semantic therapy

a form of psychotherapy in which clients are trained to examine undesired word habits and distorted ideas so that they can think more clearly and critically about their aims, values, and relationships. This approach is based on an active search for the meaning of the key words a client uses and on practicing the formation of clear abstractions, as well as on uncovering hidden assumptions and increasing awareness of the emotional tone behind the words the client has been using. Polish-born U.S. philosopher and scientist Alfred Korzybski (1879–1950) and U.S. psychologist Wendell A. L. Johnson (1906–1965) were major early exponents of this approach. See also general semantics.

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Psychology term of the day

January 13th 2025

genetic psychology

the study of the development of mental functions in children and their transformation across the lifespan. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term was preferred over the synonymous developmental psychology.