ABSTRACT
The theories of psychoanalysis follow principles of systematization, as do theories in other fields. This chapter aims to summarize the role of psychoanalysis as a psychology of motivation, bearing in mind that psychoanalysis takes into consideration the interaction of the individual with his environment, as well as his so-called “inner-psychic” processes. In the beginnings of psychoanalysis, S. Freud adhered more or less strictly to associationism. Psychoanalysis was, of course, “new” not only because of its conceptual language, its method, and the methodological problems it posed, but “new” also as to content. The data gathered in the psychoanalytic situation with the help of the psychoanalytic method are primarily behavioral data; and the aim is clearly the exploration of human behavior. The body of analytic theories on the “mental apparatus” must include, as an essential sector, hypotheses fit to explain the distortions of psychological observation.
