Psychodynamic Perspective of

Personality
Chapter 12, pp. 511-515
 Psychodynamic Perspective

 Personality is a result of
unconscious psychological
conflicts and how effectively
these are resolved.
 The conflicts originate from
childhood experiences when
instinctive urges and society’s
view of what is acceptable
behaviour often clash.
 Freud’s Theory

 Observed patients, his family

and his own thoughts,
feelings and behaviour.
 First developmental theory of
Personality.
 He not only attempted to
explain how personality
develops, but also how the
development of personality
occurs throughout the
lifespan.
 Freud’s Theory

 Believed that the mind is like an iceberg, most of it

hidden below the surface.

 Most of the time, we experience only thoughts

feelings and behaviour from the ‘tip of the iceberg’.

 Developed three levels of the human mind.

 The Conscious Level

 The ‘Tip of the Iceberg”

 The conscious level is everything we are thinking,
remembering, feeling, sensing or are aware of at this
particular moment.
 Ideas and thoughts are constantly flowing in and out of
the conscious mind.
 Eg. Your conscious awareness right now might be the
words you are reading or hearing… or how tired you
are...
 The Preconscious Level
 Just below the surface.
 The preconscious contains information which we often
say is at the ‘back of our mind’ and can be brought to the
conscious mind by simply thinking about it.
 Think about:
What did you have for lunch yesterday?
What did you learn last lesson?
 You just moved these thoughts from your preconscious to
your conscious level of awareness.
 The Unconscious Level
 Deep below the surface.
 We are not aware of unconscious thoughts but they still have
considerable influence of our conscious thoughts and feelings.
 It is a storage place in our mind for all the information about
ourselves which is unacceptable to the conscious mind. It holds
unacceptable thoughts, feelings, experiences, images, impulses,
motives and ideas and they are buried.
 Freud believed that painful memories, frightening experiences and
emotionally painful thoughts are held in the unconscious because they
are very difficult to bring to our conscious thoughts. It is not a place for
all memories but rather a place for ‘the skeletons in the closet’.
The Iceberg Theory
Conscious

Preconscious

Unconscious
Activity 1. Iceberg Worksheet Part 1.

Labeling the Iceberg Explanations

 In the space provided on the left hand  Place the correct explanation
side of the iceberg add the headings in statements in the space provided on the
their correct order: right hand side of the iceberg.

Preconscious Easily accessible information in the ‘back

of the mind’ but not currently aware of it.
Conscious
Aware of this information at any time.
Unconscious
Hidden and not immediately available.
Answer
Activity 1. Iceberg Worksheet Part 2
Consider these ‘thoughts’ and place them onto your Iceberg in the
correct level, either conscious, preconscious or unconscious.
Answer
 Freud’s Structure of Personality

 Personality is fully developed by

age 6 but we continue to refine
and expand on this basic
personality structure throughout
the lifespan.
 Freud believed that personality
consists of 3 parts which pull an
individual in different directions
creating a conflict, they are called
the id, ego and superego.
 How we resolve this conflict
determines most of our behaviour
and shapes our personality.
 Id.

 The Id is a concept and it represents innate

biological needs such as hunger, thirst,
sleep and sex.
 The Id is described as a force which is
demanding, impulsive, irrational and an
extremely selfish part of our personality.
 Operates on a Pleasure Principle, it must
have it’s needs met.
 If our behaviour was completely
controlled by our Id, we would have to
have our own way all of the time!!
 Freud believes that a newborn babies
behaviour is completely dominated by
their Id, they want everything immediately
and must have their needs met.
 Ego.

 The Ego develops gradually when children

begin to understand more about the how
the real world operates, it is the part of
personality which is realistic, logical and
orderly.
 Operates on the Reality Principle it tries to
ensure the needs of the Id are met but in a
socially acceptable way and at appropriate
times.
 Therefore the Ego considers ‘real-life’
restrictions in dealing with Id demands.
 E.g. Imagine what would happen if people
expressed their sexual impulses whenever
they ‘popped into their mind’ regardless of
where they are?
 Superego.

 The Superego is our conscience,

always looking after us, judging our
thoughts, feelings and actions based
on societies morals and values.
 Operates on the Moral Principle,
providing us with ideas of right and
wrong.
 Gives us feeling of guilt for negative
behaviour and pride for positive
behaviour. Always aims for perfection.
 The Superego’s main function is to
block the Id and persuade the Ego to
make moralistic decisions.
 Summary

 The Id is instinctive and

Impulsive, exists in the
unconscious.
 The Ego is realistic and
sensible, exists in the
conscious and preconscious.
 The Superego is idealistic and
judgmental, exists across
conscious, preconscious and
unconscious.
Iceberg Worksheet

EGO

SUPEREGO

ID
 Activity 2. Role Play

 Break into groups of 4-5.

 Create a scenario, such as:
Bobby is overweight and is on a diet. Some close
friends invite him out for ice-cream. How would
Bobby’s Id, Ego and Superego respond to the offer,
and how would they persuade Bobby to behave at
the Ice-cream parlor.

 You will need 3 group members to ‘act’ as the

Id, Ego and Superego and 1 member as narrator.
 Act out what the Id, Ego and Superego would
‘say’ and ‘do’ in your scenario and how they
might feel afterward.
 Present your role plays to the class 
 Interaction between Id, Ego and
Superego

 The Ego often acts as a mediator between

the Id and Superego.

 If the Id is too strong it may develop a self-

centered personality.
 If the Ego is too strong it may develop a
personality which is too practical and not
spontaneous.
 If the Superego is too strong it may develop
a moralistic and judgmental personality.
 However a balance between the Id, Ego and
Superego will develop a balanced
personality.
 Reflection
Which personality structure do you think is your strongest?
What are the potential benefits and disadvantages of this?