Ego vs id
As the understanding of a personality changed with Sigmund Freud’s discovery, knowing the difference between ego and id becomes important. Ego and id are both concepts that are discussed in the field of psychology. As mentioned in the beginning, they were both discovered by Sigmund Freud, a renowned psychoanalyst. Id and Ego are two parts of the personality described by Freud. Superego is the other. Ego and id were both found in 1923 and are used in the finding of psychological conditions. These findings are very useful for treating patients even today. Generally speaking, we can say id is the lower level of personality, ego the middle, and superego the higher level of personality. This article details the difference between ego and id for your perusal.
What is Ego?
According to Freud ego is “that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world.” In psychoanalysis, the ego is considered to be the understanding of reality of a person. It includes a sense of justice and reality and helps people plan ahead and be more organized for their endeavors and such. Ego is considered to be the common sense that everyone possesses and is found in each individual. It has the perception of the things around us as well as subconscious thoughts and consists of perceptual, defensive, executive and intellectual-cognitive functions. It is the ego that considers social norms, social realities, etiquette and rules when deciding how to behave. Ego keeps the Id in check and tries to find ways to satisfy Id’s needs without going against the external world.
What is Id?
According to Sigmund Freud’s theory, the id is the instinct that humans possess. The primary goal of id is gaining satisfaction without giving much thought to anything else. It can be easily defined as the unorganized part of the personality structure that determines a person’s basic instinctual drives. Beings the source of a person’s bodily needs, id controls one’s desires, impulses, aggressive and sexual drives. It is a selfish nature that everyone possesses which enables humans to take care of themselves. Id is also the part which dislikes pain and cherishes pleasure. Humans are believed to be possessing id already at birth. That is why the personality of a new born child is considered to have only id as it has not been subjected to the ways of the external world. As it grows up with the influence of the external world, this child develops an ego and superego.
What is the difference between Ego and Id?
Ego and id are both useful in psychoanalysis and are necessary for humans to live complete lives. However, what is the difference between ego and id? Id is the unorganized part of a personality’s structure. Ego is the organized part. Ego is in charge of one’s perceptual, defensive, executive and intellectual-cognitive functions. Id controls a person’s basic instinctual drives such as desires, impulses, aggressive and sexual drives. Id deals with self-satisfaction. Ego deals with reality.
Summary:
Ego vs Id
• Id is a division of the psyche that speaks more about self-satisfaction while ego is more about reality .
• Id is instinctual while ego is developed.
Further Reading: