Find over 25,000 psychological definitions


primal envy

in the object relations theory of Melanie Klein, envy that is first expressed in the infant’s coveting of the mother’s breast, leading to the child’s fantasized desire to spoil or destroy the good object that the breast represents (see good breast).

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

September 8th 2024

drift

drift

n.

1. a reduction in variation in genetic traits that can occur when sampling from continually smaller groups, such that some traits ultimately become excluded from possibility.

2. a reduction in the reliability of technical instruments orin the accuracy of observers over time. See instrument drift; observer drift.