Talk:Ambivalence

girl, interrupted
The meaning of this word is discussed in the book/movie Girl, Interrupted. Is this cultural reference worth adding?Fishystick 15:58, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
 * No. Cumulus Clouds (talk) 23:54, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

Also in Threesome (film), but I wouldn't suggest its inclusion here, either. Llamabr (talk) 18:43, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Remove content
Half or more of this article (that is anything that isn't relevant to psychoanalysis), should be moved to the wiktionary, per: WP:NOTDICTIONARY Shahar Goldin (talk) 23:04, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I disagree. The coverage is not just giving a dictionary definition, and keep in mind that the concept of ambivalence is used in other areas of psychology besides psychoanalysis. --Jcbutler (talk) 14:50, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Ambivalent vs Indifferent
"It is common to use the word "ambivalent" to describe a lack of feelings one way or the other towards issues or circumstances. A more specific and conventionally accepted word to use in this case, however, would be "indifferent". I hardly think that this section properly relays the fact that 'indifference' is an incorrect usage of the word; I also would argue that it is not a conventionally accepted misuse. Perhaps: "A frequent misuse of "ambivalent" is as a substitution for "indifferent" to describe a lack of feelings one way or the other towards issues or circumstances." fauxcouture&lt;T&gt; 22:26, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Although related words and phrases redirect here I believe the issue with feelings that overlap or have complexity is not properly covered in the article as it is and it is certainly not entirely fit into the the 'wavery' nuance of this specific word. Feelings can be targeted at specific aspects eg St Paul in his letters repeatedly writes of feeling joy and sorrow together regarding the situation and faith journey of the churches and friends he writes to or thinks of; but is quite specific which feeling is attached to which aspect. Also related: Alexithymia or Disaffectation - referring to the presentation of variable degrees of emotional blindness; or unstable and rapid-firing emotional sequences such as with Labile affect and high sensitivity as a Highly sensitive person and borderline personality disorder.Kathybramley (talk) 19:43, 4 July 2012 (UTC)


 * unstable and rapid-firing emotional sequences -- very much on target! Would say "indifferent" implies zero stress, frustration, anxiety, as in: (love or hate with strong emotion) vs (indifferent). Ambivalent strikes me as (love with hate in "unstable and rapid-firing emotional sequences), two unresolved, non integrated, highly polar positions, each held strongly and simultaneously or very nearly simultaneously. See Splitting (psychology), Paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, Love–hate relationship and Psychoanalytic concepts of love and hate, and the "see also" links under each. Any professional references, especially referring to "unstable and rapid-firing emotional sequences"? Rick (talk) 19:28, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

Bleuler (1911)
Would love a cite. 1911 is out of copyright? Some long, original passage quotes might be terrific. I understand Bleuler was an exceptionally sharp guy. Rick (talk) 15:03, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

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Bipolar Mental Condition
The mental disorder (or possibly disease) of being bipolar is an example of this ambiance being applied for a duration, so that one state follows another. Since both situations remain in the mind of the subject it is fair or correct to classify the bipolar condition as an example of ambiance, yet so far there has been no mention of this in the article. Macrocompassion (talk) 10:39, 8 February 2020 (UTC)

Opposites at Once in Combination
Surely a person who is exhibiting ambient behavior is undecided because he/she is oscillating between both opposing trends. In practice we are always debating by ourselves which policy or tendency is the one to adopt as certain. Much of our lives are spent in not making the decision, but in its discussion it can be claimed that there is a continuous existence of both tendencies at once. This is not the same thing as the dialectic materialism which results in a third state, and ambiance never results in a satisfactory conclusion, although it does often force some kind of a decision to eventually result.

It seems to me that an attitude of positivism with only one direction in mind is an artificial condition created by the individual who is being forced (due to social pressure) to self-invent him/her-self about a matter that normally would remain undecided.Macrocompassion (talk) 11:02, 8 February 2020 (UTC)