Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Idea - Id, Ego, Super-Ego



ID
The id comprises the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains the basic drives. The id acts according to the "pleasure principle", seeking to avoid pain or unpleasure aroused by increases in instinctual tension. The id is unconscious by definition.

EGO
The Ego acts according to the reality principle; i.e. it seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief.
The Ego comprises that organized part of the personality structure that includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the ego, although not all of the operations of the ego are conscious. The ego separates what is real. It helps us to organize our thoughts and make sense of them and the world around us.

SUPEREGO
The Super-ego aims for perfection. It comprises that organized part of the personality structure, mainly but not entirely unconscious, that includes the individual's ego ideals, spiritual goals, and the psychic agency (commonly called "conscience") that criticizes and prohibits his or her drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions.
Definitions from Wikipedia

Articles
Bowman, Karl M. "Book Review; The Ego and the Id." The American Journal of
     Psychology 40.4 (1928): 644-645. JSTOR. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.
     <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1414355>.

Schmeiser, Susan R. "Romancing the Family." Harvard Journal of Law & Gender 33.1
     (2010): 327-337. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.
<http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.vcu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&hid=11&sid=d793d958-3e71-4776-95a4-fb73f5d1d255%40sessionmgr4>

Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. London: Hogarth Press; Institute of
     Psycho-Analysis, 1927. Questia Online Library. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.
     <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=72395649>.




Quotes
“But as Freud’s account unfurls, we realize additionally that the lines separating memory and wish, fact and fantasy, also remain indistinct, within the patient and between patient and analyst.”
Susan Schmeiser

“The id represents the earliest organization of the mental life of the individual and contains within itself the emotional and instinctive forces.  It represents the source of energy for the individual.  ““The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world.””  All of the ego, however, is not conscious, a part of it being unconscious.  The id is unconscious.  The ego has the task of bringing the influence of the external world to bear upon the id and its tendencies and endeavors to substitute the reality principle for the pleasure principle which reigns supreme in the id.
The Super-ego is formed from the primary identification with the parent.  The super-ego is regarded as a “precipitate in the ego” and is a modification of the ego.  The super-ego, or ego ideal, as Freud also calls it, derives its characteristics from the way in which the individual deals with the Oedipus complex.  The super-ego corresponds in many respects to conscience and from it are derived religion, morality and a social sense.”
Karl M. Bowman

I am interested in the various forms of the conscious and unconscious mind.  They all form a part of a whole of each individual.  Perhaps I can become in tune with each piece, in order to effectively communicate to an audience, and hopefully connect with one or all three sections of the intricate mind of the viewer.  I feel as if all three of the conscious and unconscious constantly fight within the mind, and maybe, if they become in tune with eachother, constantly keeping the others  in check, maybe everything will begin to make more sense first to myself, which will then allow me to connect to others.

1 comment:

  1. Is this idea still accepted as a valid representation of the human psychology ??

    ReplyDelete