Libido
Psychological energy underlying sexual desire and life processes.
Last updated
In common usage, the term libido describes a psychological energy associated with sexual desire, and it can also be seen as the motivational force behind other drives, such as a mother's love for her child.[1] Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist who founded psychoanalysis, first introduced the term.[2] Neurobiological regulation of innate needs, including sexuality, involves the nucleus accumbens, where neurotransmitters like dopamine and hormones such as testosterone and estrogen mediate internal perception.[3]
Quick Facts
- Originator
- Sigmund Freud
- Field
- Psychoanalysis
- Key concept
- Psychological energy of sexual desire and life drives
- Related figure
- Carl Gustav Jung
- Neurobiological correlates
- Nucleus accumbens
- testosterone
- oestrogen
- dopamine
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Freud viewed libido as passing through a series of developmental stages in the individual, including the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages.[4] Jung described libido as manifesting through five primary instincts: hunger, sexuality, activity, reflection, and creativity.[5] Freud characterized libido as a quantitative energy linked to instincts encompassed by the word "love."[6] Freud's initial concept of libido was limited to sexual needs, but he later broadened it to a universal drive, locating its primary source in the id.[2]
A meta-analysis published in 2022, which included data from over 620,000 participants across 211 studies, indicated that, on average, men report higher sex drives than women.[7] The 2022 review also reported an 80% overlap in the distributions of sex drive between men and women.[7]
What the research sources say
Phillips reported that decreased libido disproportionately affects patients with depression, and that treating one condition frequently improves the other.[8] Phillips noted that up to one half of patients surveyed before and after starting therapy with SSRIs reported a decline in libido with medication use.[8] Sharp stated that Jung specifically distanced his concept of libido from that of Freud, for whom it had a predominantly sexual meaning.[9] Sharp reported that Jung associated libido with intentionality, in line with his belief that the psyche is a self-regulating system.[9]
Touraille and Ågmo found that in non-human primates, observational data showed comparable rates of sexual activity between males and females.[10][11] Touraille and Ågmo suggested that sex differences found in self-report questionnaires may reflect social learning of sexual scripts rather than true differences in underlying sexual motivation.[10][11] Touraille and Ågmo's conclusion was that, across mammalian species, the inherent strength of sexual motivation appears similar in males and females.[10][11]
References
- Wikipedia, "Libido" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Libido" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sex and Society", Marshall Cavendish, November 2025, p. 462 }}{{rs; Freud, "Massenpsychologie und Ich-Analyse", p. 99; Sigmund Freud, The Ego and the Id, On Metapsychology (Penguin Freud Library 11) p. 369.; "Libido", APA Dictionary of Psychology; Akhtar, "A Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis", Karnac, 2009, p. 159 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Libido" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Romantic love: a mammalian brain system for mate choice", Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci., December 2006, p. 2173–86 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Libido" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sigmund Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (PFL 2) p. 131; Otto Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (1946)p. 101 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Libido" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: “The Concept of Libido” Collected Works Vol. 5, par. 194.; Ellenberger, "The Discovery of the Unconscious", Basic Books, 1970, p. 697; "Psychological factors determining human behavior", 1936, p. 5 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Libido" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: S. Freud, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, 1959 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Libido" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Frankenbach, "Sex drive: Theoretical conceptualization and meta-analytic review of gender differences", Psychological Bulletin, September 2022, p. 621–661 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Phillips, "Depression and sexual desire", American Family Physician, 15 August 2000, p. 782–786. facts only, no text reused. aafp.org
- Sharp, "Libido", frithluton.com, 15 October 2011. facts only, no text reused. frithluton.com
- Priscille Touraille, "Sex Differences in Sexual Motivation in Humans and Other Mammals: The Role of Conscious and Unconscious Processes", Behavioral Sciences (2024), doi:10.3390/bs14040277. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
- Wikipedia, "Libido" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Touraille, "Sex Differences in Sexual Motivation in Humans and Other Mammals: The Role of Conscious and Unconscious Processes", Behavioral Sciences, March 2024, p. 277 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Libido (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Libido (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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