THE EXISTENCE OF A VAST LITERATURE ON THE SUPEREGO bears witness to the many difficulties encountered by those who attempt to conceptualize its formation and its functioning. Our paper, however, is simply an attempt to clarify, within the framework of existing knowledge, the principal steps in the progression from outer to inner conflict, insofar as these can be viewed as superego precursors. We try to do this, wherever possible, in the light of inferences drawn from child observation and clinical practice.

It is true that the analyst of adults usually can trace the beginnings of internal conflicts, based upon interference with drive satisfaction, back to the external conflicts which preceded