Social life and human behavior

Protests of 1968

Protests of 1968, the global wave of student, worker, and civil rights unrest spanning Paris, Prague, Mexico City, Chicago, and beyond; May 1968 French general strike, Prague Spring, Tlatelolco massacre, and Chicago DNC protests.

Protocol analysis

Protocol analysis is a cognitive psychology research method in which participants verbalize their thoughts while performing a task, and the transcripts are coded to infer mental processes.

Proxemics

Proxemics, coined by Edward T. Hall in The Hidden Dimension (1966), studies interpersonal distance and cultural space use: four zones (intimate 0-45 cm to public >360 cm), cross-cultural variation, and VR and robot applications.

Psionics

Psionics is a term for the study of psi powers, such as ESP and telepathy, coined by Jack Williamson to label psychic abilities within fiction.

Psyche (psychology)

Psyche (psychology): the mind in its totality, from Greek psychē, vital breath. Covers etymology, Greek origins, Freudian and Jungian psychodynamic uses, translations (anima, Seele, dusha), and its displacement by mind and cognition in neuroscience.

Psychic

A psychic claims to perceive hidden information through extrasensory perception or influence events via psychokinesis; abilities include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. Scientific testing (ganzfeld, mediumship) remains contested, and psychic services form a multibillion-dollar industry.

Psychoanalytic theory

Psychoanalytic theory, founded by Sigmund Freud, holds that behavior is driven by unconscious mental processes. Covers defense mechanisms, psychodynamic therapy evidence versus CBT, Popper's falsifiability critique, Grünbaum's reply, and cultural applications.

Psychobiography

Psychobiography is a qualitative research method applying formal psychological theory to a single notable individual's life, using letters, diaries, and other documents to explain personality and development.

Psychodynamics

Psychodynamics: theory explaining mental life through interacting conscious and unconscious motivational forces (drives, wishes, defenses). Rooted in Freud's psychoanalysis; spans ego psychology, object relations, self psychology; underlies psychodynamic therapy, shown equivalent to CBT in meta-analyses.

Psychohistory

Psychohistory, or psycho-history, is the application of psychology, especially psychoanalysis, to historical motives, individuals, and groups; distinct from psychobiography and history of childhood strands.

Psychological abuse

Psychological abuse, also called emotional abuse, is repeated nonphysical mistreatment causing mental harm, via intimidation, humiliation, isolation, gaslighting, and control; definition, measurement, coercive control, and criminalization remain contested.

Psychological assessment

Psychological assessment: measuring personality, symptoms, and cognition via tests, interviews, and observation; supported by over 125 meta-analyses; flagship APA journal Psychological Assessment (ISSN 1040-3590), split from JCCP in 1989.

Psychological effect

Psychological effect: a measurable change in cognition, emotion, or behavior caused by psychological factors such as stress, labels, or social comparison; covers stress-cognition effects, the better-than-average effect, and diagnostic labeling effects.

Psychological egoism

Psychological egoism, the descriptive thesis that every person's only ultimate aim is their own welfare, denying genuine altruism; distinct from ethical and rational egoism. Criticized via Butler's objection and Batson's empathy experiments; only Hobbes and Bentham explicitly endorsed it.

Psychological pain

Psychological pain, also called mental pain, psychache, or psychic pain, is sustained emotional suffering studied mainly in suicide research. Ten self-rated scales (1999-2021) measure it, led by the Psychache Scale, but validity evidence is weak.

Psychological projection

Psychological projection, a Freudian defense mechanism, attributes one's own unacceptable feelings or traits to others; also called defensive projection, studied by Baumeister and classified at the disavowal defense level.

Psychological resilience

Psychological resilience, also known as emotional or stress resilience, is the process of adapting well to adversity through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility, and it can be learned and practiced rather than being a fixed trait.

Oct 20, 2026

Psychological review

Psychological Review (ISSN 0033-295X) is the American Psychological Association's theoretical psychology journal, founded 1894 by Cattell and Baldwin; publishes theory papers and Theoretical Notes, editor Elena L. Grigorenko.

Psychological science

Psychological science: the empirical study of mind, brain, and behavior, and the movement behind the Association for Psychological Science (founded 1988) and its flagship journal Psychological Science (1990), known for the replication crisis and open-science reforms.

Psychological stress

Psychological stress, also called stress, is the brain and body's response to challenges appraised as threatening. Covers fight-or-flight physiology, HPA axis, acute versus chronic stress, Selye's history, health outcomes, and coping.

Psychologist

Psychologist: a professional trained in psychology, the study of mind and behavior. Covers clinical, counseling, forensic and neuropsychology specialties, doctoral training, licensure and the EPPP, prescribing limits, and scope-of-practice rules in the US, China, and Hong Kong.

Psychology

Psychology, the scientific study of the mind and behavior, spans research and applied branches from cognitive to clinical psychology; founded as a laboratory science by Wundt in 1879, it is one of seven hub sciences and has faced a replication crisis since the 2010s.

Psychology Today

Psychology Today, founded 1967 by Nicholas Charney, is an American bimonthly magazine and website on human behavior and mental health, also operating a large online therapist directory; not peer-reviewed.

Psychometry (paranormal)

Psychometry (paranormal), also called object or token reading, is the claimed ability to read an object's history by touch, coined by Joseph Rodes Buchanan in the 1840s; unsupported by controlled studies.

Psychomotor vigilance task

The psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) is a sustained-attention test measuring reaction times to detect lapses from sleep loss, introduced by Dinges and Powell in 1985.

Psychopathic Personality Inventory

The Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) is a 187-item self-report questionnaire measuring psychopathic personality traits, developed by Scott Lilienfeld and Brian Andrews in 1996 and revised as the PPI-R.

Psychopathy Checklist

Psychopathy Checklist (Hare PCL-R) is a 20-item clinician-rated forensic scale scored 0-2 per item from interviews and records, with Factors 1-2, derivatives PCL:SV, PCL:YV, and SRP, published by MHS.

Psychophysiology

Psychophysiology studies the interrelationships between physiological and psychological aspects of brain and behavior, using noninvasive measures like EEG, EMG, and heart rate. Organized around the Society for Psychophysiological Research (1960) and its journal Psychophysiology (1964).

Psychosexual development

Psychosexual development is Freud's 1905 theory from Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality: five stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) focused on erogenous zones, with fixation causing adult neurosis; largely unsupported empirically.