Imagine there are three parts of your mind. 

One is responsible for pleasure, gratification and indulgence, at all costs. One is diligent, rule-abiding, and overbearing. And the other is judge and jury, peace-maker… decision-maker. 

This is how Freud divided the human psyche. 

Id

The id is all about short-term thinking, in pursuit of pleasure. It seeks immediate gratification and is tuned in to our most basic desires, often around the 3 Fs: food, fighting, and f-ing… It’s not confined by societal expectations, it doesn’t pander to manners or order. 

The id is instinctive, selfish, and demanding. 

… this isn’t necessarily all bad. Think of a baby unashamedly crying in the middle of the night because he is hungry. He knows what he needs, he doesn’t care that he’s putting anyone else out, driven by the need to satiate physiological animal instincts. 

The id is the pleasure principle, it is unconscious, and it’s with us from birth. 

Superego

Where the id doesn’t see beyond the present moment, the superego is all about ‘future you’. It is obsessed with being correct, and doing the right thing. All the time. 

The superego’s inspiration is your parents, with a twist of societal expectations… times a million. It has high demands and expectations of you, and holds you to unreasonable account. It’s pushing you towards an ‘ideal’ version of yourself, pursuing perfection, and it has lofty standards. 

It can reward you with feelings of pride, value and accomplishment or it can pull the rug from you, dishing out shame, guilt and self-loathing in abundance. 

The superego is the moral principle, it is partly unconscious, partly conscious, and it develops throughout early life. 

Ego

The id and the superego are pulling in opposite directions, driven by different purposes. You might have heard of them referred to as the devil or angel on our shoulders. In between these contradictory forces is the ego. 

The ego draws from both sides, hears their perspectives, and decides the best course of action. It mediates between the impulsive urges of the id, and the rigid moralistic demands of the superego. 

The ego exists through the conscious, preconscious and unconscious minds. It is the reality principle and develops in early childhood. 

For example… 

You’re studying for an exam. The subject is within your grasp and overall you’ve thoroughly enjoyed the course. It’s been challenging and enlightening and you have an impressive natural ability. Along with your instinctive competence, the exam will be testing your understanding of theory. Dates, names, specifics. You need to apply yourself fully to lock these down in your memory so you can recall them on demand, off-book. 

Id. But that’s not particularly fun… It’s sunny outside and your friends are meeting in the park to play frisbee and have a few beers. There’s a new pizza place opening on the corner, they’ll probably head there later to grab a slice. That girl you like is bringing her new puppy, maybe it’s a good excuse to finally walk her home… 

Superego. No. This is ridiculous. All the work you’ve done culminates this week. If this exam goes well, you’re on track for your future plans. You’re within reach of your goals and ambitions. Stay in. You’re on a health kick too so you’ve got lots of fresh, healthy, delicious ingredients ready to be chopped and transformed in to that salad you like. While you’re at it stick a wash on, it’ll be done by the time you’re due a break. 

Ego. Hang on. How about… do an hour or so of study and break the back of it. Join your friends in the park to play frisbee – it really is a lovely day, and you need to get out – but stay off the booze. There’s time for a little more focussed study later, then it’ll be nice to head out for a pizza this evening and relax. That’ll get you in a good mindset for the exam this week. 

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This theory is my first foray into Freud, and it seems well-observed to me. I can certainly identify as having an over-zealous superego and without knowing the terminology, have recently been trying to allow my id more oxygen. 

Have you got a noisy id? Superego smothering you? How’s your ego, could it be doing more?

I’d be interested to know more about Freud, and am keen for recommendations to learn more. Best resources to learn about Freud?