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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible pp 1–9Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Possible in Psychology

Abstract

As the science that studies the mental functioning, behavioral expression and contextual embeddedness of human beings, psychology is well equipped to deal with questions related to the possible and, more specifically, to human possibility (and impossibility). This entry examines seven main branches – general psychology, developmental psychology, individual differences, social psychology, clinical psychology, organizational psychology, and educational psychology – and focuses on: a) how the notion of the possible and associated concepts are employed by key theories; b) what the consequences of focusing on human possibility – and its inter-play with impossibility – are for our understanding of psychology’s sub-disciplines; and c) what new questions we could raise and studies we could conduct that would place psychology at the heart of the emerging field of possibility studies. The aim is to offer a prospective look at old psychological questions, one that integrates agency, indeterminacy, multiplicity, and the future into our concerns, research, and practice.

Keywords

  • Psychology
  • Human possibility
  • Developmental psychology
  • Individual differences
  • Social psychology
  • Clinical psychology
  • Organizational psychology
  • Educational psychology

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Counseling, Webster University Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Vlad P. Glăveanu

  2. Centre for the Science of Learning and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Vlad P. Glăveanu

Authors
  1. Vlad P. Glăveanu
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Correspondence to Vlad P. Glăveanu .

Section Editor information

  1. Marconi Institute for Creativity, University of Bologna, Sasso Marconi (BO), Italy

    Sergio Agnoli

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Glăveanu, V.P. (2021). The Possible in Psychology. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_168-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_168-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-98390-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-98390-5

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Chapter History

  1. Latest

    Possible in Psychology
    Published:
    13 September 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_168-3

  2. Possible in Psychology
    Published:
    19 August 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_168-2

  3. Original

    The Possible in Psychology
    Published:
    24 October 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_168-1