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For alternate usage, see complexity. In general usage complexity often tends to be used to characterize something with many parts in intricate arrangement

In psychology a complex is generally an important group of unconscious associations, or a strong unconscious impulse lying behind an individual's otherwise mysterious condition: the detail varies widely from theory to theory. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Many observers throughout history have argued that there are influences on Consciousness from other parts of the Mind. However their existence is quite widely agreed upon in the area of depth psychology at least, being instrumental in the systems of both Freud and Jung. Depth psychology is a broad term that refers to any psychological approach examining the depth (the subtle or unconscious parts of human experience Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded They are generally a way of mapping the psyche, and are crucial theoretical items of common reference to be found in therapy. In Psychoanalysis, the psyche (ˈsaɪki refers to the forces in an individual that influence thought, Behavior and Personality.

The term "complex," or "feeling-toned complex of ideas," was adopted by Carl Jung when he was still a close associate of Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded (Theodor Ziehen is credited with coining the term in 1898. Georg Theodor Ziehen ( November 12, 1862 - 1950 was a German Neurologist and Psychiatrist. ) Jung described a "complex" as a 'node' in the unconscious; it may be imagined as a knot of unconscious feelings and beliefs, detectable indirectly, through behavior that is puzzling or hard to account for. Many observers throughout history have argued that there are influences on Consciousness from other parts of the Mind.

Jung found evidence for complexes very early in his career, in the word association tests conducted at the Burghölzli, the psychiatric clinic of Zurich University, where Jung worked from 1900-1908. Word Association is a common Word game involving an Exchange of words that are associated together Burghölzli is the common name given for the University of Zurich psychiatric hospital In the word association tests, a researcher read a list of words to each subject, who was asked to say, as quickly as possible, the first thing that came to mind in response to each word. Researchers timed subjects' responses, and noted any unusual reactions--hesitations, slips of the tongue, signs of emotion. Jung was interested in patterns he detected in subjects' responses, hinting at unconscious feelings and beliefs. Many observers throughout history have argued that there are influences on Consciousness from other parts of the Mind.

In Jung's theory, complexes may be related to traumatic experience, or not. There are many kinds of complex, but at the core of any complex is a universal pattern of experience, or archetype. An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer Some of the key complexes Jung wrote about were the anima (a node of unconscious beliefs and feelings in a man's psyche relating to the opposite gender) and animus (the corresponding complex in a woman's psyche); and the shadow (Jung's term embracing any aspect of psyche which has been excluded from conscious awareness). For the album by The Creatures see Anima Animus The Anima and Animus are in Carl Jung 's school of Analytical psychology, the For the album by The Creatures see Anima Animus The Anima and Animus are in Carl Jung 's school of Analytical psychology, the In Jungian psychology, the shadow or " shadow aspect " is a part of the Unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses shortcomings Many Jungian complexes appear in complementary pairs: for example, the puer, or eternal youth, often appears in relationship to the senex, or archetypal old man. Puer Aeternus is Latin for eternal boy and represents a personality associated with youth or immaturity Senex is Latin for old man. In Ancient Rome the title of Senex was only awarded to elderly men with families who had good standing in their village A puer complex might manifest as an individual's unconscious dread of growing up, of losing one's romantic ideals or freedom; a senex complex, by contrast, might be seen in a person who, without seeming to understand why, is driven to act out an "old man" role, in creative or destructive ways. Puer Aeternus is Latin for eternal boy and represents a personality associated with youth or immaturity Senex is Latin for old man. In Ancient Rome the title of Senex was only awarded to elderly men with families who had good standing in their village Only when a complex results in destructive behavior would it be seen as pathological; otherwise, a Jungian view of psyche accepts the presence of diverse complexes in ordinary health.

Jung defined the ego as one complex among many. Id, ego, and super-ego are the three parts of the " Psychic apparatus " defined in Sigmund Freud 's structural model of "By ego I understand a complex of ideas . . . Hence I also speak of an ego-complex. . . . the ego . . . merely being one complex among many" (Jung, 1971: par. 706).

Jung understood complexes as splinter psyches. In Psychoanalysis, the psyche (ˈsaɪki refers to the forces in an individual that influence thought, Behavior and Personality. "Today we can take it as moderately certain that complexes are in fact 'splinter psyches' " (Jung, 1969: par. 204).

One of the key differences between Jungian and Freudian theory is that Jung's thought posits several different kinds of complex, and emphasizes duality or plurality rather than unity as a basic condition of the human psyche. Freud held that the Oedipus complex was universal--reflecting developmental challenges that face every child--and was the central complex in most or all psychopathology. The Oedipus complex, in Freudian Psychoanalysis, is named after the Greek mythical character Oedipus, who unknowingly kills his father

Once Jung broke from Freud and the two men went their own ways, forming their own disciplines behind them, there was briefly a movement in some of Freud's circle to remove all of Jung's work and terminology from their school of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior Freud himself however refused, and so the name "complex" stayed.

Contents

List of proposed psychological complexes

Freudian

Jungian

Other

Used in Cultural Terms

"Rubik's Complex" (see Rubik's cube)

"Ostrich Complex"

"Stand Alone Complex" (see Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)

References

See also

This article describes the term in psychology For the experimental metal band see Neurosis (band.
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