superego
Psyche's moral voice
The superego is a psychoanalytic term for the part of the mind that internalizes moral standards and social rules—essentially the conscience.
Freud proposed it as one of three mental structures, alongside the ego and id.
The superego judges, criticizes, and produces guilt when its standards are violated: Her superego wouldn't let her enjoy the stolen money.
In casual use, it often just means an overactive conscience or excessive self-criticism.
Treatment via unconscious exploration
- idUnconscious instinctual drives
- unconsciousNot awake or aware
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- psychodynamicsScience of mental forces
Sigmund Freud · defense mechanisms · sublimation · projection · introjection · transference · libido · Oedipus complex
Moral self-reproach
- moralityRight and wrong principles
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- principlesFoundational moral beliefs
scruples · duty · responsibility · accountability · righteousness · virtue · remorse · penitence
Moral self-reproach
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- self-doubtUncertainty about oneself
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
- self-punishmentHurting oneself for wrongdoing
perfectionism · introspection · inner critic · self-censorship · self-blame · rumination · overthinking · anxiety
Guardian's legal control
- socializationInternalizing cultural norms
- moral developmentHow values form
- cultural normsSociety's accepted behaviors
- taboosSocially proscribed practices
conditioning · upbringing · values · learned behavior · authority figures · role models · societal expectations · conformity
psychoanalysis
Treatment via unconscious exploration
- idUnconscious instinctual drives
- unconsciousNot awake or aware
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
Sigmund Freud · psychodynamics · defense mechanisms · sublimation · projection · introjection · transference · libido · Oedipus complex · psychosexual
guilt
Moral self-reproach
- moralityRight and wrong principles
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
principles · scruples · duty · responsibility · accountability · righteousness · virtue · remorse · penitence · honor
guilt
Moral self-reproach
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- self-doubtUncertainty about oneself
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
self-punishment · perfectionism · introspection · inner critic · self-censorship · self-blame · rumination · overthinking · anxiety · insecurity
parental authority
Guardian's legal control
- socializationInternalizing cultural norms
- moral developmentHow values form
- cultural normsSociety's accepted behaviors
taboos · conditioning · upbringing · values · learned behavior · authority figures · role models · societal expectations · conformity · prohibition
- mindmind, thought, cognition, consciousness, thinking
- psychologypsychology, psychologist, therapist, psychiatrist, clinical psychology
- inner lifeidentity, feelings, memory, thoughts, self-discovery
- psychoanalysisFreud, id, unconscious, Sigmund Freud, repression
- psychology termsmotivation, habits, self-knowledge, stress, intuition
- psychepsyche, soul, mind, id, unconscious
superegoid
Unconscious instinctual drives
impulse · hedonism · self-indulgence · base instincts · pleasure-seeking
- id ego superegoFreud's mental structure model