fixation
Inability to detach
Fixation is an intense, often obsessive focus on something.
In psychology, it describes an unhealthy attachment to a person, object, or idea: She developed a fixation on her ex-boyfriend.
The word implies preoccupation beyond what's reasonable or healthy.
In technical contexts, fixation refers to making something stable or stationary—chemical fixation preserves biological specimens, and visual fixation is holding the eyes steady on a point.
Sustained single-minded attention
- attentionFocused mental awareness
- gazeFixed, intent look
- stareProlonged fixed gaze
- intentPlanned purpose
absorption · engrossment · single-mindedness · tunnel vision · zeroing in · lock-on · honing · targeting
Absorbing mental focus
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
- maniaIntense, consuming obsession
- monomaniaFixation on single idea
- idée fixePersistent dominating thought
unhealthy attachment · intrusive thoughts · perseveration · hung up · stuck on · rumination · fetish · addiction
Steadily increasing in degree
- fasteningJoining two parts together
- securingMaking firmly fixed
- clampingFixing firmly with pressure
- anchoringFastening securely to position
bolting · pinning · bracketing · hold · grip · stabilization · immobilization · locking
Knowledge things persist unseen
- transitional objectAttachment substitute for children
- security blanketSoothing attachment object
- bondingForming close connections
- imprintingRapid early learning attachment
mother figure · arrested development · Freudian · developmental stage · libidinal · psychosexual · infantile · regression
Maintaining something's condition
- formalinAqueous preservative solution
- histologyStudy of tissue structure
- embeddingPlacing within surrounding mass
- cross-linkingBonds joining parallel chains
microscopy · staining · cellular · fixative
Shifting of one's gaze
- saccadeQuick eye movement
- fovealOf the eye's focus pit
- readingInterpreting written text
- trackingMonitoring location over time
dwell time · eye tracking · pupil · retinal · oculomotor · vergence · accommodation · binocular
concentration
Sustained single-minded attention
intent · absorption · engrossment · single-mindedness · tunnel vision · zeroing in · lock-on · honing · targeting · eye contact
preoccupation
Absorbing mental focus
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
- maniaIntense, consuming obsession
- monomaniaFixation on single idea
idée fixe · unhealthy attachment · intrusive thoughts · perseveration · hung up · stuck on · rumination · fetish · addiction · craving
mounting
Steadily increasing in degree
anchoring · bolting · pinning · bracketing · hold · grip · stabilization · immobilization · locking · screw
object permanence
Knowledge things persist unseen
- transitional objectAttachment substitute for children
- security blanketSoothing attachment object
- bondingForming close connections
imprinting · mother figure · arrested development · Freudian · developmental stage · libidinal · psychosexual · infantile · regression · unresolved
preservation
Maintaining something's condition
- formalinAqueous preservative solution
- histologyStudy of tissue structure
- embeddingPlacing within surrounding mass
cross-linking · microscopy · staining · cellular · fixative
eye movement
Shifting of one's gaze
tracking · dwell time · eye tracking · pupil · retinal · oculomotor · vergence · accommodation · binocular · visual processing
- contemplationcontemplation, meditation, reflection, pondering, musing
- interestinterest rate, compound interest, simple interest, accrued interest, curiosity
- visionsharp, eye, visual perception, sight, eyes
- Anxietyanxiety, nervousness, panic, worry, generalized anxiety
- evolutionevolution, natural selection, mutation, adaptation, speciation
- behaviorshabit, aggressive, agitation, conduct, passive
fixationindifference
Lack of interest
apathy · disinterest · unconcern · disregard · detachment
fixationflexibility
Ability to adapt easily
adaptability · open-mindedness · letting go · detachment · acceptance
- oral fixationPsychological attachment to mouth activities
- mother fixation
- nitrogen fixationConverting inert gas to ammonia