Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsDrives and Psychic EnergyWhat Is Cathexis?What Is Anticathexis?

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Drives and Psychic Energy

What Is Cathexis?

What Is Anticathexis?

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According to psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, the cathexis and anticathexis control how the id, what Freud calls the first location of psychic energy, utilizes its energy. Cathexis refers to the id’s dispersal of energy while anticathexis serves to block inappropriate uses of this energy. Learn more about how this process works.

A drive has two parts: a biological need and a psychological need. For example, the state of hunger leads to both a physical need for food and a psychological desire to eat. These two forces work together to form a drive to eat food when it is needed.

The id is the first location where all of this psychic energy can be found. The id is responsible for satisfying basic needs and desires and operates through theprimary process. This energy eventually moves through the other aspects of personality after the id—the ego and the superego.

This investment of energy in an object, idea, or person is known as cathexis.However, since theiddoes not distinguish between a mental image and reality, it may not create direct action to satisfy a need. Instead, the id may simply form an image of the desired object that satisfies in the short term but does not fulfill the need in the long term. For example, a person who is hungry may create a mental image of a desired food rather than actually eating.

Remember, the id does not distinguish between reality and fantasy. Because of this, the id may act in ways that are unrealistic or not socially acceptable. Fortunately, the ego can also act to block irrational, immoral, or unacceptable actions from the id. This is known as an anticathexis and acts to block or suppress cathexes from being utilized.​

Repression is perhaps the best-known anticathexis. Repression serves to keep undesirable actions, thoughts, or behaviors from coming into conscious awareness. However, repressing these unwanted id urges takes a considerable investment of energy. Because there is only so much energy available, the other processes may be shortchanged without the energy used in the process of anticathexes.

1 SourceVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johnson B, Flores Mosri D.The neuropsychoanalytic approach: Using neuroscience as the basic science of psychoanalysis.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1459.doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01459Additional ReadingEncyclopedia.com.Cathexis. Updated March 11, 2020.Freud, S.The Ego and the Id. Vienna: Internationaler Psycho-analytischer Verlag; 1923.Lapsley, DK, & Stey, PC. Id, ego, and superego. In: Ramachandran V, ed.Encyclopedia of Human Behavior. Academic Press; 2011.

1 Source

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johnson B, Flores Mosri D.The neuropsychoanalytic approach: Using neuroscience as the basic science of psychoanalysis.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1459.doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01459Additional ReadingEncyclopedia.com.Cathexis. Updated March 11, 2020.Freud, S.The Ego and the Id. Vienna: Internationaler Psycho-analytischer Verlag; 1923.Lapsley, DK, & Stey, PC. Id, ego, and superego. In: Ramachandran V, ed.Encyclopedia of Human Behavior. Academic Press; 2011.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Johnson B, Flores Mosri D.The neuropsychoanalytic approach: Using neuroscience as the basic science of psychoanalysis.Front Psychol. 2016;7:1459.doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01459

Encyclopedia.com.Cathexis. Updated March 11, 2020.Freud, S.The Ego and the Id. Vienna: Internationaler Psycho-analytischer Verlag; 1923.Lapsley, DK, & Stey, PC. Id, ego, and superego. In: Ramachandran V, ed.Encyclopedia of Human Behavior. Academic Press; 2011.

Encyclopedia.com.Cathexis. Updated March 11, 2020.

Freud, S.The Ego and the Id. Vienna: Internationaler Psycho-analytischer Verlag; 1923.

Lapsley, DK, & Stey, PC. Id, ego, and superego. In: Ramachandran V, ed.Encyclopedia of Human Behavior. Academic Press; 2011.

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