The Superego

I must say going back to the Autumn of 2009 does remind me of my fear of embarking on my first theory paper on psychodynamic studies. I was petrified not just about the number of books that I might need to read but the task of getting the required understanding of what I was reading and putting it down in writing in my essay as proof of my research and profound learnings. Also the task of learning and doing academic writing proved challenging. Being the person that I am, it was just like me to pick one of the most difficult themes to write about from the list of topics. My reasoning was if I can write about something that is viewed as complex, then the much easier aspects of psychology would then fall into place and eventually it would all make sense. Well the task did prove difficult and I must say that sense of feeling petrified lasted up until I received my mark. With a bit more work the outcome did prove fruitful in gaining an appreciation for some of Freud’s and his contemporaries discoveries. Further, regarding the drives theory and it’s development and connection with the theme of object relations, it does seems Freud originally hinted on or touched on the topic of ‘the object’ in his works.

Of course I would have liked a much higher mark for my paper but having been told by a lecturer once ‘to not expect to learn too much in the first year as it all comes together in the second year’, I was happy to pass my first paper, albeit with a deeper understanding about psychodynamics to come in year two and beyond that.

Here we are with a ‘snippet’ of my theory paper of up to 4,000 words:

“Freud’s studies eventually led to his discovery of ‘psychical functioning’ and a more in-depth awareness of ‘unconscious mind’ mapping. Freud was actually the first person to construct and clarify a structural model of the mind in his essay The Ego and the Id (1923). Freud’s model defines ‘the ego’ as a topographical structure of a map of the conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious: elements of the psyche, also viewed by him as internal functions. However, Freud’s developmental psychology describes the 3 main functions in the apparatus of the psyche, as being the id, ego and superego. Whereas defensive processes he saw was part of the ego.

The Id Freud saw as a mixture of unorganised primitive instincts that he saw as biological drives, that is, a mass of automatic instinctual impulses present from birth. These drives he attributed to our instincts: the libido/sexual drive or love and aggression or hate, in conflict with each other. This conflict he saw as internal in our psyche by pressure from our superego, but also externally in the real world, in the sense of how instinctual impulses/energy drives humans to form relationships deriving pleasure-unpleasure, that is, social or anti-social behaviours.

Freud defines the Ego as the rational part of the mind, to balance conflicts between the id’s competing demands with the superego.

The Superego, Freud describes as the last function of the personality to develop. It is our guide or internal judge. Freud hypothesized that the superego evolved from the decisive introjections and re-introjections arising from interactions with primary care givers, authoritative figures, and society. These decisions are thought to be internalised as morals and rules that form an ‘ego ideal’ as well as censored behaviours that work like an internal restrainer. Freud seemed to suggest that the unconscious is made up of the id primarily with part of the superego, with the ego as the conscious part of the mind.

Freud further gives his view of the concept of defensive processes, more commonly known as defence mechanisms. He saw them as unconscious mental strategies, which are individual components of energy harnessed to ward off tension. Freud suggests that an understanding of defence mechanisms and their relation to the id, ego and superego, should aid us in understanding what he sees as a human tendency to be self deceptive in the use of them. Freud’s theories about the unconscious are still practical in clinical work today, where an analyst’s observation of their client’s use of defence mechanisms and how the analysts reflects or interprets the observations back to the client, may help the client with their problems. Moreover, Freud implies that all humans endure psychological battles as intrinsic dilemmas to a lesser or greater degree. ..”. (c) copyright Jennifer Hooper 2009-10

Strachey, J., 1991. Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, Volume 1. London: Penguin Books

Hinshelwood, R.D., 1991. A Dictionary of Kleinian Thought. London. 2nd Ed. : Free Association Books

Anderson, R., 1992. Clinical Lectures on Klein and Bion. London: Routledge.

THE SUPEREGO


Is there a super Ego today,

Or is there a superego everyday,

Or is this how you choose to play?



Are you feeling grey,

Or might there be dismay,

In not getting your way?



So what does the child say,

Everything is "nay",

Or is Puny Parent here to stay?



How does it go: sulk, slay,

Throw a tantrum, betray,

Go silent, stray.



Forget, prey,

Picture destruction or foul play?

Parle vous francais?



So you want someone to obey,

Or they are subject to an x-ray

Because only saints can get away.



I wonder whether one could weigh

The warring factions of id-ego and pray,

As it takes great courage to underplay

The moral guide misused, as an authoritarian power play.

(c) Jennifer Hooper 2010