Freuds psychoanalysis

Question 1

ego

Answer 1

This part of the personality is rational and tries to balance the conflicting demands of other parts of the personality. it operates according to reality and tries to satisfy pleasure in a socially responsible way.

Question 2

superego

Answer 2

This part of the personality tries to impose moral standards on the individual and includes the conscience and what a person should be like. it operates according to morality and tries to impose right and wrong in relation to pleasure, including forbidden behaviour such as aggression.

Question 3

id

Answer 3

This part of the personality focuses on pleasure and satisfying instinctual urges and individual may have. it operates according to pleasure and don’t not understand logic, so it becomes frustrated, potentially leading to aggressive urges if denied pleasure.

Question 4

Evaluation

Answer 4

• Freud suggested that only early childhood experiences may shape aggressive human behaviour in adulthood which is reductionist because it ignores alternative explanations such as hormones like testosterone being influential in someones aggressive behaviour.
• Freuds concepts of the id, ego and superego, underpinning his theory of aggression, cannot be seen to be measured objectively therefore his explanation of aggressive behaviour can be viewed as unscientific because these concepts are unfalsifiable.
• supporting evidence. his theory was generated from in-depth case studies in which he looked at many aspects of a persons background and mental state. His methods involved gathering and analysing qualitative data from various methods (such as dream analysis) which gathered in-depth and detailed data therefore increasing validity.
  however this is subjective and open to bias.

Question 5

Application

Answer 5

The main application of Freuds theories is the therapy called psychoanalysis. psychoanalysis can help treat emotional problems by exploring their unconscious causes. However although this can be helpful when involving elements of interpretation of symbols in dreams, this is unable to be analysed objectively so heavily subjected to bias.

Question 6

A01

Answer 6

This theory is based on how our behaviour and feelings are strongly affected by our unconscious mind; these unconscious influences come from past experiences and innate instincts.