Basic Concept Explained -- Superego

Yea, you are right here.  The Superego is more or less like a judge, judging the Id and Ego on right or wrong and imposing moral and social standards on them.  It represents internalized values, ideals and moral standards that have a role in our personality development.

To put it simply, the Superego consists of two subsystems, they are conscience and ego ideal.  Conscience is the capacity for self-evaluation, criticism and reproach.  It blames the Id and Ego and causes the feeling of guilt and anxiety when one does something wrong, most probably something socially and culturally unacceptable.  With the Superego in place here, we can anticipate possible conflicts between it and the Id which may later develop into psychopathology if not being handled appropriately.  Ego ideal is an ideal image of oneself which comprises approved and rewarded behaviors.  It is the source of pride.

The Superego is the result of the interactions with one's parents during childhood which is characterized by by dependency.  During this particular period, we are exposed to the teachings of, rewards and punishment placed on us by parents as well as the expectation of society without any censoring.  Gradually, they are internalized and have become a part of one's personality.

Some examples of the blames posed by the Superego are:
- you have to finish your assignments before your go to bed every night (though you are very sleepy)
- you can only go out for lunch during the lunch hour, not anytime before it, even though you are starving at 11:00 in the morning.

 

References

Barlow, D. H., & Durand, V. M. (1999). Abnormal psychology :An integrative approach (2nd ed.). Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Pub.

Engler, B. (2009). Personality theories :An introduction (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

Gabbard, G. O. (2010). Long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy :A basic text (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Pub.