Social withdrawal is a behavioral pattern where a person pulls back and avoids social situations and interpersonal relationships. It involves actively distancing oneself from others, often in response to anxiety, low self-esteem, or past negative experiences.
Social support refers to the emotional, practical, and informational help and assistance we receive from the people around us.
When others are watching, people tend to perform better on easy tasks but worse on difficult ones.
Social loafing is the phenomenon where individuals put in less effort when working as part of a group than when working alone. It tends to occur when personal contributions are less visible or when people expect others to pick up the slack.
Learning by observing and imitating others. Bandura's theory is the most well-known example.
Declarative memory refers to memories of facts and experiences that you can consciously recall and put into words. It's the 'knowing what' type of memory.
The more options we have, the harder it becomes to decide and the less satisfied we feel afterward. Too many choices can actually lead to stress and regret.
It's the ability to focus on specific information out of countless stimuli around you. What you notice changes depending on what's on your mind.
Successful aging refers to growing older while maintaining physical health, cognitive function, and social engagement in a fulfilling way. It's not just about living longer — it's about living well.
Sexual dysfunction refers to a condition where persistent difficulties occur at any stage of the sexual response cycle, causing significant distress.
Solomon Asch was a social psychologist famous for his conformity experiments. He experimentally demonstrated that people tend to conform to group opinion even when the majority is clearly wrong, revealing how social pressure influences individual judgment.
Passive communication is a style where you go along with others' opinions without expressing your own thoughts or feelings.
Convergent Thinking is a meaningful concept in psychology that helps us understand ourselves and others better. It's an important part of emotional well-being and personal growth.
Sleep plays a core role in storing and organizing memories — this is a well-established finding in brain science.
A shame spiral is a vicious cycle where one shameful experience triggers deeper and deeper negative thoughts, pulling you further down with each loop.
Coping with shame means working through the painful feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with who you are, and rediscovering your own worth.
Shaming is a form of psychological abuse where someone intentionally makes another person feel deep shame in order to destroy their self-esteem and gain control over them.
Cyclothymic Disorder is a meaningful concept in psychology that helps us understand ourselves and others better. It's an important part of emotional well-being and personal growth.
Screen time refers to the hours spent looking at screens such as smartphones, computers, and TVs. Excessive screen time can have negative effects on both mental and physical health.
Schema Theory is about the mental frameworks (schemas) we use to understand the world and process new information. These frameworks, built from past experiences, help us interpret and make sense of new situations.
The Stroop Effect is when your reaction slows down and you feel confused because the meaning of a word and its color don't match. It happens when automatic processing and conscious processing clash with each other.
Grief stages describe the emotional changes people go through after losing someone they love or experiencing a major loss. There is no fixed order or timeline for grief — mourning at your own pace is completely natural.
Coping with Envy is a meaningful concept in psychology that helps us understand ourselves and others better. It's an important part of emotional well-being and personal growth.
Physical abuse is the intentional act of causing bodily harm through hitting, pushing, pinching, or similar actions. It leaves deep wounds not only on the body but also on the mind.
Existential anxiety is the unease that arises from fundamental questions about the meaning of life, death, and freedom.
A deep, heavy anxiety arising from confronting the fundamental conditions of human existence — death, meaninglessness, freedom, and isolation — a universal human experience.
A deep anxiety and confusion experienced when confronting fundamental questions about existence — such as the meaning of life, purpose, freedom, and death.
Psychological distance refers to how far removed an object or event feels from your direct, immediate experience. You can feel this distance across four dimensions: time, space, social relationships, and probability.
Reactance is the strong motivational urge to reclaim a freedom when it feels restricted or threatened. It's the reason why being told 'don't do that' often makes you want to do it even more.
A psychological autopsy is a systematic post-mortem investigation into a deceased person's psychological state and the circumstances of their death, used to determine whether a death was a suicide and to understand how it came about.
Psychological needs are fundamental inner requirements that must be met for mental health and well-being. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness are the three core psychological needs.
Psychological Capital refers to four core psychological resources: self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience. The richer these resources, the more flexibly you can overcome life's challenges.
Psychological richness is the feeling that life has grown deeper and broader through diverse, interesting experiences. It represents a distinct dimension of a good life, separate from happiness or meaning.
Psychogenic pain refers to real, genuine pain that arises from psychological factors rather than any identifiable physical cause. It is not imagined or fabricated — it is truly felt through the brain and nervous system.
Loss of safety is the state of feeling that the world is no longer safe after a traumatic or shocking experience. It involves the collapse of the sense of security that was once taken for granted.
Implicit memory is memory that works automatically without any conscious effort to recall it. Classic examples include riding a bike or writing — things your body just remembers how to do.
Implicit bias refers to unconscious prejudices you hold without realizing it. These are attitudes or stereotypes about certain groups or people that arise automatically, even without any intention.
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.
A professional evaluation used in custody disputes to understand what arrangement may best support a child’s safety and well-being.
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.
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.
A family system where communication and relationships between members are unhealthy, hindering the emotional growth of those within it.
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.
Infant development refers to the physical, cognitive, and emotional growth that occurs from birth to around age 2. This period lays the foundation for lifelong development and is one of the most critical stages in human life.
The misinformation effect is when inaccurate information encountered after an event distorts our original memory of it. Our memories can change more easily than we might think.
Online therapy is a way of receiving psychological counseling and treatment through video calls, phone, or chat over the internet. You can access professional mental health care without the limitations of time or location.
Traumatic loss is the experience of losing someone precious in a sudden, shocking way — bringing grief and trauma together at the same time.
Extrinsic motivation comes from external reasons such as rewards, recognition, or avoiding punishment.
A respectful space where difficult conversations can still happen honestly.
A friendship breakup is the experience of a once-cherished friendship coming to an end. It can bring deep grief and a sense of loss that rivals the pain of a romantic breakup.
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