Id, Ego and Super-ego

Sigmund Freud was the first to propose psychoanalytic theory of personality. It is compiled of three elements known as elements of personality. They are Id, ego, and super-ego which work simultaneously to form complex human behaviors. The Id is the only element of personality that is present from birth. This feature of personality is fully unconscious and consists of the instinctive and primitive behaviors.

According to Freud, the id is the cause of all extrasensory energy, making it as the chief element of personality. The id is motivated by the pleasure principle, which endeavors for instant satisfaction of all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs are not pleased immediately, the result is a state anxiety or tension.

According to Freud, the id tries to settle the tension produced by the pleasure principle through the primary process.

The ego is the element of personality that is in charge for dealing with actuality. According to Freud, the ego is build up from the id and guarantees that the impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner suitable in the real world. The ego functions in the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind. The ego’s functions are based on the reality principle, which struggles to gratify the id's desires in realistic and socially appropriate ways. The ego also releases tension created by unmet impulses through the secondary process.

The last element of personality is the superego. It is the feature of personality that holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we obtain from both parents and society--our wisdom of right and wrong. The superego offers strategy for making judgments. According to Freud, the superego begins to appear at around age five. There are two divisions of the Superego; 1. The ego ideal consists of the rules and standards for good behaviors

and2. The conscience includes information about things that are analyzed as bad by parents and society. With so many opposing forces, it is uncomplicated to see how conflict might happen between the id, ego and superego. Freud used the term ego strength to mention to the ego's capability to function despite these dueling forces.

Questions:

• What is the purpose of id, ego and superego?
• How do we control id ego and superego?