Sigmund Freud Michael Hoerger

Legacy Talk therapy and psychiatry Unconscious processing Among most famous scientists Popularity of psychology Often criticized, often copied, often misunderstood

Biography Sigismund Schlomo Freud ( ) Austria, low income family Oldest and favorite of 9 children A scientist foremost 150 books Own biggest critic Death: Cancer, physician-assisted overdose

Historical Context Victorian era, extremely conservative Sex is for procreation, not fun No talking about sex or feelings Improper to say “leg” “Bathing machines” War is everywhere

The Unconscious Definition: Thoughts, feelings, motives, and behaviors we are not presently aware of Behavior often caused by unconscious motives First person to write extensively Hot topic in social psychology today

Mistakes “Freudian slips” or “slips of the tongue” E.g. calling your wife by your mistress’ name Errors in memory or speech due to the unconscious mind Intrusion errors due to recent activation Forget what is not active or important

Psychosexual Development “Sex” = physical pleasure, very broad! Physical pleasure as the basis for social and cognitive pleasure, and identity Correlates of Physical Pleasure Social Pleasure Close Friends Depression/ Anxiety Shame/ Embarrass r =.5r =.4r = -.2

Psychosexual Development Oral stage: nursing, basic sense of identity and pleasure Anal stage: potty training, putting others first, choosing between pleasures Phallic stage: affection from opposite sex, identify with same sex parent Latency stage Genital stage

More Sex Penis envy? Childhood sexual abuse? Sexual deviancy: Pedophilia, fetishes, oral sex, etc. Society frowned on it; he said it was common Pleasure derived from source other than opposite sex’s genitals

Humor Best jokes: Aggressive or sexual in nature Absurdities, comparisons, saying the opposite Risky, bold, flirts with boundaries Bad jokes: Go too far Don’t go far enough Wrong audience Puns

Psychiatry R x cocaine Friend’s cocaine + morphine death Long-term side effects reported Freud reverses opinion, warns of chemical “cures”

Talk Therapy Psychoanalysis Insight: Discover problems clients are not aware of, help them to make sense of them Focus on the therapeutic relationship All types of talk therapy work equally well

Defense Mechanisms Psychological processes that defend against anxiety Examples: Withdrawal, denial, regression Intellectualization, reaction formation, sexualization Developmental course: More defenses, higher defenses

Dreams “Royal road to the unconscious” Freud was right: deepest unconscious wishes and fears But also… Recent information Also thoughts we’re already aware of Foretelling the future?

Take Home Message He made the field of psychology Hindsight bias Overwhelming positive impact on society, outweighs minor errors

Michael Hoerger To cite this lecture: Hoerger, M. (2007, January 29). Sigmund Freud. Presented at a PSY 220 lecture at Central Michigan University.