Attachment of the child to the parent of the opposite sex, accompanied by envious and aggressive feelings toward the parent of the same sex. These feelings are largely repressed (i.e., made unconscious) because of the fear of displeasure or punishment by the parent of the same sex. In its original use, the term applied only to the boy or man.
Excessive emotional attachment, involving conscious or unconscious incestuous desires, of a son in relation to his mother.
A condition in which a boy feels sexually attracted to his mother and sees his father as an obstacle.
In psychoanalysis, repressed sexual feeling of a child toward the parent of the opposite sex and feelings of competition with the parent of the same sex, especially a boy’s sexual feeling toward his mother and sense of competition with his father.
A possessive, romantic attachment of son to mother that, according to the theory developed by Sigmund Freud, is buried deep within the unconscious during childhood. The dilemma of attraction to the mother is resolved by the boy’s subsequent identification with his father, from whom he learns moral values. This complex, an idea repressed into the subconscious, is named after a hero from ancient Greek drama who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. The male equivalent of the Oedipus complex is the Electra complex, an attachment of daughter to father.
Repressed sexual feelings of a child for its opposite-sexed parent, combined with rivalry toward the same-sexed parent: a normal stage of development, first described by Freud. The end of the Oedipus complex in children is marked by a loss of sexual feelings toward the opposite-sexed parent and an increase in identification with the same-sexed parent. Arrest of development at the Oedipal stage is said to be responsible for sexual deviations and other neurotic behavior.
A description used by psychoanalysts for the subconscious attraction of a child to its parent of the opposite sex. This is accompanied by a wish to get rid of the parent of the same sex. The origin of the phrase lies in the Greek story in which Oedipus, without knowing his parentage, kills his father and marries his mother. It has been suggested that the arrest of psychological development at the Oedipal stage may cause neurosis and sexual dysfunction.
Abnormally intense love of the child for the parent of the opposite sex. This love continues in adulthood, and usually involves jealous dislike of the other parent. Most often, it is the love of a son for his mother.
In psychoanalysis, the term refers to the unconscious, sexually-oriented emotional bond a child develops towards the parent of the opposite gender. This is often demonstrated through subsequent feelings of jealousy and a wish to supplant the parent of the same gender.
Intense fixation of a son on his mother, often accompanied by feelings of resentment and aggression towards his father. This phenomenon is also known as the mother complex.
The abnormal erotic attachment of a male child to his mother; named after the mythological Greek hero who killed his father and married his mother.