Freud's Theory of Personality, Josh Gerow. See: http://www.awl.com/englishpages/basic_wkbk_read_1.htm

Freud believed

that the mind operates on three interacting levels of awareness:

conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. Freud proposed that

personality also consists of three separate, though interacting,

structures or subsystems: the id, ego, and superego. Each of these

structures or subsystems has its own job to do and its own principles

to follow. The id is the totally inborn or inherited portion of

personality. It resides in the unconscious level of the mind, and it is

through the id that basic instincts develop. The driving force of the id

is libido, or sexual energy, although it may be more fair to say

"sensual" rather than "sexual" so as not to imply that Freud was

always talking about adult sexual intercourse. The id operates on the

pleasure principle, indicating that the major function of the id is to find

satisfaction for basic pleasurable impulses Although the other

divisions of personality develop later, our id remains with us always

and is the basic energy source in our lives. The ego is the part of the

personality that develops through one's experience with reality. In

many ways, it is our self, the rational, reasoning part of our

personality. The ego operates on the reality principle. One of the

ego's main jobs is to try to find satisfaction for the id, but in ways that

are reasonable and rational. The ego may delay gratification of some

libidinal impulse or may need to find an acceptable outlet for some

need. Freud said that "the ego stands for reason and good sense

while the id stands for untamed passions" (Freud, 1933). The last of

the three structures to develop is the superego, which we can liken

to one's sense of morality, or conscience. It reflects our

internalization of society's rules. The superego operates on the

idealistic principle. One problem we have with our superegos is

that they, like our ids, have no contact with reality and therefore often

place unrealistic demands on the individual. The superego demands

that we do what it deems right and proper, no matter what the

circumstances. Failure to do so may lead to guilt and shame. Again, it

falls to the ego to try to maintain a realistic balance between the

conscience of the superego and the libido of the id. This isn't as

complicated as it may sound. Suppose a bank teller discovers an

extra $20 in her cash drawer at the end of the day. She certainly

could use an extra $20. "Go ahead. Nobody will miss it. The bank

can afford a few dollars here and there. Think of the fun you can

have with an extra $20, " is the basic message from her id. "The odds

are that you'll get caught if you take this money. If you are caught,

you may lose your job; then you'll have to find another one, " reasons

her ego. "You shouldn't even think about taking that money. Shame

on you! It's not yours. It belongs to someone else and should be

returned, " the superego protests. Clearly, the interaction of the three

components of one's personality isn't always this simple and

straightforward, but this example illustrates the general idea.

The Defense Mechanisms. If the ego cannot find acceptable ways

to satisfy the drives of the id, or if it cannot deal with the demands of

the superego, conflict and anxiety result. Then ways must be found to

combat the resulting anxiety. It was for this purpose that Freud

proposed defense mechanisms—unconsciously applied techniques

that protect the self (ego) against strong feelings of anxiety. What

follows is a list of some of the more common ego defense

mechanisms, with an example of each

Repression is the most basic defense mechanism. It is sometimes

referred to as motivated forgetting which gives you a good idea of

what is involved. Repression is a matter of (conveniently) forgetting

about some anxiety-producing event or desire. Paul had a teacher

with whom he did not get along. After spending an entire semester

trying to do his best, Paul failed the course. The following summer,

while Paul was walking with his girlfriend, the teacher approached

Paul, and Paul could not remember the instructor's name. He had

repressed it. Forgetting about everything and everyone who ever

caused you anxiety is not an adaptive response, but pushing some

anxiety-producing memories into the depths of the unconscious can

protect us from dwelling on unpleasantness.

Denial is a mechanism of defense in which a person refuses to

acknowledge the realities of an anxiety-producing situation. When a

physician first tells a patient that he or she has a terminal illness, a

common reaction is denial; the patient refuses to believe or accept

that the diagnosis is accurate.