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Holder suggests that superego development and functioning start prior to the phallic-oedipal phase and that the resolution of the oedipus complex is not a precondition for the development of a fully structured superego. Preoedipal precursors are seen as ego mechanisms: defenses, identifications, and idealizations. Ego identifications as well as superego identifications are described, and losses, earlier than oedipal fantasies, are shown to lead to identifications that predate the oedipal period. The ego ideal is distinguished from the superego as "the self I'd like to be," rather than "the self I ought to be." The id and the superego are linked, as both reflect the past and contain archaic images that are representative of each other. The superego goes through a prolonged development, much as the ego does; there is evidence for primitive superego functioning with relatively less autonomy from primary objects. The fear of loss, the differentiation between reality and fantasy, and the capacity for delay are all aspects that allow for early superego functioning. These must be distinguished, however, from conditioning and the fear of punishment. Later, the loss of love becomes the predominating fear, and there is a developing ideal self which helps the child manage this fear in latency. Finally, in a number of cases in which the child is still caught up in active oedipal feelings and conflicts, a structured and autonomous superego nevertheless exists.