Sigmund Freud's Psychic Apparatus

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An early psychologist influential in the development of psychology was Sigmund Freud who mentioned that all mental illnesses have psychological causes, claimed that cultural differences impacted psychological and of course gave us an understanding of personality, clinical psychology, human development and abnormal psychology (Cherry, 2017). Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia in 1856 being the oldest of eight children and eventually his family moved to Vienna when he was four years old. He then studied at a preparatory school in Leopoldstadt. Freud’s academic superiority gained him entry into the University at the age of seventeen and later perused his medical degree and PhD in neurology (Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), 2015).
Freud has numerous theories but one of his most famous was known as the ‘Psychic Apparatus’, the id being one’s instincts, the ego being reality and the superego being morality. These were hypothetical conceptualization of important mental functions. Firstly, the id entails two kinds of biological instincts which Freud referred to as Eros (which helps individuals survive such as respiration, eating and sex) and Thanatos (which is death instincts). The id operated at an unconscious level according to the pleasure principle. Secondly, the ego develops from the id during infancy. The ego’s goal is to satisfy the demands of the id in a safe and socially acceptable way. In contrast to the id, the ego follows the reality principle as it operates in both

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