Freud and Psychoanalysis: Id, Ego, Superego and 7 Exercises

1. Start with Studies on Hysteria (1895), written with Josef Breuer: the cathartic method, before psychoanalysis proper.
2. Next comes The Interpretation of Dreams, published in 1899 and dated 1900 on the title page: the book that founds the theory of the unconscious.
3. Then Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905), which introduces the psychosexual stages.
4. In 1920 Beyond the Pleasure Principle adds the death drive to the life drive; in 1923 The Ego and the Id presents the structural model.
5. Finally, in 1938, after Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, Freud leaves Vienna for London, where he dies in 1939.

Answer: c) 1895, b) 1899-1900, d) 1905, e) 1920, a) 1923, f) 1938

1. a) False: the idea of non-conscious mental processes already circulated in the 19th century. Freud's contribution is to build a systematic theory and therapy around it.
2. b) False: the id follows the pleasure principle and wants immediate satisfaction. The reality principle belongs to the ego, which mediates between drives and the outside world.
3. c) True: the superego internalizes the prohibitions and ideals of parents and society and acts as an inner judge (guilt).
4. d) False: Freud used hypnosis early on, then dropped it because not every patient could be hypnotized and results were short-lived. He replaced it with free association.
5. e) True: the phrase comes from The Interpretation of Dreams: repressed wishes find expression in dreams, though in disguise.

Answer: a) False; b) False (it follows the pleasure principle); c) True; d) False (he abandoned hypnosis for free association); e) True

1. 1) Id: an immediate demand for satisfaction with no thought for consequences (pleasure principle).
2. 2) Ego: postpones satisfaction and takes time and reality into account (reality principle).
3. 3) Superego: an internalized moral judgment that produces guilt and shame.
4. 4) Ego: weighs real-world consequences and picks a solution that reconciles the wish with the rules.
5. Note: the ego serves three masters, the id, the superego and external reality, which is why Freud describes it as constantly under pressure.

Answer: 1) id; 2) ego; 3) superego; 4) ego

1. 1) Displacement: aggression that cannot hit its real target (the boss) is redirected to a safer one.
2. 2) Repression: the uncomfortable memory is kept out of consciousness. It is the basic mechanism from which Freud starts.
3. 3) Projection or rationalization: if Luke attributes to the teacher a hostility that is not there, it is projection; if he invents a plausible excuse so as not to admit he did not study, it is rationalization. The case is ambiguous, so the wording matters.
4. 4) Regression: a return to behavior from an earlier stage of development.
5. 5) Sublimation: the aggressive drive is channeled into a socially valued activity. For Freud it is the healthiest mechanism.
6. 6) Reaction formation: the unacceptable feeling is turned into its opposite.

Answer: 1) displacement; 2) repression; 3) rationalization (or projection, if he credits the teacher with hostility); 4) regression; 5) sublimation; 6) reaction formation

1. Manifest content: what the dreamer remembers, namely the exam, the hybrid figure and the unreadable paper.
2. Latent content: the repressed wish or worry the dream expresses in disguise. It is reconstructed through free association, by letting the dreamer talk about each element.
3. Condensation: two different people (teacher and father) are fused into one image, so the manifest dream is much poorer than its latent meaning.
4. Symbolization: the exam and the unreadable paper may stand for fear of being judged and of not meeting expectations.
5. Displacement: anxiety may be shifted onto an apparently trivial detail (the paper) to hide the real object, perhaps her father's judgment.
6. Methodological caution: for Freud meaning does not come from a dictionary of symbols but from the dreamer's own associations. Without them the interpretation stays a hypothesis.

Answer: Manifest content: exam, hybrid figure, unreadable paper. Latent content: anxiety about judgment and expectations, perhaps tied to the father, reconstructed by free association. Dream work: condensation (teacher + father), symbolization (exam and paper), displacement of anxiety onto a detail.

1. There are five stages: oral (about 0-1.5 years), anal (about 1.5-3), phallic (about 3-6), latency (age 6 to puberty), genital (from puberty). Ages are approximate.
2. 1) Oral fixation: libido concentrated on the mouth and on the need for nourishment and contact.
3. 2) Anal fixation: tied to toilet training, where control of the body becomes control in general (the anal character).
4. 3) Phallic fixation: tied to the stage in which the child discovers sex differences and measures himself against parental figures.
5. The Oedipus complex belongs to the phallic stage: the child desires the parent of the opposite sex and feels rivalry toward the same-sex parent. It resolves through identification with the rival parent, which helps form the superego.
6. Latency is the period when the sexual drive is less visible and energy turns to learning and social life.
7. Careful: in Freud's theory 'sexual' has a very broad meaning, the pursuit of bodily pleasure, not identical to adult sexuality.

Answer: 1) oral; 2) anal; 3) phallic. Oedipus complex: phallic stage (about 3-6), resolved by identification and founding the superego. Latency: age 6 to puberty, when the drive is less visible and energy goes to school and friendships.

1. Object of study: psychoanalysis investigates inner psychic life, especially the unconscious and conflict. Behaviorism studies only observable behavior and refuses to rely on internal entities that cannot be measured.
2. Method: psychoanalysis uses clinical conversation, free association and interpretation of dreams and slips, in other words single cases. Behaviorism uses laboratory experiments with controlled, measurable variables.
3. Criticism of psychoanalysis: its claims are hard to test, and many rest on a few clinical cases interpreted by the theorist himself.
4. Criticism of behaviorism: it ignores internal mental processes, which cognitive psychology brought back from the 1950s.
5. For Popper a theory is scientific if some possible observation could refute it. In his view psychoanalysis can explain any behavior, even the opposite of what it predicts (for example through reaction formation), so no data could refute it.
6. Balanced view: Freud's historical and conceptual value (the unconscious, defenses, childhood) is still recognized, even though many specific claims are disputed.

Answer: Psychoanalysis: studies the unconscious through conversation and interpretation, criticized for weak testability. Behaviorism: studies observable behavior through experiments, criticized for ignoring the mind. For Popper psychoanalysis is unfalsifiable because it can explain any result, so no observation could refute it.