In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term is not so much a single term as a group of terms that fall within the umbrella of Freudian psychoanalytic theories. Love him or hate him, Sigmund Freud was quite remarkable in terms of his impact on the … Continue reading What is… Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term is emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence involves the ability to recognize emotions in both the self and others, and then make decisions that take into account those emotions. The first noted use of the term dates back to 1964. … Continue reading What is… Emotional Intelligence
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: dreaming We all have dreams, whether we remember them or not, but what exactly are they? The reality is that no one really knows for sure. There are a few things we do know, though. Dreams occur mostly … Continue reading What is… Dreaming
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: enmeshment Enmeshment was first described by family therapist Salavador Minuchin. It occurs when there is an extreme lack of boundaries, which prevents healthy differentiation into autonomous individuals. It tends to be seen most often in families, although it … Continue reading What is… Enmeshment
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: imposter syndrome. I've seen a number of people write about this lately, so I don't remember anyone specific to mention for inspiring this post. The term imposter syndrome was first used in a 1978 paper in the journal … Continue reading What is… Imposter Syndrome
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's terms: repression and suppression This is a follow-up to a recent post on defense mechanisms, which are based on the work of Sigmund Freud. Suppression and repression are both examples of defense mechanisms, and they serve the purpose of removing … Continue reading What is… Repression and Suppression
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: defense mechanisms The concept of defense mechanisms was originally proposed by Sigmund Freud. They're strategies that are used unconsciously in order to protect the ego when faced with uncomfortable feelings. A number of defense mechanisms have been identified … Continue reading What is… a defense mechanism
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: Psychological stress It seems that there's a day/week/month for just about anything these days, and the International Stress Management Association has declared this week to be International Stress Awareness Week. I've written before about how stress affects the … Continue reading What is… Psychological Stress
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: just world fallacy. The just world fallacy, also known as the just world hypothesis, is a common type of cognitive bias – a shortcut that the mind unconsciously takes when considering the world around us. Do you think … Continue reading What is… the just world fallacy
They may not be politically correct, but the terms psycho killers and psychotic killers get tossed around rather freely. Sometimes people will assume that to do horrific things people must be psychotic. But is that accurate? The notion that behaviours that make no sense must come from psychosis may originate from a few different mistaken … Continue reading Are “Psycho Killers” Psychotic?
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: unconditional positive regard Unconditional positive regard was first proposed by humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers. It involves accepting another person without judgment as a human being who has value. It's not about liking a person necessarily or accepting their … Continue reading What is… Unconditional positive regard
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: self-efficacy Essentially, self-efficacy refers to our belief in our ability to get shit done. Or, for a more textbook definition, there's this quote from psychologist Alfred Bandura: "Perceived self-efficacy refers to belief in one’s agentive capabilities, that one … Continue reading What is… Self-Efficacy
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: folie à deux Folie à deux is the more commonly recognized name for what's known as shared psychotic disorder in the DSM-5. It's a rare condition that involves shared delusions between two or more people who are in … Continue reading What is… Folie à deux
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's terms: jealousy and envy The terms jealousy and envy are often used synonymously, but they actually refer to two separate, although related, concepts. Envy occurs when there is a sense of personal lacking compared to another person's abilities, achievements, … Continue reading What is… jealousy & envy
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's terms: ego dystonic & ego sytonic. The terms ego dystonic and ego syntonic come from the field of psychoanalysis, and were coined by Sigmund Freud in 1914. Ego syntonic ideas match up with the ego's needs and view of … Continue reading What is… Ego Dystonic & Ego Syntonic