Skip to main content
cathexis

cathexis

1 9.9
A strong feeling that someone has for a person or idea
  • noun
  • /kəˈθɛksɪs/
  • NSFW
translation icon : cathexis
  • In psychoanalysis, cathexis refers to the emotional investment an individual places in a relationship or idea.
  • Body cathexis
  • Cathexis Scale

And here he also brings in a technical term, he says instinctual cathexes seeking discharge.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • What is the psychology of cathexis to technological implements?

    Academic text (1991)
  • Indeed, Barthes was obsessed by "the great game of the powers of speech," a cathexis that impelled his interest.

    Academic text (2005)
  • In terms of cathexis, the valued object is being transformed into an item that is the epitome of worthlessness.

    Academic text (1997)
  • For example, Tucker and Maxwell (1992) found the body cathexis scores of females participating in strength training to be greater than those of a control group.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Green, drawing on Catherine Stimpson's psychoanalytic model of cathexis, says that the identifying reader may have a "passionate sense of connection to the text that seeks both to penetrate and to encompass, to inhabit the text and to create it" (18).

    Academic text (2017)
  • The artist's cathexis on her subject allowed her to convey deep emotions through her painting.

  • His intense cathexis towards his favorite book was evident in the way he spoke about its characters.

Synonyms

charge
vscathexis
  • Specialized
3 9.7

Emotional energy attached to an idea or person

focuses on the concentrated directing of that energy toward a specific person or object

How Focused

obsession
262 5.1
fixation
24 7.5
cathexis
  • NSFW
1 9.9
attachment
89 3.3
interest
1.0
concern
1.5

Surface Forms

cathexis singular
cathexes plural

Etymology

The word cathexis comes from Greek parts kata- 'down' and hexis 'to hold'. Think of it as 'holding' your emotional energy on one person or idea — like keeping a bright light on something — which is why in psychology it means concentrating strong feelings or interest on that object.