Who Are You?

A study in Human Personality

In this Chapter we will discuss…

Sigmund Freud – the basic structure of the psyche– his psychosexual theory of development– his teachings on the famous defense

mechanismsPersonality Theory- personality types

knowing yourselfdeveloping identities

Personalities are both psychological and physical. They exist as parts of our minds and brains.

- We all know that psychological or mental abuse can hurt as much as physical abuse, and such abuse can shape our personalities.

- As for physical aspects of personality, if someone was to suffer brain damage from a car accident, his personality could be altered. He could be grouchier than usual, or more spontaneous and carefree. Either way, if his brain is altered, his personality could be altered.

Our personalities create and determine what we do. What goes on inside your mind and brain shapes how you act, what you say, how you feel, and how you perceive the world.

Perhaps more importantly, our personalities are what make us unique. Tens or hundreds of people around the world might have the same name as you or may look like you, bur nobody has the exact personality.

Unique Memories

What kind of personality would you have if someone erased all of your memories?

Your first birthday? Your first day of high school, your first Kiss. Would you be just a blank blob of eating, sleeping and wandering flesh?

Freud felt that our memories and how they are arranged in our minds are vital parts of our personalities.

Freud organized memory into three divisions1 Conscious2 Preconscious3 Unconscious

Conscious

My active awareness constitutes my conscious level of awareness. Here I’m aware of those things that are current and in the moment, like the book on my lap, its yellow cover, and my stomach growling because I haven't eaten in six hours.

My conscious awareness is dominated by the things I am hearing, seeing, and feeling, and if I’ve got a headache, trying to ignore.

Preconscious

The Preconscious is made up of ordinary memories, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and how to read a bike.

We’re rarely actively aware of our memories in the preconscious, unless deliberately conjured up or activated.

But, they still play an powerful role in shaping who we are.

Unconscious

The Unconscious contains the memories and experiences that were not aware of. They are deep inside the mind and difficult to access. Thousands or even millions of things go on inside your mind that your not aware of, you’re unconscious or unaware of them.

Freud thought that your unconscious is filled with all of your memories, thoughts, and ideas that are too troubling, disturbing and horrible to keep in your conscious awareness. This is where you harbor your truest feelings.

Your Unconscious does not lie

Your Unconscious is where your most deepest and most basic desires and conflicts reside. It’s the realm of secrets so dark that you’re not even aware of them yourself.

The point is, depending on your memories and how aware you are of them, you may have a completely different personality than you do now. You may be the kid sitting next to you in class, who knows?

Your conscious, preconscious, and unconscious memories help make you unique, giving you that special little personality that everyone, well at least your mother loves.

ID, Ego, and Superego

Our personalities represent a drama of sorts, acted out in our minds. “ You “ are a product of how competing mental forces and structures interact. The ancient Greeks thought that all people were actors in the drama of the gods above. For Freud, you and I are simply actors in the drama of our minds, pushed by desire, pulled by conscience. Three main players carry all this drama out

ID: The seat of our impulses

EGO: Negotiates with the ID, pleases the superego

Superego: Keeps us on the straight and narrow

Id

The first character in Freud’s drama of personality is the Id.

Have you ever wanted something bad?

Desired something?

According to Freud DESIRE comes from the Id.

The Id contains all of our most basic animal

and primitive impulses that demand satisfaction.

It’s the Mr. Hyde emerging from the restrained Dr. Jekyll.

It’ the little devil that sits on your shoulder, whispering temptations and spurring you on.

The Id is not really a bad guy though

Where would we be without desire?

Desire pushed you to survive and succeed in life. Without it we would die, or at least be really boring.

So keep in mind that a large part of your personality consists of your desires and your attempts to satisfy them.

Ego

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get everything you wanted, whenever you wanted it. Unfortunately most of us know otherwise.

We all know how frustrating it can be when a desire goes unmet or gets stifled. You can blame your Ego for that.

The Ego is the second mental apparatus of personality.

The Ego’s main function is to mediate between the id’s demands and the external world around us – reality in other words.

So probably if it wasn’t for reality you and I would be a lot more satisfied. Even though the ego finds itself in conflict with the id, satisfaction is not abandoned.

The ego negotiates the with the id in order to get it what it costs without it costing too much in the long run.

The Ego accomplishes this important task by converting, diverting, and transforming the powerful forces of the id into more useful and realistic modes of satisfaction.

It attempts to harness the id’s power, regulating it in order to achieve satisfaction despite the limits of reality.

Superego

Superego is another name for your conscience.

Usually our conscience comes from our parents or a parental figure. As we grow we internalize their standards, the same standards that make us feel guilty when we tell a lie or cheat on our taxes.

But does everyone have a conscience?

There have been people throughout history that have committed such crimes that you would wonder if they had a conscience at all. Serial Killers such as Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dhamer. A strong bet is that they lack the capacity to feel guilt, so nothing really prevents them from acting out their violent fantasies. A famous psychiatrist once said that evil men do what good men only dream of.