Id, Ego and Superego

Id, Ego and Superego

by Saul McLeod  published 2008

Perhaps Freud's single most enduring and important idea was that the human psyche has more than one aspect.

Freud (1923b) saw the psyche structured into three parts (i.e. tripartite), the id, ego and superego, all developing at different stages in our lives.

These are systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical.

The id (or it)

The id consists of all the inherited (i.e. biological) components of personality, including the sex (life) instinct – Eros (which contains the libido), and aggressive (death) instinct - Thanatos.

The id is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche which responds directly and immediately to the instincts. The personality of the newborn child is all id and only later does it develop ego and super-ego.

The id demands immediate satisfaction and when this happens we experience pleasure, when it is denied we experience ‘unpleasure’ or pain. The id is not affected by reality, logic or the everyday world.

On the contrary, it operates on the pleasure principle (Freud, 1920g) which is the idea that every wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless of the consequences.

The Ego (or I)

Initially the ego is “that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world” (Freud 1923).  The ego develops in order to mediate between the unrealistic id and the external real world.

Ideally the ego works by reason whereas the id is chaotic and totally unreasonable.  The ego operates according to the reality principle, working our realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often compromising or postponing satisfaction.

Like the id, the ego seeks pleasure and avoids pain but unlike the id the ego is concerned with devising a realistic strategy to obtain pleasure.  Freud made the analogy of the id being the horse while the ego is the rider. 

Often the ego is weak relative to the head-strong id and the best the ego can do is stay on, pointing the id in the right direction and claiming some credit at the end as if the action were its own.  The ego has no concept of right or wrong; something is good simply if it achieves its end of satisfying without causing harm to itself or to the id.

The Superego (or above I)

The superego incorporates the values and morals of society which are learnt from one's parents and others. It develops around the age of 4 – 5 during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. The superego's function is to control the id's impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression. It also has the function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection.

The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt.  For example, if the ego gives in to id demands, the superego may make the person feel bad though guilt. The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and how to behavior as a member of society.

Behavior which falls short of the ideal self may be punished by the superego through guilt. The super-ego can also reward us through the ideal self when we behave ‘properly’ by making us feel proud.  If a person’s ideal self is too high a standard, then whatever the person does will represent failure.  The ideal self and conscience are largely determined in childhood from parental values and you were brought up.

References

Freud, S. (1923). The ego and the id. SE, 19: 1-66.

Freud, Sigmund. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. SE, 18: 1-64.

How to cite this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Id Ego Superego. Retrieved fromhttp://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html

Examples of Id Ego and Superego

The id, ego, and superego are names for the three parts of the human personality which are part of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic personality theory. According to Freud, these three parts combine to create the complex behavior of human beings.  

Id: Meeting Basic Needs

The id is the most basic part of the personality, and wants instant gratification for our wants and needs. If these needs or wants are not met, a person becomes tense or anxious.

• Sally was thirsty. Rather than waiting for the server to refill her glass of water, she reached across the table and drank from Mr. Smith’s water glass, much to his surprise.
• A hungry baby cried until he was fed.
• A toddler who wanted another helping of dessert whined incessantly until she was given another serving.
• Michael saw a $5 bill fall out of Nick’s backpack as he pulled his books out of his locker. As Nick walked away, Michael bent over, picked up themoney, and slipped it into his pocket, glancing around to make sure no one was looking.
• On Black Friday, customers were so obsessed with getting a good deal that they shoved others out of their way and trampled them, not thinking twice about hurting people if it meant they could get want they wanted.
• In line at the salad bar, Amy was so hungry that she shoved a handful of croutons in her mouth as she waited for the line to move.
• Bart was stuck in traffic. He just wanted his vehicle to move! Enraged at the situation, Bart pulled his car onto the shoulder and sped forward, not caring that he was clipping people’s side mirrors as he tried to get ahead of the cars in front of him.

Ego: Dealing with Reality

The ego deals with reality, trying to meet the desires of the id in a way that is socially acceptable in the world. This may mean delaying gratification, and helping to get rid of the tension the id feels if a desire is not met right away. The ego recognizes that other people have needs and wants too, and that being selfish is not always good for us in the long run.

• Sally was thirsty. However, she knew that her server would be back soon to refill her water glass, so she waited until then to get a drink, even though she really just wanted to drink from Mr. Smith’s glass.
• Even though Michael needed money, he decided not to steal the money from the cash register because he didn’t want to get in trouble.
• In line at the salad bar, Amy really wanted to shove a handful of croutons into her mouth. However, since her boss was there, she decided to wait another minute or two until she sat down to eat.
• Mary really wanted to borrow her mom’s necklace, but knew her mom would be angry if she took it without asking, so she asked her mom if she could wear it.
• Hillary was so sweaty after her workout that she wanted to change her clothes right there by the car. However, she knew the other people around her would not approve, so she waited until she was in the restroom to change.
• Katie’s mom had given her $25 to purchase groceries for dinner that night. At the mall, Katie saw shoes that she really wanted, and was tempted to use the money from her mom to make the purchase. However, if she spent the money on shoes, she wouldn’t have enough to buy the groceries, so she decided she better not buy the shoes.
• Tim really wanted to slug Mark for what he had just said. However, Tim knew if he hit Mark, he would be kicked off the baseball team, and since he loved baseball, he unclenched his fists and walked away.

Superego: Adding Morals

The superego develops last, and is based on morals and judgments about right and wrong. Even though the superego and the ego may reach the same decision about something, the superego’s reason for that decision is more based on moral values, while the ego’s decision is based more on what others will think or what the consequences of an action could be.

• Sarah knew that she could steal the supplies from work and no one would know about it. However, she knew that stealing was wrong, so she decided not to take anything even though she would probably never get caught.
• Maggie couldn’t remember the answer to test question #12, even though she had studied. Nate was the smartest kid in the class, and from where Maggie sat, she could see his answers if she turned her head slightly. When Mrs. Archer turned her back, Maggie almost cheated, but her conscience stopped her because she knew it was wrong. Instead, Maggie took a guess at the answer and then turned in her paper.
• While away on business, Tom had many opportunities to be unfaithful to his wife. However, he knew the damage such behavior would have on his family, so made the decision to avoid the women who had expressed interest in him.
• When Michael saw the $5 bill lying on the floor with no one around it, he turned it into the school office in case anyone came looking for it. He wouldn’t want to lose $5, and hoped that whoever had lost it would ask about it in the office.
• The cashier only charged the couple for one meal even though they had eaten two. They could have gotten away with only paying for one, but they pointed out the cashier’s mistake and offered to pay for both meals. They wanted to be honest and they knew that the restaurant owner and employees needed to make a living.
• On the playground, two kids were making fun of Joseph because he wore glasses. John was tempted to join in so that he could make himself look good, but when he thought about how bad Joseph must already feel, he knew that he couldn’t. 
• Will had worked hard all season to break the school record in cross-country. During his last race he had the opportunity to cut a corner and therefore lower his time, because no officials were watching that part of the course.  As much as he wanted to break the school record, Will knew he wouldn’t feel good about himself if he cheated, so he stuck to the course and ran as fast as he could.

The id, ego and superego work together in creating a behavior. The id creates the demands, the ego adds the needs of reality with the superego adds morality to the action which is taken.