The third level of the American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg’s STAGE THEORY of moral development. At this level moral BEHAVIOUR is governed neither by fear nor convention but by a self-chosen, consciously held system of rational ethical principles. Not everyone achieves this stage of development.

In PSYCHOANALYSIS, a DEFENCE MECHANISM where a person UNCONSCIOUSLY attributes to other people feelings he has himself but which are too threatening to the EGO to admit into his CONSCIOUSNESS.

From the Greek words psyche (mind) and soma (body); relating to psychological disorders in which emotional STRESS produces physiological symptoms. Illnesses such as asthma and stomach ulcers are widely believed to be psychosomatic, but it has also been argued that because of the close connection between MIND and body, every illness is psychosomatic at least to some extent.

A concept in SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY which holds that people will react against attempts to curtail their choices and influence their decisions by finding the object of these restrictions ever more attractive, and by adopting an opposing viewpoint as a way of resisting pressure. See. for example, the ROMEO AND JULIET EFFECT.

The hierarchy of status relationships formed among farmyard hens by their process of pecking each other. The most pecked hen has the lowest status. The term is now routinely (and therefore dangerously) applied to status relationships in human groups. Similarly, the term ‘hen-pecked’ has long been part of everyday speech.

Mainly used to describe recurrent criminal BEHAVIOUR but also used of repeated psychological disturbance.

A physician who specialises in PSYCHIATRY.

An ATTITUDE, opinion or belief with a strong emotional underpinning that makes it largely impervious to reason or evidence to the contrary. The term is usually (though not always) used in a negative sense.

The use of psychological techniques to treat psychological disturbances. The four main forms of psychotherapy (based on the four main theoretical approaches to PSYCHOLOGY ) are BEHAVIOURISTIC, COGNITIVE, HUMANISTIC and PSYCHOANALYTIC. There are many variants and permutations of these four approaches.

Refers to the effects of mental processes on the actions of the muscles.