may be to grab whatever food is around. But your ego understands this ac-
tion is unacceptable. The ego tries to satisfy the wants of the id, and thuslessen tension, but in a way that considers the consequences of the action.
By the time a child is about 5 years old, the third part of the personality
structure is formed. The superego represents society ’s—and, in particular, the
parents ’—values and standards. The superego places more restrictions on
what we can and cannot do. If you see a $5 bill sitting on a table at a friend ’s
house, your id impulse might be to take the money. Your ego, aware of theproblems this might cause, attempts to figure out how to get the $5 without
being caught. But even if there is a way to get the money without being seen,
your superego will not allow the action. Stealing money is a violation ofsociety ’s moral code, even if you don’ t get caught. The primary weapon the
superego brings to the situation is guilt. If you take the money anyway, you’ ll
probably feel bad about it later and may lose a few nights ’sleep before
returning the $5 to your friend. Some people have roughly translated the
concept of the superego into what is called conscience.
But the superego does not merely punish us for moral violations. It also
provides the ideals the ego uses to determine if a behavior is virtuous andtherefore worthy of praise. Because of poor child-rearing practices, some
children fail to fully develop their superegos. As adults, these people have lit-
tle inward restraint from stealing or lying. In other people, the superego can
become too powerful, or supermoral, and burden the ego with impossible
standards of perfection. Here the person could suffer from relentless moral
anxiety —an ever-present feeling of shame and guilt —for failing to reach stan-
dards no human can meet.
Like forces pulling at three corners to form a triangle, the desires of the id,
ego, and superego complement and contradict one another. In the healthyConscious
Preconscious
Unconscious ego superego
id
FIGURE 3.1 Relationship of the Id, Ego, and Superego to the
Three Levels of AwarenessThe Freudian Theory of Personality 45