Page 21 - History of Psychology

The Id, Ego, and Superego
Early in his theorizing, Freud differentiated among the conscious, the

preconscious, and the unconscious.Consciousness consists of those things of
which we are aware at any given moment. The preconscious consists of the things
of which we are not aware but of which we could easily become aware. The
unconscious consists of those thoughts and feelings that are being actively
repressed from consciousness and are therefore made conscious only with great
effort. Later, Freud summarized and expanded these views with his concepts of
the id, ego, and superego.

The Id.
The id (from the German das es, meaning "it") is the generative force of
personality. It contains all the instincts ("drive" or "force") such as hunger, thirst,
and sex. The id is completely unconscious and governed by the pleasure principle.
When a need arises, the id wants immediate satisfaction of that need. The
collective energy associated with the instincts is called the libido (the Latin word
for "lust"), and the energy of the libido is responsible for a large part of human

behavior. The id has only two ways of satisfying a need. The first is reflex action,
which is automatically triggered when certain discomforts arise. The second
means of satisfaction is desire fulfillment, in which the id gives rise to a
representation of an object that will satisfy a given need. The main process is
irrational because it is directly determined by the state of one's needs, the
process is completely at the subconscious level.
The Ego.
The ego (meaning "I" in Latin, and from German das ich, meaning "I") and is often
referred to as the executive (executive) of personality. In other words, the ego's
job is to match the desires of the id with their counterparts in the physical
environment. The ego is also said to be governed by the reality principle, where
the ego channels the energies of the Id into socially acceptable channels, the ego
is aware of the demands of the environment and tries to adjust its behavior.
The Superego.
In contrast to the id and ego which are the internal development of personality,
the superego is an external responsibility. The superego is the inculcation of moral
standards that the ego accepts from an environmental authority agent, usually an
assimilation of the views of parents. Conscience is a manifestation of the negative

aspect of the superego, and determines what activities are taboo. Behavior that
violates the command of conscience creates a sense of guilt. The superego and
the id are in direct conflict, and the ego is the mediator.

The main motivational construct of Freud's theory of personality is instinct. The
goal of personality is to reduce the energy drive through activities that are
acceptable to the boundaries of the superego. Freud classified the innate instincts
into the drive for life (eros) and death (thanatos). Life instincts include self-
defense, namely hunger, thirst, and sex. The death instinct can be directed inward,
including suicide, or outward, involving hatred or aggression.
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