The Father of Psychoanalysis by Hannah

Hannahof Schuylkill Haven's entry into Varsity Tutor's February 2016 scholarship contest

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Hannah of Schuylkill Haven, PA
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The Father of Psychoanalysis by Hannah - February 2016 Scholarship Essay


Sigmund Freud was perhaps one of the greatest, if not the greatest psychologist of all time. Sigmund Freud obtained his doctorate in medicine in 1881, and opened his first neurologist's office in Vienna, Rathausstrasse under Jean-Martin Charcot. Although Sigmund mainly focused his studies on the brain, he also studied the affect personality when the body was unconscious. Sigmund Freud believed that the human personality was split into two parts: the part that could be seen, and the part that could not be seen. Sigmund believed that the part of the personality that can be seen is the part that people are aware of (conscious), and the part that cannot be seen is the part of the personality that people are unaware that they even possess (unconscious). Without Sigmund Freud, psychology would not be where it is today. In college I plan to continue my studies in psychology to one day acquire my Masters/Doctorate degree and open up my own practice. I would want to have dinner with Sigmund Freud because his discoveries and theories have heavily influenced me in choosing my career path.

I wasn’t entirely positive on what I wanted to study in college until I took psychology my senior year of high school. While I was learning about personality and how the brain functions, the same name kept reappearing in my notes, Sigmund Freud. It was fascinating to me how one person could be so influential on how psychology is viewed today. Although Sigmund Freud is best known by his contributions to psychology, there are many other areas of study that acknowledge Freud’s ideas. Literature, art, philosophy, cultural studies, film theory, and many other academic subjects incorporate Freud’s theories into their studies. Sigmund Freud developed many theories, but the one I am most interested in is his psychoanalysis theory. This personality theory argues that a person’s behavior is determined by three components: the id, the ego, and the superego. If I were to sit down and have dinner with Sigmund Freud, I would ask him how he put these three components together to develop the psychoanalysis theory. The id is identified as the part of the personality that is unconscious. The ego is classified as unconscious, but can be brought to consciousness due to the reality happening around a certain person (this is called the reality process). The superego is the part of the personality that is conscious and fully functional. My other question for Sigmund Freud would be why the personality was broken down into three components, rather than just two. Two components seem as if it would make more sense, simply using unconscious and conscious. I believe Sigmund created a third component to express how intelligent he truly was, because he was thinking outside of “the box”. It showed that he was an open thinker and expanded his studies past the simple theories of conscious and unconscious states of personality.

If I could have dinner with any historical figure it would be Sigmund Freud because he has heavily influenced me in my choice to become a psychologist. He sparked my interest to want to learn more about the human brain and personality. One day I plan to become as successful as he was and to make a difference in the world of psychoanalysis. I am truly passionate about psychology, and am excited to learn more about this topic by furthering my education.

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