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Ego (Psychology)
In psychoanalytic and psychody-namic theories, the ego is conceptualized as the con scious part of a tripartite personality (including the id, ego, and superego). The ego, which is not thought to be present at birth, develops over time and enables an individual to gratify the impulses of the id, or pleasure principle, through assistance of the superego, or con science. The ego operates on the reality principle, as opposed to the pleasure principle, which governs the id, and allows the individual to express desires and drives in realistic and socially appropriate ways. In modern par lance, the word ego is also used to mean one's self-esteem or an inflated sense of self-worth. For more information, see Freud (1923).
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