The compulsion to repeat, or the repetition compulsion, was recognized by Freud as the unconscious drive to repeat experiences. Freud believes that the compulsion to repeat even the most traumatic experiences reveals a secondary drive beyond pleasure-seeking.

Delayed gratification is the human ability to resist the temptation of the pleasure principle and wait for a more satisfying outcome. Freud connects the concept of delayed gratification to the reality principle. The ego controls the impulses of the drive for pleasure in the id. He argues that delayed gratification can turn into mental illness when an individual represses desires to the extreme.

The ego is the moderator between the id and the superego in the human psyche. This rational part of the psyche mediates between the id and the superego, controlling the pleasure principle and other drives to adhere to social expectations and norms.