Final answer:
The task of the ego, per Hartmann, is to balance the needs of the id and the standards of the superego, operating on the 'reality principle' and employing defense mechanisms when necessary to reduce anxiety and maintain a healthy personality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Hartmann suggested that the task of the ego in concern with its conflict-free functions is to mediate between the desires of the id and the moral imperatives of the superego. The ego is seen as the rational part of our personality, what Sigmund Freud considered to be the self, and its job is to find a realistic way to satisfy the id's desires while adhering to the standards of the superego in the context of reality, which is known as operating on the 'reality principle'. A strong ego is capable of effectively balancing these needs, leading to a healthy personality. Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies employed by the ego to protect itself when it cannot balance these demands, leading to reduced anxiety. Understanding the roles of the id, ego, and superego in human psychology is crucial to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, which posits that personality is formed through the tensions and conflicts among these three elements.