psychology

[sahy-kol-uh-jee]

noun

plural

psychologies 

1. the science of the mind or of mental states and processes.

2. the science of human and animal behavior.

3. the sum or characteristics of the mental states and processes of a person or class of persons, or of the mental states and processes involved in a field of activity.

   the psychology of a soldier; the psychology of politics.

4. mental ploys or strategy.

   He used psychology on his parents to get a larger allowance.

psychology

/ saɪˈkɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the scientific study of all forms of human and animal behaviour, sometimes concerned with the methods through which behaviour can be modified See also analytical psychology clinical psychology comparative psychology educational psychology experimental psychology

2. informal,  the mental make-up or structure of an individual that causes him or her to think or act in the way he or she does

psychology

1. The scientific study of mental processes and behavior.

2. The behavioral and cognitive characteristics of a specific individual, group, activity, or circumstance.

3. ◆ Clinical psychology ◆ is the application of psychological knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

psychology

1. The science dealing with mental phenomena and processes. Psychologists study emotions, perception, intelligence, consciousness, and the relationship between these phenomena and processes and the work of the glands and muscles. Psychologists are also interested in diseased or disordered mental states, and some psychologists provide therapy for individuals. In the United States, however, psychologists, unlike psychiatrists, are not medical doctors. (See psychiatry.)

The two main divisions of psychology are individual or personality psychology and social psychology; social psychology deals with the mental processes of groups.

Other Word Forms

• prepsychology noun
• psychologist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of psychology¹

From the New Latin word psȳchologia, dating back to 1675–85. See psycho-, -logy

Example Sentences

Jamil Zaki is a professor of psychology at Stanford University, the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab and author of “The War for Kindness” and “Hope for Cynics.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Thucydides’ mastery of perspective allows him to populate his landscapes with the dilemmas of democratic politics—the battlefield where psychology meets strategy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But the companies that purchased his furniture—or one of the many imitations offered by his competitors—were more often drawn to his design because of economics rather than organizational psychology.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“No one can self-police for eight hours with the camera in front of them,” said Amanda Almond, a psychology professor at New York City College of Technology.

Read more on Salon

Gordon Hall, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Oregon, explained that Asian Americans have high dropout rates after going to therapy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attitude 
• medicine 
• mindset 
• therapy 

When To Use

What is psychology?

Psychology is the study of the mind, mental processes, and behaviors of humans and animals.The term psychology is used to describe many specific areas of study. Generally, psychology is interested in the brain and, more specifically, why we think the way we do.Because the mind is so complex, psychology is a very wide field with many subdivisions and branches of study. A few of the major areas of psychology include:

• clinical psychology, which involves diagnosing and treating personality and behavior disorders;



• cognitive psychology, which studies mental processes such as memory, language, and perception; and



• developmental psychology, which studies how our mental processes change as we age and experience more of life.

Both psychiatry and neuroscience are often confused with psychology. Like psychology, psychiatry also diagnoses and treats mental disorders but treatments are different. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can prescribe medicine for mental illnesses. A psychologist doesn’t often have a medical degree and instead treats patients with counseling and therapy, a process known as psychotherapy.On the other hand, neuroscience is focused on the actual neurons, tissues, and synapses that physically make up the brain as an organ, rather than with how we think about things, as psychology is.Even if they don’t know the specifics, most people are aware that psychology is a study of the mind and thinking. For this reason, the word psychology is often used to refer generally to a person’s thought process or mental state, as in In order to really know what happens during war, you need to understand a soldier’s psychology.