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object relations

1. an individual’s relationship to his or her entire external world.

2. in psychoanalysis, an individual’s relationships to his or her objects (real and imagined), that is, the persons, activities, or things that function as sources of connection as well as libidinal or aggressive gratification.

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Psychology term of the day

January 19th 2025

imageless thought

imageless thought

thinking that occurs without the aid of images or sensory content. The Würzburg school upheld the existence of imageless thought on the basis of introspective reports, such as experimental participants’ stated ability to name a piece of fruit without picturing it. Edward Bradford Titchener and others in the structural school opposed this view (see structuralism). See Bewusstseinslage.