pleasure principle

noun

Psychoanalysis.

1. an automatic mental drive or instinct seeking to avoid pain and to obtain pleasure.

pleasure principle

noun

1. psychoanal the idea that psychological processes and actions are governed by the gratification of needs. It is seen as the governing process of the id, whereas the reality principle is the governing process of the ego See also hedonism

pleasure principle

1. In psychoanalysis, the demand that an instinctive need (usually sexual or aggressive) be gratified, regardless of the social or practical consequences. Sigmund Freud held that the id was dominated totally by the pleasure principle, but that, with the development of the ego and superego, individuals become aware of the demands of social reality (the reality principle), and thereby learn to temper and regulate their quest for pleasure.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pleasure principle¹

First recorded in 1910–15