Ego Strength and Ego Weakness.
Abstract
The concepts of ego strength and ego weakness have recently come into prominence in connection with the growing interest in personality development and psychotherapy. Ego strength is defined simply as the efficiency of the ego in regulating impulses and mastering the environment. Or to give it a somewhat different emphasis, ego strength is the capacity for sustaining emotional equilibrium while waiting or working for later gratification. The following topics are discussed: (1) Criteria for ego strength; (2) Factors determining ego strength; (3) Factors contributing to ego weakness: (4) Changes in the ego under hypnosis; and (5) Outcomes of ego strength and weakness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)