Enmeshment is a family pattern in which there are no psychological boundaries between the family members. Hence, the family members seem psychologically fused together or enmeshed. The enmeshed family members seem to have no separate identities. Instead, identify with each other and seem to live each other’s lives. The enmeshed family members are overly involved …
Metacommunication can be defined as ‘communication about communication’.1 In its simplest form, the communication process involves a sender who sends a message to a receiver. Think of receiving communication as buying a new gadget. The store owner is the sender, the gadget is the message, and you’re the receiver. If the store owner simply hands …
A liminal space is a space between spaces. A liminal space is a boundary between two points in time, space, or both. It’s the middle ground between two grounds, the mid-structure between two structures. When you’re in a liminal space, you’re neither here nor there, neither this nor that. At the same time, you’re both …
Memory in psychology is defined as the persistence of learning. You can learn, recognize, and recall information. This shows your mind has an in-built storage system for information. In this article, I’ll briefly discuss the types of memory in psychology. Then, I’ll explain them in detail in the next sections. Types of memory in psychology …
Many people, including psychology students, teachers, and professionals, find the concepts of classical and operant conditioning confusing. So I decided to provide a simple explanation of classical and operant conditioning processes. It can’t get any simpler than what you’re about to read. Classical and operant conditioning are two basic psychological processes that explain how humans …
“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.” – Epictetus The above quote captures the essence of Cognitive Behavioural Theory (CBT). Cognition refers to thinking. Cognitive Behavioural Theory talks about how cognition shapes behavior and vice versa. There’s a third component to the theory- feelings. CBT explains how …
Do you know what’s the single biggest factor causing problems in relationships? It’s a phenomenon called fundamental attribution error based on a Social Psychology theory called Attribution Theory. Before we talk about the reasons for fundamental attribution error, let’s properly understand what it means. Consider the following scenario: Sam: What’s the matter with you?Rita: It …
Gaslighting someone means manipulating their perception of reality so that they begin to question their own sanity. The manipulation is so effective that a person being gaslighted comes to doubt their ability to perceive reality and recall events from memory accurately. Simply put, person A perceives something about person B, who denies it and accuses …
This article will explore what dissociation means in psychology and then briefly go over the different types of dissociation. Lastly, we’ll touch on the connection between dissociation and trauma. Imagine how people react when tragedy strikes, be it a death in the family, a natural disaster, a terror attack, anything. Let’s take the example of …
Neurosis generally refers to a mental disorder that is characterized by feelings of anxiety, depression, and fear that are disproportionate to the circumstances of a person’s life but not completely incapacitating. In this article, however, we’ll look at neurosis from the psychoanalytic perspective. It states that neurosis is the result of mental conflict. This article is based …