--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Psychoanalysis is essentially a theory of…" description: "\"Psychoanalysis is essentially a theory of unconscious strivings, of resistance, of falsification of reality according to one's subjective needs and exp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/erich-fromm-367_expectations_psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-o_3067902.jpg" --- # Psychoanalysis is essentially a theory of unconscious… ![“Psychoanalysis is essentially a theory of unconscious strivings, of resistance, of falsification of reality according to one's subjective needs and expectations.” quote by Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/erich-fromm-367_expectations_psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-o_3067902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/erich-fromm-367_expectations_psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-o_3067902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/erich-fromm-367_expectations_psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-o_3067902.jpg) > “Psychoanalysis is essentially a theory of unconscious strivings, of resistance, of falsification of reality according to one's subjective needs and expectations.” [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Psychoanalysis studies unconscious drives, resistance, and self‑deception shaped by personal needs. **In simple terms:** It examines hidden motives and how we distort reality. Key Takeaway Recognize and question your unconscious motives. Themes psychoanalysis unconscious resistance reality needs Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - therapy sessions - self‑reflection - journaling - mindfulness practices - critical reading Key Concepts psychodynamic theory self‑deception subjective truth Questions to Reflect On - What hidden drives influence your decisions? - How do you confront self‑deception? A Different Perspective Awareness of unconscious motives can be unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Psychoanalysis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychoanalysis/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) ## Related quotes > [Faith in the possibility of science, generated antecedently to the development of modern scientific theory, is an unconscious derivative from medieval theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/faith-in-the-possibility-of-science-generated-antecedently-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to an artists metaphysical value judgments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/art-is-a-selective-re-creation-of-reality-according-to-an-artists/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [You will certainly not doubt the necessity of studying astronomy and physics, if you are desirous of comprehending the relation between the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/you-will-certainly-not-doubt-the-necessity-of-studying-astronomy-and/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Psychoanalysis , which interprets the human being as a socialized being, and the psychic apparatus as essentially developed and determined through the relationship of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/psychoanalysis-which-interprets-the-human-being-as-a-socialized-being/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The application of psychoanalysis to sociology must definitely guard against the mistake of wanting to give psychoanalytic answers where economic, technical, or political facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-application-of-psychoanalysis-to-sociology-must-definitely-guard/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Today the function of psychiatry, psychology and psychoanalysis threatens to become the tool in the manipulation of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/today-the-function-of-psychiatry-psychology-and-psychoanalysis/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I consider it a public duty to answer falsifications with facts. 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [To turn experience into speech - that is, to classify, to categorize, to conceptualize, to grammarize, to syntactify it - is always a betrayal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/to-turn-experience-into-speech-that-is-to-classify-to-categorize-to/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [Younger people who are being indoctrinated into the contemporary system of falsification - they really have to do some research to find out what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/younger-people-who-are-being-indoctrinated-into-the-contemporary/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“The theories of the social sciences do not consist of “laws” in the sense of empirical rules about the behavior of objects definable in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-a-von-hayek/the-theories-of-the-social-sciences-do-not-consist-of-laws-in-the/) Friedrich A. von Hayek > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## More by Erich Fromm > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Only when man succeeds in developing his reason and love further than he has done so far, only when he can build a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/only-when-man-succeeds-in-developing-his-reason-and-love-further-than/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Freedom does not mean license.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/freedom-does-not-mean-license/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“It is hardly necessary to stress the fact that the ability to love as an act of giving depends on the character development of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/it-is-hardly-necessary-to-stress-the-fact-that-the-ability-to-love-as/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-pace-of-science-forces-the-pace-of-technique-theoretical-physics/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Well-being is possible to the degree to which one has overcome one's narcissism; to the degree to which one is open, responsive, sensitive, awake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/well-being-is-possible-to-the-degree-to-which-one-has-overcome-one-s/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“The wealth of data to be found in social and political life. The belief that people do not want to make sacrifices is notoriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-wealth-of-data-to-be-found-in-social-and-political-life-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [By equality, one once understood equality in the very same sense in which the Bible speaks of equality: that we are all equal, inasmuch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/by-equality-one-once-understood-equality-in-the-very-same-sense-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Human beings had two basic orientations: HAVING and BEING HAVING: seeks to acquire, posses things even people BEING: focuses on the experience; exchanging, engaging,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-beings-had-two-basic-orientations-having-and-being-having-seeks/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Most people are not even aware of their need to conform. They live under the illusion that they follow their own ideas and inclinations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/most-people-are-not-even-aware-of-their-need-to-conform-they-live/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man, and this standardization is called equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/just-as-modern-mass-production-requires-the-standardization-of/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [To respect a person is not possible without knowing him; care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/to-respect-a-person-is-not-possible-without-knowing-him-care-and/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Love is an active power in man; a power which breaks through the walls which separate man from his fellow men, which unite him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/love-is-an-active-power-in-man-a-power-which-breaks-through-the-walls/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Perhaps most trivial talk is a need to talk about oneself; hence, the never-ending subject of health and sickness, children, travel, successes, what one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/perhaps-most-trivial-talk-is-a-need-to-talk-about-oneself-hence-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) [Explore all 558 Erich Fromm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) ## More Expectations quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I say this all the time: I've always been really good at managing my expectations so that I'm not let down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-young/i-say-this-all-the-time-i-ve-always-been-really-good-at-managing-my/) [Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-young/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Keeping up with everybody's expectation is soooo hard!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi/keeping-up-with-everybody-s-expectation-is-soooo-hard/) [Naomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Does your reality match your expectations? If not it's time to change either your expectations or your reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/does-your-reality-match-your-expectations-if-not-it-s-time-to-change/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Jesus' kingdom was not like the popular expectation. He used the phrase 'kingdom of God' with a different meaning. His kingdom was not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-harpur/jesus-kingdom-was-not-like-the-popular-expectation-he-used-the-phrase/) [Tom Harpur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-harpur/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [It's a good place when all you have is hope and not expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/it-s-a-good-place-when-all-you-have-is-hope-and-not-expectations/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [When we give from a place of love, rather than from a place of expectation, more usually comes back to us than we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/when-we-give-from-a-place-of-love-rather-than-from-a-place-of/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Everybody out there watches the show and has expectations of wanting to be an 'Idol', but we're going to teach them how much hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-bice/everybody-out-there-watches-the-show-and-has-expectations-of-wanting/) [Bo Bice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-bice/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) [Browse all 4,210 Expectations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Psychoanalysis is essentially a theory of unconscious strivings, of resistance, of falsification of reality according to one's subjective needs and expectations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erich Fromm" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-of-unconscious-strivings-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expectations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-of-unconscious-strivings-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/erich-fromm-367_expectations_psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-o_3067902.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/erich-fromm-367_expectations_psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-o_3067902.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebb/erich-fromm-367_expectations_psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-o_3067902.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Psychoanalysis is essentially a theory of unconscious strivings, of resistance, of falsification of reality…” — Erich Fromm", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Erich Fromm", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Psychoanalysis is essentially a theory of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-of-unconscious-strivings-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/psychoanalysis-is-essentially-a-theory-of-unconscious-strivings-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```