The ego balances the demands of the id and superego by operating on the:

1. The ego is the mediator between the other two structures. 2. Its job is to balance the demands of the id and superego in the context of reality. 3. So it operates on what Freud called the reality principle. 4. The ego helps the id satisfy its desires in a realistic way. _Source: OpenStax Psychology 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 11 'Personality', sections 11.1-11.9_