infantile fixation
- noun
- /ˈɪnfənˌtaɪl fɪkˈseɪʃən/
- Archaic
:
fijación infantil
- His constant need for attention was a clear sign of infantile fixation, as he reacted to criticism like a child.
Examples
-
She often showed signs of infantile fixation by throwing tantrums when things did not go her way.
-
The therapist noted that his behaviors reflected an infantile fixation that was stemming from unresolved childhood issues.
-
Robbe-Grillet's narrators, in both fiction and film, suffer from various kinds of obsessional neurosis; the secret of Citizen Kane is revealed as an infantile fixation resulting from mother separation.
Academic text (1990)
Synonyms
3
7.9
A state when emotional or sexual development stops early and affects adult behavior
2
7.5
A condition when a person's body or mind stops growing normally before it finishes
A condition where a person keeps baby body or mind features past the usual age
Antonyms
How Immature
- Specialized
2
7.5
- Archaic
1
9.9
4
3.9
14
4.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'infantile' (childish, juvenile) modifies 'fixation' (a halted development or persistent attachment), so the meaning 'a fixation characterized by infantile/childish qualities or arrested early development' can be inferred from the parts. Although 'fixation' can be a clinical term, the basic idea of being 'stuck at a childish stage' is transparent and follows ordinary adjective+noun logic found cross-linguistically.
Etymology
Infantile fixation is an idea from early psychologists that gives a clear image: someone is 'fixed' or 'stuck' at an infantile stage and the fixation keeps them acting like a child. So it means showing childlike ways or immature behavior even as an adult.