Reality principle
Ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Freudian psychology and psychoanalysis, the reality principle (German: Realitätsprinzip)[1] is the ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it accordingly,[2] as opposed to acting according to the pleasure principle. The reality principle is the governing principle of the actions taken by the ego, after its slow development from a "pleasure-ego" into a "reality-ego".[3]