psychodynamics

[ sahy-koh-dahy-nam-iks ]

noun(used with a singular verb)Psychology.
  1. any clinical approach to personality, as Freud's, that sees personality as the result of a dynamic interplay of conscious and unconscious factors.

  2. the aggregate of motivational forces, both conscious and unconscious, that determine human behavior and attitudes: Mythologists see the myths as having developed through the psychodynamics of the human social psyche.

Origin of psychodynamics

1
First recorded in 1870–75; psycho- + dynamics

Other words from psychodynamics

  • psy·cho·dy·nam·ic, adjective

Words Nearby psychodynamics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use psychodynamics in a sentence

  • For as I said before, even an ultimately developed psychodynamics can't do everything.

    The Sensitive Man | Poul William Anderson
  • Doctor Stone's university course had not included psychodynamics in the female species.

    Sunlight Patch | Credo Fitch Harris
  • Any of the standard texts on psychodynamics in education will show you the pitfalls to avoid when dealing with identical siblings.

    Anything You Can Do ... | Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for psychodynamics

psychodynamics

/ (ˌsaɪkəʊdaɪˈnæmɪks) /


noun
  1. (functioning as singular) psychol the study of interacting motives and emotions

Derived forms of psychodynamics

  • psychodynamic, adjective
  • psychodynamically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012