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fusion

n. the blending into a unified whole of two or more components or elements. This general meaning is applied in a variety of different psychological contexts. In perception, for example, it may denote a blending of sounds received by the two ears (binaural fusion) or of images falling on the two retinas (binocular fusion), whereas in psychoanalytic theory, it denotes instinctual fusion, the merging of different instincts, as in the union of sexual and aggressive drives in sadism. The term is also sometimes applied to a state in which the normal differentiation between the self and the environment seems to recede or disappear, so that the individual experiences a sense of oneness with other individuals or with nature. —fuse vb.

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Psychology term of the day

November 23rd 2024

haptic Müller-Lyer illusion

haptic Müller-Lyer illusion

an illusion in touch in which tangible lines that end in a pattern with arrowheads that face toward each other are judged as longer than lines that end with arrowheads that face away from each other. See also haptic illusion. [Franz Müller-Lyer (1857–1916), German psychiatrist and sociologist]