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According to the Freudian structures of personality, which of the following statements is true of the superego?

a) It operates on the pleasure principle.
b) It is present at birth.
c) It represents the unconscious desires and instincts.
d) It enforces moral standards and values.

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The superego, which develops through social interactions, enforces moral standards and values and is responsible for feelings of pride or guilt corresponding to our actions.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Sigmund Freud's structures of personality, the superego enforces the moral standards and values that we acquire from our culture and upbringing. It functions as the individual's internalized moral authority, providing guidelines for making judgments. The superego develops through social interactions, as an individual learns societal rules for right and wrong, and acts as a conscience that embodies our sense of ideal behavior, often causing us to feel proud when we live up to its demands, or guilty when we do not.

While the id operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification, and the ego operates on the reality principle, negotiating between the desires of the id and the demands of the superego, it is the superego that holds us to the highest moral standards.

Thus, the correct statement regarding the superego is that it enforces moral standards and values, which makes the The superego enforces moral standards and values.

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