Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory: The Id, Ego and Superego

Do you ever wonder what specific aspects contribute to an individual’s behavior? Sigmund Freud believed that although each human’s personality is comprised of unique features, they interact to form a whole, and each part makes a relative contribution to an individual’s behavior. He assumed each person has a id, ego and superego to explain as to why we do or act a certain way.

The Founder of Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud believed that a human’s personality is complex and contains more than one component. One of Freud’s famous theories was discovered in 1923 and is called the psychoanalytic theory. This theory states that the human psyche is composed of three elements known as the id, the ego, and the superego.

These three components develop at different stages in our lives and work together to create complex human behaviors. The id, ego and superego are distinguished as systems, not parts of a brain, or in any other way physical. People have argued that Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was not well thought out. Some say that he was not a great influence on psychology when creating psychoanalysis and has not made an impact on the way we perceive psychology today.

What is Psychoanalysis?

Psychoanalysis is a variety of therapy that strives to release repressed and pent up emotions and memories. The primary assumptions of Freud’s theory is that the unconscious mind governs behavior to a greater extent than people suspect and they could be cured by realizing their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining “insight”. Specifically, the goal of psychoanalysis is to see what exists at the subconscious and unconscious level and bring that up to the patient’s consciousness. Psychoanalysis is practiced by many psychologists. The patient accomplishes this through talking to the psychologist about the big questions in life, the things that matter to them, and diving into the complexities that lie beneath the uncomplicated-seeming surface.

What is the Id?

Freud describes the id as the source of all psychic energy, making it the primary component of a human’s personality. It is the only part of personality that is present since we are born. This aspect of personality is completely unconscious and includes instinctive and primitive behaviors. The id is driven by a principle of pleasure, which strives for immediate gratification of all desires and needs. If these needs are not fulfilled immediately, the result is a state of anxiety and tension.

It is a very important aspect early on in life, making sure that an infant’s needs are met. For example if the baby is uncomfortable or hungry, they will cry until the demands of the id are satisfied. Young infants are ruled entirely by the id, there is no reasoning with them when their needs demand to be met. Since the other components of personality are not developed yet, the child will cry until these needs are fulfilled.

If people were ruled entirely by this pleasure principle, we could find ourselves taking the objects that we want out of other people’s hands to satiate our own demands and cravings. Freud thought the id works to resolve tension manifested by the pleasure principle through a primary process of thinking. This way of thinking involves creating a mental picture of the desired object as a way of satisfying the need or want.

The Ego

Freud presented the ego as a development stemmed from the id and the one that is in charge of dealing with reality. Parts of the mind that the ego functions in are the preconscious, conscious and unconscious. The ego operates based on the reality principle, ensuring that the impulses of the id can be expressed in such manner that is accepted, realistic and appropriate in the real world. This principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding whether to act upon or abandon the impulse or desire.

Only way the ego would eventually allow this behavior is through a process of delayed gratification and it would have to be an appropriate time and place to do so. The ego releases tension created by unmet impulses through secondary process thinking, in which the ego tries to find an item in the real world that matches the mental image created by the id’s primary process.

The Final Element: Superego

This unit starts to emerge around the age of five and provides guidelines for making judgments. The two parts of a superego are conscience and ego ideal.

Conscience is composed of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from our parents and society (our sense of right and wrong). Ego ideal contains rules and standards for behaviors that the ego aspires to. The ego ideal is the inner image of oneself as one wants to become.

Overall the superego tries to perfect and civilize our behaviors. It works to suppress all unacceptable urges of the id and struggles to make the ego act upon idealistic standards rather than upon principles that are realistic.

How did Sigmund Freud Make an Impact on Psychology?

People argue that Sigmund Freud didn’t make an impact on psychology and that he isn’t relevant anymore. As presented he is the founder of psychoanalysis, which is used everyday by psychologists around the world.

“Today, very few would argue against the idea of the unconscious mind, and Freud’s claim for the central role of the unconscious mind in human actions is as relevant to psychology today as it was then. He established foundations that modern mental health care are built off of, and the modern attitude of those engaging in the mental health care process certainly seem to stem from his main thesis statement as to what patients should be getting out of therapy, which, simply put, is, ‘Know thyself.’” (Alliant International University)

In closing, even though his theories are not seen as completely accurate anymore they are still a big part of the history of psychology. He was a considerable influence on how we view psychology to this day.