(no subject)
These definitions are provided as a reference point, but you DON'T have to use the literal meaning of the prompts. Be creative and interpret them any way you want!
(Note: For those writing outside of the Lost fandom -- this started out as a Lost-only community, so many of the definitions are Lost-centric. Nothing AT ALL against your fandom; I just used Lost as my example because it's the one I know best.)
DEFINITIONS
1. Transference
Intense feelings directed toward the therapist that many clients experience in the process of therapy. (ETA: Hurley mis-defined transference in What Kate Did. Jack's transference of his feelings for Sawyer Kate onto his wood-chopping is actually a defense mechanism called "displacement." BUT, since the Lost writers got to get away with it, you can too! You can define it like Hurley did, or like the Psych Dictionary does, or any damn way you please, because we're doing this for FUN! :) )
2. Daddy Issues
Um, if you watch Lost, you don't need an explanation for THIS! ;)
3. Addiction
You don't have to stick to the standard substance-abuse definition if you don't want to. Boone was "addicted" to Shannon. Jack is "addicted" to control. Be as creative as you want.
4. Ego/Id
Your fic can be about one or both of these concepts. Ego: the part of the personality which maintains a balance between our impulses (id) and our conscience (superego). Id: the part of the personality which contains our primitive impulses such as sex, anger, and hunger.
5. Multiple Personality
The splitting off of one or more aspects of the personality from the conscious mind. (Don't worry about taking this one literally if you don't want to. Everybody on that island has a multiple personality in one way or another!)
6. Inferiority Complex
An individual's belief that they are unworthy.
7. Nature vs. Nurture
Traits an individual inherits genetically vs. those which develop as a function of his/her environment.
8. Phobia
An intense fear of a specific object or situation.
9. Sociopath
An individual who is in repeated conflict with society, does not feel guilt, and does not learn from experience.
10. Approach-Avoidance
The conflict presented when two opposite but equally appealing choices are available but can not both be obtained.
11. Castration Anxiety
According to Freud, the fear a boy in the phallic stage experiences due to a fear that his father will render him powerless if his father finds out about his attraction toward his mother. (Um, yeah, we don't have to take this one literally, either. It's all about the fear of powerlessness.)
12. Collective Unconscious
According to Jung, the content of the unconscious mind that is passed down from generation to generation in all humans.
13. Delusion
False belief system (e.g., believing you are Napoleon, have magical powers, or the false belief that others are 'out to get you,' or that *cough*Sawyer doesn't love Jack*cough*).
14. Fixation
In Freud's theory of psychosexual development, the failure to complete a stage successfully which results in a continuation of that stage into later adulthood.
15. Halo Effect
The tendency to assign generally positive or generally negative traits to a person after observing one specific positive or negative trait, respectively.
16. Fetish
Sexual gratification via inanimate objects or via some part of the body to the exclusion of the person as a whole.
17. Group Think
The tendency for members of a cohesive group to reach decisions without weighing all the facts, especially those contradicting the majority opinion.
18. Instinct
A behavior we are born with and therefore does not need to be learned.
19. Separation Anxiety
Distress caused by the absence of an infant's primary caregiver. (Obviously, most of us won't take this one literally.)
20. Learned Helplessness
A condition that occurs after a period of negative consequences where the person begins to believe they have no control.
21. Rationalization
A defense mechanism where one believes or states an acceptable explanation for a behavior as opposed to the real explanation.
22. Libido
Sigmund Freud’s terminology of sexual energy or sexual drive.
23. Vicarious
Felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another.
24. Skinner Box
A cage designed for animals in operant conditioning experiments. This was developed by B. F. Skinner, considered to be the father of behavioral therapy. He once stated that with the ability to control a child's environment, he could raise a child to become anything he wanted.
25. Placebo Effect
The phenomenon in research where the subject’s beliefs about the outcome can significantly effect the outcome without any other intervention.
26. Obsession
A persistent and seemingly uncontrollable thought.
27. Catharsis
The emotional release associated with the expression of unconscious conflicts.
28. Free Association
A psychoanalytic technique whereby the subject verbalizes whatever thoughts come to mind, whthout structuring or censoring their remarks.
29. Repression
The defense mechanism whereby our thoughts are pulled out of our consciousness and into our unconscious.
30. Denial
The refusal to acknowledge the source of distress.