primal scene

in classical psychoanalytic theory, the child’s first observation, in reality or fantasy, of parental intercourse or seduction, which is interpreted by the child as an act of violence (see phallic sadism). See also primal fantasy.

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Psychology term of the day

February 25th 2025

Yerkes–Dodson law

a law stating that the relation between motivation (arousal) and performance can be represented by an inverted U-curve (see inverted-U hypothesis). [Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson(1879–1955), U.S. psychologists]