Id, Ego, and Superego

The id, ego, and superego are three components of the mental apparatus advanced by Sigmund Freud. Mental life and behavior are thought to be determined by interactions among these three components and with the external environment. The id is the part of the mind concerned with immediate gratification of needs (e.g., eating, sex, comfort). The ego is the realistic part of the psyche (able to see practical limits). The superego is the moralizing part of the mind. Struggles for dominance between these three aspects of the human psyche lead to repression (the pushing of inappropriate thoughts and wishes out of consciousness), increased tension, and the shifting or relocation of energy to alternative targets within and outside the body. Thoughts and desires reside at varying degrees of awareness, ranging from conscious (full awareness) to preconscious (can be made aware with little effort) to unconscious (completely unknown to us). Repressed thoughts (those deemed inappropriate by the ego and superego) are believed to find expression across a continuum of behaviors from the normal everyday (e.g., forgetting, slips of the tongue) to the pathological (e.g., neurosis that include somatic pain and paralysis). The id, ego, and superego represent three parts of the self or identity: a hedonistic self, a public self, and a moral self. Freud used this tripartite model to explain gender identity, sexual orientation formation, personality types, and psychological disorders. Freud's model caused controversy because of its emphasis on sexual instinct. Despite the controversy, his work has demonstrated lasting value and has sparked numerous psychological theories.

This entry briefly describes the historical and scientific context that influenced Freud in his conceptualization of the human psyche; describes the evolution and characteristics of the id, ego, and superego; discusses the roles of id, ego, and superego in reference to psychosexual stages; describes how specific conflicts among these components contribute to normal and abnormal behaviors; and reviews how Freud's concepts (id, ego, and superego) contributed to various subfields of social science.