Category: Psychological Concepts

“WH” Question Words

Most of our language is directional. Meaning, that when we communicate, we direct someone’s attention. When a question is asked, our brains tend to go on a search to find an answer. If it is a general, non-exact, or non-literal question, then our brain does a “transderivational search”. This is when someone’s mind is looking…
Demandingness Words

Words of demandingness are “should” statements. When we tell ourselves, and others, or are told by others that we “have to… need to… should… must” do something. There is an expectation or demand from ourselves, society, religion, community, and family that we do things a specific/certain way. We are being told what to do in…
Reaction vs Response

Reaction vs response: The difference between a reaction and a response is a space. There is a pause; a moment of conscious awareness. “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
The 3 C’s: Courage, Competence, Confidence

“We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.“ Brené Brown Courage is the willingness to take bold action despite feelings of fear or uncertainty. It involves stepping outside of one’s comfort zone, taking risks, and confronting obstacles head-on. You may feel afraid, but you…
Linguistics, Negations, & Conflated Words

The field of linguistics, including cognitive linguistics, neuro-linguistics, etc., studies the structure, meaning, and use of language and how we learn and are influenced by language. This includes how language shapes human thought processes and beliefs. Things like storytelling, metaphors, sociocultural factors, and vocabulary can influence and change how we perceive and interact with the…
Evocation of Anger and Expectancy Confirmation

In personality psychology, this concept of evocation says that certain personality traits may evoke consistent responses from the environment, particularly the social environment. So, personality plays a key role in the process of evoking emotions from others. Evocation of Anger and Upset in Partners This says that the behaviors of one person can evoke the emotion of anger…
Emotional Venting

Venting may seem cathartic; however, it is unhealthy. It is a pseudo-solution that may appear to work, but did it solve the actual problem or handle the situation? Or is it temporary relief until the same thing happens again? People tend to vent about their thoughts/feelings to avoid how they think and feel. Also, if…
Emotional Contagion

Psychological Social Contagions This phenomenon refers to the idea that emotions, behaviors, or beliefs can spread within a group due to social influence, often without individuals consciously realizing it. Studies have demonstrated that individuals are influenced by not only their direct contacts but also friends-of-friends up to three degrees of separation (“Social Contagion Theory”). For…