Glossary of Psychological Behaviors

A clear, accessible guide to the language of human psychology.

This curated glossary series is built to help you learn and use the language of psychology with clarity and confidence. Each glossary focuses on a different dimension—behavior, emotion, bias, belief—so you can make sense of the terms you encounter in essays, conversations, and everyday life. Grounded in psychology and written in plain language, each entry brings definition to what we often feel but don’t yet have words for.

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Abandonment Avoidance

A pattern of distancing oneself emotionally or physically to prevent the pain of being left. It often presents as independence or aloofness, but is fueled by the fear that closeness will inevitably lead to loss or rejection. This behavior can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, pushing others away in an attempt to preempt pain.
See also: Avoidant Behavior, Fear of Intimacy

Accommodation

A behavior pattern in which one routinely yields to others’ needs, preferences, or demands to maintain peace or avoid disapproval. While often mistaken for empathy or kindness, chronic accommodation usually stems from insecurity, guilt, or fear of conflict. Over time, it can erode self-trust and breed resentment.
See also: People-Pleasing, Boundary Erosion

Acting Out

The external expression of internal emotional conflict through impulsive, aggressive, or disruptive behaviors. Often used unconsciously to discharge intolerable feelings like shame, grief, or helplessness. It can be a cry for help disguised as defiance.
See also: Emotional Dysregulation, Protest Behavior

Appeasement Behavior

Submissive actions intended to pacify a perceived threat—emotional, relational, or physical. Common in trauma survivors and individuals with a heightened sense of interpersonal danger. Appeasement is different from healthy compromise; it’s driven by fear, not mutuality.
See also: Fawning, Safety Behaviors

Attention-Seeking

A pattern of behavior aimed at gaining validation, visibility, or control through exaggerated expression, manipulation, or disruption. While often stigmatized, attention-seeking is usually rooted in unmet emotional needs, invisibility, or attachment wounds.
See also: Validation Dependence, Narcissistic Coping

Avoidant Behavior

A strategy for managing discomfort by staying away from specific people, conversations, tasks, or internal experiences. It may be subtle—like procrastination or social withdrawal—or overt, like ghosting or isolating. Avoidance provides short-term relief but reinforces long-term anxiety and emotional disconnection.
See also: Abandonment Avoidance, Safety Behaviors

Blame Shifting

Redirecting fault or responsibility away from oneself, often by scapegoating others or reframing events. Blame shifting may serve to preserve self-image or control, but it prevents accountability and stunts relational repair.
See also: Defensiveness, Externalization

Body Checking

Repeatedly inspecting one’s appearance—via mirrors, weighing, touching, or comparison—to monitor perceived flaws or changes. This behavior often coexists with body dysmorphia, eating disorders, or identity insecurity. It functions as both a ritual and a form of emotional control.
See also: Reassurance-Seeking, Compulsive Behavior

Boundary Testing

A behavior pattern of pushing, ignoring, or violating others’ limits to assess relational power or emotional availability. It may be conscious or unconscious, and often shows up in early relationships, trauma recovery, or power-imbalanced dynamics.
See also: Emotional Manipulation, Enmeshment

Catastrophizing

Reacting to uncertainty or discomfort by immediately imagining the worst possible outcome. A cognitive and behavioral loop, catastrophizing can lead to paralyzing anxiety, avoidance, and indecisiveness.
See also: Cognitive Distortions, Anticipatory Anxiety

Clinging

Persistently holding on—emotionally, physically, or psychologically—to another person in an attempt to avoid perceived abandonment. Clinging behaviors often arise from anxious attachment and can create a cycle of dependence, suffocation, and eventual rejection. What feels like connection is often fear wearing the mask of closeness.
See also: Protest Behavior, Fear of Abandonment

Co-rumination

Engaging in repetitive, emotionally intense conversations that dwell on problems without moving toward resolution. While it can feel bonding at first, co-rumination can intensify distress, blur boundaries, and reinforce victim identity. Often mistaken for intimacy, but rooted in emotional looping.
See also: Emotional Fusion, Mutual Enabling

Codependent Behavior

Over-involvement in another person’s emotional life, often at the expense of one’s own needs, identity, or autonomy. Codependency thrives on unbalanced caretaking, emotional over-functioning, and difficulty tolerating another person’s distress without intervening.
See also: Enmeshment, Emotional Over-responsibility

Compulsive Behavior

Actions repeated with a sense of urgency or ritual to alleviate internal discomfort, anxiety, or perceived threat. Compulsions can appear benign (organizing, cleaning) or harmful (skin picking, gambling), but they always serve as emotional regulators—whether conscious or not.
See also: Reassurance-Seeking, Safety Behaviors

Conflict Avoidance

Habitual retreat from tension, disagreement, or confrontation, even when expression is needed for repair. Often driven by fear of rejection, being seen as “too much,” or the belief that conflict is inherently unsafe. Avoidance doesn’t reduce conflict—it often stores it until it leaks elsewhere.
See also: Accommodation, Appeasement Behavior

Controlling Behavior

Attempts to dictate, manage, or direct others' actions, emotions, or decisions. This behavior often masks deep-seated anxiety, insecurity, or a desire to prevent chaos. Control provides the illusion of safety but erodes trust and autonomy.
See also: Perfectionism, Emotional Over-functioning

Crisis Chasing

Creating or staying entangled in chaos, emergencies, or drama to avoid stillness, self-reflection, or internal emptiness. Crisis chasing can provide emotional stimulation, a sense of purpose, or relational control, but often leads to burnout and emotional fragmentation.
See also: Emotional Dysregulation, Drama Triangle

Defensiveness

Reactive protection of one’s self-image in response to perceived criticism or threat. It can show up as argumentativeness, denial, justification, or counterattack. Defensiveness often interrupts repair, making relationships feel adversarial rather than mutual.
See also: Blame Shifting, Shame Aversion

Denial

Refusing to acknowledge aspects of reality that feel threatening, painful, or incompatible with one’s self-concept. Denial isn’t lying—it’s psychological preservation. But when prolonged, it distorts perception, delays healing, and impairs connection.
See also: Minimization, Repression

Dependency

An overreliance on another person for emotional regulation, decision-making, or self-worth. Dependency may masquerade as closeness or trust, but it often signals arrested development in emotional autonomy.
See also: Codependent Behavior, Clinging

Depersonalization

A behavioral and perceptual experience where individuals feel detached from their own thoughts, body, or sense of self. It often shows up as “watching life from outside oneself” and can be a coping response to trauma, burnout, or chronic emotional overwhelm.
See also: Dissociation, Emotional Numbing

Detachment

Withdrawing emotional investment or presence as a way to protect the self from disappointment, vulnerability, or overstimulation. Healthy detachment supports boundaries; defensive detachment creates distance where closeness is needed.
See also: Emotional Withdrawal, Avoidant Behavior

Dissociation

A disruption in awareness, memory, or identity that often functions as a defense against overwhelming experience. Dissociation can range from mild zoning out to full emotional numbing or identity fragmentation.
See also: Depersonalization, Emotional Numbing

Displacement

Redirecting emotional energy—especially anger or frustration—away from the true source and toward a safer or less threatening target. It’s a common behavior in high-stress environments or trauma survivors, often leading to confusion and misdirected conflict.
See also: Passive-Aggressive Behavior, Protest Behavior

Distractibility

The tendency to become easily pulled away from tasks, conversations, or thoughts—either due to external stimuli or internal avoidance. While often neurological (e.g., ADHD), distractibility can also be an emotional regulation strategy.
See also: Emotional Avoidance, Task Avoidance

Emotional Avoidance

Any behavior aimed at preventing or minimizing contact with difficult internal states. It may look like busyness, sarcasm, intellectualization, or chronic helping. The behavior protects—but also prolongs—what the person fears they can’t handle.
See also: Avoidant Behavior, Safety Behaviors

Emotional Numbing

Blunting or shutting down one’s emotional responses—often after trauma, burnout, or prolonged stress. While numbing can feel like relief, it flattens both pain and joy, making connection and healing harder to access.
See also: Dissociation, Depersonalization

Emotional Over-functioning

Habitually taking responsibility for others’ feelings, needs, or outcomes, often to the detriment of one’s own internal world. It’s a form of control wrapped in helpfulness, rooted in discomfort with uncertainty or emotional chaos.
See also: Codependent Behavior, Controlling Behavior

Emotional Suppression

The conscious or unconscious act of pushing down emotional experience, either to maintain control, avoid judgment, or survive a difficult environment. Suppression can appear stoic or mature—but often carries a cost in intimacy, health, and self-trust.
See also: Repression, Emotional Avoidance

Emotional Withdrawal

Pulling back from connection, vulnerability, or expression in response to overwhelm, conflict, or fear of being seen. Emotional withdrawal may be silent, passive, or framed as “needing space,” but it often leaves others confused or destabilized.
See also: Detachment, Avoidant Behavior

Enmeshment

A lack of clear emotional or relational boundaries between individuals—often between parents and children, partners, or close friends. Enmeshment can feel like closeness, but often involves emotional over-dependence, guilt, or identity fusion.
See also: Codependent Behavior, Boundary Testing

Escapism

Engaging in distraction or fantasy to avoid difficult emotions, stressors, or aspects of reality. Escapism can take the form of binge-watching, daydreaming, excessive scrolling, or substance use. It soothes temporarily but often delays necessary growth.
See also: Emotional Avoidance, Dissociation

Excessive Reassurance-Seeking

A behavior marked by persistent asking for validation, approval, or confirmation—often to manage internal uncertainty or anxiety. The relief is temporary, reinforcing a cycle of dependence and self-doubt.
See also: Safety Behaviors, Validation Dependence

Externalization

Projecting one’s internal struggles, emotions, or dysfunctions onto other people or systems. It often serves to protect self-image by locating the “problem” outside the self.
See also: Blame Shifting, Projection

Fear of Abandonment

An intense sensitivity to signs of disconnection, rejection, or emotional distancing—real or perceived. This fear often leads to clinginess, protest behaviors, or emotional volatility in close relationships.
See also: Clinging, Protest Behavior

Fear of Intimacy

Avoiding emotional closeness due to fear of vulnerability, loss of control, or being emotionally overwhelmed. It can show up as aloofness, detachment, or chronic singlehood.
See also: Abandonment Avoidance, Emotional Withdrawal

Fawning

A trauma-based behavior in which someone excessively pleases or appeases others to avoid conflict or harm. It’s rooted in fear, not genuine connection.
See also: Appeasement Behavior, People-Pleasing

Freeze Response

An involuntary survival behavior where the body or mind becomes immobilized under threat. It’s different from indecision—this is a neurobiological pause meant to preserve safety.
See also: Emotional Numbing, Dissociation

Gaslighting Behavior

Deliberately or unconsciously causing another person to question their own memory, perception, or judgment. Often a manipulation tactic that erodes psychological safety and distorts reality.
See also: Emotional Manipulation, Projection

Ghosting

Abruptly cutting off communication without explanation. While sometimes used to establish boundaries, it often reflects emotional avoidance or conflict intolerance.
See also: Avoidant Behavior, Emotional Withdrawal

Guilt Tripping

Eliciting guilt to control or influence another person’s behavior. This may be overt or passive, but it relies on emotional coercion rather than mutual understanding.
See also: Emotional Manipulation, Shame Induction

Habitual Overcommitment

Consistently taking on more than one can handle—often to feel useful, needed, or valuable. Beneath the busyness is often a fear of what emerges in stillness.
See also: Emotional Over-functioning, Self-Abandonment

Helplessness Behavior

Exaggerating or emphasizing one's inability to act or decide, often to elicit support, avoid responsibility, or preserve a fragile sense of self.
See also: Learned Helplessness, Dependency

Hyper-independence

A compulsive need to do everything alone, often in reaction to betrayal, neglect, or chronic disappointment. What looks like strength is often self-protection.
See also: Abandonment Avoidance, Fear of Intimacy

Idealization

The tendency to view others in overly positive, unrealistic terms—often followed by sudden devaluation. It reflects a need for emotional safety, not accurate perception.
See also: Splitting, Projection

Identity Masking

Concealing one’s true beliefs, traits, or emotions to be accepted by others. It often emerges in high-stakes social or professional environments and can lead to burnout or identity diffusion.
See also: People-Pleasing, Emotional Suppression

Impulse Avoidance

Avoiding any situation where one might feel out of control or emotionally reactive. While it can seem like discipline, it’s often driven by fear of dysregulation.
See also: Emotional Over-Control, Freeze Response

Impulsivity

Acting without forethought or emotional regulation, often to discharge internal pressure or achieve quick relief. Not all impulsivity is pathological—but when chronic, it disrupts stability and trust.
See also: Acting Out, Emotional Dysregulation

Ingratiating Behavior

Overly flattering or helpful behavior meant to secure favor, inclusion, or emotional safety. It often hides insecurity or fear of rejection.
See also: Fawning, Validation Dependence

Intellectualization

Managing emotional discomfort by over-relying on logic, analysis, or abstraction. It offers control over chaos—but often disconnects people from their own experience.
See also: Emotional Suppression, Emotional Avoidance

Invalidating Behavior

Minimizing, dismissing, or distorting someone’s emotional reality. Invalidation can be subtle or overt—and causes long-term harm to trust and emotional safety.
See also: Gaslighting, Emotional Suppression

Learned Helplessness

A state in which repeated failure or powerlessness leads to the belief that no effort will change the outcome. It becomes behavioral paralysis born of exhaustion.
See also: Helplessness Behavior, Dependency

Manipulative Behavior

Influencing others through indirect, deceptive, or emotionally coercive tactics. Not all manipulation is malicious—but it always involves a distortion of clarity and consent.
See also: Gaslighting, Guilt Tripping

Martyr Behavior

Consistently sacrificing personal needs and then highlighting that sacrifice to elicit sympathy or superiority. It’s a covert way of expressing resentment or control.
See also: Emotional Over-functioning, Passive-Aggressive Behavior

Minimization

Downplaying emotional events, needs, or pain to avoid vulnerability or invalidate others. Often framed as “It wasn’t that bad,” it distances people from their own experience.
See also: Denial, Emotional Suppression

Moral Perfectionism

Striving to meet rigid moral or ethical standards to maintain self-worth or avoid shame. It can create intense inner judgment and erode compassion.
See also: Shame Aversion, Emotional Over-Control

Narcissistic Coping

Behaviors that center the self to defend against vulnerability or shame. These may include attention-seeking, image control, or emotional deflection.
See also: Attention-Seeking, Projection

Over-Explaining

Providing excessive justification or detail to preempt judgment, conflict, or misunderstanding. A trauma-adapted form of self-protection that signals low psychological safety.
See also: People-Pleasing, Emotional Over-responsibility

Overgeneralizing

Making sweeping conclusions based on limited experience—e.g., “This always happens to me.” It reinforces negative belief systems and drives stuckness.
See also: Catastrophizing, Cognitive Distortions

Panic Avoidance

Structuring one’s life to avoid any situation where panic might occur—e.g., elevators, crowds, attention. While it offers temporary control, it gradually shrinks emotional freedom.
See also: Safety Behaviors, Avoidant Behavior

Passive-Aggressive Behavior

Indirect expressions of anger or resentment—through sarcasm, backhanded comments, or “forgetting” commitments. It masks confrontation but erodes trust.
See also: Protest Behavior, Displacement

Perfectionism

A relentless pursuit of flawlessness, often fueled by shame or fear of failure. It may look like discipline, but it’s driven by anxiety, not clarity.
See also: Emotional Over-Control, Shame Aversion

People-Pleasing

Chronic prioritization of others’ needs, preferences, or feelings—usually to gain approval or avoid disapproval. It's often confused with kindness but rooted in fear.
See also: Fawning, Accommodation

Protest Behavior

Actions meant to regain connection or attention when abandonment is perceived. Includes clinging, sulking, or dramatic gestures. Often subconscious.
See also: Fear of Abandonment, Clinging

Projection

Attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or traits onto someone else. It defends against internal discomfort but distorts perception.
See also: Externalization, Gaslighting

Reassurance-Seeking

Repeatedly asking for confirmation, validation, or approval to relieve uncertainty. While comforting short-term, it fuels long-term anxiety.
See also: Validation Dependence, Safety Behaviors

Regression

Reverting to earlier patterns of behavior—childlike dependence, tantrums, or passivity—under stress. It’s an unconscious attempt to regain safety or simplicity.
See also: Protest Behavior, Clinging

Repression

The unconscious exclusion of distressing thoughts, memories, or feelings from awareness. Unlike suppression, repression operates beneath conscious intent.
See also: Denial, Emotional Suppression

Rumination

Repetitive, often circular thinking about distressing events, usually without resolution. Rumination intensifies emotional pain and prevents mental clarity.
See also: Co-rumination, Emotional Stuckness

Safety Behaviors

Subtle rituals or actions used to reduce perceived threat—like rehearsing before speaking, sitting near exits, or avoiding eye contact. These behaviors reinforce fear rather than resolve it.
See also: Avoidant Behavior, Reassurance-Seeking

Self-Abandonment

Neglecting or dismissing one’s own needs, boundaries, or truths to maintain connection, avoid conflict, or fulfill roles. Over time, it leads to emotional depletion and identity confusion.
See also: People-Pleasing, Accommodation

Self-Sabotage

Undermining your own goals, relationships, or wellbeing—often subconsciously—due to fear of success, change, or vulnerability. It protects comfort zones at the expense of growth.
See also: Protest Behavior, Avoidant Behavior

Shame Aversion

Avoiding situations, conversations, or behaviors that might trigger shame—even if they’re necessary or healthy. It limits vulnerability and fosters perfectionism.
See also: Moral Perfectionism, Emotional Suppression

Splitting

Seeing people or situations as all-good or all-bad, with little tolerance for ambiguity. It often appears in identity insecurity, trauma, or relational instability.
See also: Idealization, Black-and-White Thinking

Stonewalling

Withdrawing from communication or emotional engagement, especially during conflict. It often functions as a defense against overwhelm but leaves others in confusion or isolation.
See also: Emotional Withdrawal, Freeze Response

Task Avoidance

Putting off tasks due to overwhelm, fear of failure, or perfectionism. Task avoidance isn’t always laziness—it’s often emotional protection in disguise.
See also: Emotional Avoidance, Panic Avoidance

Testing Behavior

Subtly provoking or challenging others to gauge commitment, interest, or emotional safety. Testing can be unconscious—but it often creates relational instability.
See also: Boundary Testing, Protest Behavior

Trauma Reenactment

Unconsciously repeating relational or emotional dynamics from earlier trauma—often to seek resolution or mastery. The behavior feels familiar, but rarely healing.
See also: Protest Behavior, Emotional Stuckness

Validation Dependence

Needing others’ approval to feel secure, worthy, or “right.” It’s a fragile foundation for identity that turns external opinions into internal truths.
See also: Reassurance-Seeking, People-Pleasing

Withdrawal Behavior

Pulling back physically, emotionally, or socially to self-protect. While sometimes necessary, chronic withdrawal isolates and weakens connection.
See also: Detachment, Stonewalling