Sigmund Freud’s Theories

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality

• Id

• Superego

• Ego

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality: Id

Helps determine an individual personality and how they behave or interact in the world. This area is known for instant gratification; this can be physical needs or desires

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality: Superego

Concerned with morals and following rules; often people consider this their conscience. This develops based on an individual’s culture and what they are taught as right and wrong

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality: Ego

Helps determine an individual’s personality and how they behave or interact in the world. This is often thought of as the rationale to an individual's personality and can be viewed as both conscious and unconscious 

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality: Conscious (Ego)

Psyche that is composed of self-awareness in feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and other aspects of mental functioning.

• Ego/superego

Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality: Unconscious (Ego)

Psyche that is composed of desires, impulses, memories, and emotional conflicts that are not directly accessible to awareness but influences behaviors and thoughts

• Id

Defense mechanisms

When unconscious assists the ego in dealing with threats, whether internal or external, that cause a state of anxiety.