The self is the referent of this sense of coherence, continuity and integrity at every stage of life. Where appropriate the analyst attributes to the actor agency in bringing about the analyzed state of affairs. Some sense of coherence is maintained from the actor's point of view. People take it that things are as they seem unless they have reason to think otherwise. Psychological defenses maintain coherence but at the cost of personal freedom.
Defenses clarify actions and the world through restrictions in behavior potential.
Selves require autonomy, family and community and this creates inevitable conflict. The experience of pleasure and anxiety are central in the development of self-identity and in structuring motives. Pleasure and anxiety are two fundamental and contrasting feelings generated by encounters with people, events and objects. Anxiety motivates avoidance, pleasure motivates contact. The competent achievement of hedonic, prudent, ethical and esthetic aims is pleasurable.