APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. the realm of symbols or signifiers: one of three aspects of the psychoanalytic field defined by French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan (1901–1981). The achievement of symbolization marks the beginning of ego differentiation and is associated with the infant’s entrance into the world of language, culture, law, and morality. The other two realms are the Imaginary and the Real. See also mirror phase; name-of-the-father.