Final answer:
Freud believed that dreams were the 'royal road to the unconscious,' providing a gateway to access repressed memories and internal desires. His psychoanalytic theory focused on the significant influence of the unconscious on conscious behavior, establishing methods like dream analysis to study the psyche.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sigmund Freud believed that dreams were the "royal road to the unconscious." Freud's psychoanalytic theory emphasizes the importance of the unconscious mind in influencing conscious behavior. He theorized that dreams allow us access to repressed memories and desires hidden within the unconscious. Freud utilized methods such as dream analysis, slips of the tongue, and free association as tools to explore the subconscious mind. Moreover, Freud's model of the psyche included the id, ego, and superego, and he proposed that individuals progress through psychosexual stages which focus on different erogenous zones at each stage.
Freud's ideas about the unconscious mind point to the complex nature of human psychology, where much of our thoughts and feelings are not immediately available to our conscious mind. This leads to inner conflicts as individuals wrestle with their desires and societal expectations, sometimes resulting in defense mechanisms that can cause issues later in life if unresolved.