Psychology plays vital role in todays world.
Cognitive Dissonance
That feeling of inner discomfort you get when your thoughts, beliefs, or actions don’t quite line up—that’s what we’re talking about here. It’s that nagging tension in the back of your mind when, say, you believe in honesty but tell a small lie, or when your actions don’t reflect your values. It doesn’t sit right, and that discomfort often pushes you to try to make things match up again—either by changing your behavior, rethinking your beliefs, or finding a way to justify the contradiction.
2. Schema
It’s like a mental shortcut—your brain’s way of making sense of the world quickly. This framework, or way of thinking, helps you sort and understand new information based on what you already believe or know. The catch? Once it’s in place, it can be pretty stubborn. Even when new facts come along, your mind tends to stick to what it already believes, sometimes ignoring or bending the new stuff to fit the old pattern. It’s comfortable, but not always accurate.
3. Fundamental Attribution Error
4. Social Influence
Tendency to overattribute others’ behaviors to their personality traits while underestimating situational influences.
Wikipedia
How our attitudes and behaviors are shaped by others—via conformity, compliance, persuasion, or obedience.
Wikipediacourse-notes.org
5. Motivation
An internal force that initiates, directs, and sustains goal-focused behavior, influenced by its intensity and persistence.
Wikipedia
6. Memory (Short-term / Long-term)
- Short-term memory: Holds small amounts of information briefly for cognitive tasks.
- Long-term memory: Stores information over extended periods—mostly permanently.
YourDictionarycourse-notes.org
7. Defense Mechanisms
Unconscious psychological strategies (like denial or projection) used to protect oneself from emotional discomfort.
YourDictionary
8. Attachment Theory
The study of emotional bonding styles formed in early life, such as secure, avoidant, anxious, or disorganized attachments.
YourDictionary
9. Big Five Personality Traits
A widely accepted model describing personality through five dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
YourDictionary
10. Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
A numerical score derived from standardized assessments intending to measure cognitive abilities relative to the general population.
YourDictionary
11. Catharsis
The emotional release or relief that comes from bringing unconscious thoughts or emotions into conscious awareness.
YourDictionary
12. Conditioning (Classical & Operant)
- Classical conditioning: Learning through association (Pavlov’s dogs).
- Operant conditioning: Learning via rewards and punishments (Skinner’s work).
Verywell Mindcod.pressbooks.pub
13. Confirmation Bias
The inclination to favor information that confirms pre-existing beliefs while disregarding contradictory evidence.
digitaleditions.library.dal.ca
14. Construal Level Theory
How psychological distance (temporal, spatial, social, hypothetical) influences whether we think abstractly (far) or concretely (near).
Wikipedia
15. Discrimination & Prejudice
- Prejudice: A preconceived, often negative attitude toward a group.
- Discrimination: Verbal or behavioral negative actions toward a group or individual.
