psychology

noun psy·chol·o·gy \ sī-ˈkä-lə-jē \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Examples: psychology in a Sentence

Editor's Note: The roots of psychology

Definition of psychology

plural psychologies

1 : the science of mind and behavior

2 a : the mental or behavioral characteristics of an individual or group

b : the study of mind and behavior in relation to a particular field of knowledge or activity

3 : a theory or system of psychology

Freudian psychology

the psychology of Jung

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psychologist

play \sī-ˈkä-lə-jist\ noun

See psychology defined for English-language learners

See psychology defined for kids

Examples of psychology in a Sentence

She studied psychology in college.
the psychology of an athlete
the psychology of crowd behavior
We need to understand the psychologies of the two people involved in the incident.

Recent Examples of psychology from the Web

In 1994, at the age of 25, Qiu moved to Paris to study psychology and feminism under Helene Cixous at the University of Paris VIII.

— ankita chakraborty, Longreads, "A Crocodile In Paris: The Queer Classics of Qiu Miaojin," 8 June 2018
While the data suggest a downward trend in both murders and shootings, crime tends to pick up with warmer weather, said Arthur Lurigio, a professor of psychology and criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago.

— ryan young, CNN, "Chicago officials laud 15th consecutive month of declining gun violence," 2 June 2018
Adam Grant, a professor of psychology and management at Wharton, was struck by Kayvon Asemani’s self-deprecating humor.

— Washington Post, "As he graduates from Wharton, Maryland boy thinks of tragedy," 25 May 2018
Though its focus is engineering and business, the school also offers degrees in psychology and the humanities.

— sandra dibble, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Tijuana's CETYS University wants to be first Mexican member of NCAA," 19 Feb. 2018
Adam Grant, a professor of psychology and management at Wharton, was struck by Kayvon Asemani’s self-deprecating humor.

— Washington Post, "As he graduates from Wharton, Maryland boy thinks of tragedy," 25 May 2018
Aides plan to squeeze in time for Trump to learn more about Kim’s psychology and strategize on ways to respond to offers Kim may make in person, but so far a detailed plan hasn’t been laid out for getting Trump ready for the summit.

— brian bennett, Time, "President Trump 'Doesn't Think He Needs' to Prepare Much for His Meeting With North Korea's Kim Jong Un," 16 May 2018
Adam Grant, a professor of psychology and management at Wharton, was struck by Kayvon Asemani’s self-deprecating humor.

— mary carole mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "As he graduates from Wharton, this former Ellicott City resident reflects on overcoming tragedy," 10 May 2018
His mother’s first academic job after earning her Ph.D. in education instruction from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln required her to teach psychology and statistics.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Public health scientist hopes to take his activism to Congress," 9 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'psychology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The roots of psychology

The word psychology was formed by combining the Greek psychē (meaning “breath, principle of life, life, soul,”) with –logia (which comes from the Greek logos, meaning “speech, word, reason”). An early use appears in Nicholas Culpeper’s mid-17th century translation of Simeon Partliz’s A New Method of Physick, in which it is stated that “Psychologie is the knowledg of the Soul.” Today, psychology is concerned with the science or study of the mind and behavior. Many branches of psychology are differentiated by the specific field to which they belong, such as animal psychology, child psychology, and sports psychology.