If you take any basic psychology course whether if it is in high school or college, you will learn about the “superego.” In regards to human psychology, superego is one of the most important things you have to think about for the most part. In order to figure out what role the superego plays, you have to first know about the three components: id, ego, and superego.
My psychology professor used quite the interesting analogy for the most part. The id pretty much encompasses your primal part while the superego pretty much encompasses your transcended part. In order to know about the superego, you have to know about the id and vice-versa.
These three parts are defined by Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche.
The id is defined as this: the unorganized part of the psyche that contains the basic drives. It contains are basic urges of pleasure and survival. That includes the basic needs of food, water, and other basic impulses. However, it also extends to the want of pleasure by release such as sex and excrement of wastes. The id is very much amoral and is ruled by pleasure and pain. All it wants is pleasure. It does not care about anything else.
The ego regulates the id. It uses realism to please the id which is better for the long term. In short, it bargains with the id. The ego is very much the middle man. This is the one part of the psyche that organizes thoughts and makes sense of them.
The super-ego is the part of the psyche that aims for perfection. In short, it is the transcending part of you. This is completely the opposite of what the id stands for. While the id wants pleasure, the superego is the part that urges one to act appropriately in accordance to society. The superego is very much the moral compass of the psyche while the id is the antithesis of it.
The role of the superego is to be the antithesis of the id. What would that incur?
There are several examples to use:
Example One:
This is something my professor used. I do not really like using this example. But, it does have the desired effect. Say that you are waiting in the subway and you need to go to the bathroom (no need to get into the specifics). You need to go to the bathroom really bad or you might “explode.”
The id is sending signals through pain for you to relieve yourself. The id does not care that you are around a bunch of other people. It does not care that you end up embarrassing and humiliating yourself. All the id wants is pleasure. It will do whatever it takes to get that pleasure.
However, the thought of embarrassment and humiliation are some of the things that keep you from relieving yourself in public. This is where the superego comes in. The superego is the one thing that keeps you from relieving yourself in public at the subway. It forces you to think of the consequences of relieving yourself in public.
Example Two:
Say that you are a guy and are about to engage in sexual intercourse. The id is something that wants pleasure while the ego has to make a compromise with that and the superego. In this respect, the id is saying to you to forget using a condom because it may affect the amount of pleasure.
There are plenty of consequences of having unprotected sex. This is where the superego kicks in. The superego is the one part that makes you think of the consequences of not using a condom when it comes to sex. When you are thinking about unplanned pregnancy and/or the contraction of an STD that is when the superego kicks in. The id does not care about the consequences as it wants pleasure.
Example Three:
Say that you are dehydrated and you need water. Water is one of the basic things that sustain life. You find that the water is impure. But, the id wants that water and does not care about it being impure. The need to rehydrate could cause you to go ahead and drink the water without second thought about the consequences.
The superego kicks in by saying that you cannot drink the water right away. You will have to purify the water first. The ego has to mediate with the id and the superego. While the id is telling you to drink the water, the superego is telling you to wait and purify it first before drinking it.
Example Four:
Say that someone has done you wrong and you want to punch him/her repeatedly. The id would say to go ahead and do it. When you release all that anger, you are going to feel very gratified for the most part. However, there are many legal consequences of doing such an act. But, the id does not care about the law.
The superego kicks in by telling you not to do it. It reminds you of the consequences of your actions of doing so.
Overall:
The superego acts as your “conscience.” One good example would be “Pinocchio” in which a puppet boy gets brought to life. Jiminy Cricket is given the role as Pinocchio’s conscience in that respect. In this respect, Jiminy Cricket is Pinocchio’s superego. In a nutshell, the superego acts as your compass or focal point of morality which makes you think before you leap. The id represents your primal side while the superego represents your basic side. Keep in mind, the type of upbringing you have affects your superego.
