something hidden or potential, not directly manifested, but capable of exerting an influence. Example of using the term: Latency period is the time that elapses from the beginning of the stimulus to the occurrence of a response. One of the first uses of the term “latent” in psychology was in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, when he introduced the concept of “latent dream content” – the hidden meaning of dreams, a situation in which literal dream events (explicit content) hide unconscious thoughts, fears, desires, or needs (latent content).