Sublimation (psychology)
In psychology, sublimation is a mature type of defense mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are consciously transformed into socially acceptable actions or behaviour, possibly converting the initial impulse in the long term. Freud defines sublimation as the process of deflecting sexual instincts into acts of higher social valuation, being "an especially conspicuous feature of cultural development; it is what makes it possible for higher psychical activities, scientific, artistic or ideological, to play such an important part in civilised life". Wade and Tavris present a similar view stating that sublimation is when displacement "serves a higher cultural or socially useful purpose, as in the creation of art or inventions." Sublimation allows us to act out socially unacceptable impulses by converting them into a more acceptable form. For example, a person experiencing extreme anger might take up kick-boxing as a means of venting frustration. Freud believed that sublimation was a sign of maturity (indeed, of civilization), allowing people to function normally in culturally acceptable ways.
Read more about Sublimation (psychology): Origin, Psychoanalytic Theory, Sexual Sublimation, How To Distinguish A Valid Sublimation From A Morbid Sexualization, Sublimation According To Jung, In Fiction