Sigmund Freud

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews, discusses and analyzes Sigmund Freud's work on collective psychology, "Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego", a masterpiece on group psychology. According to the paper, it is an examination of psychoanalysis focused on how the individual performs within the group. The paper goes on to discuss how Freud contends that all the peculiarities within the behavior of crowds can be easily explained through the application of customary psychoanalytic formulae. The paper focuses on relating Freud's theory to human resource management.

From the Paper:

"The first and most important position Freud posits is that of the libido. He argues that the members of a crowd are bound principally by ties of love and affection garnered to both the leader of the crowd as well as each other. He explains, "Each individual is bound by libidinal ties on the one hand to the leader and on the other hand to other members of the group" (p. 87). The construct of love as the defining aspect of group dynamics is a claim that has been posited by many other of Freud's contemporaries. Through the application of libido as the driving force behind social interactions, Freud draws further conclusions about group dynamics. One of Freud's specific applications of group psychology is his explanation of the phenomena of contagion and gregariousness in crowds and mobs. He views the group leader as the father of the primal hoard rather than just the oedipal father. This observation is central to the understanding of leader dynamics, the leader is the most dominant member of the group because it acts as a surrogate father. As a result, his power comes from both an obligation of obedience and respect of pseudo-fatherhood. The application of this concept to HR professionals is to understand the function of the leader-follower dynamic. Hiring an individual who has natural leadership abilities to a team that already consists of a strong leader, will cause disharmony, because the primal father-son primal relationship of the group dynamic will be broken. Recruitment therefore must a process of surrounding a leader with a dynamic group of individuals who will subconsciously recognize him as the intuitive leader and father figure for the group."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego., Review author[s]: Robert E. Park
• The American Journal of Sociology (c) 1925 The University of Chicago Press

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