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basic rule

the fundamental rule of psychoanalysis that the patient must attempt to put all spontaneous thoughts, feelings, and memories into words without censorship, so that they can be analyzed to reveal unconscious wishes, conflicts, and emotions. Also called fundamental rule.

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Psychology term of the day

January 19th 2025

Electra complex

Electra complex

the female counterpart of the Oedipus complex, involving the daughter’s love for her father, jealousy toward the mother, and blame of the mother for depriving her of a penis. Although Sigmund Freud rejected the phrase, using the term Oedipus complex to refer to both boys and girls, many modern textbooks of psychology propagate the mistaken belief that Electra complex is a Freudian term. The name derives from the Greek myth of Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who seeks to avenge her father’s murder by persuading her brother Orestes to help her kill Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. [defined by Carl Jung]