Freudian Vocabulary
| File:Freud4.jpg |
Below is a list of the basic vocabulary Sigmund Freud used in his works.
consciousness
- Definition: The upper level of mental life of which the person is aware, as contrasted with unconscious processes
- Context: By the end of the 19th century, consciousness began to be seen as a rational process.
ego
- Definition: One of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory; it serves as the organized, conscious mediator between the person and reality, especially by functioning in both the perception of and adaptation to reality.
- Context: The ego is the rational self.
id
- Definition: One of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory; it is completely unconscious and is the source of psychic energy derived from instinctual needs and drives.
- Context: The id is the emotional part of the mind.
latent
- Definition: Present and capable of becoming visible, obvious, or active
- Context: The real, hidden meaning of the dream is called the latent dream.
psychoanalysis
- Definition: A method of analyzing psychic phenomena and treating emotional disorders that involves treatment sessions during which the patient is encouraged to talk freely about personal experiences and especially about early childhood and dreams
- Context: In Freud’s hands, psychoanalysis allowed his patients to attempt to make sense of their pasts.
REM
- Definition: A state of sleep that recurs cyclically several times during a normal period of sleep and that is characterized by increased neuronal activity of the forebrain and midbrain, by depressed muscle tone, and, especially in humans, by dreaming and rapid eye movements
- Context: Our most vivid dreams come during REM, rapid-eye-movement sleep.
superego
- Definition: One of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory; it is only partly conscious, represents internalization of parental conscience and the rules of society, and functions to reward and punish through a system of moral attitudes, conscience, and a sense of guilt
- Context: The superego represents societal pressures and tells us what is right and wrong.