Analysis Of Sigmund Freud's Theories Of Personality

Sigmund Freud is famous for his theories of personality. He believes the personality is composed of three elements, the Id, Ego, and Super ego. The Id is a primitive and instinctive component of the personality. But here are contrasts between ego and super ego; the functions, the influence it provides and the development of the systems.
First the functions of the emotional and rational personality. Ego is the personality that is responsible for dealing with reality. It weighs the effort and the value of an action before deciding to act upon it. An important function of ego involves the control of impulse. Impulse control is accomplished in different ways; one of these is through the ego mechanisms of defense (Cramer 736). Cramer has proposed

Ego development greatly influences the way individuals feel, act, and think. Psychologists believe that this soul structure develops with the internalized threat of a parent, in peer group and social myth. The third soul structure is identified as super ego. The superego is the moral part of us, mainly taught by parents applying their guidance and influence. The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self. The conscience makes the ego punish oneself causing feelings of guilt. For instance, if the ego does what the id demands, the superego will make that person feel bad through guilt. The ideal self is an image of how someone must be. It teaches how one should treat other people, and how to behave as a member of

The ego developmental stage provides the frame of reference for impulse control, conscious preoccupations, and cognitive complexity. It has been suggested that persons at higher levels of ego development are better able to perceive possibilities and to think in terms of alternative choices and behaviors. Loevinger’s theory suggests that ego development is a process on a continuum of transitions between stages that range from simple to complex. The stages react an individual’s response and behavior to environmental situations at any particular point in development. “Some studies suggest that during adolescence girls score higher in ego development, but by the early 20s men catch up” (Truluck 327). Others have found no differences during adolescence but have shown young college women scoring higher in ego development than young college men. The theory suggests that the ego is a cognitively based structure, and that ego development is characterized by increasing degrees of differentiation and complexity. “The devil makes use of delusions or images, and it uses feelings and weakens thought and will-power” (Aydin 130). The lower defense levels are the greatest at the lowest levels of ego development and they may increase some at higher levels of ego development by determining a tolerance for conflict. According to Staffan Sohiberg “patients with bulimia nervosa were previously shown to have low ego strength and