Last Tuesday, Dr. Mazeroff came in and talked to our class about psychology with fairy tales. In his lecture, he talked about how fairy tales can affect a child’s psychology by teaching him or her certain lessons within each story. The example Dr. Mazeroff used was the tale “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. Freud stated that this tale addressed development and conflicting issues while Jung stated this tale helped a child with growth and development. This story and practically every other tale can teach a child lessons which can help them progress through childhood.
These two psychologists have theories on fairy tales and how they can affect children. Jung believes that people have a collective unconscious which is passed down genetically. This collective unconscious possess certain images and lessons, known as archetypes, which are known throughout the world. These archetypes also appear in fairy tales, which according to Jung influence the unconscious. Freud does not agree with the collective unconscious theory, but rather he theorizes that fairy tales can affect a child’s growth and development.
Both Freud and Jung use their theories to help explain why a child may act a certain way. Jung goes to say that if you have no emotional affect towards something, then you feel nothing towards it. Therefore, if you have no emotional affect towards a certain tale then you feel nothing towards it and may not have influenced you. All of this information was discussed during Dr. Mazeroff’s lecture and I would recommend talking to him if you have any further interest in psychology and fairy tales.
Mazeroff, Paul. “Fairy Tales and Psychology.” Westminster. 7 Feb. 2012. Lecture
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