Freud's Theory Of Personality According To An Iceberg

Personality is described as “the coherent pattern of affect, cognition, and desires (goals) as they lead to behaviour” (Revelle, 2013). The American Psychological Association (APA), states that it is “individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving” (APA, 2017). An iceberg is a huge chunk of ice that breaks off a glacier and floats around the ocean. Most of an iceberg is under water and cannot be seen. Freud states that a personality is likened to an iceberg I the sense that the major part of an iceberg is found underwater, hidden from sight, is as reflected by a person‘s personality. He also proposed that the mind is divided into different components id, ego, and superego. He also highlighted levels

This has an effect to resolve basic conflict as a way of expressing situations that bring satisfaction without bringing guilt or punishment. Freud believed that all thoughts, emotions and actions have causes .In his view no behaviour is accidental and that causes of behaviour lie in unsatisfied drives and unconscious wishes .He likened personality to an iceberg buried under the sea showing a small part above the surface of the water. The small part represents the conscious mind immediately below the subconscious mind and the larger submerged part represents the unconscious mind .The conscious represent what is visible and clear while the preconscious consists of inaccessible thoughts or ideas which can be temporarily forgotten but at times have the possibility of easy retrieval when required .It consists of memories which are not conscious at the moment but can easily be brought into consciousness. The preconscious mind is the vast storehouse of easily accessible memories. The contents of the preconscious were at one point conscious and can be returned to consciousness if need be. The unconscious is comprised of disturbing and emotionally outstanding ideas and memories that exert a powerful thought unseen influence on the preconscious and conscious mind.

The superego strives for perfection, and when it fail to live up to its demands individuals feel guilty. Society places restrictions on the actions of the id and ego by creating the superego .It then takes the role of going against the desires of the id by imposing some moral limitations to attain a goal of perfection. Parents are the main agents of society in creating the superego. They teach moral principles to their children by punishing transgressions and rewarding proper behaviour. These experiences become incorporated into the child‘s mind as the two parts of the superego. According to Freud, parental punishment creates the set of moral inhibitions know as the conscience, while their rewards set up a stand of perfect conduct in the superego called the ego ideal. These two parts of the superego work together by punishing behaviour that breaks the moral code through guilt and rewarding good behaviour through pride. As the superego develops strength, children are able to control themselves and behave in ways that allow society to function smoothly. According to Freud‘s view, most of us do not steal, murder, and rape not because we do not want to, or because our egos could not find relatively safe ways to do so, but because our superegos hold these desires in