| |  "Definitions"
, Tue 27 Feb 13:18:
The early psychologist Sigmund Freud created the concept if id with his psychodynamic theory.
Psychodynamic theorists believe that a person's behaviour, whether normal or abnormal, is largely determined by underlying psychological forces which he or she is not consciously aware. These internal forces are described as dynamic - they interact with one another. These interactions give rise to our behavior, thoughts, and emotions. Abnormal symptoms result from conflict between these forces.
Freud belived that there are three central forces that shape personality - instinctual needs, rational thinking, and moral standards. All these forces, he believed, operated at the unconscious level, unavailable to immediate awareness, and dynamic in nature. He called these forces id, ego and superego.
The Id: The term id refers to instinctual needs, drives, and impulses. The id operates in accordance with what's known as the pleasure principle; the drive to seek gratification. Freud believed that all id instincts tend to be sexual, noting that during the early stages of life, a child's pleasures are obtained through nursing, defecating, masturbating, etc. - activities he considered to have sexual overtones. His theories also were developed during the Victorian age, an age of sexual repression, which would explain why he focused so much on sex. Freud said that a person's libido (sexual energy) fueled the id.
The Ego: During our early formative years, we come to recognize that our environment will not always fulfill our every instinctual need. For example, your mom isn't going to be there to always help you out, etc. A part of the id seperates to become the ego. Like the id, the ego seeks gratification, but it does so in accordance to the reality principle, the knowledge we acquire through experience that it can be unacceptable to express our id impulses outright. The ego, using reason, guides us to know when we can and can't express those impulses.
In order to handle the id, the ego develops ego defense mechanisims to control unacceptable id impulses, or to reduce the anxiety that those impulses cause. The most basic defense mechanism is called repression, which prevents unacceptable impulses from reaching consciousness. There are a whole mess of these defenses, and I won't go into them because you can look up that info yourself. 
The Superego: The superego grows from the ego, just as the ego grew from the id. As we learn from our parents that certain id impulses are unacceptable, we unconsciously introject (adopt) our parent's values. We identify with our parents and judge ourselves by their standards. When we uphold their values, we feel good... and when we go against them, we feel guilty. Basically, we develop a conscience.
Freud said that these three parts of personality - the id, ego, and superego - are often in conflict to some degree. A healthy person is one who has an effective working relationship/compromise exists between these three forces. If the id, ego, and superego are in excessive conflict, the person's behavior may show signs of dysfunction.
On a related note, Freud said we go through developement stages (which is where these forces form). If the adjustments from one stage to the next are smooth, we have personal growth. If we have a hangup in one stage, we're said to be fixated in that stage. All future problems will stem from these fixations.
Mind you, Freud and the psychodymanic theory has little evidence from research and is generally useless from a scientific standpoint. It is also the reason that many people consider psychology to be a pseudo-science. Modern psychology tends to lead to cognitive, biological, and psychosocial factors as being the main driving forces behind our thoughts, personalities, and subsequent abnormalities.
Read through this thread, for more information.
-TC
erau qssi ssaym
[this message was edited by TheContact on Tue 27 Feb 13:56]
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| Location: California
| Registered: Tue 25 Jul 2000 17:4 |
"Confused Id" 
TheContact
