lovemap

n. a person’s mental image of the ideal lover, the ideal love relationship, and ideal sexual activity with the partner, expressed in fantasy and in actual sexual behavior. It incorporates issues of sexual orientation and also of desire for deviant behaviors (see paraphilia). [proposed by John Money]

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Psychology term of the day

January 3rd 2025

syphilis

n. a contagious disease caused by infection with the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum. Syphilis is usually a sexually transmitted disease, but it can be transmitted through a break or cut in the skin or mucous membrane; it can also be transmitted by an infected pregnant woman to an unborn child. Untreated, syphilis progressively destroys body tissues, particularly those of the heart and nervous system. See also cerebral syphilis; general paresis.