Developed by Sigmund Freud, the structure of personality is made of three parts which include the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the first part of the structure personality present at birth. It is the unconscious and impulsive part of a person’s psyche which responds to direct and immediate needs (Cherry, 2016). It represents urges such as those of sex and food and seeks instant gratification. For example, if one wants another helping of the desert, when the id takes over this person can whine until they are served.
On the other hand, the ego acknowledges and deals with reality ensuring that impulses from the id are expressed in a manner that is acceptable in society. The operations of the ego are based on the principle of reality that works to ensure that the desires of the id are satisfied in reasonable and realistic ways (McLeod, 2016). The ego does this through actions such as compromising or delaying gratification. This helps avoid the negative consequences of going against the accepted norms and rules of society. An example is when a child wants to do something without the permission of the parent, he or she has to ask first to avoid the consequences
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The last part of Freud’s personality structure, the superego, is based on morals and judgments. Usually, it is unconscious and is always getting an individual to behave in a socially appropriate way. The superego not only controls the id and its impulses but also attempts to control the ego into going beyond realistic standards and making choices that are moralistic in nature (Mohammadpour-Yazdi & Jandl, 2019). For example when it comes to examinations, one can forget something they had studied and be tempted to cheat. However, the superego stops one because cheating is morally wrong.
The id, ego, and superego work together to influence behavior. The id creates demands, the ego adds the need for being realistic, and the superego adds morality and judgment to the actin settled on (Mullins, 2019). All these elements make up human behavior.
References
Cherry, K. (2016). The Id, Ego and Superego: The Structural Model of Personality. About. com .
McLeod, S. A. (2016). Id, ego, and superego. Simply Psychology , 3 , 1-4.
Mohammadpour-Yazdi, A. R., & Jandl, M. (2019). Superego and Will to Dominate Over Ego. Language and Psychoanalysis , 8 (2), 1-19.
Mullins, A. (2019). According to Sigmund Freud a child’s personality development is composed of three systems that develop at different stages in the child’s life. These three systems are the id, the ego.
