Name the three parts of the personality as defined by Freud.

• A. Conscious, Preconscious, Unconscious
• B. ID, EGO, SUPER EGO
• C. Self, Ego, Id
• D. Id, Ego, Superego

Answer: (B)

Freud’s structural model of personality features three interacting parts: the Id, the Ego, and the Superego. The Id is the primitive, unconscious reservoir of instinctual drives that seeks immediate gratification, operating on the pleasure principle. The Ego develops to mediate reality, planning and deciding how to satisfy those drives in socially acceptable ways, using the reality principle. The Superego embodies internalized morals and values learned from parents and society, acting as a conscience that rewards or punishes through feelings like pride or guilt.

This framework explains why people often experience inner conflict—the impulsive wishes of the Id clash with the Ego’s realistic plans and the Superego’s moral constraints. The canonical trio, and only this three-part model, is Id, Ego, Superego. Other options either refer to levels of awareness or mix in terms not used by Freud as a structural model.