PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORIES

Psychoanalytical theories of Freud, Jung, and Adler

Psychoanalytical theories of Freud, Jung, and Adler

Introduction

Psychoanalytic theory began with the research of Sigmund Freud; during the 20th century, psychoanalytic theory evolved into a post-Freudian cacophony of contemporary schools: Classical Freudianism or ego psychology, British object relations, and French psychoanalytic traditions. These dominant orientations, revised by clinical practice, new schools of psychoanalytic thought, contemporary cultural theory, and the pressures of the talking cure, posit universal dilemmas in becoming human. Psychoanalytic theory can be understood as a means for approaching existential questions of life and death, and aggression and Eros in the work of learning to live. These affective dynamics are the basis of the transference; the exchange of love and authority with desire and knowledge. The transference is the basic mechanism of learning and not learning (Britzman, 2006).

In this paper, we will Compare and contrast the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler and Carl Jung. Pioneers of psychology, Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, and Carl Jung were influential thinkers, early founders, and significant contributors to the modern science of psychology. Although their theories were at least as distinct as these three men were they were zealous about their accomplishments, and never settled with conclusion. We will briefly discuss their theories and compare and contrast their approaches.

Concepts presented on Human Psychological Functioning

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud viewed the entire human psyche from a sexual perspective. He theorized that the human mind had three principal components: the id, the ego, and the superego, and these individual parts often conflict, shaping personality and if not treated, cause psychosis. He also believed there were two basic conflicting drives in a person, the life drive and the death drive. The life drive supports survival by avoiding uncomfortable and life-threatening situations while the death drive exists simultaneously with a fondness of extreme pleasure that Freud thought lead to death.

Alfred Adler

Adler thought that the basic psychological element of psychosis was a sense of inferiority and that individuals suffering with symptoms of this phenomenon spent their lives trying to overcome the feelings without ever being in touch with reality. He also believed that if phobic symptoms began in childhood, some of the adult behavior would continue to reflect the age at which the individual stopped developing. Adler directed many of his studies toward application in educational models (Palencik, 2007).

Carl Jung

Carl Jung separated from Sigmund Freud to develop his own human personality theory based on his belief that the human psyche has an unquestionable spiritual nature. He thought dreams contained significant insight into people's psyche and theorized that for people to become whole, they must be taught to assimilate the unconscious with the conscious mind in a process he called individuation. This process was at the center of his analytical psychology. Jung considered people's social aspect when he said, “The human psyche cannot function without a culture, and no individual is possible without society" (Richards, 2008).

Comparison and Contrast of Theories

Freud as a fundamental Force to Jung and Adler

Freud's psychoanalysis was an attempt to explain ...