In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: attribution theory When something happens, we have a natural tendency to want to know why, so we seek out cause and effect relationships. Attribution theory considers how we attribute events to certain factors. An early influence in attribution … Continue reading What is… attribution theory
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: locus of control Locus of control refers to who/what he hold responsible for what happens in our lives. This concept was first identified by psychologist Julian B. Rotter in 1954. With an internal locus of control, we believe … Continue reading What is… locus of control
I first learned about the concept of cognitive deconstruction a while back when I reviewed Jesse Bering's book Suicidal: Why We Kill Ourselves. He wrote about it as a process of narrowed thinking that can occur leading up to a suicide attempt. The American Psychological Association defines cognitive deconstruction as: "a mental state characterized by … Continue reading Cognitive Deconstruction and the Lead Up to Suicide
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: attention We are constantly bombarded with a steady stream of stimuli, both internal and external. Attention is the process by which we narrow our focus to certain pieces of information while excluding others. Visual attention appears to consist … Continue reading What is… attention
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: DARVO response to sexual assault allegations DARVO is an acronym to describe a pattern of responses that sexual offenders may display when they are faced with accountability for their actions. Before getting into what DARVO stands for, I'll … Continue reading What is… a DARVO Response to Sexual Assault Allegations
I think we judge. We all judge, even if we don't like to admit it, and that's okay. Or is it? I generally think of myself as pretty open-minded. I think people should embrace whatever viewpoints they want to embrace, as long as they're not channelling those views into harmful actions against others. If I … Continue reading Are you judgmental?
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: Munchausen syndrome by proxy While Munchausen by proxy is likely the name that's most recognizable, the name for the disorder in the current version of the DSM (the DSM-5) is factitious disorder imposed on another . I'll use the … Continue reading What is… Munchausen by Proxy
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: cognitive biases Do you think you're biased? Well, your brain certainly is. Cognitive biases are some of the shortcuts your brain takes to make tasks easier and more automatic. Sometimes that's helpful, but often it's not, especially when … Continue reading What is… a cognitive bias
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's term: Antisociality For some reason I have a very clear memory of a moment shortly after my nursing career began. I was at work, and was saying something about being antisocial. One of the psychiatrists looked at me and … Continue reading What is… antisociality
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: Maslow's hierarchy of needs In 1943 psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed of model of human motivation that was based on a hierarchy of different levels of needs. He is considered to be the founder of the humanistic psychology approach, … Continue reading What is… Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's terms: Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation We need motivation to do pretty much anything. But where does it come from, and does the source of the motivation matter in terms of the outcomes? Self-determination theory is one way of looking … Continue reading What is… intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's term: conformity According to Psychology Today, conformity is "the tendency to align our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours with those around us." From an early age, we learn to mimic the behaviours we see around us. In order to gain … Continue reading What is… conformity
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's term: personality trait vs. disorder Wikipedia defines personality traits as "habitual patterns of behaviour, thought, and emotion" that are mostly stable across time and context. Some traits fall on a continuum, such as introversion/extraversion. It's unclear the extent to … Continue reading What is… a personality trait vs. disorder
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's term: Stockholm syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a type of psychological bond that forms between a captor and a hostage. The hostage develops positive feelings toward the captor and their cause, and negative feelings toward law enforcement. While it masquerades … Continue reading What is… Stockholm syndrome?
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's term: diathesis-stress model Okay this week's term may sound a bit obscure, but bear with me, because it's actually quite relevant. It's a model that is used to explain the course of a mental disorder based on the interaction … Continue reading What is… a diathesis-stress model?