Question

Jonathan, a 15-year-old, loves ice cream and finishes an entire tub of ice cream for dinner. In the context of Freud’s structures of personality, which of the following most likely dictates his behavior?

Answer 1

Answer:

The id

Explanation:

According to the psychoanalytic theory, our personality is made of 3 different structures:

• The id is the part of our personality we are born with. It focuses in instant gratification and is driven by impulses and in-the-moment-needs.
• The superego is the part of our personality that corresponds to our "conscience", it is the internalization of social norms and tells us what's wrong.
• The ego is the mediator between these two structures, is in charge of taking decisions and satisfy either the id or the superego.

In this example, Jonathan loves ice cream and finishes an entire tub of ice cream for dinner, we can see that he is looking for instant gratification and by the impulse of eating ice cream. Therefore, the id is most likely dictating his behavior.