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impossible figure

a shape or form in which different components produce conflicting and mutually exclusive interpretations.

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Psychology term of the day

January 14th 2025

despair

despair

n.

1. the emotion or feeling of hopelessness, that is, that things are profoundly wrong and will not change for the better. Despair is one of the most negative and destructive of human affects, and as such it is a primary area for psychotherapeutic intervention.

2. in Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, see integrity versus despair.