ego /ē″gō, eg″ō/ [Gk, I or self] , 1. the conscious sense of the self; those elements of a person, such as thinking, feeling, and willing, that distinguish him or her as an individual. 2. (in psychoanalysis) the part of the psyche that experiences and maintains conscious contact with reality and tempers the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the superego with the social and physical needs of society. It represents the rational element of the personality, is the seat of such mental processes as perception and memory, and develops defense mechanisms against anxiety. See also id, superego.
