Sigmund Freud – Interesting Literature

Freudian Slip: Definition and Examples

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

What is a Freudian slip? Well, before we offer a definition, perhaps by way of introduction (or an introduction of sorts), here’s a joke: ‘What’s a Freudian slip? It’s when you say one thing and mean your mother.’

We never said it would be a good joke.

This joke, such as it is, does neatly encapsulate and define the two key features of what is commonly referred to as a Freudian slip: namely that it involves misspeaking and that the error we make reveals – or is said to reveal – some deep, latent desire or motivation on our part.

What is the Unconscious in Freudian Psychoanalysis?

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Here’s a pub quiz question for you. Who came up with the idea of the ‘unconscious’? Perhaps, lest anyone fears a trap, we should make it a little easier. Which German came up with the idea of the unconscious mind? Not Sigmund Freud, of course, who was Austrian rather than German.

What is the superego in Freudian psychoanalysis?

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

What is the superego? Previously, we’ve introduced the id and the concept of the ego as Freud formulated them in psychoanalysis. But the superego is a little different from both. How we can best define the superego and its function is something that becomes easier if we first summarise or recap what the id and the ego are.

What is the Oedipus Complex?

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Put simply and summarised in one sentence, the Oedipus complex is the phenomenon whereby a very young child is attracted to its mother and becomes jealous of its father, whom the child regards as its rival for the mother’s affection. In summary, the Oedipus complex is about the child’s attachment to its mother, the psychical energy it has towards its mother as an object of desire.

What is the Ego in Freudian Psychoanalysis?

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

What is the ego? We know the term ‘ego’ in extended use refers to a person’s sense of self (often inflated or exaggerated, as in the term ‘egotism’ or ‘egotistical’). But in Freudian psychoanalysis, developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the term ‘ego’ has a more specific meaning.