![]() Our mind is actually divided into two aspects of self, the ego, and the super-ego.īoth of these components create our personality, preferences, choices, morals, integrity, and actions. Most people operate from their ego and use it to identify who they are, both internally and externally. This aspect of our minds makes up much of who we are to ourselves and the world around us. The third person, with a strong ego that has incorporated many of the demands of both the id and the superego, is psychologically healthy and in control of both the pleasure principle and the moralistic principle.You may be familiar with the ego the role it plays in your psychology and self-identity. The second person, with strong feelings of either guilt or inferiority and a weak ego, will experience many conflicts because the ego cannot arbitrate the strong but opposing demands of the superego and the id. For the first person, the id dominates a weak ego and a feeble superego, preventing the ego from counterbalancing its incessant demands of the id and leaving the person nearly constantly striving for pleasure regardless of what is possible or proper. Figure 2.3 shows the relationships among id, ego, and superego in three hypothetical persons. In the healthy individual, the id and superego are integrated into a smooth functioning ego and operate in harmony and with a minimum of conflict. For yet others, the ego and superego may take turns controlling personality, which results in extreme fluctuations of mood and alternating cycles of self-confidence and self-deprecation. For some people, the superego does not grow after childhood for others, the superego may dominate the personality at the cost of guilt and inferiority feelings. ![]() The development of the three divisions varies widely in different individuals. The superego, however, is like the id in that it is completely ignorant of, and unconcerned with, the practicability of its requirements.įreud (1933/1964) pointed out that the divisions among the different regions of the mind are not sharp and well defined. Not all its demands, of course, are impossible to fulfill, just as not all demands of parents and other authority figures are impossible to fulfill. Into consideration the difficulties or impossibilities faced by the ego in carrying out its orders. It is unrealistic in the sense that it does not takeĪ pleasure-seeking person dominated by the idĪ guilt-ridden or inferior-feeling person dominated by the superegoĪ psychologically healthy person dominated by the egoįIGURE 2.3 The Relationship among Id, Ego, and Superego in Three Hypothetical Persons. ![]() It strives blindly and unrealistically toward perfection. The superego is not concerned with the happiness of the ego. Guilt, then, is a function of the conscience, whereas inferiority feelings stem from the ego-ideal (Freud, 1933/1964). Feelings of inferiority arise when the ego is unable to meet the superego s standards of perfection. Guilt is the result when the ego acts-or even intends to act-contrary to the moral standards of the superego. The superego watches closely over the ego, judging its actions and intentions. It cannot produce repressions by itself, but it can order the ego to do so. (We discuss the Oedipus complex in a later section titled Stages of Development.)Ī well-developed superego acts to control sexual and aggressive hnpulses through the process of repression. Later, during the Oedipal phase of development, these ideals are internalized through identification with the mother and father. A prhnitive conscience comes hito existence when a child conforms to parental standards out of fear of loss of love or approval. Freud did not clearly distinguish between these two functions, but, in general, the conscience results from experiences with punishments for hnproper behavior and tells us what we should not do, whereas the ego-ideal develops from experiences with rewards for proper behavior and tells us what we should do. The superego lias two subsystems, the conscience and the ego-ideal. However, the superego differs from the ego in one important respect-it has no contact with the outside world and therefore is unrealistic in its demands for perfection (Freud, 1923/1961a). The superego grows out of the ego, and like the ego, it lias no energy of its own. In Freudian psychology, the superego, or above-I, represents the moral and ideal aspects of personality and is guided by the moralistic and idealistic principles as opposed to the pleasure principle of the id and the realistic principle of the ego. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |