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    Id, ego and superego

    本我、自我与超我

    Theory
    Also called
    structural model, tripartite model of the psyche

    Id, ego and superego are the three agencies in Freud’s structural model, set out in The Ego and the Id (1923): the id houses the drives, the ego represents external reality, and the superego carries internalized moral prohibitions and ideals.[1]

    Select the id, ego or superego. The scale on the right marks the three levels of awareness; the three agencies do not line up with them one to one.
    Drawn from Freud’s 1923 description: the superego is a differentiated part of the ego, and the three agencies do not map one to one onto the levels of awareness. Point at or tap parts of the figure for details
    Drawn from Freud’s 1923 description: the superego is a differentiated part of the ego, and the three agencies do not map one to one onto the levels of awareness. Save as image (PNG)

    Key points

    • It replaced Freud’s earlier Levels of consciousness scheme: the unconscious was no longer treated as a separate system and was partly replaced by the id.[1]
    • The three parts do not line up with layers of awareness. Freud held that the ego is mostly preconscious with a large unconscious part; only its perceptual surface is conscious.[1]
    • Freud described the superego as a special grade of the ego and heir to the Oedipus complex, representing society’s internalized prohibitions and ideals.[1]

    An example

    Late at night Jay wants to order more takeout (the id’s urge), remembers his promise to save money this month (the superego’s demand), and settles on cooking noodles at home, a choice that takes reality into account, which Freud assigned to the ego as the representative of reality.

    Misreadings and limits

    The model is not current psychodynamic science. Westen notes that contemporary psychoanalysts rarely write about ids and egos and that many aspects of Freud’s theory are out of date; the ideas with research support are broader ones, such as unconscious processes and conflicting motives.[2]

    Sources

    1. 1 Avzaradel, J. R., Furlong, A., Gammelgaard, J., & Papiasvili, E. D. (n.d.). The unconscious (tri-regional entry). IPA Inter-Regional Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. International Psychoanalytical Association. View source
    2. 2 Westen, D. (1998). The scientific legacy of Sigmund Freud: Toward a psychodynamically informed psychological science. Psychological Bulletin, 124(3), 333–371. View source

    Last checked against sources: October 26, 2026