Crossword clues for ambivalence
The Collaborative International Dictionary
ambivalence \ambivalence\, ambivalency \ambivalency\n.
mixed feelings or emotions; uncertainty or vacillation in making a choice.
(Psychol.) the simultaneous existence within a person of both positive and negative feelings toward another person or action, or toward an object (as of attraction and revulsion), resulting in internal conflict.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"simultaneous conflicting feelings," 1924 (1912 as ambivalency), from German Ambivalenz, coined 1910 by Swiss psychologist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) on model of German Equivalenz "equivalence," etc., from Latin ambi- "both" (see ambi-) + valentia "strength," from present participle of valere "be strong" (see valiant). A psychological term that by 1929 had taken on a broader literary and general sense.
Wiktionary
n. 1 The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings (such as love and hate) towards a person, object or idea. 2 A state of uncertainty or indecisiveness.
WordNet
n. mixed feelings or emotions [syn: ambivalency]
Wikipedia
Ambivalence is a state of having simultaneous conflicting reactions, beliefs, or feelings towards some object. Stated another way, ambivalence is the experience of having an attitude towards someone or something that contains both positively and negatively valenced components. The term also refers to situations where "mixed feelings" of a more general sort are experienced, or where a person experiences uncertainty or indecisiveness.
Although attitudes tend to guide attitude-relevant behavior, those held with ambivalence tend to do so to a lesser extent. The less certain an individual is in their attitude, the more impressionable it becomes, hence making future actions less predictable and/or less decisive. Ambivalent attitudes are also more susceptible to transient information (e.g., mood), which can result in a more malleable evaluation. However, since ambivalent people think more about attitude-relevant information, they also tend to be more persuaded by (compelling) attitude relevant information than less ambivalent people.
Explicit ambivalence may or may not be experienced as psychologically unpleasant when the positive and negative aspects of a subject are both present in a person's mind at the same time. Psychologically uncomfortable ambivalence, also known as cognitive dissonance, can lead to avoidance, procrastination, or to deliberate attempts to resolve the ambivalence. People experience the greatest discomfort from their ambivalence at the time when the situation requires a decision to be made. People are aware of their ambivalence to varying degrees, so the effects of an ambivalent state vary across individuals and situations. For this reason, researchers have considered two forms of ambivalence, only one of which is subjectively experienced as a state of conflict.
Usage examples of "ambivalence".
That evening, reproached by associates and tortured by ambivalence, he committed suicide.
Fully recognized as portentous, the question was exhaustively discussed, with the confident assurances of some matched by the doubts and ambivalence of others, both military and civilian.
I understand your ambivalence towards your coming child but try to control it.
She told me your ambivalence towards Gillian, a girl child, would affect the fetus, and in all probability lead to stillbirth.
Zelzony squirm in her chair, waking again her ambivalence toward this amalgam of metal and personality.
Gary came to realize that boredom would be their biggest enemy, boredom that led to ambivalence, ambivalence that would lead the companions to the same state as Jacek and his wretched band.
Perhaps not, but the Ancient of Days has a strange ambivalence when it comes to George Brinton McClellan.
Every physical comportment is the immanent product of a struggle or a pact among competing demonic forces: hence the violent, yet often surprisingly delicate, ambivalence with which the body expresses heterogeneous or conflicting intentions.
Wolf suspected he was only responding to his apparent ambivalence toward the Chaniwa way of life.
When Inanna insisted she have another, it was easy to show ambivalence, both attraction and reluctance at the same time.
Yet another scrape with death had done nothing to alter his ambivalence toward life.
All is ambivalence, all is complicated and strange, and try getting that into a movie.
CD, with the drag queens, the talk shows only serve to heighten the ambivalence about cross-dressing: Is the true CD a stable, middle-aged, married white-collar worker or is he a flamboyant, effeminate homosexual who takes female hormones and has breast implants?
Yet this ambivalence is not unique to cross-dressing, for when it comes to dealing with their sexuality people seem to want either therapy, catharsis, or pornography.
However, the sexual ambivalence surrounding cross-dressing seems more intense because the behavior is unconventional.