Find over 25,000 psychological definitions


group mind

a hypothetical explanation for the apparent uniformity of individuals’ emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions when in large crowds and collectives; it supposes that a crowd of people can, in certain instances, become a unified entity that acts as if guided by a single consciousness created by the fusion of the individual minds in a collective. This controversial idea, often seen as a prime example of the group fallacy, assumes that the group mind is greater than the sum of the psychological experiences of the individuals and that it can become so powerful that it can overwhelm the will of the individual. Also called collective consciousness; collective mind; group consciousness. See also folk soul.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

January 21st 2025

reciprocal relationship

reciprocal relationship

1. a correlation between two variables such that the value of one variable is the reciprocal of the value of the other. For example, if a researcher is studying the average time taken to complete a task, then tasks completed per unit time (e.g., 2 per hour) have a reciprocal relationship with unit time taken per task (0.5 hours).

2. the situation in which two variables can mutually influence one another; that is, each can be both a cause and an effect.