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oceanic feeling

an expansion of consciousness beyond one’s body (limitless extension) and a sense of unlimited power associated with identification with the universe as a whole. According to psychoanalytic theory, this feeling originates in the earliest period of life, before the infant is aware of the outside world or the distinction between the ego and nonego. Oceanic feelings may be revived later in life as a delusion or as part of a religious or spiritual experience.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

postural aftereffect

postural aftereffect

a change in posture that arises as an aftereffect of prior stimulation. For example, when viewing a moving scene, a person typically leans in the direction of the motion. When viewing ends, body posture returns to a vertical position and then, briefly, leans in the opposite direction.