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- Defined in several different ways in psychology. In Freudian personality
theory, the ego serves as a mediator between the id, the superego, and reality.
In some other personality theories, the ego refers to a constellation of
attitudes relative to the self. See also id and superego.
- In psychoanalytic theory (see psychoanalysis), one of the three major
divisions in the model of the psychic apparatus, the others being the id and
superego. The ego represents the sum of certain mental mechanisms, such as
perception and memory, and specific defense mechanisms. It serves to
mediate between the demands of primitive instinctual drives (the id), of
internalized parental and social prohibitions (the superego), and of reality.
The compromises between these forces achieved by the ego tend to resolve
intrapsychic conflict and serve an adaptive and executive function.
Psychiatric usage of the term should not be confused with common usage, which
connotes self-love or selfishness.
Source: Edgerton, Jane E. 1994. American Psychiatric Glossary, 7th Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press
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