Freud, whom lived in the 19th – 20th century, thought similar to Locke, and believed that children's personalities were shaped by their parents nurturing (MacDonald, Kevin) however; unlike Locke, Freud believed we are born with a certain level of innate inclinations such as a baby being afraid of thunder or the sound of a . Over time, the change in accepted beliefs on how we perceived our mind went from total inability of perceiving our mind, but we accepted we had innate ideas, to we are born blank and our minds are written like a blackboard, through experience alone, to finally that we learn from experience but also have certain innate ideas.
In the 18th century, John Locke set the tone for the perception of those who persistently failed to associate complex ideas in a correct manner; his views created a pattern in English views to look at those of mental disabilities as being struck with madness. Those who lacked, the now understood rules of, metacognition appeared to be more than just feeble minded, but hopelessly inadequate. This assumption came to fruition from the failure of those with mental disability to interact normally in a social setting; for the simple reason that a person who cannot think of their own thinking must be unable to interact (O'Brien, Jen). Locke spoke often about understanding, and all the factors which affected one's ability to understand. Of the many, in Locke's, An Essay Concerning Understanding, he suggested that there is a certain level of madness in all of us. This madness, however, comes naturally; for our emotions, at times, overpower our reasoning ability and our ability to associates ideas is far lessened when we are overcome with emotion (Locke, J. 1690). This is normal. But, Locke suggests, "Madness is the inability to let reason sort out ideas by relating them correctly to our experiences.".
By the mid-eighteenth century, the common procedure for families dealing with those with mental disabilities was either to force them into a "madhouse" or take them under their own roof and care for them themselves.
