psychologize

especially British, psy·chol·o·gise

[sahy-kol-uh-jahyz]

verb (used without object)

psychologized, psychologizing 

1. to make psychological investigations or speculations, especially those that are naive or uninformed.

psychologize

/ saɪˈkɒləˌdʒaɪz /

verb

1. to make interpretations of behaviour and mental processes

2. to carry out investigation in the field of psychology

Other Word Forms

• psychologizer noun
• overpsychologize verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of psychologize¹

First recorded in 1820–30; psycholog(y) + -ize

Example Sentences

More so than with other directors, it’s always tempting to overly psychologize Paul Thomas Anderson’s films, looking for traces of his personal development and hints of autobiography: the father figures of “Magnolia” or “The Master,” the partnership of “Phantom Thread,” parenthood in the new “One Battle After Another.”

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Whether fake-wrestling or barhopping with women or trying to psychologize each other, neither guy really knows what’s fun or illuminating anymore.

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He oozes capability, of the mental and physical sorts, and though he has a tragic backstory he doesn’t seem particularly marked by it, as much as other characters might want to psychologize him.

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As often as not, his portraits suppress our impulse to psychologize by showing their subjects dead-eyed or asleep.

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In any case, it’s dramatically counterproductive to humanize or psychologize him, though Bang does at least try to bring some shading to a thoroughly despicable character; he plays him as soft-spoken, letting his height and weight comprise an implicit threat against the the small, reed-thin Duff.

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