How does the structure of the personality emerge, according to Freud?
What will be an ideal response?
ANSWER:
Freud posited three structural aspects of the personality: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is present at birth and operates on the personality principle. As the individual matures beyond infancy, he or she is increasingly faced with the reality that this approach will be ineffective. As this occurs, the ego emerges to help satisfy the demands of the id in the face of reality. The ego operates on the reality principle and uses a variety of defense mechanisms to manage the demands of the id. As the person continues to grow and mature, parents and other authority figures convey values and standards of behavior that gradually become the basis for the emergence of the superego. The superego operates on the morality principle and serves as the basis for our moral conscience.