Sigmund Freud.
Freud was born on the 6th of May 1856 and later died on September 23rd 1939.
Freud is well known for his theorem on psychoanalysis, this is the idea that talking about your problems would help cure them. Psychoanalysis is otherwise known as ‘the talking cure.’ Freud developed this cure with the help of his mentor, Dr. Josef Breuer.
Freud studied medicine at the University of Vienna then he worked and gained respect as a physician. During his work, Freud became fascinated with the emotional disorder known as hysteria. Later Freud was introduced to the case of ‘Anna O’ by his friend and mentor Dr. Josef Breuer. Anna O’s real name was Bertha Pappenheim. Her symptoms were varied and included a nervous cough, tactile anesthesia which is a medical symptom in which there is a total or partial absence of the sense of touch. And another symptom was paralysis.
Freud had Bertha sit or lie down and talk about things that troubled her. Freud noticed that as she spoke about these things her symptoms relaxed. The talking was like a calming effect on her symptoms. It was Bertha Pappenheim herself who referred to the treatment as ‘the talking cure.’
I think this theorem had a dramatic effect on psychology because it changed the way people view psychologists. For example in most films the stereotypical psychologist has a nice sofa or chair in their room so someone could sit or lie down and talk about their problems which is believed to help them.
Freud also wrote three essays on the theory of sexuality, these were called; ‘the sexual aberrations’ ‘The infantile sexuality’ and ‘The transformation of puberty.’ Freud suggested that psychological development takes place in a series of fixed stages. These are called psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido (sexual drives or instincts) on a different area of the body. Freud believed that life was built round tension and pleasure however he also believed that all tension was due to...