the process by which the ego directs the individual to express sexual and aggressive impulses in socially acceptable ways. (444)

In psychoanalytic theory, the manner in which the ego delays gratification and otherwise deals with the environment in a planned, rational fashion.

In Freud's theory, the set of rules that govern the ego and that dictate the way in which it tries to satisfy the id by gaining pleasure in accordance with the real world and its demands.

The ability to evaluate the external world and to differentiate between it and the internal world.