Human Personality and Behavior

A human’s personality is a combination of patterns and traits that influence one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. From the perspective of the most famous, influential, and controversial figures in Psychology, Sigmund Freud, in his psychoanalytic theory, stated that a human’s personality is made up of three elements that influence an individual’s behavior. Sigmund further elaborated these elements to be the id, the ego, and the superego.

According to Freud’s theory, the id is an element present in an individual since birth and is entirely unconscious, meaning that it is mainly involved with primitive and instinctive behaviors. Additionally, the id is driven by the pleasure principle, which, according to Freud, is a driving force that seeks immediate gratification of our most basic urges and needs, for example, hunger. Failure of these needs not being met leads to anxiety. For instance, when a baby is hungry at night, he will cry till his parents come to check on him and find out what is wrong. Despite being disruptive, his behavior will continue till the baby’s needs are met. Further, even though this primal force remains throughout life, one eventually learns to control it.

The second element is the superego; this element is based on our morals, what we think is right and wrong, hence helping us in making judgments. The superego suppresses all unacceptable urges brought about by the id while also trying to suppress the realistic principle of the ego and instead act upon idealistic standards. For example, there are numerous religions in the world, and in some, people are taught that other religions are wrong and that only their faith is right. This kind of teaching influences one’s superego, and such people end up committing hate crimes towards other religions.

Lastly, the ego, according to Freud, this element acts as a mediator between the id and the superego. The id works on our primal needs, while the superego is the moralistic part formed from social influences and our upbringing. The ego comes in as a mediator, using the reality principle to help balance the two elements and make sure that the behavior produced conforms with what reality demands. For example, when shopping for a car, the id would make one buy the most luxurious vehicle; contrastingly, the superego would influence one to donate the money to charitable causes instead of spending it on a car. However, the ego helps one weigh the pros and cons and settle on an affordable vehicle.

References

Id, Ego, and Superego Are Part of a Structural Model of Personality. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-id-ego-and-superego-2795951

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Human Personality and Behavior

Give an example of a behavior that is influenced by the ID, behavior that is influenced by the Ego, and behavior that is influenced by the superego

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-id-ego-and-superego-2795951