Question

Many contemporary psychologists do not support much of what Freud believed (e.g., the psychosexual stages), yet many of his ideas persist. What is the one thing that you think we can take away from his ideas? In other words, which belief/concept do you feel may truly apply to human personality? Why?

Answer 1

Freud is the most criticized , yet most associated name when we talk about personality psychology. Most of his ideas like the psychosexual stages and the conflicts of the id ego and superego are criticized for too much focus on sexuality, misogyny and lack of empirical proof. Yet he laid the foundation, which is being modified and corrected to gain a better understanding of human personality by later psychologists.
One of his ideas that still holds a place in understanding personality is the role of unconscious. Although Freud did not discover unconscious , he was the one who emphasized on its role in defining and understanding the deepest aspects of a person's identity.
His techniques of free association and dream analysis are being accepted as relevant because now we have access to neuroimaging, which can highlight any brain activity if some unconscious memory is triggered by a stimuli. Unconscious is important because most modern day theories explain the person's overt characteristic behaviours but cannot explain their origin. The role of genetics may be easy to study , but other factors which also have some effect on the person right from the day they are born, are difficult to understand as we cannot record each and every minute or event from someone's life. Our unconscious is a natural store of all such relevant stimuli which have shaped us in becoming who we are. By delving into its depth carefully, it becomes easier to see how we became the person we are today.