Editing Alter ego (section)

{{Short description|Alternative self or personality distinct from the actual identity}}
{{redirect-multi|2|Double life|Alternate self|identical stranger|doppelgänger|the concept in African-American studies|double consciousness|other uses|Double Life (disambiguation){{!}}Double Life|and|Alter Ego (disambiguation)}}
{{Original research|date=January 2022}}
An '''alter ego''' ([[Latin]] for "other I") means an alternate [[Self (psychology)|self]], which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original [[Personality psychology|personality]]. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different personality. Additionally, the altered states of the ego may themselves be referred to as ''alterations''. 

A distinct meaning of ''alter ego'' is found in the [[Literary criticism|literary analysis]] used when referring to fictional literature and other narrative forms, describing a key [[Character (arts)|character]] in a story who is perceived to be intentionally representative of the work's author (or creator), by oblique similarities, in terms of [[psychology]], behavior speech, or thoughts, often used to convey the author's thoughts. The term is also sometimes, but less frequently, used to designate a [[Hypothesis|hypothetical]] "twin" or "best friend" to a character in a story. Similarly, the term ''alter ego'' may be applied to the role or persona taken on by an actor<ref>{{cite book|title=Psychology and Performing Arts | author=Glenn Daniel Wilson |year=1991|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=90-265-1119-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3shEzj0wccgC&q=%22Alter+ego%22+psychology&pg=PA272}}</ref> or by other types of performers.