UNIT 12 Psychology
Part 3: Reading the text g12 Task 4: Read the following texts.
There are two exam answers in this section. The first is a short exam answer and the second is a long exam answer.
Analyze the difference between ‘mind’ and ‘brain’ 5
The brain and the mind are not the same. Your brain is part of the visible, tangible world of the body. It is generally considered to be a piece of machinery and hardware, primarily responsible for controlling and coordinating mental and physical actions. Your mind, however, is part of the invisible world of thought, feeling, attitude, belief and imagination. The brain is the physical organ most associated with mind and consciousness, but the mind is not confined to the brain. The intelligence of your mind can be found in every cell of the body, not just the brain cells. It has significant power over all bodily systems.
Summarize Freud’s ‘Theory of Mind’ 10
According to the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, human beings are the products of competing forces deep within our own psyches. Our personalities represent the varying quantity of influence of the three systems found within our minds. The specific functions of the id, the superego and the ego are perhaps understood more clearly by the original German terms used by Freud, which were, respectively: Das Es (the It); Das Über-Ich (the Over-I) and Das Ich (the I).
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Firstly, the id. Freud believed that the id was the oldest part of the mind, present at birth, from which the other structures emerge. Freud called the id the ‘dark, inaccessible part of our personality’ which ‘has no organization’ and is focused solely on creating pleasure. In short, its primary drive is the avoidance of pain. Like an infant, its purpose is to achieve its own needs and desires, knowing ‘no judgements of value’ and not making any separation between ‘good and evil’.
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The superego develops as the child realizes that they are not the centre of the universe and becomes socialized, acquiring cultural and ethical ideas. In its desire to act in a socially appropriate manner, the superego can be seen as the opposite of the id. The superego controls our sense of right and wrong, helping us to live within society. This sense will often come from our parents (or other parental figures or authorities), acting as a kind of moral police. The superego is divided into two parts: namely, the ego-ideal and the conscience. The ego-ideal includes the rules and standards for good behaviour; at first, this is what the child’s parents approve of or value. The conscience, however, is sometimes known as the ‘inner voice’, and relates to what is considered wrong behaviour.
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Representing reason and common sense, the ego is the ‘go-between’ between the id, the location of the illogical, and the superego, the location of the ideal, as well as the external world. Freud likens the ego’s relation to the id as being ‘like a man on horseback who has to control the superior strength of the horse.’ The ego is thus primarily concerned with self-preservation. Consciousness lives within the ego. It is used to represent aspects such as judgement, tolerance and control. The ego enables us to organize our thoughts, and by this to understand the external world. In its attempts to reconcile the demands of the id (I want X now) with what the superego wants (X is wrong so don’t do it), the ego may use unconscious defence mechanisms, such as denial, displacement, projection and sublimation. The ability of the ego to do this effectively is called ego strength. With good ego strength, an individual is able to effectively manage this; with weak ego strength, there may be a lack of balance.
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Therefore, for Freud, a healthy personality is represented by a balance between the forces of the id, the ego and the superego. If the id is dominant in an individual, they may be focused too closely on themselves, and therefore uncaring to others. If the superego is overbearing, then the individual may feel guilty all the time, or else have a ‘saint’ complex. If the ego is too strong, the individual may be rational and efficient, but also cold and distant.
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