TOPOGRAPHICA

L&
STRUCTURAL
MODEL OF THE
MIND
 Part I: The Structural
Model
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was an
Austrian neurologist who became
known as the founding father of
psychoanalysis. He’s considered one
of the most influential thinkers of the
20th Century.

Freud’s first theory of identity is

 The self is not unified. It is not a
coherent, singular entity. Not
entirely rational, not entirely in
control of itself.
 There are competing elements
within ourselves.
 No way to resolve competing
elements – the only way to stay
healthy is not to let any one of them
“get the upper hand” or sickness
(neurosis or psychosis) can occur.
Sigmund Freud’s conflict model is
based on the idea of the id, the ego,
and the superego. These are the
components of the self. Freud
describes the human personality as
a battlefield: “He [a human] is a
dark-cellar in which a well-bred
spinster lady (the superego) and a
sex-crazed monkey (the id) are
forever engaged in mortal combat,
the struggle being refereed by a
The Id
 “Id” is Latin for “it”.
 Irrational, emotional, demanding, strong
 The source of all selfish desires as it tries
to satisfy basic bodily, sexual, and
aggressive drives
 Does not care about others or the reality
of the situation
 The oldest part of our mind – most
primal, most primitive, since it precedes
The id is ruled by what Freud called the
pleasure principle.
According to the pleasure principle, the id
cares only about immediate self-
gratification; it doesn’t care about others
or the circumstances (reality) of the
situation.
The id is sometimes represented by a devil
sitting on someone’s shoulder. As this
devil sits there, it tells the ego to base
The Superego
 Latin for “above the I”
 The moral part of the mind—the
conscience—since the ego is not
necessarily moral
 Represents social and parental values
that step in when mom or the cops
aren’t around
 Sometimes represented by an angel
sitting on someone’s shoulder, telling
the ego to base behaviors on the rules
The Ego
 Latin for “I”
 The part of the personality that
maintains a balance between our
impulses (our id), our conscience
(our superego), and reality.
 Represented by a person, with a
devil (the id) on one shoulder and an
angel (the superego) on the other
 The ego is ruled by the reality
principle and is more pragmatic:
“You can’t always get what you
want.”
 The ego understands that other
people have needs and desires and
that sometimes being impulsive or
selfish (i.e. acting on the id’s
desires) can hurt us in the end. It is
the ego’s job to meet the needs of
the id, while taking into
consideration the reality of the
 The ego is in service to the id, yet it
uses some of the id’s psychic energy
to control the id by reasonably
satisfying the id. Over time, the ego
becomes pretty good at this and
develops a large vocabulary of
methods for keeping the id gratified
without provoking the superego.
 In other cases, the ego uses
repression to suppress and forget its
 Id, Ego, Superego
 If, as an adult, your id is too
dominant, you are very self-
absorbed, don’t care about others,
and are only out for yourself.
 If, as an adult, your ego is too
dominant, you are distant, rational,
efficient, unemotional, or cold.
 If, as an adult, your superego is too
dominant, you are guilt-ridden or
sanctimonious (i.e. telling everyone
 Part II: Topographical Model
of Mind
The Iceberg Model of the Mind
Conscious Mind
 The tip of the iceberg
 Smallest part: 10% of the mind.
 We can access this. We are aware of this
part of “us.”
 We understand it logically.
Subconscious or Preconscious
Mind
 Middle of iceberg
 Medium size: 10-15% of the mind.
 Ordinary memory. You don’t keep a lot of
information in your preconscious mind all
the time.
 If you need to remember something
(where you parked your car) you can
The Unconscious Mind
 Bottom of iceberg
 Huge: 75-80% of our mind.
 Not directly available to the conscious
mind, since it’s “underwater”.
 Plays a very large role in how we function
as human beings. Most of the work among
the id, ego, and superego occurs here.
The Unconscious Mind
 A dumping ground for all of our desires,
anxieties, memories, especially those
which are painful.
 Nothing in the unconscious goes away.
Even if we aren’t aware of it, what is in
the unconscious influences us every day in
every way.
 Can’t directly or easily access the
unconscious with the conscious mind. It
Psychoanalysis
 Therapy is the “talking cure” that
investigates how the conscious mind
interacts with the unconscious mind.
 When we don’t want to deal with a fear,
memory, or desire, the ego represses or
hides it in the unconscious mind, which
can result in neuroses and psychoses.
 The psychoanalyst uses techniques to
unbury the repressed, unconscious forces
The topographical model of the mind has been
criticized by some psychologists, who argue that
it is too simplistic and does not take into account
the complexity of the mind. However, the model
remains an important part of psychoanalytic
theory, and it continues to be used by some
psychologists today.
The structural model of the mind is more
complex than the topographical model, and
it provides a more nuanced view of the
mind.

However, it is also more difficult to

understand and apply.
Both the topographical model and the
structural model of the mind are important
contributions to our understanding of the
mind. They provide a framework for
understanding the different parts of the
mind and how they interact with each other.
However, it is important to remember
that these models are just that -
models. They are not perfect
representations of the mind, and they
do not take into account the
complexity of human behavior.