Now that you’ve seen Id, Ego, and Superego at work, some explanation might be in order. Once upon a time in 19th century Vienna there was a doctor named Freud. Freud had a lot of very strange ideas, which some people claim were the result of his liberal cocaine use, perhaps with some justification. Among his most interesting and famous ideas was the concept of the Id, Ego, and Superego, which is part of what psychologists call Freud’s “structural model”.
Let’s start with the Id. The Id (translating to the “It” in German) is the part of the psyche that is wholly concerned with the most basic drives of human existence, such as hunger, comfort, and sex. Freud referred to these things as the “pleasure principle”. Imagine the Id as a toddler. It wants what it wants when it wants it, which is always NOW! If you’ve ever really, really wanted something that you couldn’t get right away, you can probably identify that part of your self that is squirming like a 5-year old waiting for candy. That’s your very own Id. The Id is also shallow, fickle, impulsive, and highly suggestible, with no concept of responsibility or consideration for other people. Kind of like a spoiled teenage drama-queen.
The Superego is the exact opposite of the Id. Whereas the Id is present from birth, the Superego develops gradually as we learn what other people expect from us. In essence, the Superego is the personification of everything our society finds good and desirable. Naturally, this can be different from culture to culture, but, in general, the Superego is that tiny little voice inside you that tells you to be nice to other people, that stealing office supplies from work is wrong, and that under no circumstances should you have that second piece of cake because it will make you look like a bloated walrus. The Superego is very rigid in its beliefs and cannot be reasoned with any more than the Id can. But while the Id has sheer volume on its side, the Superego has a deadly secret weapon at its disposal: guilt.
The Ego is the moderator between the Id and the Superego. It is imminently practical and rational, and so usually gets the final say in any decision. The Ego’s main job is to figure out how to keep the Id satisfied and navigate the often extremely confusing outside world without upsetting the Superego. Naturally, this is harder than it sounds, and the Ego has a number of strategies that it employs, some of which tend to work out better than others.
According to Freud’s structural model, it is the eternal conflict between the Id, Ego, and Superego that account for personality and also for psychological disorders. Sometimes the Ego gives in and lets the Id run rampant, resulting in a major guilt offensive by the Superego. Sometimes the Ego allows the Superego more leeway and the Id gets over-ruled too much, resulting in real physical and emotional deprivation. And sometimes, the Ego gets so tired and fed up with everything that it just quits and chaos ensues. Either way, if you believe Freud, it is the interaction of these three mental roommates that is responsible for everything people do and think when you get right down to it.
But then Freud did do a lot of cocaine.
