THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY

The structure of personality is first proposed by Sigmund Freud. According to him personality is composed of three elements, the ID, the Ego and the Superego which are working together as an interlocking system. Each element has its own properties and mechanisms. They interact closely to from the human personality.

The ID:

The id us the original source of personality which is the primitive biogenic impulses in human consisting of inherited instincts i.e. the sex and aggression. It is inborn and operates on animal level of thinking. Id works on pleasure seeking principle. For Id the wishes and needs shall be fulfilled at any cost without compromise. It is unconscious in nature and no concern about reality. Id always wants to avoid the pain and to obtain the pleasure.

The Ego:       

Ego is the psychological component of the personality. It stands for the reality and practicality i.e. the Ego works on reality seeking principle. It develops out of Id and operates with the energy derived from Id. It is largely conscious and acts intelligently and determines the possibilities of satisfactions or achieving the demands of Id. The ego is referred as the mediator force in man because it keeps balance between the demands of Id and Superego.

Super Ego:

Super ego is the social component of the personality of stands for ideals, principles, ethics and morals. It works on morality seeking principle. Superego always tries to follow the values and moral of the society as taught to the child by the parents and others. Superego develops as a result of the lessons learned by Ego from the social reality. Superego does not care about the reality but stand always for moral values, standards and norms of the society. It is the decisions making force in a person.

Personality:   

According to the above theory the Id and Superego are guided by two opposite principles and as a result conflicting situation like war is created between the Id and Superego. Here the ego intervene and attempt to mediate considering the realities and consequences. If the Ego is strong enough to maintain a balance between the needs of Id and Superego, the individual develops a balanced personality or a normal personality. If the ego is weak a maladjusted or abnormal personality will be developed. Ego strengthening is one of the major objectives of counselling.