Final answer:
Psychoanalysis, created by Sigmund Freud, focuses on the unconscious mind and its role in influencing behavior, with an emphasis on childhood experiences. This approach uses techniques such as free association to uncover repressed memories impacting adult life. Freud's structural model, which comprises the id, ego, and superego, outlines the dynamics that shape personality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Psychoanalysis Developed by Sigmund Freud
The therapeutic technique developed by Freud, known as psychoanalysis, relies heavily on a therapist’s interpretation of a client’s unconscious desires. Freud's methods, including dream analysis, slips of the tongue, and free association, were designed to access thoughts and feelings stored within the unconscious. He proposed a structural model of the mind with the id, ego, and superego. The id is driven by basic instincts, the superego by societal norms, and the ego mediates between these two forces. This often leads to internal conflict, which is reflected in our behaviors and psychological states.
Freud's theories suggest that early childhood experiences substantially impact one's personality and that repressed memories can affect adult life. His influence extends to the domains of personality theory, therapy, and lifespan development. Although some of Freud's ideas are controversial and have received criticism, others have been supported by subsequent research, affirming the role of unconscious processes and early experiences in shaping behavior.
Many of Freud's methods remain in use, while his foundational ideas have been adapted and expanded upon by later psychologists and theorists, including those who identify as neo-Freudians. These theorists generally agreed with the importance of childhood experiences but often moved away from Freud's focus on sexual development to emphasize social and cultural influences.