Glossary of Psychology, Counselling,
Hypnotherapy, and Life Coaching Terms

Abnormal psychology

The study of normal and abnormal behaviour and personality disorders. This branch of psychology also studies the origins and treatment of abnormal behaviours and disorders. people who practice this branch of psychology are called counselling or clinical psychologists.

Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970)

Maslow is recognised as the father of Humanistic Psychology. This form of psychology focuses on an individual’s need for survival, self-growth, and self-actualisation. Maslow shows human needs from survival instinct to self-actualisation in a famous diagram called the Hierarchy of Needs. The basic principle of Humanistic Psychology centres on the belief that people are innately good, and that any deviation from this tendency produces social and psychological problems.

Acute schizophrenia

This disorder is now classified as a chronic disorder, meaning it is not an intermittent disorder as is implied by the term ‘acute’.

Ageism

A term describing prejudice against a person’s age, expressed similarly to racism and sexism. Ageism implies prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination of individuals in a particular age group.

Agoraphobia

An extreme fear of being in public or open spaces, from which escape may be a problem or an embarrassment.

Altruism

Unselfish behaviours or actions carried out for the benefit of another individual, and without consideration of selfish interests. Altruism classifies behaviour aimed at helping others without any reciprocal benefit.

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which an individual weighs less than 85% of their natural weight. It is caused by a self-induced perception of being overweight.

Attribution

Refers to the way we infer the cause of behaviour by ourselves and by other people. Our interpretation may be rational or irrational. For example, if somebody fails in a course of study or in their employment, we may attribute this to lack of commitment or responsibility. If you yourself succeed in any endeavour, you attribute this to your own personal qualities.

Aversive conditioning

Implies the use of punishment to stop undesirable behaviour. It is considered less effective than reinforcement.

Aversion therapy

A form of therapy for individuals who are attracted to harmful stimuli such as drugs and alcohol. An attractive stimuli is coupled with a harmful stimuli in order to attract a negative reaction to the harmful stimuli.

Basic trust

Children who have secure attachments to their parents carry perceptions that the world is predictable and reliable. This is based on loving and sensitive parental attitudes and not from external factors such as the environment.

Behaviour analysis (behaviour therapy)

An area of psychology that places emphasis on environmental factors of learning and subsequent behaviour.

Behaviour modification

The application of learning to improve desired behaviours and eliminate problematic behaviour.

Biomedical therapies

Remedies that may be applied where intrusive methods have failed to produce a satisfactory outcome. Treatment methods include chemical or physical interventions such as drug therapy, surgery, or electroconvulsive therapy.

Bulimia nervosa

A behavioural disorder characterised by binge eating, often followed by efforts to purge the body of excess calories.

Bipolar disorder

A mood disorder, also known as manic depression, that manifests itself through mood swings ranging from euphoria to long periods of depression. The patient may become incoherent, irrational, hyperactive, and unrealistic while undergoing a mood swing. Bipolar disorder is thought to be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Catharsis

A behavioural habit of vocalising repressed emotions.

The Cassandra Phenomenon

A metaphor that has its origin in the ancient city of Troy. It refers to one or more individuals predicting an impending disaster that is not credible or ill received. Such predictions may include ecological or financial disasters made by scholars.

Cognitive development

A normal progression of intellectual development as typically seen in the way children grow up and learn new skills and perceptions in areas such as thought, imagination, reasoning, and problem solving.

Chronic stress

Stress symptoms that cause an individual to express unrealistic demands that go beyond the resources available for dealing with them.

Circadian rhythm

The rhythm determined by an internal biological clock that controls cyclical body activities, normally lasting 24 to 25 hours.

Community psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with understanding people as they live in their respective communities. Deals with issues such as substance abuse, poverty, school, community development, delinquency, and many more issues that affect the risk factors, diversity, and wellbeing of people within a community.

Cultural perspective

The psychological factors involved in cross-cultural differences that may cause undesirable attitudes and behavioural problems.

Decision aversion

A behavioural problem that causes an individual to avoid the need to confront and make decisions in regards to normal, day-to-day issues. The more difficult a problem, the greater the aversion.

Delusions

False or irrational beliefs that are maintained despite contrary evidence.

Dissociative disorder

A disorder in which identity, memory, and consciousness are unclear and poorly integrated.

Eccentricity

Characterised by strange or unusual behaviour that appears in unconventional actions or opinions.

Ego defence mechanisms

Described as conscious or unconscious objections by the ego attempting to defend itself against conflicts encountered in real life.

Emotional intelligence

Intelligence that shows itself as an ability to express, perceive, and appraise emotions accurately. In addition, emotional intelligence enables an individual to think constructively and use emotions effectively when interacting with others.

Equity theory

A theory that applies to work motivation, proposing that workers maintain fair and equitable relationships with relevant individuals in the workplace. The theory also postulates that equitable relationships mean that participants’ outcomes are proportional to their inputs.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to see and interpret complex relationships accurately and solve problems.

Foundational theories

A set of rules that children use to explain their reactions to life and environmental conditions. These reactions are often immature, fanciful, and false.

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

These are two aspects to this hypothesis – frustration sets in when people are prevented from achieving their goals, and the frustration leads to a greater degree of aggression.

Functionalism

Seen in psychology as an alternative to the identity theory of mind and behaviourism. Functionalism proposes that mental states such as beliefs, desires, pain, and others have only a causal relation to other mental states, sensory inputs, and behavioural outputs. Also explained as the perspective of mind and behaviour, and their function in regards to interactions with environmental factors.

Generalised anxiety disorder

A condition in which an individual feels anxious and worried although there are no external threats to worry about. The condition typically lasts six months or longer.

Genes

The biological units of heredity. Genes are discrete sections of chromosomes that transmit personality traits.

Genetics

Refers to the study of inheritance of physical and psychological traits from ancestors.

Healthy living

Involves a lifestyle embracing a healthy diet coupled with exercise and other activities that promote both physical and mental health.

Hierarchy of Needs

A pyramid structure showing the hierarchy of human needs, as designed by Abraham Maslow. These needs are not of equal importance. The hierarchy displays the basic, most important needs at the bottom of the triangle and these are what motivate humans to act as they do, particularly in regards to needs that have yet to be fulfilled.

The most important needs are those regarding survival, while less important ones are referred to as self-actualisation. Those in between include safety and security, such as financial independence and the need to be in a secure relationship. Needs in regards to esteem are also mentioned, with reference to recognition, respect, confidence, and a sense of achievement.

Human behaviour genetics

The study of genetic components that influence differences in behaviours and personality traits.

Humanistic perspective

A psychological model emphasising the human capacity to make rational choices and to develop an individual’s maximum potential.

Humanism

While vague in its origin, humanism today is a philosophical stance that emphasises the value of human beings, both individually and collectively. It encourages critical thinking and evidence over established doctrine or faith. As such, humanism focuses on human conditions that can be studied, proved, and changed if necessary.

Impulsive aggression

Aggression driven by emotion, normally as a result of anger or frustration.

Instrumental aggression

Unlike emotional aggression, instrumental aggression is premeditated and acted on in pursuit of specific goals or aims. It is also called cognition-based and goal-directed aggression.

Inductive reasoning

Following reasoning and evaluation of a particular state of affairs, a conclusion is drawn on the basis of available evidence and past experience.

Job burnout

A condition common with stressful jobs. An individual suffers emotional exhaustion and reduced accomplishments.

Judgement

Conclusions and opinions formed regarding events or people on the basis of critical evaluation of available information and material.

Kinetic information

Non-verbal clues that express how a person is feeling, and the intensity of that emotion experienced. Kinetic information is conveyed by body language in the form of facial expressions, gestures, body movements, and posture.

Law of common fate

A law stating that elements moving in the same direction at the same time and acceleration are grouped together. Herd mentality is one form of such behaviour.

Law of effect

In learning situations, stimulus is more likely to produce a positive response if the response is followed by a reward. The opposite also applies; the response is weakened if it is not followed by a reward.

Levels-of-processing theory

This theory suggests that the deeper information is processed, the more likely it is to be retained in memory.

Lucid dreaming

Theory suggesting that conscious awareness of dreaming is learnable. It goes further by suggesting that a dreamer can control the direction and content of their dreams.

Major depressive disorder

A mood disorder accompanied by feelings of depression over an extended period of time. It does not have the manic highs associated with bipolar disorder.

Mania

Another mood disorder. Unlike depression, manic people feel excited, hyperactive, and optimistic. However, mania is also associated with bipolar disorder, in which people swing from being depressed to manic.

Meditation

A technique for acquiring reduced self-awareness and peace of mind by altering the level of consciousness. Unlike other forms of meditation, transcendental meditation doesn’t focus on breathing, but produces a restful state of mind beyond thinking. This form of meditation is said to synchronise the Alpha and Beta brain waves, and produce a state of calm and enhanced consciousness.

Mood disorder

Disorders that manifest themselves as severe depression, or depression alternating with mania.

Natural selection

Charles Darwin’s theory that species who better adapt to their environment reproduce more successfully than others.

Narcissism

Refers to traits of being self-centred, and an individual focusing only on their own needs and emotions with no regard for others.

Neuroscience

The scientific study of the brain, and behaviours caused by different brain activities.

Online therapy

Therapy sessions provided by a therapist or counsellor over the internet. These may be in the form of email exchanges, live chat, voice counselling, or video conferencing. It is said to produce an improved rate of attendance by clients.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

A mental disorder characterised by an obsession with recurrent thoughts, images, or impulses that occur despite efforts to suppress them. Can also manifest as recurrent, compulsive acts performed in a ritualised manner.

Panic disorder

An anxiety disorder with the added complication of panic attacks. Sufferers experience severe panic attacks that begin with apprehension, fear, or terror. During an attack, an individual suffers symptoms such as chest pain, fear, shortness of breath, and abdominal pain.

This disorder can deteriorate to the stage where a person becomes afraid of staying alone, leaving the house, or being in situations where they are uncomfortable.

Partial reinforcement effect

A behavioural principle that claims that responses acquired under intermittent reinforcement are more difficult to terminate than those acquired with continuous reinforcement.

Personality disorder

A disorder characterised by a person’s inability to think, perceive, and behave in a manner that is considered acceptable in social settings.

Phobia

An irrational fear of an activity, object, or situation that is unreasonable given the absence of a real threat.

Physiological dependence

A state in which one’s body becomes adjusted to and dependent on a drug.

Post-traumatic stress order (PTSD)

A serious anxiety disorder in which a person relives a traumatic incident such as rape, severe injury, or natural disaster. This anxiety manifests itself through distressing recollections, dreams, hallucinations, or flashbacks.

Psychotic disorder

A mental disorder in which a person is either unable to, or has difficulty in testing or verifying reality. The disorder is caused by emotional or perceptual issues.

Psychosomatic disorder

These types of disorders are caused by prolonged emotional stress or other psychological causes.

Rationalisation

The process of rationalising a particular type of behaviour with false or deceptive reasons. It is a defence mechanism discovered by Freud.

Schizophrenia

A psychological disorder caused by defective brain chemistry. People with this disorder suffer delusions and faulty perceptions of the world. They may hear voices in their head or suffer delusions of grandeur. Psychologists differentiate schizophrenia into categories such as disorganised, catatonic, paranoid, undifferentiated, and residual.

Self-actualisation

The top layer (least important) of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model. It represents the inherent need of humans to realise their potential and develop talents, skills, and capabilities.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Behaviour or event that is made self-fulfilling by modified actions or interactions that ensure the occurrence of what was originally predicted.

Self-concept

A person’s perception of his or her attributes, behaviour, and abilities.

Tacit knowledge

Knowledge that is difficult to quantify verbally or in writing because it relies on instinct as much as knowledge, and can only be learned by observation or practice. An example of tacit knowledge is cooking, speaking a foreign language, driving, or growing orchids.

Telepathy

A form of communication that doesn’t rely on speech, writing, or body language. In essence, telepathy relies on mind reading or thought transfer. Modern research does not support the existence of telepathy.

Type A personality or behaviour pattern

A personality characterised by emphasis on competition, aggression, impatience, and at times hostility.

Type B personality or behaviour pattern

A personality characterised by a lesser preference for competition, aggression, and hostility.

Type C personality or behaviour pattern

A type of personality that exhibits passive acceptance and self-sacrifice.

Unconscious motivation

The theory of unconscious motivation can be attributed to both Freud and Maslow. Freud compared the mind to an iceberg, suggesting that only a small part of our conscious mind is part of our awareness. He suggests that the biggest reason for our actions lie beneath the surface. Maslow stated that unconscious motives determine the way people behave and act. His theory is that human needs determine behaviour.

Value theory

Today, value theory attempts to understand what people value from the perspectives of psychology, sociology, and economics. It seeks to explain why, how, and to what degree people view some things as valuable.

Work motivation

The motivation to work can basically be attributed to the need to gain rewards from work: physical, emotional, social, or monetary rewards. The motivation varies depending on age and environmental factors. The motivation can be classified as extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is related to monetary rewards while intrinsic motivation is more concerned with an appreciation of the type of work performed, the company attributes, or other intrinsic reasons.

X chromosome

This has to do with gender selection. There are two types of sex hormones, an X and a Y. The X chromosome is present in both males and females. Females, however, have two X chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y chromosome. The female always contributes an X chromosome while the male either contributes an X or Y chromosome. If the male contributes an X chromosome, a female child is produced; if he provides a Y chromosome then a male child is produced.