The Historical Influence of Freud Theory-Nursing Paper Example

Freud theory of personality assumes that unconscious memories, thoughts, and urges influence people’s behavior. The idea influenced many followers and students of Freud to expand and modify the personality theory (Zhang, 2020). For example, Alfred Alder modified the theory by proposing that an individual’s desire for superiority was the motivating factor for personality and not the sexual or aggressive desires proposed by Freud.

The psychologist believed that mental illnesses, like inferiority complex, remain nurtured from childhood. It forces such people to compensate for inferiority by exhibiting superiority over others. Besides, Oleksy (2019) observes that Carl Jung also expanded the Freudian theory by adding collective unconsciousness. Consequently, the psychologist believed that people remain motivated by self-realization, whereby they learn personalities from collectively shared ancestral memories(Freud Theory).

Finally, Erich Fromm, a 20th-century theorist, believed that technology influences people to develop particular personalities primarily due to its isolating perspective. Furthermore, the psychologist explained that people develop aggressive behaviors to escape the fear of death (Markel, 2018). Aggression increases when an individual remains reminded of eventual death (Freud Theory).

How did the Period Influence Freud in Developing the Personality Theory? (Freud Theory)

Social norms during the 19th century were crucial in influencing Freud’s development of the personality theory. The society was engulfed in a rigorous form of sexual morality, whereby bourgeoisie urban families, especially women, and children, were intensely preoccupied with moral sexuality. Consequently,The sexual desires and knowledge about sex were limited and regulated carefully (Oleksy, 2019). For instance, society expected chastity in young women before marriage and continuous suppression of sexual desires (Freud Theory).

Besides, society was also concerned about the potential effect of sexually transmitted diseases, limiting their involvement in promiscuous sex. Moreover, psychologists like Freud proposed the personality theory to help understand the sexual morality phenomenon (Crocq, 2022). Therefore, Freud’s theory of personality was influenced by individual desires to regulate sexual morality and scientific discoveries explaining the natural existence of sexual desires (Freud Theory).