Question

Part I. Explain your understanding of how the Id, Ego, and Superego interact. Give an example to illustrate conflict. Discuss.

Part II. Compare Freud’s Theory of Id, Ego, Superego to Plato’s tripartite mental structure. Discuss.

Answer 1

Part I

ID, Ego and superego are the components of Sigmund Freud theory of child psychology.

The Id

• The id is the only component of personality that is present from birth.
• This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes the instinctive and primitive behaviors.
• According to Freud, the id is the source of all psychic energy, making it the primary component of personality.
• It is driven by pleasure principle.

The Ego

• The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for dealing with reality.
• According to Freud, the ego develops from the id and ensures that the impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world.
• The ego functions in both the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind.
• It is based on the reality principle.

The superego

• It is the final part of the personality, emerging between the ages of 3 and 5, the phallic stage in Freud’s stages of psychosexual development.
• The superego is the moral compass of the personality, upholding a sense of right and wrong.

PART II

Similarities in both theories:-

Both the theories are concerned with reducing psychic conflict.

Differences between two theories:-

The main difference between two theories is the physical organization. Freud sees the rational ego as sandwiched between the id and the superego, reconciling the two. Plato, on the other hand, describes the three parts as stacked with rationality on top, spirit in the middle, and appetite making up the lowest class. Also the outcomes of psychic harmonization differ. For Freud, it involves little more than the absence of conflict. However for Plato, once the ‘passions’ are harmonized the mind is capable of ascending to higher levels of insight and contemplation of divine things.