What is Ego Id and Superego – Simple Personality Theory

Written by Tiger Rattana in Uncategorized

If talking about the subconscious mind Psychologically, no one would not miss it. ‘Id Ego and Superego Personality Theory’ of the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.

The human brain, heart and mind are amazing things. Because human beings are smart enough to walk on the moon. solve many epidemic problems People still don’t understand themselves very well.

However, what is ‘difficult to understand’ does not mean that we cannot understand it better. In this article, let’s try to see how What are the Id Ego and Superego personality theories and how are they good? Don’t be afraid. I have digested it in the easiest way to understand.

What is the Id Ego and Superego Theory? – Structural Model of the Psyche 

Id Ego Superego is the three levels of the mind. Defined in Sigman Freud’s The Structure of the Mind, the Structure of the Mind describes the complexity in how one thinks, acts, and activities, where Id stands for the unconscious mind, Ego stands for Ego, and Supergo stands for the super-self.

‘An angel on the left shoulder The Devil on the Right Shoulder’ is perhaps the simplest way to describe Id Ego and Superego. Because the structure of the mind is just an abstract description. not any part of the brain and does not have any physical form whatsoever (But psychologists often use The ‘iceberg’ is an example to describe these three structures. which I will write more about later)

Next, let’s take a closer look at Id Ego and Superego.

What is an id? (id)

Id (Id) refers to the unconscious mind, such as instincts and needs. Id is something that has been attached to us since birth. like a newborn who can’t control himself including hunger needs, anger, and sexual desires which we can learn to control the id

Probably the most obvious example is hunger. A hungry child cannot control himself. Choose to cry rather than go get something to eat by yourself. Although people may view Id as a bad thing. makes us unable to control ourselves But by human nature the Id is a survival tool. one self defense

A hungry child cries because he wants the attention of someone he can depend on. An angry person acts ugly. To drive out various factors that hurt themselves. However, these ‘symptoms’ are considered appropriate behaviors for children only. Adults who exhibit unconscious behavior would not be well received by society.

in which human beings can live together as a society The ability to control yourself is also important. But self-control means being above your own unconscious. It means that no matter how old we get, our ID is always there. But most people have also developed mental structures known as Ego and Superego.

What is Ego (Ego)?

Ego (ego) refers to the self or the self of reality. which is our identity that has been developed so that our behavior can be accepted in society And there are many social expectation factors such as time, norm and culture.

The main function of the Ego is to ‘compromise’ between our needs and our needs. and what we will actually do For example, if our unconscious mind (Id) tells us that our body is hungry, then the ego is the thought structure that stops us from going to bed crying for attention. But it will be the part that makes us walk into the restaurant quietly. do not disturb others

The “Delay of Gratification” is a simple process where the Ego will be able to satisfy the Id’s needs, but this will have to be done ‘later’, meaning that the Ego will be the chosen one. time and place To meet the needs, such as waiting for noon before eating. End the meeting before going to the bathroom or after 10 pm to sleep.

Sigmund Freud compared the Id to a horse and Ego to a horseman, because Id is power and drive, but Ego is responsible for choosing directions and actions.

A horse without a rider will run everywhere.
A horse with a rider can reach a clear goal.

If talking about the word ego, most people tend to associate it with the symptoms of people with ‘high ego’, overconfident in themselves, not listening to others, but in terms of psychology. And to define Sigmund Freud’s Ego as just one identity. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a good thing. or something bad In this section, I recommend everyone to study my article on Ego or what is Ego .

What is Superego (Api-ego)?

Superego (super ego) refers to the super- ego, the part of the mind that thinks about morality and ethics. as a guideline for decision making And it helps to determine what is wrong and right. Superego is what we learn from our parents and society around us.

‘Guilt’ and ‘feeling of pride’ are two processes that the Superego uses to control our behavior and thoughts. If the Ego decides to follow the Id too much, we may feel guilty, embarrassed, and thus we don’t want to act like it. And if Ego decides to follow Superego, we’ll be proud. It is considered a system of punishment and self-reward.

If the id is what we have at birth, the superego is what we begin to develop after we know it. Sigmun Freud said that most children begin to develop their superego between the ages of 3 and 5, and The image that we often see is a person (Ego) with an angel (Superego) on the left shoulder, the devil (Id) on the right shoulder.

An interesting case of Ego and Superego is that people do good. successful But our thoughts choose to put more pressure on ourselves. not rewarding himself until you think you’re not good at it For those who think this story is interesting I recommend you to read the article on Imposter Syndrome and the disease of thinking that you are not good at it.

Iceberg and the benefits of Id Ego Superego Theory [Iceberg Theory]

Iceberg is our subconscious analogy. ice on water like our consciousness That’s just the tip of the whole iceberg. invisible underwater iceberg is the unconscious It is our desires, thoughts, and memories that we cannot control.

The conscious mind is what we can feel, the unconscious mind is what we can’t perceive and control, and the preconscious is what we may not always think about. But it can be remembered if alerted through various stimuli.

Sigmund Freud explains that people who are outgoing, well-behaved, are those who can control their ego well. Inconsiderate of others, but those with too much Superego may become law-abiding. system too customary Until unable to accept different ideas or show sympathy for those who think differently

Id Ego Superego will have a number of collaborations. In its first form, the Id shows us a need, but the Superego restrains itself from immorality.

The second form that we often see is the decision-making thinking system where ‘System 1’ is responsible for helping us think fast. Make decisions through intuition and emotions. The ‘2nd system’ can make us think deeply. The 2011 Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking Fast and Slow has fun explaining these two systems of thinking. (but a little hard to read)

*Let me call it a similar system. More relevant, because Daniel Kahneman writes on case studies of human decision making, while Sigmund Freud writes more on the subconscious. The key is in terms of modern psychology Many view Sigmund Freud’s work as ‘pseudoscience’.

Like all life lessons, the Id Ego Superego Theory has its pros and cons. It depends on how well we perceive ourselves. Too much of anything is not good. Too little is not good either.

Finally, I would like to say that Sigmund Freud is a ‘theorist’ in psychology. How similar is it to reality? The principles of psychoanalysis in the past cannot be proven in principle. However, I still think that Freud is a very interesting idea. In the future, I will write another article explaining other Freud theories for everyone to read.