Chapter 2    Freud: Psychoanalysis37
fei75766_ch02_019-071.indd 37  02/19/20 08:59 AMInfants areprimarily self-centered, withtheir libido invested almost exclu -
sively ontheir ownego.Thiscondition, which isuniversal, isknown asprimary 
narcissism. Astheegodevelops, children usually giveupmuch oftheir primary 
narcissism anddevelop agreater interest inother people. InFreud’s language, 
narcissistic libido isthentransformed intoobject libido. During puberty, however, 
adolescents often redirect their libido back totheegoandbecome preoccupied with
personal appearance andother self-interests. Thispronounced secondary  narcissism 
isnotuniversal, butamoderate degree ofself-love iscommon tonearly everyone 
(Freud, 1914/1957).
Thesecond manifestation ofErosislove,which develops when people invest 
theirlibido onanobject oraperson other thanthemselves. Children’s firstsexual 
interest istheperson whocares forthem, generally themother. During infancy chil-
drenofeither sexexperience sexual loveforthemother. Overt sexual loveformem -
bersofone’s family, however, ordinarily isrepressed, which brings thesecond type
ofloveintoexistence. Freud called thissecond kindofloveaim-inhibited because 
theoriginal aimofreducing sexual tension isinhibited orrepressed. Thekindoflove
people feelfortheirsiblings orparents isgenerally aim-inhibited.
Obviously, loveandnarcissism areclosely interrelated. Narcissism involves 
loveofself,whereas loveisoften accompanied bynarcissistic tendencies, aswhen 
people lovesomeone whoserves asanideal ormodel ofwhat theywould liketobe.
Twoother drives thatarealsointertwined aresadism andmasochism. Sadism 
istheneed forsexual pleasure byinflicting painorhumiliation onanother person. 
Carried toanextreme, itisconsidered asexual perversion, butinmoderation, sadism 
isacommon need andexists tosome extent inallsexual relationships. Itisperverted 
when thesexual aimoferotic pleasure becomes secondary tothedestructive aim
(Freud, 1933/1964).
Masochism, likesadism, isacommon need, butitbecomes aperversion when 
Erosbecomes subservient tothedestructive drive. Masochists experience sexual plea-
surefrom suffering painandhumiliation inflicted either bythemselves orbyothers. 
Because masochists canprovide self-inflicted pain, theydonotdepend onanother 
person forthesatisfaction ofmasochistic needs. Incontrast, sadists must seekand
findanother person onwhom toinflict painorhumiliation. Inthisrespect, sadists  
aremore dependent onother people thanmasochists.
Aggression
Partially asaresult ofhisunhappy experiences during World WarIandpartially asa
consequence ofthedeath ofhisbeloved daughter Sophie, Freud (1920/1955a) wrote 
Beyond the Pleasure Principle, abook thatelevated aggression tothelevelofthesexual 
drive. Ashedidwithmany ofhisother concepts, Freud setforth hisideas tentatively 
andwithsome caution. With time, however, aggression, likeseveral other tentatively 
proposed concepts, became dogma.
Theaimofthedestructive drive, according toFreud, istoreturn theorgan -
ismtoaninorganic state. Because theultimate inorganic condition isdeath, the
finalaimoftheaggressive drive isself-destruction. Aswiththesexual drive, aggres -
sionisflexible andcantakeanumber offorms, suchasteasing, gossip, sarcasm, Final PDF to printer