Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsOverview of the IdDevelopmentPersonalityHow It WorksObservationsFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Overview of the Id
Development
Personality
How It Works
Observations
Frequently Asked Questions
Close
Imagine a part of your mind that operates purely on instinct and desire without any thought for the consequences. That primal part of our personality is the id. Freud called it “chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitation.”
Sigmund Freud suggested that the psyche is structured into three parts, one of which is the id. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality, the id is the personality component made up of unconscious psychic energy that works to satisfy basic urges, needs, and desires.
The id operates based on the pleasure principle, which demands immediate gratification of needs. Freud postulated that theid, ego, and superegoare the three major components of personality.
Understanding Freud’s psychodynamic perspective is important in learning about the history of psychology. Popular culture and philosophy often refer to the id, ego, and superego. For example, people might suggest that someone’s ego has gotten too controlling or that their id is running the show.
When Does the Id Emerge?
Freud compared personality to an iceberg. What you see above the water is actually just a tiny piece of the entire iceberg, most of which is hidden under the water.
It is in the unconscious mind that the id resides.
According to Freud, the id is the only part of the personality that is present at birth.He also suggested that this primitive component of personality existed wholly within theunconscious. The id acts as the driving force of personality. It not only strives to fulfill the most basic urges that people have, many of which are tied directly to survival, but it alsoprovidesallof the energy necessary to drive personality.
As people grow older, it would obviously be quite problematic if they acted out to satisfy the needs of the id whenever they felt an urge, need, or desire. The id contains all of the life and death instincts, which Freud believed help compel behavior.
This aspect of personality does not change as people grow older. It continues to be infantile, instinctive, and primal. It isn’t in touch with reality or logic or social norms. It strives only to satisfy an individual’s most basic urges and needs.
The Id and Personality
Fortunately, the other components of personality develop as we age, allowing us to control the demands of the id and behave in socially acceptable ways.
Theegoeventually emerges to moderate between the urges of the id and the demands of reality.
How the Id Operates
The id acts according to thepleasure principle, which is the idea that needs should be met immediately. When you are hungry, the pleasure principle directs you to eat. When you are thirsty, it motivates you to drink.
But of course, you can’t always satisfy your urges right away. Sometimes you need to wait until the right moment or until you have access to the things that will fulfill your needs.
When you are unable to satisfy a need immediately, tension results. The id relies on theprimary processto temporarily relieve the tension. The primary process involves creating a mental image through daydreaming, fantasizing, hallucinating, or some other process.
For example, when you are thirsty, you might start fantasizing about a tall, cold glass of ice water. When you are hungry, you might start thinking about ordering your favorite dish from your favorite restaurant.
Observations About the Id
In his 1933 bookNew Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, Freud described the id as the “dark, inaccessible part of our personality.” The only real way to observe the id, he suggested, was to study the content of dreams and neurotic behavioral clues.
Freud also compared it to a “cauldron of seething excitations” and described the id as having no real organization. So, how do the id and ego interact?
Freud compared their relationship to that of a horse and rider. The horse provides the energy that drives them forward, but it is the rider to guides these powerful movements to determine direction. However, sometimes the rider may lose control and find himself simply along for the ride. In other words, sometimes the ego may simply have to direct the id in the direction it wants to go.
Takeaways
It’s important to remember that the id is a purely psychological concept. There’s no actual physical structure in the brain associated with this aspect of personality. Freud’s views of personality remain controversial and are not widely accepted. However, a basic knowledge of them is important when discussingpsychoanalysisand the history of modern psychological thought.
The id is the primitive, basic, and fully unconscious part of personality. It contains all of the unconscious energy that is directed toward fulfilling a person’s most basic needs. The ego, on the other hand, is the conscious and realistic part of personality. It acts as a director, managing the needs of id along with desires of the superego and reality.
Freud’s concept of the id has been criticized as being too simplistic. While Freud’s model of personality can be a helpful way to think about how the mind is structured, it is difficult to empirically test his ideas. Ultimately, the id is a theoretical concept that has an important role in Freudian theory, but that remains a matter of debate and criticism among researchers.
An Overview of Freud’s Theories
6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Boag S.Ego, drives, and the dynamics of internal objects.Front Psychol. 2014;5:666. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00666Allison E.“The Ego and the Id”: How and why Freud transformed his model of the mind.Int J Psychoanal. 2023;104(6):1063-1076. doi:10.1080/00207578.2023.2277011Qiong L.Id. In:The ECPH Encyclopedia of Psychology. Springer Nature Singapore; 2024:1-1. doi:10.1007/978-981-99-6000-2_24-1Cieri F, Esposito R.Psychoanalysis and neuroscience: The bridge between mind and brain.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1790. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01983Patrick E, Diamond E.Superego. In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer International Publishing; 2017:1-2. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_633-1Tarzian M, Ndrio M, Fakoya AO.An introduction and brief overview of psychoanalysis.Cureus. 2023;15(9):e45171. doi:10.7759/cureus.45171
6 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Boag S.Ego, drives, and the dynamics of internal objects.Front Psychol. 2014;5:666. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00666Allison E.“The Ego and the Id”: How and why Freud transformed his model of the mind.Int J Psychoanal. 2023;104(6):1063-1076. doi:10.1080/00207578.2023.2277011Qiong L.Id. In:The ECPH Encyclopedia of Psychology. Springer Nature Singapore; 2024:1-1. doi:10.1007/978-981-99-6000-2_24-1Cieri F, Esposito R.Psychoanalysis and neuroscience: The bridge between mind and brain.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1790. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01983Patrick E, Diamond E.Superego. In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer International Publishing; 2017:1-2. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_633-1Tarzian M, Ndrio M, Fakoya AO.An introduction and brief overview of psychoanalysis.Cureus. 2023;15(9):e45171. doi:10.7759/cureus.45171
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Boag S.Ego, drives, and the dynamics of internal objects.Front Psychol. 2014;5:666. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00666Allison E.“The Ego and the Id”: How and why Freud transformed his model of the mind.Int J Psychoanal. 2023;104(6):1063-1076. doi:10.1080/00207578.2023.2277011Qiong L.Id. In:The ECPH Encyclopedia of Psychology. Springer Nature Singapore; 2024:1-1. doi:10.1007/978-981-99-6000-2_24-1Cieri F, Esposito R.Psychoanalysis and neuroscience: The bridge between mind and brain.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1790. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01983Patrick E, Diamond E.Superego. In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer International Publishing; 2017:1-2. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_633-1Tarzian M, Ndrio M, Fakoya AO.An introduction and brief overview of psychoanalysis.Cureus. 2023;15(9):e45171. doi:10.7759/cureus.45171
Boag S.Ego, drives, and the dynamics of internal objects.Front Psychol. 2014;5:666. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00666
Allison E.“The Ego and the Id”: How and why Freud transformed his model of the mind.Int J Psychoanal. 2023;104(6):1063-1076. doi:10.1080/00207578.2023.2277011
Qiong L.Id. In:The ECPH Encyclopedia of Psychology. Springer Nature Singapore; 2024:1-1. doi:10.1007/978-981-99-6000-2_24-1
Cieri F, Esposito R.Psychoanalysis and neuroscience: The bridge between mind and brain.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1790. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01983
Patrick E, Diamond E.Superego. In: Zeigler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer International Publishing; 2017:1-2. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_633-1
Tarzian M, Ndrio M, Fakoya AO.An introduction and brief overview of psychoanalysis.Cureus. 2023;15(9):e45171. doi:10.7759/cureus.45171
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