Freud's theory of 'the self'

Freud's theory of 'the self'

The Id –

This part of the personality is innate, its present in a person from birth and related to our primitive instincts. The reason for the id being there from birth is for the fact that it controls a person’s primary drive for pleasure seeking and needing instant gratification as well as the avoidance of pain. An example of this is a baby needing food, they don't understand that they need to wait therefore they may cry in order to get the instant gratification of relieving the unpleasant feeling of hunger as they haven't yet leaned how to balance their desires. Freud suggests that the id 'acts as the driving force of personality'. The id controls the desires and urges of a person and is often more dominant than the superego and has more control on a person’s driving force, it is instinctive and childlike. The id is described as being the strongest aspect of one’s personality. The id can also be linked to addiction problems as the id craves anything that will relive the unpleasant feeling of withdrawal such as cigarettes or alcohol addiction.

Freud suggests that the id is unaware of the passage of time and the external world which is the reason to why we have the desire for instant gratification and to be relieved of unpleasant feelings straight away. The idea of Freud’s id is still used within psychology today and within film as it helps us to understand our unconscious motivations and driving forces as we go about our daily lives. 

The ego – 

This part of the personality develops second as a child begins to grow and starts to learn the difference between right and wrong from seemingly moral role models such as a person’s parents. The ego is able to set the id in the right direction but never has full control due to the id being a part of a person’s instincts and the ego only developing through socialisation. The ego creates a sense of rationality within a person so that they aren't completely driven by the need for instant gratification and allows a person to evaluate situations as well as planning and organising. The ego also acts as a balance or a judge between the id and superego so that a person isn't completely driven by either their urges or their criticisms. The ego is "the rational part of our brain' that helps us navigate daily life and to not always give in to our impulsive nature and allows us to act in a consistent way rather than irrationally. 

The ego begins to develop as an infant is exposed to the world around them allowing them to make better choices such as instead of gaining instant gratification, they may wait in order to gain a greater reward at a later time. Depending on how strong a person’s ego develops and the environment that they are exposed to the ego can help in resisting social pressures while balancing the id and superego to develop a better cause of action for a great outcome of different situations. The ego develops in order to keep us acting stable.

The Superego-

The superego is the part of the personality that develops last after a person learns the difference between right and wrong, it develops and becomes a person’s conscious leading them to make morally right choices. It controls a person’s moral code, pushes a person to do the right thing and has a need to make a person come across as seemingly perfect. The superego tries to persuade 'the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection'. The superego consists of two parts which are the conscious and the ideal self. The conscious will make a person feel guilty if they give into the id too soon or if they shouldn't have at all such as indulging on a craving. The ideal self creates an unrealistic view of a perfect person and tries to make one aim to be like this such as a way to behave in society etc. Again, if one doesn't live up to the ideal self then the superego can be made to feel guilty even if the ideal self is an impossible way for a person to act. 

The superego acts as an ethical component of one’s personality and develops due to how they are raised by their parents and the punishments the receive from doing ‘wrong’ things. An infant begins to understand the moral codes of those around them and therefore start taking these ideas onboard themselves to develop their own superego. The superego takes the longest to develop and can develop right into young adult hood as one may begin to change their moral code and alter their own views as they become more exposed to society and social pressures. 

Bibliography/references

·     Very well mind (20th November 2018) (online) available from https://www.verywellmind.com (accessed 26th November 2018) https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-id-2795275

·     The Guardian (7th March 2009) (online) available from https://www.theguardian.com (accessed 27th November 2018)

·     Simply psychology (2016) (online) available from https://www.simplypsychology.org (accessed 27th November 2018)

·     Encyclopaedia Britannica (20^thJune 2017) (online) available from https://www.britannica.com(Accessed 28^thNovember 2018) 

·     Psychology Today (12^thJanuary 2010) (online) available from https://www.psychologytoday.com(accessed 28^thNovember 2018)