Who Are You?
A study in Human
Personality
In this Chapter we will discuss…
Sigmund Freud
the basic structure of the psyche
– his psychosexual theory of development
– his teachings on the famous defense
mechanisms
Personality Theorypersonality types
knowing yourself
developing identities
–
Personalities are both psychological and physical. They exist as
parts of our minds and brains.
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We all know that psychological or mental abuse can hurt as
much as physical abuse, and such abuse can shape our
personalities.
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As for physical aspects of personality, if someone was to suffer
brain damage from a car accident, his personality could be
altered. He could be grouchier than usual, or more
spontaneous and carefree. Either way, if his brain is altered,
his personality could be altered.
Our personalities create and determine what we do.
What goes on inside your mind and brain shapes
how you act, what you say, how you feel, and how
you perceive the world.
Perhaps more importantly, our personalities are what
make us unique. Tens or hundreds of people around
the world might have the same name as you or may
look like you, bur nobody has the exact personality.
Unique Memories
What kind of personality would you have if
someone erased all of your memories?
Your first birthday? Your first day of high
school, your first Kiss. Would you be just a
blank blob of eating, sleeping and wandering
flesh?
Freud felt that our memories and how they are
arranged in our minds are vital parts of our
personalities.
Freud organized memory into three divisions
1 Conscious
2 Preconscious
3 Unconscious
Conscious
My active awareness constitutes my conscious
level of awareness. Here I’m aware of those
things that are current and in the moment,
like the book on my lap, its yellow cover, and
my stomach growling because I haven't
eaten in six hours.
My conscious awareness is dominated by the
things I am hearing, seeing, and feeling, and
if I’ve got a headache, trying to ignore.
Preconscious
The Preconscious is made up of ordinary
memories, such as birthdays, anniversaries,
and how to read a bike.
We’re rarely actively aware of our memories in
the preconscious, unless deliberately
conjured up or activated.
But, they still play an powerful role in shaping
who we are.
Unconscious
The Unconscious contains the memories
and experiences that were not aware of.
They are deep inside the mind and difficult
to access. Thousands or even millions of
things go on inside your mind that your not
aware of, you’re unconscious or unaware
of them.
Freud thought that your unconscious is filled
with all of your memories, thoughts, and
ideas that are too troubling, disturbing and
horrible to keep in your conscious
awareness. This is where you harbor your
truest feelings.
Your Unconscious does not lie
Your Unconscious is where your most deepest
and most basic desires and conflicts reside.
It’s the realm of secrets so dark that you’re
not even aware of them yourself.
The point is, depending on your memories and how
aware you are of them, you may have a completely
different personality than you do now. You may be
the kid sitting next to you in class, who knows?
Your conscious, preconscious, and unconscious
memories help make you unique, giving you that
special little personality that everyone, well at least
your mother loves.
ID, Ego, and Superego
Our personalities represent a drama of sorts, acted out
in our minds. “ You “ are a product of how competing
mental forces and structures interact. The ancient
Greeks thought that all people were actors in the
drama of the gods above. For Freud, you and I are
simply actors in the drama of our minds, pushed by
desire, pulled by conscience. Three main players
carry all this drama out
ID: The seat of our impulses
EGO: Negotiates with the ID, pleases the
superego
Superego: Keeps us on the straight and
narrow
Id
The first character in Freud’s drama of
personality is the Id.
Have you ever wanted something bad?
Desired something?
According to Freud DESIRE comes from the Id.
The Id contains all of our most basic animal
and primitive impulses that demand
satisfaction.
It’s the Mr. Hyde emerging from the restrained
Dr. Jekyll.
It’ the little devil that sits on your shoulder,
whispering temptations and spurring you on.
The Id is not really a bad guy though
Where would we be without desire?
Desire pushed you to survive and succeed in
life. Without it we would die, or at least be
really boring.
So keep in mind that a large part of your
personality consists of your desires and your
attempts to satisfy them.
Ego
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get everything
you wanted, whenever you wanted it.
Unfortunately most of us know otherwise.
We all know how frustrating it can be when a
desire goes unmet or gets stifled. You can
blame your Ego for that.
The Ego is the second mental apparatus of
personality.
The Ego’s main function is to mediate between
the id’s demands and the external world
around us – reality in other words.
So probably if it wasn’t for reality you and I
would be a lot more satisfied. Even though
the ego finds itself in conflict with the id,
satisfaction is not abandoned.
The ego negotiates the with the id in order to
get it what it costs without it costing too much
in the long run.
The Ego accomplishes this important task by
converting, diverting, and transforming the
powerful forces of the id into more useful and
realistic modes of satisfaction.
It attempts to harness the id’s power,
regulating it in order to achieve satisfaction
despite the limits of reality.
Superego
Superego is another name for your conscience.
Usually our conscience comes from our
parents or a parental figure. As we grow we
internalize their standards, the same
standards that make us feel guilty when we
tell a lie or cheat on our taxes.
But does everyone have a conscience?
There have been people throughout history that have
committed such crimes that you would wonder if they
had a conscience at all. Serial Killers such as Ted
Bundy or Jeffrey Dhamer. A strong bet is that they
lack the capacity to feel guilt, so nothing really
prevents them from acting out their violent fantasies.
A famous psychiatrist once said that evil men do
what good men only dream of.