A cross-sectional study is a type of observational research that analyzes data from a population, or a representative subset, at a specific point in time. It's used to examine the relationship between different variables and does not involve manipulation or control over variables.| Simply Psychology
A retrospective cohort study, also known as a historical cohort study, is a type of observational study where the researcher looks back in time at historical data to examine the relationship between certain risk factors or exposures and outcomes.| Simply Psychology
A prospective observational study is a type of research where investigators select a group of subjects and then observe them over a certain period of time. The researchers collect data on the subjects' exposure to certain risk factors or interventions and then track the outcomes. This type of study is often used to study the effects of suspected risk factors that cannot be controlled experimentally.| Simply Psychology
A panel study is a type of longitudinal research where data is collected from the same individuals, known as a panel, repeatedly over a period of time to make inferences about trends, patterns, and causal relationships in that population.| Simply Psychology
Parents' fear of negative child evaluation (FNCE) partially mediated the relationship between parent social anxiety and child social anxiety in adolescents aged 13-16.| Simply Psychology
Contamination OCD is where a person experiences unwanted obsessive thoughts and fears of being contaminated, contaminating others, or contracting and spreading an illness. Examples of contamination OCD compulsions include showering for hours, avoiding crowded spaces, or hand-washing until their skin becomes raw.| Simply Psychology
Cognitive distortions are unhelpful thinking patterns that can have a big impact on our relationships, distorting how we view them. This can result in relationship breakdowns if not appropriately addressed.| Simply Psychology
Is the stress of university life harder for autistic students, or does everyone struggle with the same core anxieties?| Simply Psychology
Empathic accuracy in couples is a complex mix of high tracking accuracy for daily emotional changes and a negativity bias (underestimating positive, overestimating some negative feelings) that, along with emotion intensity, predicts whether partners feel understood.| Simply Psychology
You start psychotherapy hoping for a change. This hope is justified. We know psychological treatments are highly effective for most mental health disorders. Hundreds of ... Read more| Simply Psychology
You download a mindfulness app. The goal is simple: less stress, more focus. You breathe in, you breathe out. But instead of calm, you feel ... Read more| Simply Psychology
Imagine a mandatory class on mental health. The goal is to help every student learn to cope. But what if, for some students, that lesson ... Read more| Simply Psychology
You’re supposed to be swimming in love, but sometimes the water feels murky. Exhaustion, anxiety, guilt, and self-doubt swirl together, especially in the first year ... Read more| Simply Psychology
Picture yourself halfway up a steep trail, lungs burning, legs trembling, the summit still out of sight. You want to stop—but you don’t. Something quiet ... Read more| Simply Psychology
Imagine waking up on a January morning: the alarm blares, the room is still dark, and every fibre of your body wants to hibernate. For ... Read more| Simply Psychology
Picture a new parent awake at 3 a.m.—not because the baby is crying, but because they can’t stop checking if the baby is breathing. Their mind loops: What if| Simply Psychology
When a narcissistic person feels their grandiose, superior, and entitled self-image has been threatened or challenged, they experience what is called “narcissistic injury”. It refers specifically to a person’s sense of self being attacked (real or imagined) rather than a person’s feelings being hurt or just any type of emotional pain.| Simply Psychology
The duration of a narcissistic relationship can vary widely depending on the individuals involved and the specific circumstances of the relationship. There are anecdotal observations suggesting that the average length of a narcissistic relationship is around six months, but no empirical evidence supports this claim.| Simply Psychology
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse whereby a person or group manipulates one or more people into questioning their sanity and perception of reality.| Simply Psychology
A narcissist’s delusional belief in their own grandiosity and superiority can lead them to interpret divorce as a direct challenge to their sense of status and worth. If they feel they are losing control over you, they will do whatever it takes to gain the upper hand.| Simply Psychology
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a powerful chemical messenger that acts as both a neurotransmitter and a hormone. It belongs to the catecholamine family, alongside dopamine and noradrenaline.| Simply Psychology
The HPA axis, or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, is a complex set of interactions between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands. It plays a critical role in regulating stress responses, mood, digestion, immune function, and energy storage and expenditure in the body. The pathway of the axis results in the production of cortisol.| Simply Psychology
Lorenz (1935) investigated the mechanisms of imprinting, where some species of animals form an attachment to the first large moving object that they meet.| Simply Psychology
For many autistic people, feelings can surface hours, days, or even weeks after an event. For example, you might appear calm during a stressful incident but then experience a wave of sadness or anger the next day.| Simply Psychology
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter primarily found in the brain, intestines, and blood. In psychology, serotonin plays a significant role in mood regulation, emotional well-being, sleep, appetite, and cognitive functions. Abnormalities in serotonin levels or its neural pathways are often associated with mood disorders like depression and anxiety.| Simply Psychology
The thalamus is a structure of the brain that processes and transmits sensory (except for smell) and motor information from the body to the cerebral cortex.| Simply Psychology
The prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for planning, impulse control, and decision-making—doesn’t fully mature until around age 25. While a child’s brain grows rapidly in size during early childhood, the prefrontal cortex continues developing in complexity and function well into early adulthood.| Simply Psychology
Complete guide to psychology for students, educators & enthusiasts. Learn about psychological theories, classic studies, mental health disorders, relationships, and practical psychology advice to enhance your wellbeing| Simply Psychology
Interneurons are specialized nerve cells that primarily serve as connectors within the central nervous system (CNS). Their unique role is to facilitate communication between other neurons.| Simply Psychology
Thematic analysis is a qualitative research method used to identify, analyze, and interpret patterns of shared meaning (themes) within a given data set, which can be in the form of interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, or other textual data.| Simply Psychology
Imagine scrolling Instagram and seeing a therapist’s reel titled: “3 Ways to Calm Your Nervous System.”| Simply Psychology
EMDR therapy is an eight-phase treatment. Eye movements (or other bilateral stimulation) are used during part four of the treatment.| Simply Psychology
First responders are at higher risk of mental health struggles, but science is charting a clearer path. Established therapies like CBT and EMDR are effective for treatment, while prevention strategies—especially mindfulness and imagery training—show promise but need more evidence. Protecting the mental health of first responders means not only healing wounds but also learning how to prevent them.| Simply Psychology
Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that autistic individuals possess a varied set of strengths and challenges. The concept of neurodiversity recognizes autism as a natural variation in human brain development rather than a disorder or deficit.| Simply Psychology
Wernicke’s area is a structure of the brain that is believed to be involved in language comprehension, specifically the comprehension of speech sounds. It is also considered to be the receptive language center of the brain.| Simply Psychology
Gyri (singular: gyrus) and sulci (singular: sulcus) are the raised and folded structures, respectively, on the cerebral cortex of the brain.| Simply Psychology
Broca's area is a small but vital region in the brain responsible for producing speech and processing language. Located in the left frontal lobe, it corresponds to Brodmann areas 44 and 45. Most people rely on this part of the brain to form words, construct sentences, and organize grammar. Without it, fluent communication becomes difficult.| Simply Psychology
This section provides revision resources for AQA A-level psychology and the Schizophrenia chapter. The revision notes cover the AQA exam board and the new specification.| Simply Psychology
Implicit memory is unconscious recall, like skills and habits (e.g., riding a bike), while explicit memory is conscious recall of facts and events (e.g., remembering a birthday). Both are vital components of long-term memory, with implicit being more about "knowing how" and explicit about "knowing that."| Simply Psychology
Amnesia is a selective memory disorder marked by a significant inability to recall past experiences (retrograde amnesia) and/or to learn or retain new information (anterograde amnesia).| Simply Psychology
Semantic memory is a type of long-term memory that stores general knowledge, concepts, facts, and meanings of words, allowing for the understanding and comprehension of language, as well as the retrieval of general knowledge about the world.| Simply Psychology
Procedural memory is a type of long-term memory that stores information related to motor skills, habits, and actions. It allows individuals to perform tasks automatically and without conscious effort, as it involves the learning and retention of procedures, routines, and how to execute specific actions.| Simply Psychology
Anterograde amnesia refers to loss of memory for events after an incident – often such cases are examples of what are known as pure amnesiacs.| Simply Psychology
Children with ADHD frequently have deficits in working memory and math skills. The study examined relations between specific working memory components (central executive, phonological short-term memory, visuospatial short-term memory), ADHD symptoms, and math achievement in 186 children ages 8-13 years.| Simply Psychology
To receive information from the environment, we are equipped with sense organs, e.g., the eye, ear, and nose. Each sense organ is part of a sensory system| Simply Psychology
Mediation analysis is a statistical method used to understand the mechanisms by which an independent variable (IV) influences a dependent variable (DV) through a mediator variable (M).| Simply Psychology
Karl Popper's theory of falsification contends that scientific inquiry should aim not to verify hypotheses but to rigorously test and identify conditions under which they are false.| Simply Psychology
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory explains that an individual’s development is shaped by interconnected environmental systems, from immediate surroundings like family to broader societal structures like culture. These systems include the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem, each influencing growth and behavior.| Simply Psychology
The researchers found that children from more dysfunctional families were significantly more likely to be involved in bullying, either as perpetrators or victims. However, the study also showed that supportive neighborhoods could weaken this harmful pathway, highlighting the importance of community ties in children’s well-being.| Simply Psychology
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) refers to the gap between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance. Learning occurs most effectively in this zone, as the learner receives support from more knowledgeable individuals, such as teachers or peers, to help them reach the next level of understanding.| Simply Psychology
The Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic is a mental shortcut used in decision-making where an initial, or "anchor" point is set, and adjustments are made until an acceptable value is reached. The anchor, once set, has a strong influence, often leading to bias because adjustments are typically insufficient shifts from the initial anchor, resulting in estimations skewed towards the anchor.| Simply Psychology
The Stroop effect is a psychological phenomenon demonstrating interference in reaction time of a task. It occurs when the name of a color is printed in a color not denoted by the name, making it difficult for participants to identify the color of the word quickly and accurately.| Simply Psychology
The halo effect refers to the cognitive bias where positive attributes or qualities in one aspect of a person (such as physical attractiveness) influence the perception of their other traits (such as intelligence or kindness), even without evidence supporting those assumptions.| Simply Psychology
Controlled processing in psychology is a form of information processing that requires active conscious attention and effort. These tasks often involve new or complex situations that our automatic processing systems cannot handle.| Simply Psychology
The availability heuristic is a cognitive bias in which you make a decision based on an example, information, or recent experience that is that readily available to you, even though it may not be the best example to inform your decision.| Simply Psychology
Parenting that is inconsistent, overprotective, or intrusive is one of the strongest predictors of anxious attachment in children.| Simply Psychology
Codependent relationships often feature an imbalance of emotional or psychological support, where one person feels responsible for the other's well-being, happiness, or even mistakes. Warning signs include excessive neediness, loss of personal identity, sacrificing one's needs for the partner, inability to set boundaries, and a constant fear of abandonment. Emotional manipulation or feeling trapped may also occur, leading to a cycle of dependency that can be unhealthy for both parties.| Simply Psychology
Caretaking originates from feelings of insecurity and often manifests as an attempt to exert control over others. In contrast, caregiving is characterized by genuine support and a deep respect for the individual's autonomy.| Simply Psychology
A toxic relationship refers to a detrimental and unhealthy connection characterized by behaviors that undermine one's well-being, such as emotional manipulation, disrespect, control, and a lack of support.| Simply Psychology
There are many reasons why people cheat. Some people are dissatisfied with their relationship or sex life; others have difficulty controlling their impulsess, while others are looking for validation.| Simply Psychology
What constitutes cheating seems to depend on people’s interpretation, but it always features a breach of trust. Cheating can be physical, emotional, digital, or a combination of all three.| Simply Psychology
Avoiding situations or people is not setting a boundary. Boundaries are clear, communicated limits that protect your well-being. Avoidance may provide temporary relief but doesn't address underlying issues or promote healthy relationships.| Simply Psychology
A casual relationship is a type of interpersonal connection that falls outside the bounds of traditional, committed partnerships and is characterised by ambiguity and varying expectations. It's an arrangement where the individuals involved may share some aspects of a conventional relationship, but without the accompanying obligations or long-term goals.| Simply Psychology
What avoidants want in relationships, is a balance that allows for emotional connection without feeling overwhelmed, controlled, or losing their sense of self. They seek to avoid the discomfort and perceived danger of deep emotional dependency and vulnerability, which they learned to associate with pain or unmet needs in their early experiences.| Simply Psychology
Avoidant attachment is a complex product of one’s upbringing, life events, and interpersonal interactions over time. It often begins as a child’s adaptive response to a less-than-nurturing environment, and it can be intensified by later heartbreaks or reinforced by certain relationship patterns in adulthood.| Simply Psychology
Secure attachment refers to a bond where individuals feel safe, supported, and connected, enabling them to express emotions freely, seek comfort from their partner, and confidently explore their environment knowing they have a reliable base to return to.| Simply Psychology
How to get a man to open up to you emotionally is a question many women ask themselves, and there’s no simple answer. But building a strong foundation and trust and having the right approach (and patience) are essential ingredients.| Simply Psychology
Although avoidant attachment may not simply get worse over time, its ongoing presence is likely to create more challenges and emotional burdens as a person moves through life.| Simply Psychology
When dating someone with avoidant attachment style, maintain respect for their independence, give them space, avoid being overly emotional or clingy, and communicate your needs clearly without demanding immediate emotional intimacy.| Simply Psychology
Attachment styles refer to patterns of bonding that people learn as children and carry into their adult relationships. They're typically thought to originate from the type of care one received in their earliest years.| Simply Psychology
When feeling connected to partners, highly avoidant individuals use protective buffering to spare partners distress. Beliefs about not burdening partners explain this.| Simply Psychology
The researchers found that survivors of IPV consistently scored higher on betrayal sensitivity compared to women without such experiences.| Simply Psychology
In contrast to the structural perspective, the functional perspective of attitudes focuses on how attitudes can serve a purpose for the individuals who| Simply Psychology
Exceptionally clear memories of emotionally significant events are called flashbulb memories. They're called so because they are typically very vivid and detailed, much like a photograph, and often pertain to surprising, consequential, and emotionally arousing events, such as hearing about a national tragedy or experiencing a personal milestone.| Simply Psychology
Not being in control may elicit feelings of shame and embarrassment, which are converted into anger or narcissistic rage. Thus, the outcome of losing control is narcissistic rage in its various forms.| Simply Psychology
Passive-aggressive behavior is characterized by indirect resistance to others' demands and avoidance of direct confrontation. It often involves showing irritability or hostility through subtle means like critical comments, sarcasm, cynicism, or complaints about minor issues.| Simply Psychology
People who have a narcissistic person in their life often describe their behavior as verbally (and physically) abusive, manipulative, and passive-aggressive. These behaviors are particularly pronounced when the narcissist feels challenged or fears abandonment or rejection.| Simply Psychology
If narcissists feel their pride has been wounded somehow, they feel entitled to destroy their victim psychologically and/ or physically. This rage is often disproportionate and out of place as it can be caused by even minor or unintentional provocations.| Simply Psychology
Narcissistic baiting refers to a narcissistic person using “bait” to get an emotional reaction from someone. The aim of narcissistic baiting is not necessarily to have you back in their life as a partner or friend. Narcissists do it to keep their sources of narcissistic supply in place through various tactics discussed below.| Simply Psychology
A communal narcissist is a type of narcissist who presents themselves as altruistic, caring, and extremely community-minded. The communal narcissist seeks admiration and validation through their perceived contributions to others, the community,| Simply Psychology
Countertransference in therapy refers to the emotional reactions, biases, or perceptions that a therapist may have towards a client, influenced by the therapist's own personal experiences, unconscious feelings, or issues. It can affect the therapeutic relationship and the treatment process.| Simply Psychology
The nervous system controls everything from our thoughts and emotions to our movements and reflexes—but it’s made up of two major parts: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).| Simply Psychology
This article outlines recommended first-line treatments for managing generalized anxiety disorder across psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and self-help approaches.| Simply Psychology
The somatic nervous system (SNS) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary movement and processes external stimuli through two types of neurons: motor neurons (activating muscles) and sensory neurons (relaying information to the central nervous system).| Simply Psychology
The forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain are the three main brain divisions. The forebrain handles higher cognitive functions, the midbrain controls motor movement and sensory processing, and the hindbrain manages coordination, balance, and autonomic functions like breathing and heart rate.| Simply Psychology
The brainstem is the stalk-like lower part of the brain that connects the main brain (cerebrum) to the spinal cord. It sits at the base of the skull, just above the spinal cord, and is considered part of the central nervous system (CNS).| Simply Psychology
The human brain is a complex organ, made up of several distinct parts, each responsible for different functions. The cerebrum, the largest part, is responsible for sensory interpretation, thought processing, and voluntary muscle activity. Beneath it is the cerebellum, which controls balance and coordination. The brainstem connects the brain to the spinal cord and oversees automatic processes like breathing and heart rate. The limbic system, containing structures like the hippocampus and amygd...| Simply Psychology
Transactional Analysis (TA) is a psychoanalytic theory and method of therapy developed by Eric Berne during the 1950s. Transactions refer to the communication exchanges between people.| Simply Psychology
Introjection is a defense mechanism where a person unconsciously adopts the ideas, attitudes, or behaviors of another person or group, often an authority figure. It's a form of psychological incorporation, allowing the individual to symbolically possess or control the introjected object, potentially to alleviate anxiety or internal conflict.| Simply Psychology
The frontal lobe is one of the most important and largest parts of your brain. Located directly behind your forehead, it's critical for many complex activities that make us uniquely human, such as reasoning, planning, and social interaction.| Simply Psychology
The foot-in-the-door technique is a compliance tactic that assumes agreeing to a small request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a second, larger request.| Simply Psychology
Narcissistic smear campaigns are a narcissist’s attempts at tarnishing their victim’s image and reputation and destroying their self-esteem and sense of reality.| Simply Psychology
Narcissistic hoovering is a manipulation tactic used by narcissistic individuals to try to regain control over a former partner or source of narcissistic supply.| Simply Psychology
Narcissistic gaslighting refers to a form of gaslighting exhibited by individuals with narcissistic personality traits or narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). It involves distorting, altering, or denying reality in order to make someone doubt their own perception, memory, or sanity.| Simply Psychology
Narcissist discard is a phase in the narcissistic abuse cycle where the narcissist distances themselves from or ends a relationship once they no longer perceive the other person as useful or fulfilling their needs.| Simply Psychology
Dealing with your partner's narcissistic behaviors involves setting boundaries, seeking support from a therapist or trusted friends, and prioritizing your own well-being.| Simply Psychology
Stress is a biological and psychological response experienced upon encountering a threat that we feel we do not have the resources to deal with.| Simply Psychology
Sensory neurons carry incoming information from the sensory receptors of the body toward the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), whereas motor neurons carry outgoing commands away from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.| Simply Psychology
The temporal lobe, located near the temples, is the second largest lobe of the human cerebrum, accounting for almost one-fourth of the brain's volume. It processes auditory information, forms memories, comprehends language, and regulates emotions through key structures like the hippocampus and primary auditory cortex.| Simply Psychology
