Author: Glossary

Unusually vivid and apparently exact mental image; may be a memory, fantasy, or dream.  

Referring to aspects of a person’s behavior, thoughts, and attitudes that are viewed by the self as acceptable and consistent with the total personality and sense of self. Contrast with ego-dystonic. To something that is consistent with the individual’s self-image. In accordance with an individual’s inherent sense of identity, as opposed to being discordant or…

The ability of the ego to execute its functions, to mediate between the external world, the id, and the superego effectively and efficiently, so that energy is left over for creativity and other integrative activities. Among specific functions that may be assessed in determining ego strength are judgment, reality testing, regulation of drives, defensive functions,…

The study and elucidation of those slowly changing functions known as psychic structures that usually shape, channel, and organize mental activity into meaningful and tolerable patterns of experience. The usual structures referred to in this sense are memory, speech, locomotion, cognition, drive, restraint, discharge, and the capacity to make judgments and decisions.  

Pathological preoccupation with self.  

The part of the personality that comprises the aims and goals for the self; usually refers to the conscious or unconscious emulation of significant figures with which one has identified. The ego ideal emphasizes what one should be or do in contrast to what one should not be or not do. A part of the…

According to the theoretical system of carl gustav jung (1875–1961), the ego has four inseparable functions (i.e., four different fundamental ways of perceiving and interpreting reality): thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. Thinking is the opposite of feeling, and sensation is the opposite of intuition. Jung suggested that most people start life developing one of these…

Referring to aspects of a person’s behavior, thoughts, and attitudes that are viewed by the self as repugnant or inconsistent with the total personality and sense of self. Contrast with egosyntonic. To something repulsive to the individual’s self-image.    

Self-centered. Limited to concern for oneself. To a withdrawal from the external world with concentration on the self.  

Hypothesized lines of demarcation between the ego and 1) the external world (external ego boundary) and 2) the internal world, including the repressed unconscious, the id, and much of the superego (internal ego boundary). Refers to the ability of the intact ego to differentiate the real from the unreal.