PSYCHOLOGY
psychology /saɪˈkɑːlədʒi/ (n):
# [uncountable] the scientific study of the mind and how it influences behaviour.
clinical/ educational/ child/ sport psychology.
Kevin has a masters degree in psychology.
She's a professor of psychology at Harvard University.
pop psychology /ˌpɒp saɪˈkɒlədʒi/ (n):
# [uncountable] the use by ordinary people of simple or fashionable ideas from psychology in order to understand or explain people’s feelings and emotional problems; theories and advice about people's behaviour that are easily understood and intended to help people improve their lives.
The novel is full of pop psychology.
Why is it that women buy the majority of pop psychology and self-help manuals?
social psychology /ˌsəʊʃl saɪˈkɒlədʒi/ (n):
# [uncountable] the study of people’s behaviour, attitudes, etc. in society.
popular etymology /ˌpɒpjələr etɪˈmɒlədʒi/ (n):
# (also folk etymology) [uncountable, countable] a popular but wrong belief about the origin of a word or phrase.
# a process by which a word is changed, for example because people believe that it is related to another word, even though it is not, or to make a foreign word sound more familiar.