Functionalism concerns itself with how psychological phenomena and behavior help someone adjust and accommodate to their surroundings. William James, in his opposition to the structuralists, was more concerned with the psychological functioning rather than the components of consciousness. He was also the first to emphasize applied psychology, with functionalism’s influence noted in educational and evolutionary […]
In psychology, fixation is defined as the unbalanced preoccupation with a particular phase, target, or behavior, often grounded in unresolved conflicts or unfulfilled needs. This construct was coined by Sigmund Freud in his psychosexual theory, where he claimed individuals may become fixated at a stage of development if pivotal conflicts are not resolved. He also […]
A first impression is created within the time it takes to describe it. Psychologically, one’s first impression takes into account physical presentation, posture, gestures, prosody, and behavior, most often within a few moments. First impressions reserved for subsequent interactions heavily rely on cognitive biases, predominantly the halo effect, where one positive trait leads to a […]
Falsifiability refers to the ability of a theory in a scientific discipline or a hypothesis to be proven false or invalidated. In psychology, this means that the evidence and experimentation to support a theory must also include evidence and experimentation to refute the theory. Karl Popper, a philosopher, emphasised the importance of this concept in […]
Frotteurism is considered an intense paraphilia which is defined by sexual urges or fantasies of touching and rubbing against a victim who does not give consent, most often found in crowded public spaces. It is a pattern of sexual arousal which is considered deviant in the psychological sense due to its need of close and […]
The false-belief task is a well-structured instrument used to assess the development of the ‘theory of mind’ concept; it denotes having the ability to understand that other people may believe something that differs both from the facts and what the individual knows personally. An example would be the Sally-Anne task where a child is said […]
In the field of psychology, flashbulb memories are vividly detailed and long-lasting memories of emotional events and tape recordings of unfortunate experiences. Such overwhelming memories are taken in a snapshot in such a way that a certain “photograph” in mind consists of the event, the people, and the entire occurrence of the moment. For instance, […]
Free association is a psychological technique that was originally developed by Sigmund Freud as part of psychoanalysis. It’s a basic process in psychoanalysis where a person says whatever is on his mind, without any inhibition, no matter how random, embarrassing or unrelated it may seem. The purpose is to get past conscious control and uncover […]