
6:01and pacifiers and sucking one's thumb
6:03the conflict at the stage arises when
6:06the infant is weaned and moves from milk
6:08or formula to solid food so they need to
6:11let go of the oral pleasures as they
6:13knew them in order to adapt the reality
6:15of the adult world this process is
6:18stressful to the infant but they adapt
6:20with time however if this process
6:23doesn't go smoothly the result could be
6:25an oral fixation which could be seen in
6:28adult behaviors like smoking drinking
6:30overeating or nail-biting to reduce
6:32anxiety
6:33the next stage is the anal stage which
6:36lasts from one to three in this stage
6:39the conflict focuses on our desire to
6:40pee and defecate at will and the reality
6:43of potty training Freud believed that
6:45parents who push too hard or too early
6:48could later cause an individual to
6:50become obsessed with neatness and
6:52organization while not enough focus on
6:54it could lead to adult behaviors like
6:56messiness and carelessness the phallic
6:59stage lasting from age three to H six is
7:01when Freud believed that children become
7:03aware of the physical differences
7:05between boys and girls and as a result
7:08begin to feel a desire for the opposite
7:10sex parent and jealousy towards the
7:12same-sex parent called the Oedipus
7:15complex for boys and the Electra complex
7:16for girls this conflict is resolved when
7:19the child realizes that aligning with
7:21the same-sex parent indirectly brings
7:23them closer to the opposite sex parent
7:26failure to shift this alignment would
7:28lead to jealousy over ambition and
7:30attention seeking in adult behavior from
7:33there Freud believed that children reach
7:35a relatively stable period called
7:37latency where their urges are quiet and
7:39the child is able to develop in other
7:41ways focusing on school hobbies and
7:44friends however things are thrown into
7:46disorder again when the child reaches
7:48puberty and enters the genital stage
7:50where there is a sexual awakening or
7:52reawakening but instead of being focused
7:55on our parents its redirected to
7:57socially acceptable partners who often
7:59resemble our opposite sex parents
8:01Freud's words not mine
8:02a failure to manage these desires into
8:05adulthood could lead to impotence and
8:07unsatisfying relationships at this point
8:11you might have a lot of questions like
8:13why did Freud focus so much on sex or
8:15what about children that only have a
8:17single parent or what about gay people
8:19who aren't even attracted to the
8:21opposite sex
8:22these are all good questions and it
8:24helps to understand why Freud's theory
8:26everything from the aide ego and
8:28super-ego to his five stages of
8:29development don't really align with our
8:31modern understanding of the brain and
8:33behavior but with that said Freud's view
8:36of the mind has had profound influence
8:38on the field of psyche
8:39ecology the idea of an unconscious mind
8:41or that our adult selves could be
8:43influenced by past traumas and painful
8:45memories the idea that childhood
8:46experiences could shape our personality
8:49and behavior at all this is all part of
8:51the extensive legacy that Freud has
8:53created
8:56you