PS101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Latency Stage, Oedipus Complex, Defence Mechanisms
Document Summary
Structure of personality the id, ego and superego. Id: primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle. (which demands immediate gratification of its urges) Ego: decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle. Guided by the reality principle, which seeks to delay gratification of the id"s urges until appropriate outlets and situations can be found. Superego: moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong. Example: you get up at 7am and your id tells you to go back to sleep, but your ego tells you that you don"t understand the material on your own and you need to go to class. Your superego tells you about how much money your parents have spent for your education, etc. Defence mechanism: largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions such as anxiety and guilty. Rationalization: creating false but plausible excuses to justify unacceptable behaviour.
