Find over 25,000 psychological definitions


ingroup

n.

1. in general, any group to which one belongs or with which one identifies, but particularly a group judged to be different from other groups (outgroups).

2. a group characterized by intense bonds of affiliation such that each member feels a sense of kinship and some degree of loyalty to other members by virtue of their common group membership. Also called we-group. [defined in 1906 by U.S. sociologist William G. Sumner (1840–1910)]

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 28th 2025

deism

deism

n. a type of natural religion associated chiefly with the 18th-century Enlightenment. It is based on the premise that a benevolent God will make sure that the knowledge necessary for human happiness is (a) universally available and (b) accessible to the intellectual powers natural to human beings. It follows that divine truth will conform to human reason and the evidence provided by the natural creation. Deism thus contrasts with revealed religion, which requires a divine revelation of truth beyond what is available by the light of nature. Most forms of deism hold that God created the universe and the natural laws that govern it but has since dispassionately and detachedly allowed it to run its course. Compare pantheism; theism. —deist adj., n.