ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of psychological complexes based on the early research of C.G. Jung. In his research on the Word Association Experiment (later to become the Word Association Test), Jung noticed patterns of behavior by research subjects experiencing anxiety and stress symptoms during the course of the examination. Jung was able to ascertain that these reactions indicated a deeper psychological problem that he came to call the complex. The Complexes Theory developed from this earlier study and became an intricate aspect of the clinical practice of Analytical Psychology. In the beginning days of the psychoanalytical movement both Freud and Jung engaged in clinical work with patients that explored ego psychology (conscious) as well as unconscious processes. Jung’s work eventually led him to a study and theories of the archetypes and the Collective Unconscious.
