Transcription
One of the most enduring and important ideas of Sigmund Freud was that the human mind can be divided into three levels of consciousness: the unconscious, preconscious and conscious minds. My name is Robin Wollast, I am a doctor in Psychology and in this video, we will explore three personality structures which are the id, ego and superego.
The id operates in our unconscious mind which means that it is not accessible to our consciousness. The id is often pictured as the little devil whispering on your shoulder. He is selfish, instinctual, impulsive and refers to an unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic needs such as sex, eating and aggression. Specifically, the id is based on the pleasure principle which demands immediate gratifications by gaining pleasure and avoiding pain. Think about a new born child who is crying because he seeks pleasure through food and attention, with no regards to the consequences. He demands immediate gratification regardless of the burden caused to his parents.
Next, the second personality structure is the superego, which is mostly unconscious and often pictured as the little angel smiling on your shoulder. He is like an internal judge who is based on the moral principle. He tells you what is right and wrong, what is socially acceptable to do, think and feel, according to real world rules, moral and norms.
Finally, the third personality structure is the ego which is basically our conscious self. The ego is who we think we are, it has the ability to make decisions. The ego operates on the reality principle. It is like an executive mediator who tries to satisfy both the needs from the id and superego, in a realistic way.
Let me give you a concrete example. Imagine that you have to study for an exam or you have homework to do. The id is based on the pleasure principle and immediate gratifications so when you will start studying, you will have thoughts like “This is boring” “Why am I doing this?” and the id will put pressure on you to do something pleasurable like watching a tv-series, going on social media, anything that will give you immediate gratification. Then, the superego is based on the moral principle and will act like a judge by giving you thoughts like “Doing my homework is the right thing to do” “I should do it for my career” and the superego will pressure you by rewarding or punishing you. For instance, you will feel proud, like a good student if you study, or ashamed like a terrible student if you quit your task before finishing it.
Between the id and the superego, you have the ego which is based on the reality principle. The ego will find a compromise by analyzing both sides: “That’s right, this homework is a bit boring and I want to do something more pleasurable but if I don’t make it, I might fail my exam or my class” and so the ego will find a decision, in a realistic way. This is how the three personality structures work.
Thank you for watching. Let me know in the comments below your examples of the id, ego and superego and do not forget to feed my id with an immediate gratification by liking this video and subscribe to my channel Stay safe and healthy. Bye!