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collective psychology

1. the mental and emotional states and processes characteristic of individuals when aggregated in such groups as audiences, crowds, mobs, and social movements. The term is mainly associated with early theorists in this area, such as Gustave Le Bon.

2. the scientific study of these phenomena.

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Psychology term of the day

November 27th 2024

psychoanalytic play technique

psychoanalytic play technique

a method of child analysis developed by Melanie Klein during the 1920s, in which play activity is interpreted as symbolic of underlying fantasies and conflicts and substitutes for free association. The therapist provides toys for the child and encourages free, imaginative play in order to reveal the child’s unconscious wishes and conflicts.