Id, Ego, and SuperegoId, Ego, and Superego

(there must be a joke in there (there must be a joke in there somewhere…)somewhere…)

Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud

• A psychoanalyst from Austria – born 1856, died 1939

• The most influential and one of the most controversial figures of the field of psychology of the 20th century.

• Proposed that the mind functions in 3 different ways called the id, ego and superego

IdId

• Pleasure principle – it wants whatever feels good regardless of the situation

• We are born with our id

• When a newborn is hungry, he (or she) cries, hot, cries; cold, cries; needs to poop, he does

• Subconscious

EgoEgo

• The ego realizes the reality of the situation

• Sometimes our immediate wants and needs must wait because being selfish can hurt us in the long run

• It is the ego’s job to meet the needs of the id while taking into consideration the reality of the situation.

• Subconscious

SuperegoSuperego

• Moral and ethical part of the subconscious

• Controls both the id and the ego by checking actions against what we are taught concerning right and wrong.

• Subconscious

• All three parts are always struggling for dominance – a healthy person, according to Freud, has a balance of all three.

Think of It This WayThink of It This Way

• If your average teen-age stud is walking down the road and sees a beautiful woman, he will:– Id: Ravish her on the spot (get the dictionary)– Superego: “Ewwwww! Cooties!” Runs away.– Ego: “Have you ever been to Tennessee?

‘Cause you’re the only 10 I see.”