Psychic Apparatus

Freudian theory.

The Id

The id is the instinctual desires that are present at birth. This is our animalistic self, the reason why you cried for food or changing as a baby despite being fresh into this world.

The Ego

The ego acts on social principles, informed by the super-ego, and tries to shape behaviour in accordance to those principles. These are frequently incompatible with the id's drives, and the ego is left in a state of balancing the id's wants and the super-ego's demands.

The Super-Ego

The super-ego is our cultural norms, mainly absorbed from parents, but other authority figures as well.