RELATIVE DEPRIVATION
A feeling of deprivation occurring when one compares themselves to another, regardless of objective reality. Se also: social comparison theory.
RESERVE CAPACITY
Discrepancy between a subject's maximal ability to perform a given psychological exercise and the actual performance of that exercise.
RISK FACTOR
Any behavioral, hereditary, environmental, or other consideration which increases the likelihood of developing a disease or disorder, or becoming involved…
SECONDARY GAINS
In psychoanalysis, social, occupational, or interpersonal advantages that a patient derives from symptoms. Indirect benefit, usually obtained through an illness…
PRIMITIVE DEFENSE MECHANISM
Psychoanalytically, the theory of protection against anxiety connected with the death instinct. Primitive defense mechanism have been identified as such…
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE
Also known as the projective method, projective technique is any personality assessment process that uses a fixed series of random…
PSYCHOANALYST
A specially trained therapist who utilizes Freudian theories and practices to treat mental disorders. In the U.S., psychoanalytically training begins…
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 1
Erik Erikson was the first to formulate the theory that personality development is a process influenced by many factors throughout…
RECIPROCAL PUNISHMENT
A punishment that fits the crime. For instance, a child caught stealing from a store might be required to help…
RELATIVE EFFICIENCY
Ratio of efficiency between two procedures, theoretically depending on sample size for the given procedure, though most often used in…
RESILIENCE
The ability to adapt or rebound quickly from change, illness, or bad fortune. Also known as: psychic resilience; psychological resilience.…
RITE OF PASSAGE
Ceremony signifying an event in an individual's life which indicates transition from one stage to the next, beginning in adolescence…
SAFETY NEEDS
Second tier in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, following physiological requirements for human survival. These needs include personal security (absence of…
SECONDARY MOTIVATION
Catalyst constituted by personal or social enticements instead of dominant physiological requirements.
PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS
Statistically, a technique that completely reproduces an interrelationship amongst many correlated variables with a smaller number of "principle components" that…
PSYCHOCHEMISTRY
The science that examines the relationship between chemicals, behavior and psychological processes. It is the study of chemical influence on…
PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESSOR
A major life influencing event that leads to intense stress so profound that it can contribute to the development or…