Psyconcepts 2
Some more concepts
Cognitive dissonance
We like to be consistent, and we'll try hard to rectify cognitive dissonance.
Confirmation bias
Confirmation bias is the tendency to select information that confirms your preconceptions.
Defence mechanisms
Defence mechanisms are unconscious mental processes that protect the self-image. Denial is to deny an awkward fact; repression is to repress a distressing memory; and reaction formation is to oppose in other people a desire suppressed in oneself.
Dreams
Dreams help us to sort out and organise the mass of stimuli that we receive when awake so that we can store some in memory and make decisions. That's all there is to dreams.
Learned helplessness
Learned helplessness is passivity after uncontrollable bad situations.
Letting go
If you cling onto the past and/or possessions, reflect on and experiment with the principle of letting go.
Letting go makes you feel freer and lighter.
Locus of control
Locus of control is the extent to which we think we control our lives.
Personality
The five dimensions of personality:
- Openness - the degree to which a person seeks out and appreciates new, interesting and unusual experiences.
- Conscientiousness - the degree of organisation, persistence and self-discipline applied to achieve goals.
- Extraversion - the need for stimulation from the outside world and other people.
- Agreeableness - the degree to which a person cares about others.
- Neuroticism - the degree to which a person is emotionally stable and able to cope with potentially stressful situations.
Each dimension is seen as a continuous scale running from high to low, and everyone can be described by five scores that indicate where they sit on each scale. The dimesnions tend to remain unchanged throughout a person's life and influence almost every aspect of their behaviour.
Planner & doer
The planner plans what to do rationally and optimistically in advance but, when the time comes, the doer feels like doing something else and does.
The doer - "system 1" - and the planner - "system 2" - are conflicting modes of the self.
Planning fallacy
Things take longer than people say they will.
Self-fulfilling prophecy
What we think comes true simply because we think it. For example, we think someone's attractive and they're attractive.
A medical concept
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or ME (Myalgic Encephalitis) is a persistent fatigue not due to ongoing exertion, not much relieved by rest, nor caused by other medical conditions.
Like many medical conditions, chronic fatigue syndrome affects the lifestyle and the psychology, and is worth a nod if you are dogged by tiredness.
© Stephen Balmer