humoral theory

a former theory that explained physical and psychological health or illness in terms of the state of balance or imbalance of various bodily fluids. According to Greek physician Hippocrates (5th century bce), health was a function of the proper balance of four humors: blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm (the classical humors or cardinal humors). This idea was also used to explain temperament: A predominance of blood was associated with a sanguine type; black bile with a melancholic type; yellow bile or choler with a choleric type; and phlegm with a phlegmatic type. Galen did much to preserve and promulgate this explanatory approach, which survived well into the 17th century. Humoral theory provides psychology with its earliest personality typology, as well as an early model of the relation between bodily and psychological states.

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Psychology term of the day

December 22nd 2024

attachment style

the characteristic way people relate to others in the context of intimate relationships, which is heavily influenced by self-worth and interpersonal trust. Theoretically, the degree of attachment security in adults is related directly to how well they bonded to others as children. Four distinct categories of adult attachment style are typically identified: dismissive attachment, fearful attachment, preoccupied attachment, and secure attachment. Attachment styles with respect to infant–mother relationships were first described by Mary D. Salter Ainsworth and her colleagues, who identified two main styles: secure attachment and insecure attachment, the latter characterized by various patterns (e.g., ambivalent attachment; anxious–avoidant attachment). Different attachment styles in infancy are associated with different psychological outcomes in childhood and later life.