# RKS: MORE ABOUT PERSONALITIES (IV): Personality Components

 

# RKS: MORE ABOUT PERSONALITIES (IV)

PERSONALITY COMPONENTS

RKS / 2025-2026 / Ser 8 / Blog 1

1st October 2025

PERSONALITY MAPPING

FREUDIAN THEORY

Dear Reader,

The two of the most influential figures in psychoanalysis are Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Sigmund Freud focused on childhood experiences and sexual development, while Carl Jung emphasized lifelong psychological growth and spirituality. 

Fig: Carl Jung - Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (1875-1961) and Sigmund Freud - Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis (1856-1939). 

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian physiologist, medical doctor, psychologist and influential thinker of the early twentieth century. Freud developed a new kind of psychological treatment based on the patient talking about whatever came to mind – memories, dreams, thoughts, emotions – and then analysing that information in order to relieve the patient’s symptoms. Letting people speak freely is referred to as ‘free association’ and analyzing slips of the tongue (now known as "Freudian slips") formed the basis of psychoanalysis.

PSYCHIC APPARATUS

Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory posits that personality is structured around three components.

1. Id: primitive, unconscious desires
2. Ego: mediates between the id and reality
3. Superego: internalized moral standards

The three agents are theoretical constructs that Freud employed to describe the basic structure of mental life as it was encountered in psychoanalytic practice. 

ID

Id consists of the basic instinctual drives that are present at birth and is governed only by the principle of pleasure. Id includes the "eros" which refers to the life instinct, a fundamental drive that encompasses love, pleasure and the desire for survival and reproduction.

Id can be described as "the dark, inaccessible part of our personality" or “the great reservoir of libido”. The id knows no judgements of value: no good and evil, no morality.

The id never grows up and hence never considers reality. As a result, the id remains illogical and selfish.

EGO

The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world. The ego represents what may be called reason and common sense, in contrast to the id, which only knows passions and pleasure. In fact, the ego is required to serve three severe masters.

• Id
• The external world
• Superego

Ego seeks to find a balance between the natural drives of the id, the limitations imposed by reality, and the strictures of the superego. It is concerned with self-preservation: it strives to keep the id's instinctive needs within limits, adapted to reality and submissive to the superego.

The ego begins development between ages 2 to 4 years. This allows a child to recognize that they are separate from other people.

The term "Ego" often gets a bad reputation, being associated with arrogance or self-absorption. However, in psychological terms, ego is simply the part of mind that mediates between the conscious superego and the unconscious id.

SUPEREGO

The superego is the ethical component of the personality and provides the moral standards by which the ego operates. The superego’s criticisms, prohibitions and inhibitions form a person’s conscience, and its positive aspirations and ideals represent one’s idealized self-image, or “ego ideal."

The superego develops during the first five years of life in response to parental punishment and approval. This development occurs as a result of the child’s internalization of his parents’ moral standards, a process greatly aided by a tendency to identify with the parents. Hence, the concept of the Oedipus and Electra complexes are internalised in the superego.

The Oedipus complex refers to a boy's unconscious desire for his mother and jealousy of his father. The Electra complex describes a girl's unconscious desire for her father and jealousy of her mother.

The developing superego absorbs the traditions of the family and the surrounding society and serves to control aggressive or other socially unacceptable impulses. Violation of the superego’s standards results in feelings of guilt or anxiety and a need to atone for one’s actions. 

The superego continues to develop into young adulthood as a person encounters other admired role models and copes with the rules and regulations of the larger society. The superego consists of two components: 

1. The conscious is the part of the superego that forbids unacceptable behaviors and punishes with feelings of guilt when a person does something they should not. 
2. The ego ideal, or ideal self, includes the rules and standards of good behavior one should adhere to. 

When in parlance one says that he / she possesses an ego it is in reality ‘superego’. If one is successful in adhering to the ego ideal component of superego it leads to feelings of unrestricted and loudly proclaimed pride. But, however, if the standards of the ego ideal are too high, and the individual falters, the person feels like a failure and could experience extreme guilt and grief.

BALANCING ACT

The key to a healthy personality is a balance between the id, the ego and the superego. 

1. Id personality: An individual with an overly dominant id might become impulsive, uncontrollable or even criminal. Such an individual acts upon their most basic urges with no concern for whether their behavior is appropriate, acceptable or legal. 
2. Ego misbalancing consequences: If the ego is able to adequately moderate between the demands of reality, the id, and the superego, a healthy and well-adjusted personality emerges. Mental health difficulties (anxiety, depression) arise when 'the ego has lost the capacity to allocate the [id] in some way'.
3. Superego personality: An overly dominant superego might lead to a personality that is extremely moralistic and judgmental. A person ruled by the superego might not be able to accept anything or anyone that they perceive to be "bad" or "immoral". 

Rapists are classical example of those overtly displaying id personality, successful mentally stable individuals reflect possessing ego personality whilst tyrants are the outcome of a dominant superego.

CONCLUSIONS

All concepts in the ego and the id are built upon the presupposed existence of conscious and unconscious thoughts. Freud compared the id to a horse and the ego to the horse's rider. The horse provides power and motion, while the rider provides direction and guidance. Without its rider, the horse would wander wherever it wished and do whatever it pleased. The rider gives the horse directions and commands to get it where it wants it to go.

The ego operates at conscious, preconscious and unconscious levels. The ego’s consideration of reality is conscious. However, it may also keep forbidden desires hidden by unconsciously repressing them. Much of the ego’s functioning is also preconscious, meaning it happens below awareness but takes little effort to bring those thoughts into consciousness.

‘Ego Strength’, in the reality of psychology, refers to a person's capacities for adaptability, cohesive identity and personal resourcefulness. It's the psychological armor that shields one from life's adversities. Think of ego as one’s mental immune system. A well-developed ego strength helps manage external stressors and internal conflicts with grace. It's not just about enduring hardships but transforming them into growth opportunities.

(https://lifearchitekture.com/blogs/personal-development/ego-strength)

From infancy to late adulthood, there are 8 ego strengths which serve as milestones for emotional and psychological growth.

1. Hope - Developed during infancy, this is the foundation of trust and optimism.
2. Will - Cultivated in early childhood, will is all about independence and the belief that you can achieve what you set out to do.
3. Purpose - This comes into play during the preschool years and involves taking initiative and setting goals.
4. Competence - Developed during school age, this ego strength focuses on industriousness and feeling competent in the tasks one undertakes.
5. Fidelity - Ah, the teenage years! This is when one starts forming a strong sense of identity and loyalty.
6. Love - In young adulthood, the focus shifts to forming intimate relationships and committing to long-term partnerships.
7. Caring - During adulthood, the ego strength of caring becomes prominent as one focuses on nurturing the next generation or contributing to society.
8. Wisdom - In late adulthood, wisdom is the culmination of a life well-lived, marked by emotional resilience and a broad understanding of the human condition.

These eight ego strengths aren't just isolated traits; they're interconnected, each building upon the last. The idea is to develop a well-rounded personality that can adapt, cope and thrive through all of life's stages by sailing successfully through the ego strength phases.

DR R K SANGHAVI

Prophesied Enabler

Experience & Expertise: Clinician & Healthcare Industry Adviser

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