Final answer:
Structuralism, related to the work of Wilhelm Wundt, is different from Freud's psychoanalysis which focuses on the unconscious mind. Freud used techniques like dream analysis to access the unconscious, believing that understanding it was essential for explaining conscious thought and behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Structuralism in Psychology
Structuralism in psychology, particularly associated with Wilhelm Wundt, suggests that cognitive experience should be understood by breaking it down into smaller parts. This is in contrast to the psychoanalytic approach developed by Sigmund Freud. Freud's psychoanalysis focused extensively on the unconscious mind, proposing that this is where suppressed thoughts, feelings, and memories reside, influencing conscious thoughts and behaviors. Unlike structuralists who examined the components of the conscious mind, Freud believed in exploring the unconscious to resolve inner conflicts and psychological issues.
Freud devised techniques like dream analysis and free association to access the unconscious. Moreover, his theory of the mind's structure—comprising the id, superego, and ego—suggests a complex interplay between instinctual drives, societal norms, and our conscious self that governs behavior and experiences. It was Freud’s belief that dreams could provide insights into the unconscious, often through symbolic manifestations, which could then be interpreted to understand unconscious conflicts and desires.
Therefore, structuralism's goal to dissect mental processes into their elemental parts significantly differs from Freudian psychoanalysis, whose goal was to explore and interpret the unconscious mind.