self-disclosure

n. the act of revealing personal or private information about one’s self to other people. In relationships research, self-disclosure has been shown to foster feelings of closeness and intimacy. In psychotherapy, the revelation and expression by the client of personal, innermost feelings, fantasies, experiences, and aspirations is believed by many to be a requisite for therapeutic change and personal growth. Additionally, pertinent revelation by the therapist of his or her personal details to the client can—if used with discretion—be a valuable tool to increase rapport and earn the trust of the client.

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Psychology term of the day

April 25th 2024

central limited capacity

the observed constraint on the processing capacity of the cognitive system—that is, the limited number of items or tasks that one can process (e.g., attend to, be aware of) at a given moment. Cognition is particularly subject to narrow capacity limits when items are novel or arbitrarily presented and when a primary task is highly paced or is assessed under an additional task load (see dual-task competition). This limited capacity affects voluntary decision making, working memory, effortful cognition, and choice reaction time, among other functions. However, capacity limits can be increased dramatically by way of chunking (organization), long-term memory, or automaticity after habituation.