Final answer:
Psychoanalytic theory is controversial primarily because it involves exploring a person's sexual experiences and desires. Freud's emphasis on the role of early childhood and the unconscious mind in shaping behavior has influenced psychology, despite some of his specific ideas being disputed.
Step-by-step explanation:
Psychoanalytic theory became controversial because it required exploring a person's sexual experiences and desires. This aspect of the theory, proposed by Sigmund Freud, elicited significant controversy due to the emphasis on sexual development and the impact of early childhood experiences on personality. Freud believed the unconscious mind played a critical role in influencing behavior, which he sought to access through dream analysis, slips of the tongue, and free association. While some ideas have not held up under modern research, the concept of the unconscious and its effects on our conscious experience is a lasting contribution of Freud's work.
Freud's division of the mind into the id, ego, and superego, along with the stages of psychosexual development, are among his most debated concepts today. The notion that adult personality is rooted in the traumas and experiences of childhood, particularly as they relate to innate sexual and aggressive urges, was groundbreaking yet divisive. Freud's methods and theories, such as the importance of unconscious processes, have influenced a range of psychological thinking even as some specifics have been criticized or refuted over time.