Id, Ego, Superego: The Structural Model of Personality

Id, Ego, Superego
The Structural Model of Personality

Sigmund Freud
According to Sigmund Freud, human personality is complex

and has more than a single component. In his
famous psychoanalytic theory of personality, personality is
composed of three elements. These three elements of
personality—known as the id, the ego, and the superego—work
together to create complex human behaviors.
The Id
The id is the only component of personality that is present from

birth.
This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes
the instinctive and primitive behaviors.
The Id
The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for

immediate gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. If these
needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state anxiety
or tension. For example, an increase in hunger or thirst should
produce an immediate attempt to eat or drink.
The Id
However, immediately fulfilling these needs is not always

realistic or even possible. If we were ruled entirely by the
pleasure principle, we might find ourselves grabbing the things
that we want out of other people's hands to satisfy our own
cravings.
The Id
The Pleasure Principle

In Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality, the pleasure
principle is the driving force of the id that seeks immediate
gratification of all needs, wants, and urges. In other words, the
pleasure principle strives to fulfill our most basic and primitive
urges, including hunger, thirst, anger, and sex. When these needs
are not met, the result is a state of anxiety or tension.
The Id
This sort of behavior would be both disruptive and socially

unacceptable. According to Freud, the id tries to resolve the
tension created by the pleasure principle through the primary
process, which involves forming a mental image of the desired
object as a way of satisfying the need.
The Id
Although people eventually learn to control the id, this part of

personality remains the same infantile, primal force all
throughout life. It is the development of the ego and the
superego that allows people to control the id's basic instincts
and act in ways that are both realistic and socially acceptable.
The Ego
The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for

dealing with reality.
According to Freud, the ego develops from the id and ensures
that the impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner
acceptable in the real world.
The ego functions in both the conscious, preconscious,
and unconscious mind
The Ego
The ego operates based on the reality principle, which strives

to satisfy the id's desires in realistic and socially appropriate
ways. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an
action before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses. In
many cases, the id's impulses can be satisfied through a
process of delayed gratification—the ego will eventually allow
the behavior, but only in the appropriate time and place.
The Ego
The Reality Principle

The reality principle forces us to consider the risks, requirements,
and possible outcomes as we make decisions by temporarily
halting the discharge of the id's energy until a suitable time and
place. In other words, the ego doesn't try to block an urge, but
instead, it works to make certain the desires of the id are met in
ways that are safe, realistic, and appropriate.
The Ego
The ego also discharges tension created by unmet impulses

through the secondary process, in which the ego tries to find an
object in the real world that matches the mental image created
by the id's primary process.
The Superego
The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our

internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from
both parents and society—our sense of right and wrong.
The superego provides guidelines for making judgments.
The Superego
There are two parts of the superego:

The ego ideal includes the rules and standards for good
behaviors. These behaviors include those which are approved
of by parental and other authority figures. Obeying these rules
leads to feelings of pride, value, and accomplishment.
The Superego
The second one:

The conscience includes information about things that are
viewed as bad by parents and society. These behaviors are
often forbidden and lead to bad consequences, punishments,
or feelings of guilt and remorse.
The Superego
The superego acts to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works

to suppress all unacceptable urges of the id and struggles to
make the ego act upon idealistic standards rather that upon
realistic principles. The superego is present in the conscious,
preconscious, and unconscious.
The Interaction between Id, Ego and
Superego
When talking about the id, the ego, and the superego, it is
important to remember that these are not three totally separate
entities with clearly defined boundaries. These aspects of
personality are dynamic and always interacting within a person
to influence an individual's overall personality and behavior.
What Happens if there is an Imbalance?
According to Freud, the key to a healthy personality is a

balance between the id, the ego, and the superego.
If the ego is able to adequately moderate between the
demands of reality, the id, and the superego, a healthy and
well-adjusted personality emerges.
That’s all thank you.

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Id, Ego, Superego

The Structural Model of Personality

According to Sigmund Freud, human personality is complex

The id is the only component of personality that is present from

The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for

However, immediately fulfilling these needs is not always

The Pleasure Principle

This sort of behavior would be both disruptive and socially

Although people eventually learn to control the id, this part of

The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for

The ego operates based on the reality principle, which strives

The Reality Principle

The ego also discharges tension created by unmet impulses

The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our

There are two parts of the superego:

The second one:

The superego acts to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works

According to Freud, the key to a healthy personality is a

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