Definition

Noun: 1. The origin and development of mental or psychological processes, personality, or behavior. This meaning refers to the study of how psychological phenomena, such as thoughts, emotions, or personality traits, originate and evolve, either in an individual or in a theoretical sense. 2. The causation of a physical disorder or symptom by psychological or emotional factors. This meaning specifically refers to the development of a condition (e.g., an illness, pain, or disorder) in an individual where the primary cause is mental or emotional stress, conflict, or trauma, rather than a physiological or organic disease.

Usage Examples

• Meaning 1 (Development of psychological aspects):
  • The psychologist's research focused on the psychogenesis of moral reasoning in children.
  • Theories of personality often explore the psychogenesis of traits like introversion or anxiety.
• Meaning 2 (Psychological causation of disorder):
  • The patient's chronic headaches were attributed to psychogenesis, stemming from unresolved stress.
  • In some cases, gastrointestinal issues can have a psychogenesis, linked directly to emotional state.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in clinical, psychoanalytic, and theoretical psychology contexts to distinguish psychological origins from biological ones.
• It can be contrasted with terms like "organic genesis" or "somatogenesis," which refer to physical or biological causes.

Variants and Related Words

• Psychogenic (adjective): Caused by psychological factors.
  • She was diagnosed with a psychogenic movement disorder.
• Psychogenetics (noun): The study of the psychological origins and development of behavior and mental processes.

Synonyms

• Meaning 1: Psychological development, mental ontogeny.
• Meaning 2: Psychosomatic origin, functional etiology (in a medical context).

Antonyms

• Meaning 2: Organic genesis, somatogenesis, physiological etiology.

Noun

1. a general term for the origin and development of almost any aspect of the mind
2. the development in the life of an individual of some disorder that is caused by psychological rather than physiological factors