Home > Psycho-babble
The term psycho-babble disparagingly refers to grandiloquent but allegedly empty jargon or buzzwords with a psychological tinge. As with any self-respecting jargon, practitioners find the usages normal and useful shorthand, referring to valid concepts; thus they might reject the label of "psycho-babblers". But the vagueness inherent in many psychological concepts also permits the use of "real" terminology in ways that may seem inappropriate. Some cynics suspect that this may be because some of the concepts of psychology themselves so lack precision as to become meaningless, and that true believers only frown upon psycho-babble because it represents use by non-practitioners.Users of psychological jargon may argue that cynics have invented the term as a defence against the cynics' own deep, repressed fears and traumas. By attacking and undermining the whole language of personal exploration, the cynics attempt to ensure that the time when they may have to acknowledge these parts of their psyches gets pushed into the distant future.
The term dates from at least the 1960s, the era of origin of popular widespread analysis and of counselling groups.
Cynics detect psycho-babble in the phraseology of New Agers, self-help groups, personal development coaching and LGATs (Large Group Awareness Training).
Any of the various Eliza computer programs excel at producing psychobabble.
Examples of concepts, words and phrases possibly usable in psycho-babbling:
- access to
- acknowledgementAcknowledgement may refer to— an expression of recognition, understanding, or truth of something, as well as a statement of gratitude. a message from the addressee informing the originator that the originator's communication has been received and understo
- breakthrough
- changeThis article is about the normal meaning of change (things varying). Change is also the name of a commune in the Saone-et-Loire departement in France. Change the quality of impermanence and flux, has had a chequered history as a concept. In ancient Greek
- closureClosure in inter-personal relationships comprises a mythical state, like Nirvana, wherein happiness and light reign and any previous dispute or misunderstanding gets papered over or forgotten at least from the viewpoint of the closure-seeker (self-styled
- communication
- conversation
- creativityWe can define creativity as the main tool to develop innovation. Although for many people, the word most immediately conjours associations with artistic endeavours and writing, it has also been linked to science as far back as the muses of Ancient Greece.
- empowermentEmpowerment refers to increasing the political, social or economic strength of individuals. Many times empowerment refers to members of groups that have been excluded from the decision-making process through social discrimination for example, through disc
- enrolment
- facilitationIn organizational development (OD) and Consensus decision-making , facilitation refers to the process of designing and running a successful meeting. Facilitation concerns itself with all the tasks needed to run a productive and impartial meeting. Facilita
- expressing feelings
- getting it
- holistic
- integration
- integrity
- leadership
- in one's life
- openness
- new paradigm
- having passion
- on the planet
- possibility
- projects
- quality
- racket
- really / reality
- meaningful relationship
- responsibility
- self-actualization
- spirituality
- stressed out
- taking a stand
- team spirit
- transformation
- validation
- visioning
- well-being
- win-win
- it (just) works
...and many others.
See also: glittering generality.
Popular psychology
