tripartite personality

• one assumption of the psychodynamic approach is Freud's idea of the tripartite personality - he believed the mind is symbolically structured into three parts:
• the Id, which is present from birth and is controlled by the pleasure principle, the ego, developing around ages 2-3 and controlled by the reality principle and the superego which develops at age 5 and is controlled by the morality principle.
• the ego acts as a mediator between the desires of the primitive Id, and the need to adhere to the standards of the superego.
• the assumption of the tripartite personality can be used to explain criminal behaviour. According to Freud, criminals are ruled by their Id and their superego is suppressed. Criminals, particularly those who commit violent offences, often lack a sense of morality and remorse, and seek immediate pleasure and gratification, regardless of the costs.