Object cathexis refers to which kind of investment?

Object cathexis refers to which kind of investment?

• A. Investment of libidinal energy
• B. Investment in real thing
• C. Investment in image
• D. Energy resulting from Eros

Answer: (C)

Object cathexis means directing psychosexual energy toward an object. The target of that energy isn’t limited to a tangible, real thing; it can be an internal representation as well—an image of a person or thing that the mind treats as the object of attachment or investment. That’s why “investment in image” is the best description: the energy is being allocated to a mental image or representation of an object, not just to energy in general or to a concrete object alone.

Object cathexis means directing psychosexual energy toward an object. The target of that energy isn’t limited to a tangible, real thing; it can be an internal representation as well—an image of a person or thing that the mind treats as the object of attachment or investment. That’s why “investment in image” is the best description: the energy is being allocated to a mental image or representation of an object, not just to energy in general or to a concrete object alone.