Chapter 8
Selfhood and personality: the
psychology of identity
A sense of self
Philosophy tries to answer the question ‘Who am I?’ from a general point of
view of metaphysics and epistemology. Psychology relates the same question to
people with thoughts and emotions who are growing up and living in a specific
place, entertaining basic values, relating to other members of society, and having
to position themselves in it. As they grow up, they become competent members
of their society by forming an individual identity recognized by others and
themselves.
Ever since Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century advanced his psychosexual
theory of personality development, we know that this is a delicate process. The
model Freud devised to conceptualize the human psyche as it unfolds from
dependent newborn to autonomous adult turned out to be one of the most
influential contributions to psychology ever. In this model, personal identity is
structured into three parts, the id, the ego (or I ), and the superego (or above I ).
These are interacting systems playing different roles at different stages of
development.
The id consists of the innate instinctual drives underlying sexual desire and
aggressiveness. The superego acts as a moral agency that regulates behaviour.
And the ego is sandwiched in-between, mediating the wants and requirements of
id and superego. Growing up consists in learning how to deal with each part and
finding a balance.