pleasure principle

pleasure principle

n.

In psychoanalysis, the tendency or drive to achieve pleasure and avoid pain as the chief motivating force in behavior.

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pleasure principle

n

(Psychoanalysis) Psychoanal the idea that psychological processes and actions are governed by the gratification of needs. It is seen as the governing process of the id, whereas the reality principle is the governing process of the ego See also hedonism

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

pleasure principle - (psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the id; the principle that an infant seeks gratification and fails to distinguish fantasy from reality pleasure-pain principle, pleasure-unpleasure principle depth psychology, psychoanalysis, analysis - a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud; "his physician recommended psychoanalysis" principle - a basic truth or law or assumption; "the principles of democracy" reality principle - (psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the ego; the principle that as a child grows it becomes aware of the real environment and the need to accommodate to it