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
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 we 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 acronym … 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