Dictionary.com

reality principle

noun Psychoanalysis.

the motivating force or mechanism by which the child, who has previously sought immediate gratification of all wishes, realizes that gratification must sometimes be deferred or forgone.

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
To stew in a sauce for a long time.
To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of reality principle

First recorded in 1920–25

Words nearby reality principle

reality, reality awareness, reality-based, reality check, reality fiction, reality principle, reality show, reality testing, reality TV, realization, realize
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for reality principle

reality principle

noun

psychoanal control of behaviour by the ego to meet the conditions imposed by the external world
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for reality principle

reality principle

n.

In psychoanalysis, awareness of and adjustment to environmental demands in a manner that moderates the pleasure principle and assures ultimate satisfaction of instinctual needs.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.