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Essay on Brenner & Freud
Freud theory of psychoanalysis:
The main hypothetical structures of personality that Freud delineated are three mental systems: the id, ego, and superego, each of which has its own characteristics but all of which are interrelated to produce an organized system. Personality dynamics refers to the energy characteristics of the system, which power or energize the structures and become transformed in various ways in the course of the ongoing life processes. As we shall see, concepts such as "instinct," "cathexis," and "pleasure principle" are part of personality dynamics. It is traditional in discussing Freud's psychoanalytic theory to discuss the mental structure separately from the mental dynamics. (Bartlett H. Stoodley, 1959)
In his earlier writings, Freud emphasized the unconscious determination of behavior. The primary subdivisions of the personality were the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious realms, of which the unconscious was overwhelmingly important as a source of behavior. Gifted with the ability to use a metaphor, Freud likened these subdivisions to an iceberg, which has only a small surface showing above the water and the largest portion, the unconscious, below the surface. Later Freud altered his conception of conscious and unconscious to the status of qualities rather than subdivisions of the personality; that is, a mental act could have the quality of consciousness, preconsciousness, or unconsciousness, and Freud then identified the major subdivisions or structures of the personality as the id, ego, and superego. Activity of the id is normally unconscious; that is, it is never accessible to direct experience. Most of the ego and superego also are unconscious, but portions of them can have the quality of being conscious and preconscious.
The id is the system of the personality that is most primitive and earliest to develop. It is the source of energy for all mental life. The child inherits its contents from preceding generations, and it is the only mental system present at birth....................
