psychology
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the scientific study of the human mind and how it influences behavior.
the academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors.
Simple“She decided to major in psychology because she wanted to understand why people react differently to stress.”
In context“Modern psychology increasingly integrates neurological data to explain how cognitive processes manifest as observable behavioral patterns.”
Synonymsbehavioral science - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the way a specific person or group of people thinks and feels.
the mental, emotional, and behavioral characteristics of a specific individual, group, or activity.
Simple“To win the game, you need to understand the psychology of your opponent.”
In context“The marketing team spent months analyzing the psychology of the teenage consumer to ensure the campaign resonated with their values.”
“The center will be led by Professor Helen Dodd, one of the nation's foremost experts in child psychology and play.”
“Her first escape was to Liverpool University where she studied psychology.”
From French psychologie, from Renaissance Latin psychologia, from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”), equivalent to psycho- + -logy. The Latin term is believed by some to have been coined in a lost treatise by Croatian humanist Marko Marulić (1450–1524), but this is disputed by other scholars. It is first attested in the 1570s, at which time it was apparently already current, and may be a Hellenization of the established expression dē animā (“on the soul”) in titles.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.