Freud proposed a structural organization of personality with three main components; the id, the ego, and the superego.

The id was the raw animal drives of the personality. These included drives for food, sex, and aggression, which were driven by libido, the psychic energy of the mind. This psychic energy came in two forms, Eros (the life instinct) with drives toward survival (hunger, sex, etc.) and Thanatos (the death instinct) with drives toward death (such as aggression). The id operates on the pleasure principle, meaning that it is driven solely to maximize pleasure. Essentially, the id follows the rule “if it feels good, do it”.

This type of pleasure-maximizing drive might help us to survive and procreate, but it isn’t the only rule to live by. We can’t just run around eating, fighting, or mating whenever and wherever we please. This is where the ego comes in. The ego’s role is to restrain the drives of the id in order to maintain relationships and integrate into society. The ego operates on the reality principle, which is to balance the id’s drives with the realities of social life.

The last structure of Freud’s personality construct is thesuperego. The superego contains all of the messages from parents, teachers, and others about who we should be. The superego represents the ideal person who is perfectly moral and virtuous. We can never reach this societal ideal, but the superego urges us to try, though our inevitable failure may cause guilt, shame, and anxiety.

To remember these three personality structures and how they interact, imagine the following scenario. You’ve arrived at a friend’s house where you’re planning a surprise birthday party. A rushed and busy day has meant that you haven’t had a chance to eat and you’re feeling rather ravenous. Before your friend is due to arrive, you find yourself in the kitchen, alone with a pristine chocolate cake.

In this situation, your id is basically saying “EAT IT! You’re hungry, it will taste amazing, just do it!” Your ego, on the other hand, is considering the effects of this behavior on your social standing and relationships. After all, what would the consequences be if your friend found you stuffing your face with her birthday cake? Your ego suggests that you manage to wait just a little while longer, then you can have your cake and maintain your friendship too. Rather than relying on the animal drives of the id or the pragmatic propositions of the ego, your superego pushes for the most virtuous of responses. How could you enjoy even the thinnest slice of cake when you know that elsewhere others are truly starving? How could you celebrate when there are people suffering in this world? The superego might suggest you take that cake down to the nearest soup kitchen and give it to those who are most in need.

This post is an excerpt from Master Introductory Psychology: Complete Edition