Reality principle
According to the theory of classical psychoanalysis , the reality principle is one of the two principles that govern psychic events. It forms a pair with the pleasure principle , which is modified by the reality principle . The reality principle is considered part of the self . According to the reality principle, the aspirations of the pleasure principle, which originate from the id (the unconscious in the human psyche), are adapted to the requirements of the environment.
Determination of the meaning of the principle
In contrast to the pleasure principle, which proceeds from the id and is not oriented towards the surrounding reality when it works to gain pleasure, the reality principle represents a behavior pattern according to which the ego or consciousness acts. The reality principle comes into play in the course of the intellectual maturation of the ego and relates to the experiences internalized in the superego during this period . It describes the characteristic task of the ego to take into account the prevailing environment - reality - for the satisfaction of the instincts (i.e. the innate needs) of the "id" in order to make this compatible with the moral ideas of the superego and without unpleasant consequences to design.
Working method
For this purpose, the factors of the concrete situation are partly consciously evaluated rationally, on the other hand the impulses of the superego have an effect on the inner design of the overall picture of reality . These come primarily from the adopted or acquired values, as well as generally from all the experiences that a person has gathered in the course of his development and built the super-ego on it. If the ego is momentarily unable to fulfill the demands of the id because a specific situation on the part of the environment speaks against it, it can achieve a temporal shift in the satisfaction of the instincts or the redirection of the sexual instinctual energy to a new, non-sexual goal ( sublimation ).
Since the super-ego counteracts the id's desire by exerting its influence on the consciousness in the form of feeling guilty feelings, the ego unconsciously makes use of various defense mechanisms . The aim of these defense mechanisms is to weaken or eliminate the feelings of guilt that the ego would otherwise feel as soon as it yielded to the id's instinctual desires.