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eroticism

n.

1. the quality of being sexually arousing or pleasurable or the condition of being sexually aroused.

2. a preoccupation with or susceptibility to sexual excitement.

3. the use of sexually arousing themes, images, or suggestions in entertainment or the arts.

4. in psychoanalytic theory, the pleasurable sensations associated not only with stimulation of the genitals but also with nongenital parts of the body, such as the mouth or anus (see anal eroticism; oral eroticism). Also called erotism. See also autoeroticism; erotization. —erotic adj.

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Psychology term of the day

July 27th 2024

object constancy

object constancy

1. in object relations theory, the ability of an infant to maintain an attachment that is relatively independent of gratification or frustration, based on a cognitive capacity to conceive of a mother who exists when she is out of sight and who has positive attributes when she is unsatisfying. Thus, an infant becomes attached to the mother herself rather than to her tension-reducing ministrations; she comes to exist continuously for the infant and not only during instances of need satisfaction. This investment by an infant in a specific libidinal object indicates that he or she no longer finds people to be interchangeable.

2. see perceptual constancy.