PsychoAn C&P: Provinces of the Mind

3 provinces of the mind

id - the “das es” or the “it”
ego- “das ich” or the “I”
superego- “uber ich” or the Over-I

just hypothetical constructs

Interaction with the levels of mental life

Ego - across all levels
Superego- precon and uncon
id- uncon

Id (Pleasure Principle)

unconscious; not yet owned part of the personality; has no contact with reality, yet it strives constantly to reduce tension by satisfying basic desires. (pleasure principle)

Id as Amoral

Id is and can simultaneously entertain conflicting ideas; Id

itself has no morality; Id cannot make ethical or value judgments, nor distinguish good or evil; libido spent purely seeking pleasure

Primary Process

Id houses all instincts and operates through the Primary Process; the primary process refers to Id’s attempt to reduce tension by forming an image of an object that will remove the tension, albeit temporarily; immediate gratification

Example of Primary Process

I am hungry but I have no means to feed myself so I think of food to relieve my hunger, but it doesn’t really remove the tension but only reduces it immediately and provides temporary satisfaction.

Survival of Id

relies on the Secondary Principle (functions through ego) that allows its desires to come into contact and manifest in reality.

The Ego (the Reality Principle)

in contact with the reality; a person’s sole source of communication with the external world; Executive branch of the mind; Ego can make its decisions in all its levels.

What happens when the ego becomes anxious?

The ego will use Repression and other defense mechanisms to defend itself from these anxieties.

Analogy of the Horseback

horse - id

rider - ego

the rider(ego) rides the horse(id) and tries to control it, but it is more powerful thus the rider sometimes struggles to; the ego has no strength of its own that’s why it borrows energy from the id.

Example on Analogy of the Horseback

Id: I want Pizza now!
Ego: okay gewww but later na teh kay lunch pa.

The Ego is using the energy of that desire to help make a decision.

When can ego get close to controlling id?

When you become a psychologically mature person.

Secondary Process

refer to the Ego’s attempts to discharge tension by means of realistic thinking; for example, a child primary process when hungry is to think for images of food to relieve of hunger, but using the secondary process, the child stimulates his mouth through a toy, therefore realistically meeting the temporary needs of the id.

Eventual Development of Maturity

experience parental rewards and punishments; they learn what to do in order to gain pleasure and avoid pain

Ego Functions

includes rewards & punishment for children; At a young age, pleasure and pain are Ego functions

The Superego (Morality Principle)

represents the moral and ideal aspects of personality, guided by the idealistic and moralistic principles; no energy of its own; grows out of ego; is unrealistic in its demands for perfection.

2 subsystems of superego

1. Conscience

2. Ego-ideal

Conscience

experiences with punishments for improper behavior; tells us what not to do.

Guilt

You feel guilty when your Ego does something, or plans to do something, that your Superego says is wrong; a function of the conscience.

Ego-Ideal

experiences with rewards for proper behavior; tells us what we should do

Feeling of Inferiority

You feel “I'm not good enough” because your Ego thinks you failed to do something you were supposed to do; a function of ego-ideal

Mechanism of Superego

a well-developed superego helps control the impulses through the process of repression; cannot produce repression itself, although it can order the ego to do its bidding; highly selfish same with id

superego as the judge

watches closely over the Ego, judging its actions and intentions; unconcerned with the happiness of the Ego; it is blind and ignorant in its pursuit of perfection.