ID, Ego and Superego

Based on the theory, the ID is the animalistic, instinctual part of us that can compel us to act on its needs. The other parts of the personality (Ego, Superego) work to oppose these instinctual drives and strive to be in line with the demands of the external world, namely the family, society, and culture we live in.

Here's a look at how these parts work individually and how they communicate:

ID (It)

• The only aspect of personality present from birth.
• Completely unconscious and contains instinctual behaviors.
• According to Freud, the ID is the source of psychic energy, making it the primary component of personality.

The ID operates on the pleasure principle, which seeks the immediate gratification of desires and needs. If these needs are not met immediately, we become anxious and tense. For example, hunger or thirst produces an instant demand for food or water, and the longer we delay satisfying them, the more tense we become.

The ID is essential in early childhood because it ensures a baby's needs are met. If a child is hungry or thirsty, they will cry until all their demands are fulfilled. However, immediate fulfillment of those needs is not always realistic or even possible. If we only used the ID and operated on the pleasure principle, we could find ourselves at a primal level of living—in a state of savagery.

EGO (I)

• The component of personality responsible for adapting to reality, or the external world.
• According to Freud, the Ego develops from the ID and ensures that the ID's impulses are expressed in an acceptable manner.
• It functions in the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious parts of the mind.

The Ego operates on the reality principle, which seeks to satisfy the ID's impulses in socially acceptable ways. Practically speaking, it calculates gains and losses before deciding to act on instincts. The ID's impulses can be met through a process of delayed gratification; the Ego allows the behavior but only at the appropriate time and in the appropriate place.

The Ego also relieves and releases the tension created by the ID's forbidden impulses through a so-called secondary process.

SUPEREGO (Over-I)

The last component to develop in the personality is the Superego.

• The aspect of personality that contains all our internalized (adopted from parents, society, culture...) moral standards and ideals, as well as our sense of right and wrong.
• Provides guidelines for judgment.
• Begins to form and develop around the age of five.

There are two aspects of the Superego:

1. Ego Ideal – This encompasses the standards and rules for good behavior. These behaviors include those that are approved by parents or other authority figures. Adhering to these rules leads to feelings of pride, self-worth, and accomplishment.
2. Conscience – This contains information about things that are viewed as negative by society and parents. These behaviors are often forbidden and lead to consequences—punishments, feelings of guilt, or remorse.

The Superego works to perfect and civilize our behavior. It suppresses all unacceptable instinctual impulses coming from the ID and strives for the Ego to act according to idealistic standards, not realistic principles. The Superego is present in the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious parts of the mind.

The Interaction of ID, Ego, and Superego

With three strong competing forces, it's easy to see how conflict arises in our psyche. Freud used the term "Ego strength," which is the tendency of our Ego to reconcile conflicts between the ID and Superego. A person with a well-developed Ego is able to manage pressures effectively, while with too much or too little Ego strength, the Ego can become overly rigid and unyielding, or fragile. According to Freud, the key to a healthy personality is a balance between the ID, Ego, and Superego.

Additional Observations

"When considering the ID, Ego, and Superego, we must note that these are not three separate entities with sharply defined boundaries, but rather they represent a different number of functions, processes, and dynamics within a person. Moreover, in his writings, Freud uses the German personal pronouns—das Es, das Ich, and das Uber-ich. Literally, they mean 'it,' 'I,' and 'over-I.' Strachey's translation into Latin pronouns became less personal, and there have been attempts at better translations, to something more approximate and clear." (Engler, 2009)

"With the Ego in the middle, if all demands are met, the system maintains a balance of psychic power, and the outcome is a balanced personality. If there is an imbalance, the result is a maladaptive personality. For example, a dominant ID in a person causes them to be impulsive and uncontrolled. With a predominant Superego, the outcome can be a strictly moralistic individual. A predominant Ego can create a person who is an inflexible, rigid personality (unable to deviate from rules and structure) or unable to be spontaneous, or has no personal sense of what is right and wrong (someone who goes through life by the book)." (Karduci, 2009)

Author: Nemanja Kurlagić, psychotherapist using the O.L.I. method