I have spent the last couple of months studying personality theory and the last couple of weeks watching my fair share of children's films. There seems to be quite a lot of commonality between the two.
Christmas Eve we watched a remake of Pinocchio. Set during World War II, Gepetto creates Pinocchio from the tree where his son Carlo (named after the author of the adventures of Pinocchio Carlo Chiostri) was inadvertently killed by an aerial bomb. Within this dark and at times frightening adaptation there lies some of Freud's thinking on personality theory.
Freud's theory is that our personality consists of three basic structures that develop during our childhood. In fact, he believed that our personalities are pretty much fully developed by the age of 5 (which means my son is pretty much set for life and my daughter has about 9 months left...). Pinocchio though, enters the world when he is 6 years old without going through these development stages.
The ID
The first part of Freud's personality structure is the ID which he believed is all that we are born with. It contains our raw instincts and exists entirely within our subconscious. This makes it difficult to access, understand and change. It has no sense of delayed gratification, morals, consideration of others and is all we have when we are born. Pinocchio, aged 6, is thrown into the world with only his ID developed. His exclusive desire is for fun.
The Ego
Next children develop an Ego which helps manage the immediate demands of the ID with the wishes of the external world. It organises, plans, weighs up pros and cons, helps us resolve and make decisions. It exists mostly within our conscious minds but also has part in our unconscious. Freud theorised that we develop this by moving through the key stages of childhood development - learning to eat, toilet training and bonding with parents. Pinocchio is created without an Ego, so he follows his instincts, towards pleasure with no thought of danger.
The Super Ego
Finally we develop a Super Ego which is our conscience. It contains our morals, knowledge of right and wrong and eventually our values. Throughout our childhood we begin to develop our Super Ego from the lessons we are taught by those around us.
It is the enemy of the ID and once developed gives the Ego an even harder job in mediating the ID and the Super Ego. Pinocchio is gifted a Super Ego in the form of Jiminy Cricket. Pinocchio constantly clashes with Jiminy Cricket as he lays down rules, points out dangers and seems to get in the way of fun.
It is the interplay between our ID, Ego and Super Ego which determines our personality. Freud put anxiety down to conflict between the three which the mediator was unable to smoothly resolve.
The term Ego, has gained a bad reputation through the association with being egotistical or self-centered. In Freudian terms, someone with a big ego would be a good manager of internal and external conflict. Pinocchio demonstrates what it is like to enter the world as a child having not developed an Ego. He needs, and eventually develops, a strong Ego to manage the conflict between his ID and his Super Ego Jiminy Cricket.
How can we apply this?
Personification of the the three structures can help us to understand and access them. Stories like Pinocchio shed light on the thought process and behaviour that are driven by each of the three components - the ID (Pinocchio as a puppet), the Super Ego (Jiminy Cricket) and the Ego (Pinocchio as a boy).
The picture above shows the three component parts and where they sit in our conscious / subconscious. Gaining access to these three areas will help us to better understand and manage ourselves. If anxiety is caused by conflict between our ID and Super Ego then understanding them better will help us to be able to manage and minimise conflict. Giving our own three parts a name can make it easier to recognise the role that they are playing in real time and support our Ego in managing it.
Understanding our ID
We are born with the ID, it is innate and virtually impossible to change. Unmanaged for most of us, like Pinocchio, it will lead to no good. But it also contains our passions and drivers, what we need to get flow in our lives. So accessing it and understanding it is key to take the good and manage the not so good.
As it exists entirely in our subconscious it needs to be accessed unconventionally through emotions and insight. Freud used therapy and dreams. It can also be accessed through self-reflection and coaching.
Understanding our Super Ego
Here is where we hold our values and beliefs. A good understanding of it helps us live a life of a life of purpose. But not everything it holds is true and useful. Some beliefs are deeply held from what we have learnt in childhood and may be holding us back (remember Scrooge from an earlier blog). We can change our beliefs - accessing them is the first step on this journey. The language of the Super Ego is filled with 'shoulds' - notice, reflect and challenge yourself - does the belief underlying the 'should' deserve its place in your Super Ego?
Literature for thought
Pinocchio: the book or there are two new versions to choose from plus the original Disney one.
The Jungle Book: Baloo and Bagheera take on the roles of the ID and the Super Ego in raising Mowgli.
The Lion King: Simba's father and uncle take on the roles of the Super Ego and ID respectively in their influence on Simba.
Comments