We previously defined that the set of subjective characteristics of each of us that determine our behaviors is called personality. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory holds that the human psyche is composed of the interaction of three interrelated instances: the Id, the Self and the Superself.
In general terms, Freud’s conclusions regarding our psyche are as follows. We possess unconscious tendencies to the search for skiing pleasure which we try to satisfy, but as we are integrated in a social context, we must resign, to a greater or lesser extent, these impulses by accepting the group norms and thus be able to adapt. These psychic dimensions attempt to explain our personality, and are considered as ‘dynamic‘ because they compete with each other and try to impose themselves on the others.
The Id
Freud came to the conclusion that our mind was not limited only to the conscious, but that this represents only a superficial layer covering a larger part which he called “the unconscious“. In this dimension there is a psychic field which he named the ‘Id‘, which pursues the principle of pleasure and that certain actions are not tolerated by society.
The Id is an unconscious psychic dimension that is found from birth, containing desires and impulses that conflict with the other two instances, seeking immediate pleasure and rejecting pain.
It can be stated that, when skiing, most of us get immediate gratification when we achieve the proposed goal or when we do something we did not do before. Our instinctual energy, irrationality, and selfishness are represented by the Id and influenced by the pleasure tendency. Our repeated behaviors due to desires and pleasure are requirements of the Id.
We tend to adapt to the skiing environment by distinguishing the Id from the Self. If it is the Id that dominates our personality, by prioritizing our own needs, we may endanger others due to our impulsivity.
The influence of the environment modifies the unconscious Id into an organized Self that regulates the pleasure instinct by supplanting it with the reality principle, thus achieving adaptation to the environment.
