In “The Feeling Good Handbook,” American psychologist David D. Burns describes how the mind…
Blog articles
Healthy Thoughts: Maultsby's Five Rules.
The American Maultsby developed five rules to determine whether a thought is healthy…
Intimacy, passion and commitment
The triangle theory of love posits that love can be understood as the vertices of a triangle. These three are intimacy, passion, and commitment. Intimacy refers to feelings of closeness, connection, and attachment. It encompasses feelings that give rise to the experience of warmth in the relationship. Passion refers to the drives that lead to romance, physical […]
Friendship Break, The Absence Test
It's possible that friendships possess qualities of passion or commitment, allowing friendship to go beyond mere liking. One test that can distinguish mere liking from love that goes beyond liking is the absence test. When a typical friend you like goes away for a long period, we miss […]
Bobo doll study, distinction between modeling and performing
To understand how modeling works, a distinction must be made between learning and performing. Whether the person actually performs the learned behavior, however, depends on the consequences at the moment of performance. Bandura (1965) demonstrated this distinction between learning and performing with his classic Bobo doll study. A Bobo doll is a life-size, inflatable plastic doll […]
When is it time to seek help?
Many people wait a long time before seeking help. We try to solve things ourselves, we put things into perspective, or we think…
Four types of communication to avoid in a conflict.
Renowned American relationship therapist John Gottman uses the metaphor of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse to…
Doctor Faustus
In the excerpt below from Doctor Faustus, the musician and composer Adrian Leverkühn is in conversation with the devil. Leverkühn intends to complete his Apocalyptic Oratorio as the masterpiece of a virtuoso, but the price he pays for his virtuosity is high. The devil assisting him demands that Leverkühn renounce any claim to […]
Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.
Within self-determination theory, a distinction is made between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation…