Psychology Terms A–Z

A warm, tender feeling toward another person that forms the foundation of caring and intimacy in relationships.

An attachment wound is a deep emotional scar formed in childhood from relationships with caregivers who were unable to provide consistent safety, comfort, or love when it was needed most.

A psychological theory that explains how early emotional bonds with caregivers shape later relationship patterns, safety, and trust.

Attachment trauma is a deep psychological wound that occurs when a child's early bond with their primary caregiver is disrupted by abuse, neglect, inconsistency, or sudden separation — affecting how that person relates to others throughout life.

A Canadian-American psychologist (1925–2021) who founded Social Learning Theory and introduced the concept of self-efficacy. His Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that people learn through observation, not only direct experience.

American psychologist (1913–2007) and founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). He proposed the ABC model, showing that irrational beliefs — not events themselves — cause emotional distress.

The anchoring effect is the phenomenon where the first piece of information encountered acts like an anchor, shaping all subsequent judgments and forming the reference point for decisions.

Night Eating Syndrome is a disorder characterized by a pattern of eating excessively after the evening or waking up during the night to eat. It's not simply a late-night snacking habit — it involves a powerful urge to eat at night that makes it difficult to fall asleep without doing so.

A therapeutic program that fosters psychological growth and healing through outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, and survival skills in nature. It is especially effective for adolescents dealing with behavioral problems and emotional difficulties.

Medication management in mental health treatment is the process of systematically monitoring and adjusting a medication's effectiveness and side effects to achieve the best possible treatment outcomes. Working closely with a specialist to safely regulate your medication is at the heart of this process.

Drug dependence is a physical or psychological state in which a person finds it difficult to function normally without a certain substance.

Medication resistance refers to a state in mental health treatment where a prescribed medication does not produce the expected results. If a medication isn't working, there's no need to give up — there are many treatment options to explore.

Pharmacotherapy is a method of treating mental health problems through medication. It helps relieve symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and sleep problems by regulating the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Experiencing conflicting emotions — such as love and resentment, or attraction and fear — toward the same person, situation, or decision at the same time.

A mood disorder that includes at least one manic episode and often periods of depression.

A mood disorder that includes hypomania and episodes of major depression.

A mood disorder in which periods of unusually elevated mood (mania or hypomania) alternate with periods of deep depression. It is often called 'manic depression.'

Positive symptoms are experiences that get 'added on' to normal functioning — things like hearing voices or holding false beliefs. They are among the most recognizable features of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and tend to respond well to medication.

Parenting style refers to the pattern of how parents raise their children, categorized by levels of warmth and control.

A professional evaluation used in custody disputes to understand what arrangement may best support a child’s safety and well-being.

Dichotic listening is an experimental method where different sounds are presented simultaneously to each ear to study attention and information processing. It helps us understand how we focus on specific sounds among many.

A brain imaging technique that uses radioactive tracers to observe brain activity and metabolism in real time. It shows how the brain is actually working at any given moment.

A brain imaging technique that lets us see the brain's activity as a visual image. It shows which areas are becoming active.

An ambivert is a personality type that falls between introversion and extraversion, flexibly shifting between social energy and solitary recharging depending on the situation.

Feeling wronged is an intense emotion that arises when you believe you have been treated unjustly or unfairly. It's important to find healthy ways to process and release this feeling.

Language development is the process by which children learn to speak and develop the ability to communicate with others.

Verbal abuse refers to the use of words to wound someone's spirit and destroy their self-esteem. Repeated insults, criticism, threats, and ridicule can leave deep psychological trauma.

The part of the mind that balances desires and morality by taking reality into account.

A pioneer of learning psychology who proposed the Law of Effect and the theory of trial-and-error learning. He scientifically demonstrated that rewarded behaviors are repeated while punished behaviors decrease.

A master of social psychology and humanistic psychoanalysis who explored the psychology of love and freedom. Through 'The Art of Loving,' he taught that genuine love is a skill and a practice.

Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist who proposed the theory of psychosocial development. He believed that human development does not end in childhood but unfolds across eight stages throughout the entire lifespan, and he was the one who introduced the concept of identity into psychology.

A theory that divides life into 8 stages, each with a specific psychological challenge that needs to be resolved.

A curve that shows how quickly we forget newly learned information over time. Most forgetting happens within the first day after learning, and repeated review is the key to retaining memories.

Endorphins are the brain's natural painkillers that reduce pain and create feelings of pleasure.

A pioneering researcher on death and dying who proposed the famous Five Stages of Grief model. She was a compassionate scholar who deeply understood and empathized with those experiencing loss.

The Yerkes-Dodson Law states that a moderate level of tension and arousal leads to the best performance, while too little or too much arousal causes performance to decline.

The phenomenon of experiencing deeper psychological growth as a result of struggling with major life adversity, hardship, or crisis.

A family system where communication and relationships between members are unhealthy, hindering the emotional growth of those within it.

Historical trauma refers to the phenomenon where large-scale traumatic events experienced by a specific group or ethnic community are passed down across generations. The wounds of the past can continue to affect the mental health of people living today.

A unique therapeutic technique that prescribes intentionally performing the very problem behavior or symptom in order to bring about change. It's a counter-intuitive approach that helps restore a sense of control over symptoms.

The emotional reactions a therapist experiences toward a client, which can offer valuable insight into the therapeutic process.

Subliminal perception is the phenomenon where stimuli below the level of conscious awareness can have subtle influences on our minds and behavior. Even when we don't realize we've noticed something, it can still quietly shape our feelings and preferences.

Role conflict is the tension you feel when you are expected to fulfill two or more roles whose demands are incompatible with each other.

Role rigidity occurs when family members become locked into fixed roles that cannot flexibly change or adapt over time.

Role overload is a state of psychological and physical exhaustion that occurs when a person has too many roles and responsibilities to manage at once. It commonly appears when someone must simultaneously fulfill multiple roles at work, home, and in society.

Role ambiguity is the state of feeling confused because your job scope, responsibilities, and expectations are unclear.

Retroactive interference happens when newly learned information disrupts your memory of something you learned earlier. It's like memorizing a new phone number and then finding it hard to recall your old one.

A small attempt to get attention, closeness, comfort, or emotional response from someone important to you.

A small, repeated practice that helps people feel close and emotionally connected.

A personality pattern where a person constantly wants to be the center of attention and expresses emotions in exaggerated ways.