Question

I need a really good start to psychoanalytic theory research paper ... at least one page but no plagerism please

Answer 1

Psychoanalytic theory of personality guides the development of psychoanalysis as a school of thought. It was pioneered by Sigmund Freud who aimed at explaining personality in terms of the interaction between the various structures of personality, including the id, ego and superego. From a very physiological orientation to explaining behaviour, he moved towards the role of unconscious and other psychological attributes that lead to behaviour. The id comprised of the irrational impulses that demand immediate gratification whereas ego is based on the reality principle and aims at controlling the activities of id, ensuring that gratification occurs under desirable circumstances. On the other hand, superego is the moral agent that provides with an ability to distinguish between the ethical and unethical on the basis of one’s conscience. The role that the unconscious mind plays here is given importance in determining the behaviour of an individual. The unconscious is described as everything that is outside the conscious awareness of a person. Also, the concept of defense mechanisms explains how we indulge in different ways of approaching situations of inner conflict in order to restore mental homeostasis. For instance, the superego stops us from having cake whereas id demands immediate gratification. The person then tells herself that she is not fat and has good metabolism and therefore it okay to eat this much cake. This is then known as rationalizing, i.e. attempting to rationalise an unethical behaviour in order to restore psychic equilibrium. Also childhood experiences are of crucial importance as per the theory and to determine how one functions in their later life. This includes how one undergoes the psychosexual stages of development and the kind of experiences they have during the early years of life including the relationships.