Moral Component Of Personality example essay topic
409 words
The id is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle. The id houses the biological urges such as to eat, sleep, defecate, copulate, that energize human behavior. The id operates according to the pleasure principle, which demands immediate gratification of its urges. The id engages in primary process thinking which is primitive, illogical, irrational, and fantasy oriented. The ego is the decision-making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle. The ego mediates between the id, with its forceful desires for immediate satisfaction and the external social world with its expectations and norms regarding suitable behavior. The ego considers social realities society's norms, etiquette, rules, and customs in deciding how to behave. The ego is guided by the reality principle, which seeks to delay gratification of the id's urges until appropriate outlets and situations can be found. The superego is the moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about what represents right and wrong. The id's demands for sensual pleasure are often in direct conflict with the super ego's desire for moral perfection. So at times the ego needs some way to defend itself against the anxiety created by the excessive demands of the id, by the harsh judgments of the superego, or by the sometimes threatening conditions in the environment.
Often the ego can relieve anxiety by solving it problems rationally and directly. When it cannot do so, it must resort to irrational defenses against anxiety called defense mechanisms Four defense mechanisms are displacement, projection, regression, and identification. Displacement is substituting a less threatening object for the original of an impulse. An example of displacement is after a parental scolding, a young girl takes her anger out on her little brother. Projection involves attributing one's own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another person. An example of projection is a woman who dislikes her boss thinks she likes her boss but feels that the boss doesn't like her.
Regression is reverting to a behavior characteristic of an earlier stage of development. An example of regression is an adult has a temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way. Identification involves bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with some person or group. An example of this is an insecure young man joins a fraternity to boost his self-esteem.
