Id, Ego and Superego Development

According to Dr.Carol Davis

"The id is the reservoir of primitive drives and desires, untouched by the real world and its civilizing influences. It is the first element of the psychic structure to emerge, and it does so during earliest childhood. The id is the dominant influence during this time and is guided by one aim -the pleasure principle - which demands the immediate gratification of impulses.

The ego emerges to modify id impulses so the individual can deal effectively with reality. The ego enables the organism to adapt and, when necessary, to compromise. In contrast to the id, the ego is guided by the reality principle, the need to function effectively in the real world.

The ego mediates and arbitrates between the demands of the real world and those of the id, permits the individual to communicate, develop intellectual capabilities and learn complex skills. [The superego has not yet emerged. The ego, as a necessary strategy to survive, serves as the more-or-less reluctant negotiator between the individual's selfish demands and the constraints and dictates of his or her surroundings.]

The superego gradually emerges [but doesn't always do so in some people] as the individual learns, appreciates, respects, and finally internalizes societal rules and behavioral expectations. The superego is regarded as the root of an individual's conscience and morality."

According to Dr. Carl Castore

The Id is the first system developed. It is based entirely on the pleasure principle. (What I want, I want, and I want it now basically.) The Ego comes into existence in the service of the Id. The Id is a primitive system and cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality. (What is imagined is as real as what is actually experienced, because in part both are experienced at the cortical level. Still, a happy cortex is not quite the same as a full stomach. :-)) The Ego is the second system that comes into existence. It is based entirely on the reality principal. In Freudian terms, very little of the Id exists in the subconscious or unconscious areas of the mind. The purpose of the Ego is to transact between reality and the wishes and needs of the Id. It operates on the reality principle - basically, whatever it takes to get the job done. It has no scruples, morals, etc. It comes into existence shortly after birth and continues to develop. The Superego (one's conscience) comes into existence between ages 4 1/2 and 6 as the child starts to learn the rules of adult society. The Superego is essentially the internalized rules of society - proper behavior, the do's and don'ts - that are learned from ones parents and that are reinforced by society as a whole. The Superego is equally out of touch with reality, existing primarily in the unconscious mind as well. It is a harsh taskmaster and leads to the guilt that many humans carry around with them. Much of this guilt was excessive and based more on imaginings than on real events - hence the anxiety that Freud worked with and was able to reduce to more realistic proportions using Psychoanalysis.

According to Dr. James Moore

An example of the operation of the these systems in an adult. A man is walking along the street and sees a beautiful woman going into a bar on the other side of the street. The Id crosses the street (narrowly being missed by three cars and two trucks) follows her in and says to her, lets go back to either your place or my place and have sex - whichever is closest. The Ego waits until there is a break in traffic, crosses the street, follows her into the bar, sits down beside her, introduces himself, buys her two or three more drinks, while having only one weak drink himself, waits until she is quite high, then says lets go back to my place where we can have sex. The Superego keeps on walking down the street, finds the nearest Catholic church, goes into the confessional, and asks for forgiveness for having unclean thoughts.