imago

n. an unconscious mental image of another person, especially the mother or father, that influences the way in which an individual relates to others. The imago is typically formed in infancy and childhood and is generally an idealized or otherwise not completely accurate representation. The term was originally used by Sigmund Freud and the early psychoanalysts, and its meaning has carried over into other schools of psychology and psychotherapy.

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Psychology term of the day

January 28th 2025

typology

n. any analysis of a particular category of phenomena (e.g., individuals, things) into classes based on common characteristics, such as a typology of personality. —typological adj.