Id, Ego and, Superego

At the beginning of his career, Freud posited that the structure of the mind and a personality are composed of three separate components which he categorized as the id, ego, and superego (Friedman, H. S. & Schustack, M. W., 2016).  The id is defined as the unsocialized, instinctual aspect of the personality-driven by the pleasure principle, perpetually seeking to fulfill its impulses. The superego is defined as the internal, socialized, moral, and ethical part of personality developed in response to cultural and social standards, internalized to conduct behavior towards a paragon (Trevithick, 2011). The id and superego are understood to operate on an unconscious level, with the person being unaware or having incomplete awareness. The ego, on the other hand, is defined as the conscious decision-making aspect of personality and it can be understood as the mediator between the id and superego as it is driven by the reality principle and focuses on possibilities or rationalities. It is often a product of finding a balance between instant self-gratification and delayed self-satisfaction. 

Influences on theory

Freud's perspective regarding the id, ego, and superego has had its roots in almost all aspects of psychology and psychotherapy continues to utilize such tools as free association to allow clients an opportunity to reveal unconscious desires, feeling, or ideas that might be negatively influencing their day-to-day functioning. The conception of defensive mechanisms arising out of struggles between unconscious and conscious mechanisms to protect the mind are utilized in treatments (Trevithick, 2011).  These defense mechanisms can include but are not limited to denial, sublimation, repression, anxiety, resistance, and projection (Friedman & Schustack, 2016; Trevithick, 2011).

References

Friedman, H. S. & Schustack, M. W. (2016). Personality: Classic theories and modern research (6th ed.). MA: Pearson

Trevithick, P. (2011).  Understanding defenses and defensiveness in social work.  Journal of Social Work Practice: Psychotherapeutic approaches in health, welfare and the community, 25(4), 389-412.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2011.626642