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reality principle

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noun Psychoanalysis.
  1. 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.
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Origin of reality principle

First recorded in 1920–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for reality principle

reality principle

noun
  1. psychoanal control of behaviour by the ego to meet the conditions imposed by the external world
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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
reality principle in Medicine

reality principle

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