- Keywords
Oedipus Complex - The Oedipus complex is a theory that originates from the Greek myth of Oedipus, in which Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thereby bring disaster on his city and family. Therefore, Sigmund Freud describes the Oedipus complex as a stage in a child's development in which the child experiences an erotic attachment to one parent and hostility toward the other.
Mirror Stage - This constitutes a critical phase in the development of the ego - human infants pass through a stage in which an external image of the body (reflected in a mirror, or represented to the infant through the mother or primary caregiver) produces a psychic response that gives rise to the mental representation of an "I".
Ideal-I - In the mirror stage, the encounter with the image of a whole, stable, autonomous self presents the infant with an ideal image of him- or herself that does not correspond with the infant's present experiential reality. In making a "connection" to this ideal image through identification, the infant enters a lifelong quest to correspond wholly with this Ideal-I.
Fragmented Body - The contrary image of the fragmented body, or of the fundamental vulnerability of the body crops up in dreams of losing body parts or of suffering mutilating injuries.
Gestalt - The German word Gestalt means "pattern" or "figure." As a psychological concept, Gestalt refers to our perception of a form whose meaning exceeds the totality of its component.
Mirror Stage - This constitutes a critical phase in the development of the ego - human infants pass through a stage in which an external image of the body (reflected in a mirror, or represented to the infant through the mother or primary caregiver) produces a psychic response that gives rise to the mental representation of an "I".
Ideal-I - In the mirror stage, the encounter with the image of a whole, stable, autonomous self presents the infant with an ideal image of him- or herself that does not correspond with the infant's present experiential reality. In making a "connection" to this ideal image through identification, the infant enters a lifelong quest to correspond wholly with this Ideal-I.
Fragmented Body - The contrary image of the fragmented body, or of the fundamental vulnerability of the body crops up in dreams of losing body parts or of suffering mutilating injuries.
Gestalt - The German word Gestalt means "pattern" or "figure." As a psychological concept, Gestalt refers to our perception of a form whose meaning exceeds the totality of its component.