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territorial aggression

the act of defending a defined space (a territory) by fighting or threatening intruders of the same species. See also territoriality.

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Psychology term of the day

December 19th 2024

regression in the service of the ego

regression in the service of the ego

in psychoanalytic theory, the adaptive circumvention of normal ego functioning in order to access primitive material (see primary process), often associated with the creative process. [first described by Swiss-born U.S. psychoanalyst Ernst Kris (1900–1957)]