According to Sigmund Freud, the instinctual life force that energises the 'id' is called-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Libido
Option (1) Life Event — Incorrect. Life events are changes in life, planned or unpredicted, such as moving house or the break-up of a relationship; major ones are sources of stress. The term has nothing to do with Freud’s id.
Option (2) Death Instinct — Incorrect. Freud assumed that the id is energised by two instinctual forces, the life instinct and the death instinct. He paid less attention to the death instinct and focused on the life (or sexual) instinct, whose force is named in the question.
Option (3) Libido — Correct. The instinctual life force that energises the id is called libido. Like the id, it works on the pleasure principle and seeks immediate gratification.
Option (4) Super - Ego — Incorrect. The superego is the moral branch of mental functioning, a part of the personality that tells the id and the ego whether a gratification is ethical. It is not a force that energises the id.
Note 1: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 02-06-2023 (Slot 3).
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2022 on 25-08-2022 (Slot 2).
NCERT (2025-26): “Structure of Personality … Superego : The best way to characterise the superego is to think of it as the moral branch of mental functioning. The superego tells the id and the ego whether gratification in a particular instance is ethical.…” “…Freud also assumed that id is energised by two instinctual forces, called life instinct and death instinct. He paid less attention to the death instinct and focused more on the life (or sexual) instinct. The instinctual life force that energises the id is called libido. It works on the pleasure principle, and seeks immediate gratification.” |