Freud's Psychodynamic Theory

In class and in the reading, we learned about Sigmund Freud's psychodynamic theory, which essentially dictates that we are not controlled by "ourselves" and our conscious thoughts, but rather unconscious and/or repressed urges. Freud believed that these true thoughts would come through in dreams, and that they would subtly appear in one's actions or creations. During his lifetime, he would ask his patients to lie down and recount his or her dreams as a way to see their subconscious, and connect it to their lives. Put simply, he believed that everything we do is caused by our unconscious thoughts

While our unconscious instincts may try to drive us from time to time, this does not mean that we are under autocratic control of them. It would essentially impossible to prove that dreams are a window to the unconscious, as all data collection would be subjective, and connections would have to be made before even analyzing one's mind. In contrast, almost all other theories analyze data and then make connections, but this does not work for Freud's theory. If a person has a dream that contradicts what he or she normally thinks, it does not necessarily mean that this person secretly believes in what he or she saw in the dream. Most likely, trying to find common unconscious thoughts driving everyday actions would result in only loose, strenuous connections. Loose and strenuous connections do not dictate truth and facts, but really only someone's opinion. Subjectivity does not lead to true conclusions in science.