Psychology Glossary

Browse 20 psychology terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

20 Psychology Terms

Cognitive Bias
A systematic pattern of distorted judgment or reasoning that can shape decisions without people noticing. In tech culture, cognitive bias is often discussed in...
Cognitive Load
The amount of mental effort required to understand, remember, or act on information in a given situation. In tech culture the concept is widely used in...
Compassion Fatigue
Emotional exhaustion that can develop from repeated exposure to other people's stress, pain, or urgent needs, especially in support or caregiving roles. In...
Decision Fatigue
The mental exhaustion that builds up after making too many decisions, especially when each one requires attention and judgment. In workplace culture decision...
Dunning-Kruger
Short for the Dunning-Kruger effect, the tendency for people with low competence in a domain to overestimate their own ability, while more knowledgeable people...
Dunning-Kruger effect
A cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a given domain overestimate their own ability, while highly competent people tend to underestimate...
Dunning-Kruger in Tech
A reference to overconfidence among people with limited understanding, applied to technical debates, hiring, and engineering judgment.
Ego
A person's self-importance, pride, or identity investment, especially when it affects collaboration, feedback, or decision-making. In engineering culture ego...
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to recognize, interpret, and manage emotions in yourself and others, especially in communication and conflict. In engineering culture emotional...
Flow State
A state of deep concentration in which someone is fully immersed in a task and progress feels smooth and absorbing. In developer culture flow state is...
FOMO
Fear Of Missing Out — anxiety that others are having experiences you're not. In tech: fear of not adopting the latest framework. In crypto: fear of not buying...
FOMO Investing
Venture capital investment driven by fear of missing the next big thing rather than sound analysis. When VCs hear a competitor invested, rational evaluation...
Growth Mindset
The belief that abilities and intelligence can improve through effort, practice, and learning rather than being fixed traits. In workplace culture growth...
Guilt
The feeling that you have done something wrong or failed to meet a responsibility or expectation. In work culture guilt can motivate repair and accountability,...
Halo Effect
The tendency for one strong positive impression, such as a respected brand or flagship product, to influence how people perceive other parts of the company....
Imposter
How most developers feel on any given day. See: impostor syndrome. The realization that everyone else is also Googling basic syntax is the first step toward...
Imposter Syndrome
A persistent feeling of being less competent than others believe, often accompanied by fear of being exposed as fraudulent despite real evidence of capability....
Impostor Syndrome
The persistent internal experience of believing you're not as competent as others perceive you to be, despite external evidence of success. Rampant in tech,...
parasocial
Describing a one-sided relationship in which one person extends emotional energy, interest, and time toward a public figure who is unaware of their existence....
Streisand effect
The phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor information has the unintended consequence of increasing public awareness of that information....

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