Although there are certain contradictions between the personality models created by Freud, in general They can be conceived as complementary theories or as updates and developments of several fundamental concepts, for example drives or defense mechanisms. Let’s see what each of these theories consists of.
1. Topographic model
Freud developed the topographic model during the early stage of his career. It was originally described in one of his key works: “The Interpretation of Dreams”, published in 1900. This theory of personality is also known as “First Topic”.
The topographic model divides the mind into three “regions”: the unconscious, the preconscious and the conscious In each of these places, which must be understood symbolically, we would find different psychological contents and processes.
The unconscious is the deepest level of the mind. It hides thoughts, impulses, memories and fantasies that are very difficult to access from consciousness. This part of the mind is directed by the pleasure principle and by the primary processes (condensation and displacement), and psychic energy circulates freely.
The preconscious mind acts as a junction between the other two sections It is made up of memory traces in verbal format; In this case it is possible to know the contents from consciousness through the focusing of attention.
Finally, consciousness is understood as a system with an intermediary role between the deepest regions of the psyche and the outside world. Cognition, motor skills, and interaction with the environment depend on the conscious mind, which is governed by the reality principle instead of pleasure, in the same way as the preconscious.
2. Dynamic model
The “dynamic” concept refers to a conflict between two forces that occurs in the mind: impulses (“instinctive” forces), which seek gratification, and defenses, which seek to inhibit to the previous ones. From the result of this interaction, psychological processes arise, which involve a more or less satisfactory or adaptive resolution of conflicts.
In this model, Freud conceives psychopathological symptoms as commitment formations that allow partial gratification of impulses while causing discomfort, acting as a punishment against the person’s behavior. Thus Mental health would depend largely on the quality of defenses and self-sanctions.
3. Economic model
The fundamental concept of the economic model of personality is that of “drive”, which can be defined as an impulse that encourages the person to seek a specific goal. These drives have a biological origin (specifically they are related to body tension) and their objective is the suppression of unpleasant physiological states.
Within this model we actually find three different theories, developed between 1914 and 1920 in the books “Introduction to Narcissism” and “Beyond the Pleasure Principle.” Initially Freud distinguished between the sexual or reproductive drive which leads to the survival of the species, and that of self-preservation, focused on that of the individual himself.
Freud later added to this theory the distinction between object drives, directed at external objects, and narcissistic drives, which focus on oneself. He finally proposed the dichotomy between the life drive, which would include the previous two, and the death drive, harshly criticized by many of this author’s followers.
The best-known Freudian theory of personality is the genetic model, which describes the five phases of psychosexual development. According to this theory, human behavior is governed to a large extent by search for gratification (or release of tension) in relation to the erogenous zones of the body, whose importance depends on age.
During the first year of life, the oral phase takes place, in which behavior focuses on the mouth; Thus, babies tend to bite and suck on objects to investigate them and obtain pleasure. In the second year the main erogenous zone is the year, so children of this age are very focused on excretion; This is why Freud speaks of the “anal phase.”
The next stage is the phallic phase, which occurs between 3 and 5 years; During this period the famous Oedipus and castration complexes occur. Between the ages of 6 and puberty, libido is repressed and learning and cognitive development are prioritized (latency phase); finally, With adolescence comes the genital phase, which signals sexual maturity
Psychopathology, more specifically neurosis, is understood as the result of the frustration of the satisfaction of the needs characteristic of these periods of development, or of the total or partial psychological fixation on one of them due to excessive gratification during the critical stage.
5. Structural model
Freud’s theory of personality was proposed in 1923 in the book The I and the It. Like the genetic model, the structural one is particularly well known; In this case, the separation of the mind in three instances that develop throughout childhood: the Id, the Ego and the Superego Conflicts between these would give rise to psychopathological symptoms.
The most basic part of the mind is the It, composed of unconscious representations of drives related to sexuality and aggression, as well as memory traces of the experiences of gratification of these drives.
The I is conceived as a development of the It This structure has a regulatory role in psychological life: it evaluates the ways of satisfying impulses taking into account the demands of the environment, it works with both unconscious and conscious contents, and it is in this part of the mind where defense mechanisms are exercised.
Finally, the Superego acts as a moral conscience, censoring certain mental contents, as a supervisor of the rest of the instances and as a model of behavior (that is, it represents a kind of “ideal Ego”). This structure is formed through the internalization of social norms in which the Oedipus complex plays an essential role.
Related article: “The id, the ego and the superego, according to Sigmund Freud”
