Who has founded the concept of psychoanalysis?

Appeared in: NVS- 2025

Explanation

Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, is the founder of psychoanalysis, a major school of thought in psychology.
Psychoanalytic theory emphasizes the significant role of the unconscious mind, psychodynamic factors, and early childhood experiences in shaping personality and behavior.
Freud introduced foundational concepts such as the id (primitive drives), ego (reality principle), and superego (moral conscience) to describe the structure of the human psyche.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: Max Wertheimer was a founder of Gestalt psychology, which focuses on how the mind perceives whole patterns, not psychoanalysis.
Option B: Kurt Koffka was also a primary founder of Gestalt psychology, working alongside Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler.
Option D: John Dewey was a prominent figure in the school of Functionalism and a philosopher of education, not the founder of psychoanalysis.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Founders of Major Schools of Psychology as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Understanding the historical roots of psychology, like psychoanalysis, helps nurses appreciate the development of modern psychotherapy and mental health nursing.
Freudian concepts like defense mechanisms (e.g., denial, projection, rationalization) are still used in clinical practice to understand patient behaviors and coping strategies under stress.
What if? If a patient consistently denies their serious diagnosis (a defense mechanism), a nurse with knowledge of psychoanalytic concepts can recognize this as a coping strategy. Instead of just repeating facts, the nurse can use therapeutic communication to explore the patient's underlying fears and anxieties.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question that tests knowledge of the history of psychology.
First, identify the key term in the question: 'psychoanalysis'.
Next, scan the options to find the name most famously associated with this specific school of thought.
Recall or deduce the founder for each major psychological theory. Sigmund Freud is universally linked to psychoanalysis.
Mentally associate the other names with their respective schools to confirm they are incorrect: Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka are linked to Gestalt psychology, and John Dewey is linked to Functionalism.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Founders of Major Schools of Psychology
Stem keywords: founded, concept, psychoanalysis
Lead-in keywords: Who

Question ID

QfxYejn1dvmXNAxKb7NdHZ

Reference Book

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) pp. 3314-3316, 3313-3315

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 15125-15127

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