aggressive character

a personality characterized by a hostile or competitive attitude to others and the pursuit of power, prestige, and material possessions. Karen D. Horney defined the development of such a character as one of three basic neurotic trends used as a defense against basic anxiety. Compare compliant character; detached character.

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Psychology term of the day

December 27th 2024

sexual imprinting

the development of a preference for a sexual partner that occurs during a sensitive or critical period. For example, if zebra finches are cross-fostered to Bengalese finch parents for the first 40 days of life, they will prefer to mate with Bengalese finches as adults. In addition, birds often prefer to socialize with other birds that resemble those they were exposed to in the first month of life.