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oral sadism

in classical psychoanalytic theory, the primitive urge to use the mouth, lips, and teeth as instruments of aggression, mastery, or sadistic sexual gratification. This impulse is believed to originate in the oral-biting phase of infancy.

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Psychology term of the day

February 21st 2025

Hoover’s sign

Hoover’s sign

a diagnostic test for neurological (as distinct from psychological) hemiplegia in which the individual in a reclining position attempts to raise the paralyzed leg: An individual with true hemiplegia reflexively presses down the heel of the healthy leg during the test. The absence of the downward movement is a positive Hoover’s sign and suggests psychogenic paresis or malingering. [Charles Franklin Hoover (1865–1927), U.S. physician]