good breast

in the psychoanalytic theory of Melanie Klein, the internalized representation (see introjection) of the mother’s breast as nourishing and satisfying. According to Klein, the infant first experiences the mother and the nourishing breast as part-objects with positive qualities—the good breast—and negative qualities—the bad breast. Klein thought that the development of these internalized representations of the breast was the first manifestation of splitting.

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

peptide

n. a short chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Peptides are usually identified by the number of amino acids in the chain. For example, dipeptides have two amino acids, tripeptides three, tetrapeptides four, and so on. See also polypeptide; protein.