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Who is the most controversial psychologist?

While some of Freud's theories are accepted today, one could argue that Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, is the most controversial figure in psychology (though he was actually a psychiatrist, or medical doctor). Freud uncovered the role of the subconscious in everyday behavior; for example, the slips of the tongue that people make that express their true thoughts are known as "Freudian slips." He also analyzed the way in which dreams are expressions of our subconscious desires and conflicts, and he brought to the fore the sexual repressions and desires that people harbor.


Many of his theories are very controversial today, though, and several have actually been discredited. For example, he came to believe that people's reports of widespread sexual abuse were fantasies that arose from the Oedipal complex (a child's desire to kill off his or her same-sex parent and marry the parent of the opposite sex). In addition, he believed that girls have what he called "penis envy" and come to dislike their mothers because they blame them for the fact that they do not have a penis. He also believed that religious sentiment was an expression of neurosis, meaning a form of a mild mental disorder. For these reasons, Freud's theories, while very influential, remain controversial. 

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