Synonyms
Definition
The structural model is Freud’s theory that the core functions of the mind are carried out by three closely related systems, the ego, id, and super-ego.
Introduction
The mind is not unitary. Despite enduring Cartesian influences, the idea that mental activity is the work of an assortment of processes remains one of the more plausible guiding assumptions of psychological research. Freud endorsed a distinctive variant of this broader explanatory commitment. Beginning with his earlier metapsychological works, he slowly developed a view of the mind as a collection of closely related systems. Famously, these ultimately became known as the id, the ego, and the super-ego. Like much of Freud’s work, the structural model was largely based on the observation of fractures in the mental edifice resulting from various forms of psychopathology. The etiology of such cases was traced to destructive conflicts between the three...
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References
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Cratsley, K. (2018). Structural Model. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1429-1
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