Theories of Personality 9th Edition

Chapter 2 Freud: Psychoanalysis 31

Provinces of the Mind

For nearly 2 decades, Freud’s only model of the mind was the topographic one we
have just outlined, and his only portrayal of psychic strife was the conflict between
conscious and unconscious forces. Then, during the 1920s, Freud (1923/1961a)
introduced a three-part structural model. This division of the mind into three prov-
inces did not supplant the topographic model, but it helped Freud explain mental
images according to their functions or purposes.
To Freud, the most primitive part of the mind was das Es, or the “it,” which
is almost always translated into English as id; a second division was das Ich, or
the “I,” translated as ego; and a final province was das Uber-Ich, or the “over-I,”
which is rendered into English as superego. These provinces or regions have no

King

Reception

room

Anteroom

Screen

Eye of consciousness

Final censorship

Preconscious

Censorship

Unconscious

Doorkeeper

FIGURE 2.1 Levels of Mental Life.