Find over 25,000 psychological definitions


life space

in the field theory of Kurt Lewin, the “totality of possible events” for one person at a particular time; a person’s possible options together with the environment that contains them. The life space is a representation of the environmental, biological, social, and psychological influences that define one person’s unique reality at a given moment in time. Contained within the life space are positive and negative valences, that is, forces or pressures on the individual to approach a goal or move away from a perceived danger.

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

May 8th 2024

health–belief model

health–belief model

a model that identifies the relationships of the following issues to the likelihood of taking preventive health action: (a) individual perceptions about susceptibility to and seriousness of a disease, (b) sociodemographic variables, (c) environmental cues, and (d) perceptions of the benefits and costs. See also exercise–behavior model.