trauma

1. any disturbing experience that results in significant fear, helplessness, dissociation, confusion, or other disruptive feelings intense enough to have a long-lasting negative effect on a person’s attitudes, behavior, and other aspects of functioning. Traumatic events include those caused by human behavior (e.g., rape, war, industrial accidents) as well as by nature (e.g., earthquakes) and often challenge an individual’s view of the world as a just, safe, and predictable place.

2. any serious physical injury, such as a widespread burn or a blow to the head. —traumatic adj.

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Psychology term of the day

May 3rd 2024

metapsychology

n. the study of, or a concern for, the fundamental underlying principles of any psychology. The term was used by Sigmund Freud to denote his own psychological theory, emphasizing its ability to offer comprehensive explanations of psychological phenomena on a fundamental level. Freud’s criteria for a metapsychology were that it should explain a psychical phenomenon in terms of (a) its dynamics, (b) its topology, and (c) its economic aspects. Although these specific criteria apply most clearly to Freud’s own theory, the notion of metapsychology as explanation at a fundamental and comprehensive level continues to be a useful construct. —metapsychological adj.