ABSTRACT
I t is common i n the literature to speak of the ego, the superego, and the i d , and of other psychoanalytic concepts, as "structures" or "underly i n g structures" of personality. T h e reference seems to be to predictable constancies w i t h w h i c h certain subgroups of functions ( fo r example, the ego's mechanism of defense) operate. Wri te rs not of the psychoanalytic persuasion also use the te rm "structure"; sometimes they use different concepts to stand for predictable constancies or regularities of funct ioning i n the personality, and sometimes the w o r d "structure" itself is given a different meaning.
