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Topic Review
Psychometric Investigation of the Workplace Social Courage Scale
One such courage dimension relevant to most workplaces is social courage. Howard and colleagues created a scale for assessing social courage. The Workplace Social Courage Scale (WSCS) consists of 11 items on a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree) and showed satisfactory psychometric properties in the validation study. The scale has been used to further investigate the nature of social courage.
  • 2.6K
  • 11 May 2022
Topic Review
Freezing Effect and Bystander Effect
As a passive and defensive response to a stressful event, freezing is characterized by a reduction in body movements, bradycardia (a decrease in heart rate), and an increase in muscle tone. The phenomenon of freezing is commonly linked with fear and is believed to enhance processes related to perception and attention, which help in identifying signals that dictate suitable actions. The phenomenon of bystander inaction, commonly referred to as the bystander effect or bystander apathy, is a psychological and social occurrence where an individual observing an emergency situation fails to assist the person in distress.
  • 2.6K
  • 12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Gym-Goers’ Motivation to Exercise
To better understand the fitness industry, it is necessary to investigate how appearance and weight management motivations could influence gym-goers’ intention to exercise. Sedentary lifestyle contributes to greater health risks and hence physical exercise motivations becomes an important aspect to study. Beyond its direct managerial implication to fitness trainers and gyms, it would benefit the public sector, educational institutions, health philanthropists and also international organisations interested in the societal wellbeing agenda.
  • 2.6K
  • 15 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Factors that Affect Happiness
Happiness is a crucial human disposition that denotes a construct characterizing positive feelings in individuals and overall well-being. It can be perceived as a relatively stable state linked to diverse facets of an individual’s life and distinguishes itself from more transient emotions like joy or sadness. The comprehension of happiness holds significant importance in philosophical, psychological, scholarly, narrative, and governmental spheres, but conclusive agreement regarding the factors that genuinely engender happiness remains elusive. Happiness is “commonly understood as how much one likes the life one lives” . While the meaning and attainment of happiness may differ from person to person, levels of happiness also often fluctuate from one day to the next, and a pandemic such as COVID-19 is likely to change the dynamics of existing happiness.
  • 2.5K
  • 11 Jul 2023
Topic Review
The Complexity of the Human–Animal Bond
The human–animal relationship is ancient, complex and multifaceted. It may have either positive effects on humans and animals or poor or even negative and detrimental effects on animals or both humans and animals. A large body of literature has investigated the beneficial effects of this relationship in which both human and animals appear to gain physical and psychological benefits from living together in a reciprocated interaction. However, analyzing the literature with a different perspective it clearly emerges that not rarely are human–animal relationships characterized by different forms and levels of discomfort and suffering for animals and, in some cases, also for people. The negative physical and psychological consequences on animals’ well-being may be very nuanced and concealed, but there are situations in which the negative consequences are clear and striking, as in the case of animal violence, abuse or neglect. Empathy, attachment and anthropomorphism are human psychological mechanisms that are considered relevant for positive and healthy relationships with animals, but when dysfunctional or pathological determine physical or psychological suffering, or both, in animals as occurs in animal hoarding.
  • 2.5K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD)
Problematic internet use or pathological internet use is generally defined as problematic, compulsive use of the internet, that results in significant impairment in an individual's function in various life domains over a prolonged period of time. Young people are at particular risk of developing internet addiction disorder, with case studies highlighting students whose academic performance plummets as they spend more and more time online. Some also experience health consequences from loss of sleep, as they stay up later and later to chat online, check for social network status updates or to further progress in a game. Excessive Internet use has not been recognized as a disorder by the World Health Organization, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) or the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). However, the diagnosis of gaming disorder has been included in the ICD-11. Controversy around the diagnosis includes whether the disorder is a separate clinical entity, or a manifestation of underlying psychiatric disorders. Research has approached the question from a variety of viewpoints, with no universally standardized or agreed definitions, leading to difficulties in developing evidence based recommendations. As adolescents (12–19 years) and emerging adults (20–29 years) access the Internet more than any other age groups and undertake a higher risk of overuse, of the Internet the problem of Internet behavior disorder is most relevant to young people.
  • 2.5K
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Social Media
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder where people experience intrusive thoughts and must practice rituals to relieve their discomfort. More specifically, it would be better to refer to them as obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders characterized by continuous mental or behavioral activity that fills most of the people’s time, with the aim of neutralizing invasive mental content. All these activities are always “ego-dystonic”, that is, they are repugnant or inconsistent with the person’s values.
  • 2.4K
  • 29 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Depersonalization
Depersonalization can consist of a detachment within the self, regarding one's mind or body, or being a detached observer of oneself. Subjects feel they have changed and that the world has become vague, dreamlike, less real, lacking in significance or being outside reality while looking in. Chronic depersonalization refers to depersonalization/derealization disorder, which is classified by the DSM-5 as a dissociative disorder, based on the findings that depersonalization and derealization are prevalent in other dissociative disorders including dissociative identity disorder. Though degrees of depersonalization and derealization can happen to anyone who is subject to temporary anxiety or stress, chronic depersonalization is more related to individuals who have experienced a severe trauma or prolonged stress/anxiety. Depersonalization-derealization is the single most important symptom in the spectrum of dissociative disorders, including dissociative identity disorder and "dissociative disorder not otherwise specified" (DD-NOS). It is also a prominent symptom in some other non-dissociative disorders, such as anxiety disorders, clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoid personality disorder, hypothyroidism or endocrine disorders, schizotypal personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, migraines, and sleep deprivation; it can also be a symptom of some types of neurological seizure. In social psychology, and in particular self-categorization theory, the term depersonalization has a different meaning and refers to "the stereotypical perception of the self as an example of some defining social category".
  • 2.4K
  • 02 Dec 2022
Biography
Jan Baptist Van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont (/ˈhɛlmɒnt/;[1] Dutch: [ˈɦɛlmɔnt]; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from the Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be "the founder of pneumatic chemistry".[2] Van Helmont is remembered
  • 2.4K
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Children’s and Adolescents’ Happiness and Family Functioning
Researchers represents the first systematic review of the literature on the relation between happiness (i.e., subjective well-being, life satisfaction, positive affect) and family functioning in families with children aged 6-18 years. 
  • 2.4K
  • 18 Jan 2023
Topic Review
The Psychology of Forgiveness
Forgiveness psychology is a thriving field with ample implications for personal and relational well-being, community health, international relations, and politics. The aim of this entry is to briefly introduce the science of forgiveness that emerged over three decades ago and document its major developments. In this entry, definitions of forgiveness, the emergence of the scientific study on forgiveness, models of forgiveness, forgiveness education, measures of forgiveness, and benefits of forgiveness will be discussed, followed by several implications for consideration.
  • 2.4K
  • 26 Jul 2025
Topic Review
Video Game Engagement and Social Development in Children
Video games have rapidly emerged as a prevalent facet of children’s daily experiences globally. Their appeal to children can be attributed to features such as engaging content, immediate feedback, user interactivity, broad media accessibility, and applicability across a diverse age spectrum.
  • 2.4K
  • 20 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Physical Exercise among College Students in China
The status of the physical exercise of college students has been a popular topic in China. It has been established that adults engaging in regular physical activity will improve their health. For college students, maintaining good exercise habits can effectively reduce their risk of chronic diseases. Moreover, the academic years are the optimum time for university students to learn the fundamentals of exercise, form the proper participation habits in sports, and cultivate a lifelong sports consciousness.
  • 2.4K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Derealization
Derealization is an alteration in the perception of the external world, causing sufferers to perceive it as unreal, distant, distorted or falsified. Other symptoms include feeling as if one's environment is lacking in spontaneity, emotional coloring, and depth. It is a dissociative symptom that may appear in moments of severe stress. Derealization is a subjective experience pertaining to a person's perception of the outside world, while depersonalization is a related symptom characterized by dissociation towards one's own body and mental processes. The two are commonly experienced in conjunction with one another, but are also known to occur independently. Chronic derealization is fairly rare, and may be caused by occipital–temporal dysfunction. Experiencing derealization for long periods of time or having recurring episodes can be indicative of many psychological disorders, and can cause significant distress among sufferers. However, temporary derealization symptoms are commonly experienced by the general population a few times throughout their lives, with a lifetime prevalence of up to 26-74% and a prevalence of 31–66% at the time of a traumatic event.
  • 2.3K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Defining Infidelity
The experience of infidelity can be a traumatic affair that ruptures an individual's expectation of their most significant person. Its impact can cause significant emotional, psychological, and cognitive dysfunction for all parties involved. And although its definition is fluid, infidelity can occur in several different ways.
  • 2.3K
  • 10 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Highest IQ: Measurement, Claims, and Evidence
Claims about the “highest IQ” emerge where measurement science meets extreme statistical rarity. Within their validated ranges, modern IQ tests are robust predictors of consequential outcomes; however, ceiling effects, norm scarcity in the far right tail, and possible ability differentiation at high levels complicate any ordinal ranking of individuals. This entry explains how deviation IQ is constructed; why widely used instruments saturate at the top; and how item response theory (IRT), high-difficulty item banks, and conservative linking/extrapolation can, in principle, extend assessable range. Taking the publicly attributed figure “IQ 276 (SD=24; ≈210 on SD=15, z≈7.33)” to YoungHoon Kim as a didactic contemporary illustration, we argue a good-faith, science-forward pathway exists by which extreme estimates might be modeled—provided multiple independent, supervised datapoints and transparent IRT calibration support such inference. We do not adjudicate any individual’s exact score here; rather, we clarify why, under mainstream psychometric theory, extraordinary values are methodologically approachable though demanding, and why evaluations should emphasize multi-method evidence, uncertainty, and reproducibility.
  • 2.3K
  • 25 Aug 2025
Topic Review
Psychology of Social Class
The psychology of social class is a branch of social psychology dedicated to understanding how social class affects individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. While social class has long been a subject of analysis in fields such as sociology, political science, anthropology, medicine and epidemiology, its emergence within the field of psychology is much more recent.
  • 2.3K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
College Student’s Academic Help-Seeking Behavior
Seeking academic help has a positive impact on students’ ability to handle challenges, leading to improved academic success. As the academic landscape becomes more competitive, the importance of students seeking and using academic support is widely recognized for enhancing their learning experience and achievements. 
  • 2.3K
  • 24 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Hard Skills and Soft Skills
The distinction between hard and soft skills has long been a topic of debate in the field of psychology, with hard skills referring to technical or practical abilities, and soft skills relating to interpersonal capabilities.
  • 2.3K
  • 06 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Emotional Labor and Burnout among Teachers
A significant amount of emotional labor and burnout takes place during teaching. Teaching is a multitasking profession that consists of both cognitive and emotional components, with teachers engaging in emotional labor on a daily basis as an instrumental part of achieving teaching goals and positive learning outcomes. 
  • 2.2K
  • 28 Dec 2021
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