FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY

1
FREUDIAN PSYCHOLOGY

• An Introduction to the
• Major Components, Part 3
• Id, Ego, Superego

2
Tension of Opposites Revisited

• Initially, Freud was only able to state that
  human beings experienced (and sometimes suffered
  from) a tension of opposites (pleasure vs.
  reality principles).
• He didnt yet know why or how repression occurred.

3
Id, Ego, and Superego

• WHY Freud eventually hypothesized that the mind
  engaged in repression as a defense mechanism.
• HOW He deduced that the inhibiting, safety
  conscious aspect of human personality (the part
  that conforms to the Reality Principle) caused
  the repression. This aspect of the psyche Freud
  termed the Ego, while the source of the urges he
  called the Id.

4
Id

• Comes to us at birth fully formed
• Consists of primary urges, which have a sensual
  basis ? hunger, thirst, sexual pleasure.
• In infancy, our psyches are entirely Id, but once
  we become aware of an external reality (and this
  occurs very early on), the Id is forced to
  modify.
• Id External Reality ? Ego

5
Ego

• Includes both a conscious and an unconscious
  element
• acts as a guide
• is adaptable to changing circumstances
• has repressive tendencies, as needed (defensive),
  which are entirely unconscious.

6
Super-Ego

• The little voice inside of us that tells us
  right from wrong.
• introjected and internalized parental authority
  (a hyper-conscience)
• stems directly from the Oedipal stage of
  development
• engages in self-critical activities
• severity depends upon the violence of the
  persons own unconscious feelings in early infancy