In "The Ego and the Id," Freud claims that there are three elements of personality: the id, the ego, and the super ego. The id is driven by what Freud calls the pleasure principle, which is a human's natural instinct to satisfy our desires, wants, and needs. For example, if a human is hungry, he or she will have the need to eat. If the id is not satisfied, one feels uncomfortable. Freud claims that there is a primary process in the brain, which resolves tension from the pleasure principle. The ego is the component of personality that deals with reality. While one may be very hungry and is tempted to steal food, the ego forces one to rationalize that stealing food is not okay. According to Freud, there is a secondary process which balances tension between the ego and the id. Finally, there is the super ego, which is one's moral standards. Within the super ego, there is the ego ideal, which specifically is one's rules for good behavior. Freud argues that obeying one's super ego, leaves one feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Additionally, Freud claims that every person has conscious, pre-conscious, and unconscious thoughts. The conscious thoughts are everything one is aware of. Pre-conscious thoughts are memories that we might not consciously be aware of, but can be brought back into our conscious ideas. For example, I might not consciously remember my first bike that I got when I was five, but if my parents told me about it and showed me pictures, the bike could return to my conscious thoughts. Freud calls things that trigger our pre-conscious thoughts "word-presentations." Lastly, the unconscious mind is composed of thoughts, feeling, and urges outside of our awareness. These are usually ideas that are socially unacceptable.
Works Cited:
Cherry, Kendra. "Psychoanalysis - What Is Psychoanalysis." Psychology - Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. About.com. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
Freud, Sigmund. “The Ego and the Id.” The Ego and the Id. 1923. Trans. James Strachey. New York: Norton, 1960. 11-21. Print.
My psychology prof used to image of the iceberg to represent Ego and Id. The Id is what you see on the surface and the Ego is the rest of the iceberg under the water. I think that we are trying very hard to hide our ego.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that analogy, however, I feel it should be interpreted differently. The ego is not the iceberg, the ego is the water surrounding it. It chooses how much of the 'iceberg'(our ID)we want to reveal. The ego processes what is considered to be socially acceptable and makes visible to the world our appearance the way that we want to be identified. And I mean identified in a sense of how we label ourselves; how we dress, who we associate with, and our beliefs...
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone has an ego and an id. it makes sense that the id is our natural instinct and the ego deals with reality. For example if you have early morning class, your id is telling you that your tired and you want to go to bed but your ego is telling you that you need to go to class.
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