cathexis

2 definitions found

cathexis - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Cathexis \Cath*ex"is\, n. [Gr. ka`qexis, keeping.]
     1. (Psychiatry) the process of investing mental, emotional,
        or libidinal energy or significance in an object, person,
        or idea.
        [PJC]
  
     2. (Psychiatry) the emotional or libidinal energy invested in
        an object, person, or idea.
        [PJC]

cathexis - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  cathexis
      n 1: (psychoanalysis) the libidinal energy invested in some idea
           or person or object; "Freud thought of cathexis as a
           psychic analog of an electrical charge" [syn: cathexis,
           charge]