This paper focuses on Freud's revolutionary theory of psychoanalysis and whether
psychoanalysis should be considered a "great" idea in personality. The fundamental
principles of the theory are developed and explained. In addition, the views of experts
are reviewed, and many of the criticisms and strengths of various aspects of Freud's
theory are examined and explained. Upon consideration, the author considers
psychoanalysis to be a valuable theory despite its weaknesses because it is
comprehensive, serendipitous, innovative, and has withstood the test of time.
Consequently, the author contends that psychoanalysis is indeed a "great" idea in
personality.
As a therapy, psychoanalysis is based on the concept that individuals are unaware of the many
factors that cause their behavior and emotions. These unconscious factors have the potential to
produce unhappiness, which in turn is expressed through a score of distinguishable symptoms,
including disturbing personality traits, difficulty in relating to others, or disturbances in self-esteem or
general disposition (American Psychoanalytic Association, 1998).
Psychoanalytic treatment is highly individualized and seeks to show how the unconscious factors
affect behavior patterns, relationships, and overall mental health. Treatment traces the unconscious
factors to their origins, shows how they have evolved and developed over the course of many years,
and subsequently helps individuals to overcome the challenges they face in life (National
Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis, 1998).
In addition to being a therapy, psychoanalysis is a method of understanding mental functioning and
the stages of growth and development. Psychoanalysis is a general theory of individual human
behavior and experience, and it has both contributed to and been enriched by many other disciplines.
Psychoanalysis seeks to explain the complex relationship between the body and the mind and
furthers the understanding of the role of emotions in medical illness and health. In addition,
psychoanalysis is the basis of many other approaches to therapy. Many insights revealed by
psychoanalytic treatment have formed the basis for other treatment programs in child psychiatry,
family therapy, and general psychiatric practice (Farrell, 1981, p. 202).
The value and validity of psychoanalysis as a theory and treatment have been questioned since its
inception in the early 1900s. Critics dispute many aspects of psychoanalysis including whether or not
it is indeed a science; the value of the data upon which Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, based
his theories; and the method and effectiveness of psychoanalytic treatment. There has been much
criticism as well as praise regarding psychoanalysis over the years, but a hard look at both the
positive and negative feedback of critics of psychoanalysis shows, in my opinion, that psychoanalysis
is indeed a "great idea" in personality that should not be overlooked.
The Origins of Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud was the first psychoanalyst and a true pioneer in the recognition of the importance of
unconscious mental activity. His theories on the inner workings of the human mind, which seemed so
revolutionary at the turn of the century, are now widely accepted by most schools of psychological
thought. In 1896, Freud coined the term "psychoanalysis," and for the next forty years of his life, he
worked on thoroughly developing its main principles, objectives, techniques, and methodology.
Freud's many writings detail many of his thoughts on mental life, including the structural theory of the
mind, dream interpretation, the technique of psychoanalysis, and assorted other topics. Eventually
psychoanalysis began to thrive, and by 1925, it was established around the world as a flourishing
movement. Although for many years Freud had been considered a radical by many in his profession,
he was soon accepted and well-known worldwide as a leading expert in psychoanalysis (Gay, 1989,
p. xii). In 1939, Freud succumbed to cancer after a lifetime dedicated to psychological thought and
the development of his many theories (Gay, 1989, p. xx).
Although Freud's life had ended, he left behind a legacy unmatched by any other, a legacy that
continues very much to this day. Whereas new ideas have enriched the field of psychoanalysis and
techniques have adapted and expanded over the years, psychoanalysts today, like Freud, believe
that psychoanalysis is the most effective method of obtaining knowledge of the mind. Through
psychoanalysis, patients free themselves from terrible mental anguish and achieve greater
understanding of themselves and others.
Principles of Freud's Theory of Psychoanalysis
In An Outline of Psychoanalysis, Freud (1949) explains the principal tenets on which
psychoanalytic theory is based. He begins with an explanation of the three forces of the psychical
apparatus--the id, the ego, and the superego. The id has the quality of being unconscious and
contains everything that is inherited, everything that is present at birth, and the instincts (Freud, 1949,
p. 14). The ego has the quality of being conscious and is responsible for controlling the demands of
the id and of the instincts, becoming aware of stimuli, and serving as a link between the id and the
external world. In addition, the ego responds to stimulation by either adaptation or flight, regulates
activity, and strives to achieve pleasure and avoid unpleasure (Freud, 1949, p. 14-15). Finally, the
superego, whose demands are managed by the id, is responsible for the limitation of satisfactions and
represents the influence of others, such as parents, teachers, and role models, as well as the impact
of racial, societal, and cultural traditions (Freud, 1949, p. 15).
Freud states that the instincts are the ultimate cause of all behavior. The two basic instincts are Eros
(love) and the destructive or death instinct. The purpose of Eros is to establish and preserve unity
through relationships. On the other hand, the purpose of the death instinct is to undo connections and
unity via destruction (Freud, 1949, p. 18). The two instincts can either operate against each other
through repulsion or combine with each other through attraction (Freud, 1949, p. 19).
Freud (1949) contends that sexual life begins with manifestations that present themselves soon after
birth (p. 23). The four main phases in sexual development are the oral phase, the sadistic-anal phase,
the phallic phase, and the genital phase, and each phase is characterized by specific occurrences.
During the oral phase, the individual places emphasis on providing satisfaction for the needs of the
mouth, which emerges as the first erotogenic zone (Freud, 1949, p. 24). During the sadistic-anal
phase, satisfaction is sought through aggression and in the excretory function. During the phallic
phase, the young boy enters the Oedipus phase where he fears his father and castration while
simultaneously fantasizing about sexual relations with his mother (Freud, 1949, p. 25). The young
girl, in contrast, enters the Electra phase, where she experiences penis envy, which often culminates
in her turning away from sexual life altogether. Following the phallic phase is a period of latency, in
which sexual development comes to a halt (Freud, 1949, p. 23). Finally, in the genital phase, the
sexual function is completely organized and the coordination of sexual urge towards pleasure is
completed. Errors occurring in the development of the sexual function result in homosexuality and
sexual perversions, according to Freud (1949, p. 27).
Freud (1949) defines the qualities of the psychical process as being either conscious, preconscious,
or unconscious (p. 31). Ideas considered to be conscious are those of which we are aware, yet they
remain conscious only briefly. Preconscious ideas are defined as those that are capable of becoming
conscious. In contrast, unconscious ideas are defined as those that are not easily accessible but can
be inferred, recognized, and explained through analysis (Freud, 1949, p. 32).
Freud spent many years hypothesizing about the role of dreams and their interpretation. He defines
the states of sleep to be a period of uproar and chaos during which the unconscious thoughts of the
id attempt to force their way into consciousness (Freud, 1949, p. 38). In order to interpret a dream,
which develops from either the id or the ego, certain assumptions must be made, including the
acknowledgment that what is recalled from a dream is only a facade behind which the meaning must
be inferred. Dreams are undoubtedly caused by conflict and are characterized by their power to
bring up memories that the dreamer has forgotten, their strong use of symbolism, and their ability to
reproduce repressed impressions of the dreamer's childhood (Freud, 1949, p. 40). In addition,
dreams, which are fulfillments of wishes, according to Freud (1949), are capable of bringing up
impressions that cannot have originated from the dreamer's life (Freud, 1949, p. 45).
The basic objective of psychoanalysis is to remove neuroses and thereby cure patients by returning
the damaged ego to its normal state (Freud, 1949, p. 51). During analysis, a process that often takes
many years, patients tell analysts both what they feel is important and what they consider to be
unimportant. An aspect of analysis that has both positive and negative repercussions is transference,
which occurs when patients view their analysts as parents, role models, or other figures from their
past. Transference causes patients to become concerned with pleasing their analysts and, as a result,
patients lose their rational aim of getting well (Freud, 1949, p. 52).
The method of psychoanalysis involves several significant steps. First, analysts gather material with
which to work from patients' free associations, results of transference, dream interpretation, and the
patients' slips and parapraxes (Freud, 1949, p. 56). Second, analysts begin to form hypotheses
about what happened to the patients in the past and what is currently happening to them in their daily
life. It is important that analysts relay the conclusions at which they arrive based on their observations
only after the patients have reached the same conclusions on their own accord. Should analysts
reveal their conclusions to patients too soon, resistance due to repression occurs. Overcoming this
resistance requires additional time and effort by both the analysts and the patients. Once patients
accept the conclusions, they are cured (Freud, 1949, p. 57).
In the final chapters of An Outline of Psychoanalysis, Freud (1949) insists that it is neither practical
nor fair to scientifically define what is normal and abnormal, and despite his theory's accuracy,
"reality will always remain unknowable" (p. 83). He claims that although his theory is correct to the
best of his knowledge, "it is unlikely that such generalizations can be universally correct" (Freud,
1949, p. 96).
Evaluating the Criticisms of Psychoanalysis
In his "Précis of The Foundations of Psychoanalysis: A Philosophical Critique," Grünbaum
(1986) asserts that "while psychoanalysis may thus be said to be scientifically alive, it is currently
hardly well" (p. 228). The criticisms of Freud's theory can be grouped into three general categories.
First, critics contend that Freud's theory is lacking in empirical evidence and relies too heavily on
therapeutic achievements, whereas others assert that even Freud's clinical data are flawed,
inaccurate, and selective at best. Second, the actual method or techniques involved in
psychoanalysis, such as Freud's ideas on the interpretation of dreams and the role of free
association, have been criticized. Finally, some critics assert that psychoanalysis is simply not a
science and many of the principles upon which it is based are inaccurate.
Criticisms of Freud's Evidence
Grünbaum (1986) believes that the reasoning on which Freud based his entire psychoanalytic theory
was "fundamentally flawed, even if the validity of his clinical evidence were not in question" but that
"the clinical data are themselves suspect; more often than not, they may be the patient's responses to
the suggestions and expectations of the analyst" (p. 220). Grünbaum (1986) concludes that in order
for psychoanalytic hypotheses to be validated in the future, data must be obtained from extraclinical
studies rather than from data obtained in a clinical setting (p. 228). In other words, Grünbaum and
other critics assert that psychoanalysis lacks in empirical data (Colby, 1960, p. 54).
Other critics disagree with Grünbaum and insist that although extraclinical studies must and should be
performed, clinical data are a reliable and necessary source of evidence because the theory of
psychoanalysis would be impossible to test otherwise (Edelson, 1986, p. 232). Shevrin (1986)
insists that "Freud's admirable heuristic hypotheses did not come out of the thin air or simply out of
his imagination" (p.258) as other critics might have the reader believe. Instead, Shevrin (1986)
continues, "extraclinical methods must be drawn upon in addition to the clinical method because the
clinical method is the only way we can be in touch with certain phenomena" (p. 259). Only with
quantification, many critics assert, can supposedly scientific theories even begin to be evaluated
based on their empirical merits.
Additional critics contend that Freud's clinical data are flawed or invalid. Greenberg (1986) believes
that Freud's case studies do not place enough stress on revealing the outcome of the treatment and
that Freud's aim was more to illustrate his theoretical points (p. 240). In addition, Freud fully
presented only twelve cases, but he mentioned over one hundred minor cases. Greenberg asserts
that many of the presented cases would not even be considered acceptable examples of
psychoanalysis and, in short, that virtually all of the case studies had basic shortcomings (p. 240).
Finally, Greenberg finds it "both striking and curious" (p. 240) that Freud chose to illustrate the
usefulness of psychoanalysis through the display of unsuccessful cases. "We were forced to
conclude," maintains Greenberg, "that Freud never presented any data, in statistical or case study
form, that demonstrated that his treatment was of benefit to a significant number of the patients he
himself saw" (p. 241). Many other powerful criticisms about Freud's inaccurate and subsequently
flawed evidence have been published. These critics contend that Freud's evidence is flawed due to
the lack of an experiment, the lack of a control group, and the lack of observations that went
unrecorded (Colby, 1960, p. 54). In addition, critics find fault with the demographically restricted
sample of individuals on which Freud based the majority of his data and theory (Holt, 1986, p. 242).
Criticisms of Freud's Technique
"Free association" is a method employed in psychoanalysis where the patients speak about any
subject matter whatsoever and the analyst draws conclusions based on what is said. According to
Storr (1986), "Grünbaum forcefully argues that free association is neither free nor validating evidence
for psychoanalytic theory" (p. 260). "For my own part, however," Grünbaum (1986) concludes, "I
find it unwarranted to use free association to validate causal inferences" (p. 224). Grünbaum (1986)
contends that free association is not a valid method of accessing the patients' repressed memories
because there is no way of ensuring that the analyst is capable of distinguishing between the patients'
actual memories and imagined memories constructed due to the influence of the analyst's leading
questions (p. 226).
Spence (1986) is critical of Grünbaum's argument, although he acknowledges that
we simply do not know the amount of contamination, the spread of infection within the
session, and the extent to which suggested responses are balanced by unexpected
confirmations which support the theory and take the analyst by surprise. (p. 259)
Spence contends that free associations are not necessarily contaminated and also makes note of the
fact that psychoanalysts "are particularly sensitized (in the course of their training) to the dangers of
suggestion, and schooled in a tradition which places an emphasis on minimal comment and redundant
examples" (p. 259). Spence concludes that the answer to the important question concerning the
validity of free association will only be realized through close inspection of the transcripts of meetings
between the patient and analyst.
In addition to his criticism of free association, Grünbaum (1986) finds fault with Freud's theory of
dreams. In spite of Freud's view that this theory represented his greatest insight and success, it has
very much failed in the eyes of most of today's critics.
Finally, many people feel that a major flaw of psychoanalysis is that, according to Farrell (1981), "it
appears to encourage analytic and psychodynamic practitioners to overlook the place and great
importance of ordinary common sense".