fixation

1. an obsessive preoccupation with a single idea, impulse, or aim, as in an idée fixe.

2. a shortened name for visual fixation.

3. in psychoanalytic theory, the persistence of an early stage of psychosexual development or the inappropriate attachment to an early psychosexual object or mode of gratification, such as anal or oral activity; this fixation limits the person’s ability to negotiate the tasks of later psychosexual stages. —fixate vb.

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Psychology term of the day

November 22nd 2024

spirit photography

the attempt, popular in the late 19th century, to render visible the spirits of deceased individuals by photography. In particular, it was claimed that spirits often left faint imprints on photographs of their loved ones. The first alleged spirit photograph was produced in 1862 by the U.S. engraver William H. Mumler, who was subsequently tried (inconclusively) for fraud. Most of the supposed spirit images produced at this time seem to have been created using a simple process of double exposure or specially prepared plates.