In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is assertiveness. Wikipedia explains that assertiveness can be seen as falling in between passive communication styles and aggressive styles. Assertiveness training is a type of behavioural therapy developed in the 1960s that includes increasing awareness of one’s own …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s terms are trauma vs. PTSD. I wanted to take a look at the difference between experiencing trauma and having PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Personally, I believe that I have experienced trauma, but I don’t meet the criteria for PTSD. So is …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s terms are hope and hopelessness. Wikipedia defines hope as “an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.” Psychologist Charles …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is vulnerability. The word vulnerable is derived from the Latin word vulnerare, which means to be wounded. There are different ways in which we may be vulnerable, including socially and cognitively. In a diathesis-stress model, vulnerability refers to biological and …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is invalidation. Validation conveys acceptance, along with a recognition that someone’s thoughts, feelings, or reactions are understandable. It also serves to communicate that the relationship is important. It doesn’t necessarily mean agreeing or approving, something I think is a …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is attachment theory. Psychologists John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth originally developed attachment theory, which links emotional bonds in social relationships, human development, and evolutionary influences. Attachment in early life Infants automatically seek attachment to familiar caregivers, and display attachment …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is narcissism, along with narcissistic personality disorder. You can find narcissism everywhere on the internet these days, although it’s not always used accurately. The term derives from Greek mythology and the story of Narcissus, who fell in love with …
What Is… Narcissism & Narcissistic Personality Disorder Read More »
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s terms are shame and guilt. Guilt and shame are sometimes used synonymously, but they’re actually two distinct constructs that focus on different things being bad or wrong. Both are social emotions in that they arise from the way we …
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is judgementality. [As a quick spelling geek comment, judgementality is spelled with an e after the g, while judgmental is more commonly spelled without an e.] According to Psychology Today, being judgmental involves getting satisfaction out of making …
