strangulated affect

in psychoanalytic theory, an inhibition or retention of the normal discharge of emotion, leading to a substitute discharge in the form of physical symptoms. This theory was advanced in Sigmund Freud’s early formulations to explain the dynamics of conversion hysteria; it was later supplanted by the concept of repression.

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Psychology term of the day

October 18th 2024

social representation

a system, model, or code for unambiguously naming and organizing values, ideas, and conduct, which enables communication and social exchange (i.e., at the levels of language and behavior) among members of a particular group or community. [term coined and theory elaborated by Romanian-born French psychologist Serge Moscovici (1925– )]