Types of Intrapsychic Conflict

Interpsychic conflict is normally associated with Sigmund Freud's understanding of the human mind. For him, the mind had three central components: the id, ego and superego. These represent the pleasure principle (or libidinal drives), the reality principle (rationality, broadly defined) and the world of social morality. These three continually interact and compromise with each other. However, when these three entities conflict excessively or intensely, neurosis (or mental illness) can develop.

Qualities

• The id, ego and superego are not "objects," but rather modes of operation or methods of activity. The first two are natural, in that they "come with" the creation of human beings. All human beings possess libidinal drives as well as the ability to reason. The conflict between these two entities is basically clear and exists at the conscious and subconscious level. The "social" element of the conflict, the superego, becomes more problematic. This refers to social rules that have the rational purpose of suppressing certain libidinal drives in the interest of social construction and necessary labor. These forms of suppression are rarely spelled out in exact terms, but exist as unwritten "mores." Since the superego is the least explicit of the three modes of mental action, conflicts involving it are often misunderstood, but less intense in the development of neurosis.

Conflicts of Defense

• This sort of conflict is the worst and most harmful of all interpsychic warfare. This is a posture of open confrontation between two drives, most commonly the id and the ego. There are some occasions where the libidinal drives are continually frustrated by the ego or vice-versa. These develop into serious neurosis due to the contradiction of drives and the inability to compromise. The worst that can develop is schizophrenia, or psychic "splitting" where the person becomes, in effect, two different persons: one engaging in rational behavior, the other engaging in libidinal satisfaction.

Conflicts of Ambivalence

• While conflicts of defense are about open psychic warfare, these sorts of conflicts are more about dilemmas: methods rather than ends. The conflict here is not really about the refusal to compromise, but rather the form that compromise should take. This is a less intense form of conflict then that of defense. Normal psychic life is a set of compromises among the three elements of the mental structure. However, there does come a time where different forms of compromise are not obvious, and struggle develops. This kind of struggle has more to do with the superego, which can provide ambivalent information about social rules that control libidinal drives. As such, conflicts of ambivalence might develop a social aspect where social rules are unclear about balancing reason with libido.