“Id, Ego, Superego”
Freud Lesson Plan
Nicole Giovagnoli
HPS 3003, Fall 2012
Dr. Robert Hatch
18 November 2012
Title: “Id, Ego, Superego”
Length: 50 minutes
Grade Level: High School
Lesson Objective: Students will be able to explain how the unconscious mind affects others’ lives
Vocabulary
Psychology, Psyche, Psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, Freudian Slips, Id, Ego, Superego
Engagement
Engage students at the very beginning of the lesson with the picture of cupid projected on the board:
Ask students: “Who is this figure?” “What does he have to
do with psychology?”
Students should be familiar with cupid imagery, connecting
it to Valentine’s Day. Probe by asking, “Does anyone know
the mythological story behind Cupid?” A student in the class
may be familiar with the Greek story behind Cupid. If so,
have he or she explain it to the class. If not, present the
class the following narrative.
In the ancient Greek story of Cupid and Psyche, the goddess
Venus became jealous of the beautiful young Psyche and
sent her son Cupid to make her fall in love with an ugly man.
Instead, Cupid fell in love with her. They married, but Psyche
was not allowed to see his face, because he was a god.
Continue by asking students, “what is psychology?” Students should have prior knowledge, and answer
Psychology is the study of the mind. Explain that in Greek, the word psyche means mind or soul.
To the Greeks, the human mind was a lot like the girl in the story. They believed that it was the part of a
human that was most god-like. The mind is the most complex part of a human. But these days, people
do not agree about what exactly the mind is. Most scientists see it as being entirely physical (just our
brains at work), whereas most religious people see it as being something non-physical (a soul that lives
on after death). One thing for certain is that we cannot study how the mind works simply by examining
the physical parts of the brain. Therefore, psychology is often called a "soft" science. It relies heavily on
theories and complicated studies of human behavior rather than on direct observations.
Introduction
Ask students if they know who Sigmund Freud is. “Why is he so well known?”
Tell students that “today we are going to focus on just Sigmund Freud, and what three components
make up Freud’s structural model of the psyche.” Give students a brief account of Freud.
Freud is probably the most well-known name in the field of psychology. He was born to Jewish parents
in 1856 in the Czech Republic. He developed a type of psychology called psychoanalysis. He was also the
first therapist to have people lie down on a couch and talk about their problems.
Id, Ego, and Superego
Freud believed the mind has two parts: the conscious and the unconscious. Instruct students: think of a
donkey. Ask: “can you picture one?” “Is the donkey in your conscious or unconscious mind?” It should
be understood that it is in one’s conscious.
Now propose to students, “If the donkey is in your conscious mind, because you are thinking about it,
what is happening in your unconscious mind?” This may be difficult for students to put into words. Help
them by asking them about dreams. “What do you think dreams are?” “How do they play a role in
unconscious thought?” “Have you ever had a dream about something totally random and obscure and
were not sure where it came from?” Discussing dreams for a brief period of time should spark interest in
students.
Freud believed that a lot is also happening in
our unconscious mind, even though we are not
always aware of it. He believed that dreams often
provided clues about what is going on in our
unconscious.
Ask students, “Have you ever had an experience
where something slipped off your tongue by
accident?” For example, “you were talking to your
girlfriend and by mistake, you called her by your old
girlfriend's name?” These are called Freudian slips.
Freud believed that these occur when something in
the unconscious pops up into the conscious. Perhaps
you were wishing that you were still with your old
girlfriend and this is why you made the mistake.
Freud believed that our conscious mind is often in
conflict with our unconscious mind and that this is
the cause of many of our problems.
Present the class with the iceberg diagram above without the labels and dividing lines. Ask students,
“What portion of the iceberg represents the conscious and the unconscious if the iceberg represents
your mind?” “In other words, what portion is easier to ‘see’ or understand?” (The instructor should
label the diagram as the following terms are discussed.)
Continue by explaining that Freud called the part of us that is our natural human instinctual drives "the
id" (Latin for "it"). Ask, “What are some natural desires that you deal with on a daily basis?” Students
should be able to decide that the desire to eat is included.
Freud called the part of ourselves that acts as a mediator between reality and the id "the ego" (Latin for
"I"). Our ego seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than
bring grief. Explain, babies are born with an id, but the ego takes several years to develop. Our ego
makes our id behave properly.
Ask, “Have you ever been hungry, without money, and in a shop and thought about stealing food? Did
you? What stopped you?” That is your ego! It knows that if it wants to satisfy the id, it must pay money
for food.
Ask, “Now, what if you did steal a bag of Cheetos? How would you feel? Would you be happy with
yourself?” The natural human reaction would to feel guilt. This is what Freud called the superego at
work. This maintains our sense of morals (ideas about right and wrong. The Superego can be thought of
as a type of conscience that punishes societal misbehavior with feelings of guilt.
Evaluation
Instruct students to take out their science journals and record a personal situation or event in which
their id, ego, or superego where at work. “What affect did they have on your behaviors?”
Sources
"Sigmund Freud Lesson Plan." Sigmund Freud Lesson Plan. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.beaconhillacademy.org/lessons/sigmund-freud-lesson-plan.html>.