5 Pop Psychology Terms Defined
In the age of pop psychology, terminology that once resided in the fringes has now entered the common vernacular. While this is a promising cultural shift in many ways, these terms can now be used and abused at whim. Let’s take a look at five common pop psychology terms in today’s culture so that we can use this language with accuracy, clarity, and power.
Many definitions have been adapted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the primary diagnostic tool for American mental health clinicians. The below information is not a substitution for clinical diagnosis or treatment.
Codependence
What it is:
Emotional, financial, or behavioral enmeshment with another person; a lack of individual identity or choice
Example: “I can’t go anywhere without my husband.”
Example: “If you leave me, I won’t be able to live anymore.”
Taking excessive responsibility for another’s words, actions, or emotional states.
Example: “It’s my fault she went out drinking again. If I stopped nagging her about chores, she wouldn’t need to escape.”
Example: “He can’t help it that he doesn’t interact with my family. New people make him uncomfortable.”
Placing excessive responsibility for one’s words, actions, or emotional states on another person
Example: “It’s not my fault I hit you; you won’t stop provoking me.”
Example: “You make me so jealous. If you’d stop flaunting your looks, I wouldn’t have to be so protective.”
What it isn’t:
A medical or diagnostic term
Mutual dependence in a relationship
Consulting another person about decisions
Sharing difficult emotions or experiences with another person in search of support, advice, or comfort
Trauma
What it is:
First or secondhand exposure to a real or perceived life-threatening situation
Examples: natural disasters; physical, emotional, or sexual violence; neglect; violent or accidental death
PTSD and related reactions such as prolonged physiological and psychological distress, flashbacks, nightmares, dissociation, avoidance, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, and sleep disturbance (for the full list of PTSD symptoms, go here)
What it isn’t:
Run-of-the-mill (albeit painful) emotional experiences such as rejection from a job, a “standard” romantic breakup (for example, a breakup in a generally healthy relationship), or a failed class
Disclaimers:
Two different people can experience the same event in dramatically different ways. What one person may experience as trauma another may not. This is part determined by their interpretation of the event and emotional, psychological, and physiological reactions over time
Criteria for what qualifies as a traumatic experience has broadened over time. For example, romantic betrayal (like in an affair) and poverty can elicit trauma responses in many people. Although the DSM-5 does not cover these experiences in the criteria for PTSD and other trauma-related disorders, they can still be experienced as traumatic situations. This article on small “t” versus large “T” traumas may lend clarity.
Narcissism
What it is:
A pattern of grandiose beliefs or behaviors
Examples: fantasies of unlimited success, power, beauty, and achievement; entitlement; haughty attitudes or behaviors
Excessive need for admiration
Examples: constant praise-seeking; excessive desire for appreciation and acknowledgement in social, work, or personal settings
A lack of empathy
Examples: interpersonally manipulative or exploitative; excessively envious
What it isn’t:
A cocky or selfish attitude
Someone who talks about themselves a lot
Disclaimer:
The DSM-5 criteria require at least five symptoms out of this list to qualify for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Gaslighting
What it is:
A manipulative tool used to absolve oneself of responsibility for one’s hurtful words or behaviors
Example: “My brother constantly teases me about my acne. When I finally told him to stop because he was hurting my feelings, he told me to stop being so sensitive.”
Intentional denial of another’s emotional experience; a projection of blame onto another
Example: “A classmate started gossiping about me to all my friends at school. When I confronted them about it, they told me I must be imagining things. They then blamed me for unfairly accusing them.”
What it isn’t:
A medical or diagnostic term
Communicating how someone has hurt you
Stubbornness
Difficulty admitting wrongdoing
Neurodivergent
What it is:
An atypical cognitive, social, or emotional way of presenting oneself; an alternative for the labels “normal” or “abnormal” in describing functioning
Example: repetitive, obsessive interests or behaviors, as witnessed in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Example: persistent difficulty reading and responding to social cues
Example: persistent difficulty or inability meeting age-appropriate intellectual benchmarks, as witnessed in Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, or other intellectual disorders
May include physical, developmental, intellectual, or sensory disabilities
Examples: intellectual disabilities, ADHD, tic disorders, stutters
What it isn’t:
A medical or diagnostic term in itself
Quirkiness, weirdness, or atypical interests
Social awkwardness or discomfort
Difficulty in academic or work settings
Disclaimer:
This term is still gaining popularity, and as such the definition is rapidly expanding.
The field of psychology is constantly changing and growing, which is both a strength and a cause for frustration. With all the above terminology, continual research and diligence is needed to ensure clarity in our descriptions of ourselves and others.