psychohistory

American  

[sahy-koh-his-tuh-ree, -his-tree] / ˌsaɪ koʊˈhɪs tə ri, -ˈhɪs tri /

noun

1. history or the writing of history employing the techniques of psychoanalysis to explore motivations, explain actions, etc.

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psychohistory British  

/ -ˈhɪstrɪ, ˌsaɪkəʊˈhɪstərɪ /

noun

1. biography based on psychological theories of personality development

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Other Word Forms

• psychohistorian noun
• psychohistoric adjective

Etymology

Origin of psychohistory

First recorded in 1930–35; psycho- + history

Example Sentences

Harris plays Hari Seldon, creator of psychohistory, a mathematical crystal ball that has predicted a coming dark age, and as such he is anathema to the cloned triumvirate who have ruled the galaxy for centuries.

From Los Angeles Times

Seldon has developed a theory of psychohistory, a mixture of history, sociology, and mathematical statistics, which he uses to make general predictions about the fate of future populations.

From Salon

I want to talk about Jared Harris, who plays Hari Seldon, creator of psychohistory — a fictional science that can predict large-scale future events by mathematics — and specifically I want to talk about the way he sits in a chair.

From Los Angeles Times

At the center of Foundation’s story is something called psychohistory, which is a way of using mathematics to analyze the behaviors of large populations.

From The Verge

But I think part of my bigger issue with the show is Seldon and psychohistory as a whole.

From The Verge