The psychoanalytic approach views personality as being formed by unconscious motivations and divided into the id, ego, and superego. Freud proposed psychosexual stages of development and defense mechanisms employed by the ego to reduce anxiety. Later theorists like Horney, Adler, Erikson, and Jung expanded on psychoanalytic ideas with a focus on security, object relations, individual psychology, psychosocial development, and the collective unconscious.

4. Psychoanalytic Approach Conscious Unconscious Superego Preconscious Id Ego Information which can easily be made conscious Thoughts, feelings, urges, and other information that is difficult to bring to conscious awareness Information in your immediate awareness Rational, planful, mediating dimension of personality Moralistic, judgmental, perfectionist dimension of personality Irrational, illogical, impulsive dimension of personality