ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO

You’ve got a lot of personality“MEN OUGHT TO KNOW THAT FROM NOTHING ELSE BUT THE BRAIN COME JOYS, DELIGHTS, LAUGHTER AND SPORTS, AND SORROWS, GRIEF, DESPONDENCY AND LAMENTATIONS AND BY THE SAME ORGAN WE BECOME MAD”

Freud’s Conception of the Personality’s OrganizationFreud conceived of the human personality as organized

through three major systems:1. The Id2. The Ego3. The Superego

The Id “The id focuses on the pleasure principle--relief from tension Operates totally in the unconscious It is the reservoir of the unorganized instinctual drives (libido) The primary motivational forces in the libido are SEX and

AGGRESSION The primal urges of the ID are only expressed in dreams The id is the spoiled child of the personalityThe Ego The ego focuses upon the transactions between the person and

the world at large The ego balances the id with the superego

“In the well-adjusted person the ego is the executive of the personality, controlling and governing the id and the superego and maintaining commerce with the external world in the interest of the total personality”

The ego focuses upon the reality principle The ego delays the gratification or satisfaction the id desires,

tolerating tension until it can be “discharged by an appropriate form of behavior”

The ego thinks and solves problems whereas the id just acts

Functions of the ego:-control and regulation of instinctual drives-judgment-relation to reality-object relationships-synthetic functions of the ego-primary autonomous ego functions-secondary autonomous ego function-defensive functions of the ego

The Superego The Superego “is the moral or judicial branch of personality” The id focuses upon the pleasure principle, the ego on the reality

principle, and the superego on what is ideal The superego is developed largely through parental and societal

influence The developing personality eventually internalizes or assimilates

the “moral authority” of parents, replacing their authority with his/her own

Two subsystems make up the superego:

– the ego ideal: “the child’s conceptions of what his parents consider to be morally good”

– conscience: “the child’s conceptions of what his parents feel is morally bad” (conscience is developed through experiences with punishment)

“The principle psychological reward is parental approval” “The superego enforces its rules by rewards and punishments”

“The psychological rewards and punishments employed by the superego are feelings of pride and feelings of guilt or inferiority, respectively”

– “Pride is equivalent to self-love, and guilt or inferiority to self-hate; they are the inner representations of parental love and parental rejection”

The superego controls and regulates “those impulses whose uncontrolled expression would endanger the stability of society” (examples: sex and aggression)

The superego is “the product of socialization and the vehicle of cultural tradition”

In summary “The ego is formed out of the id and the superego is formed out

of the ego. They continue to interact and blend with each other throughout life”

TOPOGRAPHICAL THEORY

Three regions1. Conscious2. Preconscious3. Unconscious

THE CONSCIOUS Part of the mind in which perception coming from outside

world or from within the body or mind are brought into awareness

Communicated by means of language or behavior

THE PRECONSCIOUS Those mental events, processes and contents that are

capable of being brought into conscious awareness by the act of focusing attention

Also maintains the repressive barrier and censors unacceptable wishes and desires

Secondary process thinking

THE UNCONSCIOUS Mental contents and processes are keep out of conscious

awareness thru the force of censorship or repression The essence of UCS - closely related to instinctual drives - content limited to wishes seeking fulfillment - primary process thinking - contents can become conscious by passing thru preconscious – psychoanalytic treatment

Hypnosis Dream interpretation Psychic phenomena (clairvoyance, precognition, mental

telepathy, telekinesis) Slips of the mind Unconscious forgetting

DEFENSE MECHANISMS Are adjustive patterns which aid in adapting to conflict and

frustration in effectual way Most of daily’s frustrations and conflict can be resolved by

conscious deliberate coping mechanism. More complex frustrations and conflict are dealt with largely unconscious defense mechanisms

Not pathological unless they are overused to a degree that distort reality

They are automatic, not planned; are economical – not wasted

They keep us from being anxious Seen in normal and abnormal adjustments and can be

regarded as protective devices Defined as specific, unconscious, intrapsychic adjustive efforts

which are utilized to resolve emotional conflict and free the individual from anxiety

“WE ALL USE DEFENSE MECHANISMS. THEY ENABLE US TO DEAL WITH STRESSFUL SITUATIONS IN OUR DAILY LIVES. HOWEVER, FAILURE TO REALIZE THEIR EXISTENCE, AND OVERUSE OF THEM CAN LEAD TO PROBLEMS WITH OUR ABILITY TO FACE REALITY.”

REPRESSION The involuntary, automatic banishment of unacceptable ideas

or impulses into the unconscious It is the earliest type of defense, it is considered principal or

generic defense, considered the cornerstone in psychodynamics

SUPPRESSION The voluntary, intentional relegation of unacceptable ideas or

impulses to the foreconscious. This is conscious forgetting Commonly employed by normal personalities Conscious control requires a strong ego

REGRESSION The return to an earlier level of emotional adjustment at which

gratification was assured The process of some developmental maturity is lost

FIXATION

The arrest of maturation at an earlier psychosexual developmental level

E.g. an overly close attachment to another person, such as a parent

persistence of enuresis in adolescent

IDENTIFICATION The unconscious, wishful adoption (internalization) of the

personality characteristics or identity of another person, generally possessing attributes which the subject envies or admires

Imitation- conscious process Identification with the aggressor – the unconscious

internalization of the characteristics of a frustrating or feared person

Folie a deux

INTROJECTION The symbolic assimilation (taking into one’s self) of a loved or

hated person or external object Sometimes a converse of projection Sometimes regarded as a form of identification In depressive reactions – where the individual directs

unacceptable aggressive and hostile impulses towards himself

PROJECTION The attributing to another person or object, thoughts, feelings,

motives or desires which are really one’s own disavowed and unacceptable traits

Associated with immaturity and vulnerability of the personality In mild degree, it is seen in many day to day activities

(blind referee, unfair supervisor, prejudiced teacher)

In pathological sense, this is operating in paranoid states. If ego becomes disorganized, it leads to delusions, hallucinations, ideas of reference

RATIONALIZATION The ascribing of acceptable or worthwhile motives to thoughts,

feelings, or behavior which really have other unrecognized motives. One does something and invents a reason for the action

Pretending or lying – conscious It helps one preserve his self-respect and avoid accountability

and guilt

There is oftentimes a minor element of truth involved Commonly employed defense mechanisms, but it is self-

deceiving and thus potentially dangerous It can be positive in that it enhances self-esteem

INTELLECTUALIZATION The overuse of intellectual concepts and words to avoid affective

experience or expression of feelings It is closely related to rationalization

COMPENSATION A conscious or unconscious attempt to overcome real or fancied

inferiorities Status seems to be an important need in all of us, thus

compensatory behavior is common to everyone Maybe socially acceptable, socially unacceptable Overcompensation is an exaggerated attempt at overcoming

inferiorities

REACTION FORMATION The direction of overt behavior or attitudes in precisely the

opposite direction of the individual’s underlying, unacceptable conscious or unconscious impulses

Closely related to repression Exaggerated politeness or courteousness may disguise

underlying hostility and aggression Compulsive meticulousness may cover up strong soiling

impulses Don Juan behavior may mask underlying feelings of doubtful

masculine identification

SUBLIMATION The diversion of unacceptable, instinctual drives into socially

sanctioned channels This is socialization of emotion It is regarded as the most desirable mental mechanism Sports and games may sublimate hostile and aggressive

impulsesDENIAL

The unconscious disavowal of thoughts, feelings, wishes, needs, or external reality factors which are consciously unacceptable (one behaves as if the problem does not exist)

Simplest form of ego defense and closely related to rationalization

Lying - conscious

SUBSTITUTION Unconscious replacement of a highly valued but unattainable

or unacceptable emotional goal or object by one which is attainable and acceptable

To be satisfactory, the substitutive activity must have certain similarities to the original forbidden one

It is comparable to displacement

RESTITUTION A supplantation of a highly valued object that has lost through

rejection by or death or departure of another object It is a special form of substitution

DISPLACEMENT The redirection of an emotion from the original object to a

more acceptable substitute object Seen normally where hostility is transferred from an employer

to some members of the family or some other object

ISOLATION The separation of an unacceptable impulse, act, or idea from

its memory origin, thereby removing the emotional charge associated with the original memory

Setting apart an idea from its attached original feeling tone

UNDOING A primitive defense mechanism in which some unacceptable

past behavior is symbolically acted out in reverse, usually repetitiously

Closely related to reaction formation

DISSOCIATION The unconscious detachments of certain behavior or

personality activities from the normal or usual conscious behavior patterns of an individual, which then function alone

Found in dual personalities , usually the primary character is proper and moral whereas the secondary character is hedonistic and impulse-ridden

FANTASY Fabricated series of mental pictures or sequence of events;

daydreaming Fantast may serve as the basis for creative activities

identify the Defense Mechanism described

John was late for practice because he overslept. When asked by his coach the reason for his tardiness, he responded that he could not get a ride to practice. – RATIONALIZATION

Mary would not believe that Jim was seeing other girls. Even when her friend Sue called to say she had been out with him. – DENIAL

Reggie has strong sexual fantasy to Carla. He becomes actively involved in the same sports where Carla played. - SUBLIMATION

Jane was in a hurry to get to work. She was going 90 m.p.h. when the highway patrolman stopped her. As he approached the car to write her a ticket, she started to cry. – REGRESSION

Clancy was so upset upon hearing the news of his girlfriend’s betrayal he punched the kitchen wall and broke his hand. – DISPLACEMENT

Lucy was upset when Alice, the new girl in school, started to hang around with her friends. Lucy was afraid that her friends were being stolen from her. She did not talk to Alice, and tried to insult her whenever possible. One of Lucy’s friends asked her why she did not like Alice. She responded that Alice did not like her, she was stuck up, and not very friendly. – PROJECTION

Don was not physically attractive and he knew it. In order to make himself look better he always dressed in the finest clothes money could buy. – COMPENSATION

Lou was out to make the football team and hand an excellent chance of starting. Unfortunately, when the coach checked his grades, it was discovered that he had 4 F’s, and was ineligible. The coach asked him why he had wasted his time trying out for the team when his grades were so bad. He said that he wasn’t aware that he had done so poorly. – REPRESSION

Mark, unsure of his own sexuality, frequently makes homophobic & gay-bashing remarks. – REACTION FORMATION