In Freudian psychology, the ego ideal (or ideal ego) is "an image of the perfect self towards which the ego should aspire."Narcissism (psychology)#Primary narcissism Chasseguet-Smirgel, Janine. The ego ideal : a psychoanalytic essay on the malady of the ideal / Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel ; translated by Paul Barrows ; introduction by Christopher Lasch. 1st American ed. (English version of Idéal du moi.