Can someone explain the concept of "ego"?

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ryan93
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03 Jun 2009, 8:12 pm

I know it's strange but I have no idea what "ego" is. Is it self esteem? Fame? Could someone explain it in non-scientific terms please, it seems like a very important concept to understand. Thanks :oops:



Asmodeus
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03 Jun 2009, 8:23 pm

This (link)
Or this if you find the above too complex.
This was then bastardised by popular culture to refer to an inflated sense of self importance



ryan93
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03 Jun 2009, 8:49 pm

I never really understood the Wiki version (not that I'm thick, I just couldn't grasp the basic concept of that article). So the ego is basically the "angle" you play personality wise, the Id is the primal side of people that is rarely seen but surfaces, perhaps when you're drunk or faced with extreme circumstances. And the super ego is built from other peoples views of you, if they have strong views you tend to ignore the ID, if its not (which, given that social interaction isn't exactly our forte, includes us) we tend to our primal desires above our ego-related desires...oh now it makes sense.

That's actually a very interesting concept. So that essentially means that people with Asperger's have malnourished Super-Ego's, and hence have a tendency to focus on the ID and not the Ego? Maybe that would explain the whole "Flat Effect" thing associated with us.

So if the Ego is essentially the visible facet of the personality, does that mean having a big "ego" refers to both the Ego and Super Ego, and means you have an excessively "noticable" personality, and a heightened sense of grandiosity to them?

And thanks :)



Asmodeus
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04 Jun 2009, 4:26 am

The idea of ego in common language and culture is very distinct from freud's work.
In common language and culture, it pretty much means How much someone is full of themself = Their ego size.

Your guess is a start, but unfortunately not correct. The freudian approach to autism was already phased out by around the 1970's, it is essentially this:

A proper bond isn't made between the parents and the child.
The child doesn't develop through all the psychosexual stages as a normal child would.
This leaves the child with difficulties in interpreting emotion and empathy.



ryan93
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04 Jun 2009, 7:31 am

Quote:
A proper bond isn't made between the parents and the child.
The child doesn't develop through all the psychosexual stages as a normal child would.
This leaves the child with difficulties in interpreting emotion and empathy.


I can see why they phased that definition out, it doesn't account for the balance problems associated with Aspergers.

Anyway, thanks for explaining everything :)


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