Zeitgeist

n. German, “spirit of the times”: a term used by German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) to refer to a type of supraindividual mind at work in the world and manifest in the cultural worldview (see Weltanschauung) that pervades the ideas, attitudes, and feelings of a particular society in a specific historical period. Used in this way, the term has a distinctly deterministic flavor. A Zeitgeist theory of history stresses the role of such situational factors as economics, technology, and social influences in contrast to the great man theory of history. The term was first used in English by British poet and literary critic Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) and introduced to psychology in 1929 by Edwin G. Boring, who used the concept as an organizing theme for his discussions of creativity, scientific change, and historiography. See also Ortgeist.

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Psychology term of the day

April 27th 2024

interpersonal theory

the theory of personality developed by Harry Stack Sullivan, which is based on the belief that people’s interactions with other people, especially significant others, determine their sense of security, sense of self, and the dynamisms that motivate their behavior. For Sullivan, personality is the product of a long series of stages in which the individual gradually develops “good feeling” toward others and a sense of a good me toward himself or herself. The individual also learns how to ward off anxiety and correct distorted perceptions of other people, learns to verify his or her ideas through consensual validation, and above all seeks to achieve effective interpersonal relationships on a mature level.