1. In Freudian theory, the division of the unconscious that is formed through the internalization of moral standards of parents and society, and that censors and restrains one's self-importance.
2. In psychoanalytic theory, the part of mind that internalizes parental and cultural values, restrictions, and inhibitions, and that is responsible for self-imposed standards of behavior and for restraining the part of a person's mind that acts as a self-critical conscience, reflecting social qualities learned from parents, teachers, religious leaders, etc. from conducting oneself in unacceptable ways: A superego results from incorporating the values and wishes of the people from one's past with his or her own levels of thinking.