Stockholm syndrome

a mental and emotional response in which a captive (e.g., a hostage) displays seeming loyalty to—even affection for—the captor. The captive may come to see law enforcement or rescuers as the enemy because they endanger the captor. The name derives from the case of a woman who was held hostage in 1973 during a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, and became so emotionally attached to one of the robbers that she broke her engagement to another man and remained faithful to her former captor during his prison term. [term coined by Swedish psychiatrist and criminologist Nils Bejerot (1921–1988)]

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Psychology term of the day

December 26th 2024

socionomics

n. the study of nonsocial influences on social groups; that is, the ways in which the physical environment modifies society. This includes the effects of different terrains and climatic conditions on economic and social organization.