Regression (psychology)

In psychoanalytic theory, regression is a defense mechanism involving the reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of psychosexual development, as a reaction to an overwhelming external problem or internal conflict.[1]

Sigmund Freud invoked the notion of regression in relation to his theory of dreams (1900) and sexual perversions (1905), but the concept itself was first elaborated in his paper "The Disposition to Obsessional Neurosis" (1913). In 1914, he added a paragraph to The Interpretation of Dreams that distinguished three kinds of regression, which he called topographical regression, temporal regression, and formal regression.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Regression". APA Dictionary of Psychology. American Psychological Association. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  2. ^ Akhtar, Salman. "Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis" (PDF). Karnac. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  3. ^ Freud, Sigmund (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams. Allen and Unwin. p. 548.