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The critical parent--"Well, I goof-off a lot and I'm not a good
student anyway. I just can't make myself work."
The adult--"Some parts are enjoyable and some are not, but I
need good grades to get an assistantship in a good graduate
school, so I'm trying to do as well as I can."
Hopefully, this conception of our personality will open us up to
considering all kinds of needs, wishes, motives, urges, beliefs, etc. as
being inside of us. Perhaps it will be less scary if we know everyone
probably has fears, childish dependency, murderous hostility, and
perverse sexual urges, although many people would deny these traits.
Your ego can rationally arrange compromises between the id and the
superego if you know what unconscious needs are pushing for
expression. Besides, self-discovery can be an exciting, enjoyable
adventure. See the everything-is-true-of-me method #1 in chapter 15.
There are several other ways the parts of our personality can be
used: The Gestaltists encourage you to engage in long conversations
between parts, like the "top dog" and the "under dog" (see the empty
chair technique in chapter 15). Neurolinguistic Programming has the
problem solving part of us (the ego?) find another way to satisfy the
part that is making us do something that is getting us in trouble (see
reframing in chapter 15). When we develop new self-instructions
(chapter 11), we are strengthening the rational control part of us.
There are many self-help possibilities once we realize we are made up
of lots of competing parts.
Other parts and motives—Jung, Adler, Allport
As you read more about personality theories, you will find other
notions that give you insight into your self. For instance, Jung had a
creative mind and besides describing the personality types above,
suggested there are several parts of our personality beyond the id,
ego, and superego. He believed that humans are innately prone to act
certain ways and have certain beliefs, e.g. young children and animals
are seen as "cute," almost every culture has created the notion of God
and an after life, all societies have heroes and heroines, spiritual-
mystical powers are thought to influence the weather, crops, health,
etc., and the same children's stories are heard in all parts of the world
(see Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth). These universal beliefs or
themes were called archetypes by Jung. Instincts and archetypes
make up our "collective unconscious," which is this tendency for all of
us to view the world in common (not necessarily accurate) ways.
In Jungian theory, there is a part of our personality called the
persona which includes the masks we wear when relating to others--it
isn't our real self. In contrast to the publicly acceptable masks (Jung
looked for opposites), there is the shadow which, much like the
Enneagram, is our dark and evil side--our sexual, greedy, aggressive,
and power-hungry needs which are difficult to control. If a normally
well controlled person suddenly had an angry outburst, the Jungian
might assume it is the work of the devilish shadow. Yet, the shadow is
