Although people have speculated about the nature of personality throughout
history, the first acknowledged personality theorist did not emerge until thelate 1800s. Then an Austrian neurologist began proposing such outrageous
notions as the existence of sexual desires in young children, unconscious
causes for baffling physical disorders, and treatment through a time-
consuming, expensive procedure in which patients lie on a couch while the
doctor listens to them talk about seemingly irrelevant topics. That neurolo-
gist, Sigmund Freud, continued to develop, promote, and defend his ideas de-spite intense criticism. By the time of his death in 1939, Freud had written
numerous volumes, was recognized as the leader of an important intellectual
movement, and had changed the thinking of psychologists, writers, parents,and laypeople for years to come.
Freud ’s influence on 21st-century thought is so widespread that most of
us fail to appreciate the extent to which his theory has become part of ourthinking. For example, if you are like most adults in this culture, you freely
accept the idea that what you do is sometimes influenced by an unconscious
part of your mind. Most of us have said something like “I must have done
that unconsciously ”or pondered what sort of hidden psychological conflict
might be behind a friend or loved one ’s unusual behavior. Although Freud
was not the first to talk about the unconscious, no one before or since hasplaced so much emphasis on unconscious processes in explaining human be-
havior. Similarly, when we wonder whether our dreams reveal inner fears
and desires, we are espousing an idea Freud popularized. Although people
have interpreted dreams for thousands of years, Freud was the first to incor-
porate dream interpretation into a larger psychological theory.
References to Freudian theory permeate our culture. As one writer put it,
“Freud ’s theories of the subconscious mind …have had a dramatic impact on
contemporary film, theater, novels, political campaigning, advertising, legal
argument and even religion ”(Fisher, 1995). English students learn Freudian
psychology when studying the themes in great literature; theology students
debate Freud ’s views on religion. Even our language has not escaped. It is not
uncommon to hear people mention Freudian slips, denial, libido, repression,
and other Freudian concepts in everyday conversations. But perhaps the mosttelling tribute to Freud ’s impact is that nearly every major theorist covered in
this book has felt compelled to use Freud ’sw o r k sa sap o i n to fc o m p a r i s o n
for his or her own ideas about the nature of personality. Appropriately, thischapter begins with an examination of Freud ’s theory of personality.
FREUD DISCOVERS THE UNCONSCIOUS
How did a Viennese neurologist come to change the way we think of human-
kind? There is little in Freud ’s early history to indicate that greatness awaited
him. Although Freud was a respected member of the medical community, his
interests began to drift. In 1885 he went to Paris to study with another40 CHAPTER 3 The Psychoanalyt ic Approach