AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Definition: Ego. EGO: For Freud, the ego is “the representative of the outer world to the id” ("Ego and the Id” 708). In other words, the ego represents and enforces the reality-principle whereas the id is concerned only with the pleasure-principle.

Detailed explanation-2: -According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego.

Detailed explanation-3: -Ultimately, though, it’s the ego that serves as the mediator between the id, the superego, and reality. The ego must determine how to meet the needs of the id, while upholding social reality and the moral standards of the superego. A healthy personality is the result of a balance between the id, ego, and superego.

Detailed explanation-4: -The most primitive part of the human mind, the id is the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses. Freud believed that the id acts according to the “pleasure principle” – the psychic force that motivates the tendency to seek immediate gratification of any impulse.