nirvana principle

in classical psychoanalytic theory, the tendency of all instincts and life processes to remove tension and seek the stability and equilibrium of the inorganic state—that is, death. This is the trend of the death instinct, which Sigmund Freud believed to be universal.

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Psychology term of the day

December 19th 2024

Bekhterev’s nystagmus

a form of nystagmus that develops after the loss of a second labyrinth. Nystagmus occurs after the destruction of the first of the two labyrinths but eventually subsides, only to recur as a compensatory effect after loss of the second labyrinth. Also called compensatory nystagmus. [Vladimir M. Bekhterev]