Recent research concludes that trigger warnings are neither necessary nor devastating for those who receive them—although they may induce uncomfortable anticipation.| Psychology Today
Gaslighting is an insidious form of manipulation and psychological control. Victims of gaslighting are deliberately and systematically fed false information that leads them to question what they know to be true, often about themselves. They may end up doubting their memory, their perception, and even their sanity. Over time, a gaslighter’s manipulations can grow more complex and potent, making it increasingly difficult for the victim to see the truth.| Psychology Today
AI doesn’t create expertise; it amplifies it. Mastery is earned through practice, persistence, and embracing the struggle.| Psychology Today
Our cultures shape us in profound ways. The latest research from cultural psychology offers fascinating insights into the nature-nurture interaction.| Psychology Today
Do you see the world as it is? Or do you see the world as you expect it to be?| Psychology Today
The basis of social learning theory is simple: People learn by watching other people. We can learn from anyone—teachers, parents, siblings, peers, co-workers, YouTube influencers, athletes, and even celebrities. We observe their behavior and we mimic that behavior. In short, we do what they do. This theory is also known as social cognitive theory.| Psychology Today
To put it simply, ethics represents the moral code that guides a person’s choices and behaviors throughout their life. The idea of a moral code extends beyond the individual to include what is determined to be right, and wrong, for a community or society at large.| Psychology Today
The stereotype of a controlling partner is one who is physically intimidating and threatening. Sometimes, the signs are much more subtle—but the danger is just as real.| Psychology Today
Domestic violence occurs when a person consistently aims to control their partner through physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain control over another intimate partner.”| Psychology Today
Adoption is the process by which an adult legally and permanently takes over parental responsibility for a child and, at the same time, the rights and responsibilities of the child’s biological parent(s) or legal guardian(s) are terminated. In rare cases, an adult may adopt another adult.| Psychology Today
It's no secret that people have biases. But the nature of "implicit bias"—and whether it can be meaningfully changed—is less clear.| Psychology Today
Cognitive psychologist Daniel Wegner first demonstrated the ironic effects of thought suppression by asking college students not to think about white bears. The more students tried to push white bears out of mind, the more they became obsessed with them. Don't think about a white bear. White bear. Stop it! Stop thinking about white bears! White bear white bear white bear. Oh my God, I can't stop thinking about white bears!| Psychology Today
The real problem might be how we relate to people like us. By Ron B. Aviram, Ph.D.| Psychology Today
These pages provide descriptions of evidence-based and popular therapeutic approaches to help individuals select the most suitable treatment for their needs.| Psychology Today
One articulate mother with a PhD describes how my free website manual saved her son from suicide as a result of bullying, when all the schools' efforts failed.| Psychology Today
What if, instead of avoiding our fears, we faced them head-on? Here's an exercise to try if worst-case-scenario thinking has you paralyzed in place.| Psychology Today
Betting the farm can actually be a serious problem for some people. Compulsive and habitual gambling can destroy people's lives. They may suffer personal problems and financial ruin, with problem gambling sometimes leading to a life of crime. A compulsive, or pathological, gambler is someone who is unable to resist their impulses. This can lead to severe consequences. The urge to gamble becomes so great that tension can only be relieved by gambling more and more.| Psychology Today
Exploring the biochemical and behavioral links between substance use disorders and process addictions.| Psychology Today
The video game industry and gamers have objected to the addition of a new gaming disorder diagnosis in the ICD-11. Do they have a point?| Psychology Today
Last week, Gaming Disorder was officially included in the World Health Organization's ICD-11. This article looks at some of the myths surrounding the decision.| Psychology Today
What the debate about Gaming Disorder means for your video gaming habit.| Psychology Today
Pornography, or porn, is any sexually explicit material—written, visual, or otherwise—intended to sexually arouse. Pornography has existed for millennia, and today it remains widely available in books, magazines, and audio recordings, but is most readily found and accessed online: The world’s largest porn site claims that in 2018, it had a daily average of 92 million unique viewers, the vast majority of them males.| Psychology Today
Nomophobia—fear of being without your smartphone—affects 40% of the population.| Psychology Today
We all need solitude and silence, and we all need social connection. We are vastly connected to everything in the universe, but we forget it most of the time.| Psychology Today
How self-sufficient are you? Are you willing to be honest if it carries a risk of being disliked?| Psychology Today
Want to grow your well-being? Here are the different types of well-being and the skills you need to build each one.| Psychology Today
Growing up in a family that doesn't acknowledge or talk about emotions can leave you vulnerable to being triggered by 5 common, everyday situations.| Psychology Today
Does new research really prove that placebos don't require deception?| Psychology Today
The placebo effect is more than belief—again and again, it has been shown to produce real physiological and neurological changes. Does this mean that the mind can heal the body?| Psychology Today
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of antidepressant medication prescribed for treatment of a range of psychiatric disorders.| Psychology Today
The placebo effect can improve almost any medical condition—yet doctors all too often ignore it. Here's what it can do for you—and how to take advantage of it.| Psychology Today
An addicted person's behavior is unpredictable and can quickly change from jubilant euphoria to angry suspicion.| Psychology Today
New research has found that alcohol use disorder (AUD) is an often untreated epidemic in the United States.| Psychology Today
For many years, health care professionals have been accustomed to thinking about drinking in terms of just two diagnostic categories: alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.| Psychology Today
Spirituality means different things to different people. For some, it's primarily about a belief in God and active participation in organized religion. For others, it's about non-religious experiences that help them get in touch with their spiritual selves through quiet reflection, time in nature, private prayer, yoga, or meditation.| Psychology Today
The Dark Tetrad, also known as the Dark Quad, is a set of interrelated negative personality features: narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism. The term is an expansion of the idea of the Dark Triad construct, which does not include sadism. In the last decade, researchers have noted a correlation of sadism with Dark Triad traits, with the result of the Dark Tetrad.| Psychology Today
Was Jeffrey Epstein murdered or did he commit suicide while in prison awaiting trial? Information gaps contribute to the spread of Epstein conspiracy theories.| Psychology Today
Viewing troubling media may lead to vicarious trauma in adults and children.| Psychology Today
In an experiment, groups containing a person with ADHD symptoms showed more off-task behavior, but were much better at solving problems than groups with no such person.| Psychology Today
“Perception is reality" is often used to justify a perception that may be objectively unjustifiable or just plain out of touch with reality.| Psychology Today
According to famous physicists, free will is incompatible with a scientific worldview. New research investigating causal relationships suggests that this assumption may be wrong.| Psychology Today
Discover how rejection sensitivity influences mental health and relationships.| Psychology Today
Many kinks don’t even require touching of the genitals or experiencing orgasm. The sex is mental, the fantasy and power exchange itself.| Psychology Today
Future-gazing fiction alerts us to disasters that otherwise might feel too close for comfort.| Psychology Today
Fantasies are imaginary, daydream-like scenarios that individuals play out in their heads. Whether conscious or unconscious, fantasies serve several psychological purposes and are a normal part of most people’s interior world.| Psychology Today
Job hunting is stressful. After many rejections, one can feel crushed, defeated, and deflated. Psychology tools offer helpful ways to respond to painful job rejections and thrive.| Psychology Today
Some researchers have contended, with good reason, that "specific learning disorder" is neither specific nor a disorder and that the label can cause more harm than good.| Psychology Today
Early academic pressure creates learning blocks, diagnosed as disorders.| Psychology Today
In the absence of an appropriate intellectual foundation and motivation to learn, students acquire academic skills by rote, in shallow, meaningless ways.| Psychology Today
"What's wrong with expecting people to do what is right? Don't I have a right to feel resentful when they don't?" Find out what is wrong with that kind of thinking.| Psychology Today
As an anthropologist interested in American culture, I am curious about many of the odd rituals practiced by the natives in this land (of which I am one). Many of the most important rituals in American culture center around the consumption of goods and services: we buy a lot of stuff. Many people assert that Americans consume too much. Here’s a passage from Affluenza, a popular critique of consumerism in America:| Psychology Today
The term “Dark Triad” refers to a trio of negative personality traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—which share some common malevolent features. The construct was coined by researchers Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002.| Psychology Today
Be armed with the knowledge of what these terms used in memory disorders mean.| Psychology Today
Before working to care for or treat someone with dementia, make sure you know what the correct diagnosis is.| Psychology Today
Are you wondering if your forgetfulness is normal? Here are 10 early signs that it might be Alzheimer's.| Psychology Today
Anxiety can lead to a fear of loss and abandonment. But there are ways to break the cycle.| Psychology Today
Browse verified therapists in Washington, available in-person or online: Cynthia Pike Besteman, LASW, LSWAIC; Pacific Behavioral Healthcare; Val Solovey, LMHCA; Dr. Heather A. O'Brien, PsyD, PMH-C; Dr. Heather Huckett, PhD, LMFT; Carmen Mercedes Dills, LMHCA, MC ; Amelia Visaya, MA, LMHC; Konstantin Sheftelevich, MSW, LICSW| www.psychologytoday.com
Each time you smile, you throw a little feel-good party in your brain. The act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness.| Psychology Today
High-school students who do not date are less depressed than those who do, and according to teachers, have better social skills and more leadership qualities.| Psychology Today
The authors think the path to adulthood is slowing. I think the story is bigger than that.| Psychology Today
Discover how dopamine impacts your mood, motivation, and mental health—and learn simple ways to naturally boost it for a happier, more rewarding life.| Psychology Today
Have you often been described as having no motivation? There is another way to be effective at accomplishing your goals.| Psychology Today
Browse our extensive directory of the best Therapists, Psychologists and Counselors near you.| www.psychologytoday.com
Are you feeling burned out from always smiling at work? Here's how to find freedom and authenticity.| Psychology Today
Struggling to smile at your job and at home? Only at one of them is it emotional labor.| Psychology Today
Masking, also called camouflaging or compensating, is when individuals repress or hide signs of a mental health condition to blend in or adapt to the neurotypical world. The concept is primarily used in the context of autism, but it can apply to ADHD and other mental health conditions as well. While this technique can be advantageous in some ways, by creating greater integration in settings such as education or employment, it can come with heavy psychological costs, such as stress, exhaustion...| Psychology Today
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships.| Psychology Today
Affirmations are statements intended to build and maintain healthy self-esteem and to help foster a positive outlook on life. The positive psychology practice of self-affirmation aims to help people combat negative beliefs and restore trust in themselves—or simply like themselves again. Typically, self-affirmation is accomplished by way of short, positive statements repeated to oneself, whether aloud or not, on a regular basis—but that’s not the only way to achieve some of the benefits.| Psychology Today
We favor human judgment over the judgment of AI even when we have strong evidence that AI vastly outperforms humans. Why?| Psychology Today
The technological evolution of AI and sex robots is advancing. What does this mean for our psychological well-being, sexual attitudes and behaviors, and social interactions?| Psychology Today
Forgiveness is the release of resentment or anger. Forgiveness doesn’t mean reconciliation. One doesn't have to return to the same relationship or accept the same harmful behaviors from an offender. Forgiveness is vitally important for the mental health of those who have been victimized. It propels people forward rather than keeping them emotionally engaged in an injustice or trauma. Forgiveness has been shown to elevate mood, enhance optimism, and guard against anger, stress, anxiety, and ...| Psychology Today
From android assistants to self-driving cars, smart devices are here to stay. Fine-tuning the relationship between man and machine may be the biggest design challenge of all.| Psychology Today
How to understand and change the role of passive-aggressive behavior in relationships.| Psychology Today
Flu shots don’t just protect against fever and cough. Experts recommend them to reduce the risk of a heart attack.| Psychology Today
As companies push for an RTO, the risk of increased sexual harassment looms. Discover why remote work offers a safer environment and what can be done to protect employees.| Psychology Today
Ruminating over decisions is a form of anxiety. You want to make the right choice, but you're confused, uncertain, or afraid of making the wrong choice. There's a way out.| Psychology Today
You've probably fallen for this costly psychological trap without realizing it. Learn why we can't quit failing ventures—and how to escape.| Psychology Today
Is human loneliness an issue that corporations can fix?| Psychology Today
Created by Chloe Barron's Own Two Hands| Psychology Today
These three proven psychological strategies can help you break bad habits and establish better ones.| Psychology Today
This hidden cost of success is why so many people who "succeed" end up miserable. Here's what it is so you can avoid it.| Psychology Today
One simple question can help you prioritize what matters, take back control of your time, and conquer the "Tyranny of the Urgent."| Psychology Today
For many content creators, coming up with engaging ideas for content is difficult. The Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon may offer a solution.| Psychology Today
Struggling to figure out what a fulfilling life looks like? This technique might help.| Psychology Today
Instead of quitting "cold turkey," a concept from the field of psychophysics can help us leverage the limitations of our perceptual threshold to cut out sugar without noticing.| Psychology Today
Centering openness, empathy, and equity in the feminist conversation.| Psychology Today
Does the unconscious matter? You bet it does. In fact, nothing matters more.| Psychology Today
Rather than a secret container of impure, sexualized, and irrational thoughts, the unconscious is highly organized, uncritical, and even empirical in how it learns about the world.| Psychology Today
Why do we love the psychological myth of the 10-percent brain? Neuroscience shows no support for this, but we do not seem willing to let the idea go.| Psychology Today
Dreams may decompose autobiographical elements and then recombine them in creative ways to create our long term memories.| Psychology Today
Repression is a defense mechanism in which people push difficult or unacceptable thoughts out of conscious awareness. Repressed memories were a cornerstone of Freud’s psychoanalytic framework. He believed that people repressed memories that were too difficult to confront, particularly traumatic memories, and expelled them from conscious thought.| Psychology Today
Freudian psychology is based on the work of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). He is considered the father of psychoanalysis and is largely credited with establishing the field of talk therapy. Today, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches to therapy are the modalities that draw most heavily on Freudian principles. Freud also developed influential theories about subjects such as the unconscious mind, the sources of psychopathology, the significance of dreams.| Psychology Today
If you're tired of putting off tasks, consider creating a plan to help you cross those items off your list.| Psychology Today
The unseen reason you drag your feet when a deadline looms, along with eight tips on how to cross the finish line.| Psychology Today
Putting tasks off until later can become burdensome when future obligations pile up, while chronic delay may cause personal stress and aggravation in others| Psychology Today
The path of least resistance isn't always the best path to take.| Psychology Today
You may think you’ll never get over your tendency to put off the tasks you’d rather not complete, or even the ones you’d like to start, but new research suggests how to try.| Psychology Today
Procrastination is a negative form of delay related to anxiety, depression, and psychological distress. Recent research puts special emphasis on the role of rumination.| Psychology Today
Affective forecasting, also known as hedonic forecasting, is predicting how you will feel in the future. Researchers had long examined the idea of making predictions about the future, but psychologists Timothy Wilson and Daniel Gilbert investigated it further. They looked into whether a person can estimate their future feelings. For example, would marrying a certain person bring you happiness? Or would moving to a new city boost your mood?| Psychology Today
Practical strategies and tips to help you gain control over your finances, make informed decisions, and set yourself up for long-term success.| Psychology Today