Freud proposed a three-component model of the psyche, consisting of «It», «I» and «Super-I».
The receptacle of the primary (innate) drives is «It» — the nuclear and ontogenetically the earliest structure of personality. «It» exists on the principle of pleasure and does not take into account the surrounding people.
Freud described three types of primary drives:
- Drives of life (biological survival needs);
- Sexual drives (also biological, but not directly related to survival);
- Destructive drives (death drives).
“Super-I”, Super-Ego is a kind of reflection of the social world in the human psyche, a receptacle of social rules, norms of social community, moral prohibitions and religious institutions. Three functions of the Super-Ego: conscience, self-observation, the formation of ideals.
While the «It» is born with the child, the «Super-I» develops gradually through education. «It» is selfish, «Super-I» is society-oriented. «It» and «Super-I» are in constant intense conflict, which reflects the conflict between society and the individual (in order to live in society, a person has to limit himself in many desires).
However, neither the «It» nor the «Superego» can manifest themselves directly. They receive their objective existence through «I» (approximately coinciding with consciousness). I (Ego) — develops as you enter into social relations. The function of the ego is to provide a person with the possibility of satisfying his desires in the outside world.
The “I” of the child is weak and at first tries to live according to the rules of the “It” (that is why the child is selfish, capricious, angry), but over time, constantly encountering opposition from adults, it acquires the means to adapt in the social world, and begins to exist according to the “principle of reality” . The “I” is under pressure from both the “It” (which manifests itself in desires, outbursts of aggression, neurotic symptoms) and the “Super-I” (guilt, depression, anxiety).
The main function of the «I» is to integrate the «It» and «Super-I» to provide the necessary connection with the outside world. Another important function of the «I» is a psychological defense mechanism, through which a too strict «Super-I» can be deceived, and the satisfaction of needs will be achieved without guilt. Defense allows you to be aware of only part of the attraction (or completely cease to be aware of it), and to find an object for the attraction that is socially acceptable, thereby weakening the intensity of the conflict. An example of defensive behavior: A high school student is sexually attracted to a teacher. This attraction cannot be realized directly. Psychological protection makes it so that the teenager is not aware of his true desires, instead he is fascinated by the subject that this teacher teaches. Such behavior is approved by others and his «Super-I».
In total, in Freudianism, personality is interpreted as an ensemble of irrational unconscious drives. A person is not aware of his real drives, feelings and goals, without the help of a psychoanalyst, he is constantly deluded about his essence and the causes of behavior. There is no freedom of the individual, there is no self-determination — if a person thinks that he determines something in his life, he deceives himself.
The dominant life of the individual is the desire to maximize the satisfaction of innate drives and at the same time minimize the punishment (external and internal) for this satisfaction.
Conflict is inevitable not only in connection with the initial «corruption» of a person, but also because in the absence of conflict, the source of personality dynamics disappears.
All behavior is defensive. A person throughout his life is trying to resolve the conflict given to him by his own nature and return to a state of balance. A harmonious personality is one that has mastered the ability to restrain the impulses of the “It” to the maximum by strengthening the function of consciousness.
A person is selfish by nature, and society should restrain people, providing everyone with approximately equal chances to satisfy their desires. The ego accepts the path of submission to social demands as the only possible way to save itself.
Freud does not believe that there are loving people for whom taking care of someone — a child or a loved one — is a joy. And what do you think about this?