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anal personality

in classical psychoanalytic theory, a pattern of personality traits believed to stem from the anal stage of psychosexual development, when defecation is a primary source of pleasure. Special satisfaction from retention of the feces will result in an adult anal-retentive personality, marked by frugality, obstinacy, and orderliness, whereas fixation on expelling feces will produce an aggressive and disorderly anal-expulsive personality. Also called anal character. See also anal-aggressive personality; hoarding orientation.

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Psychology term of the day

November 17th 2024

entorhinal cortex

entorhinal cortex

a region of cerebral cortex in the ventromedial portion of the temporal lobe. It has reciprocal connections with the hippocampal formation and various other cortical and subcortical structures and is an integral component of the medial temporal lobe memory system. It is also involved in spatial navigation. Lesions in this area are used to study neural plasticity and working memory; they are also seen in temporal lobe epilepsy and the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.