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Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science ontains original, empirical contributions in the following areas of psychology: abnormal, behavioural, community, counselling, educational, environmental, developmental, health, industrial-organizational, etc.
Canadian Psychology Journal Presents generalist articles in areas of theory, research, and practice that are potentially of interest to a broad cross-section of psychologists.
Canadian Journal of Sociology Covers all aspects of sociology.

Sociology Topics

Sociology: Topic Page
Scientific study of human social behavior. As the study of humans in their collective aspect, sociology is concerned with all group activities—economic, social, political, and religious.
Social Sciences & Issues
Although human social behavior has been studied since antiquity, the modern social sciences as disciplines rooted in the scientific method date only from the 18th cent. Enlightenment.
Social Theory
From Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology
The systematic reflection on the nature of society and social relationships, social theory is intimately tied to the fate of sociology as a discipline concerned with the empirical study of social life.

Criminology: Topic Page
The study of crime, society's response to it, and its prevention, including examination of the environmental, hereditary, or psychological causes of crime, modes of criminal investigation and conviction, and the efficacy of punishment or correction (see prison) as compared with forms of treatment or rehabilitation.
Economic Sociology
From Reader's guide to the social sciences
Economic sociology (or the sociology of economic phenomena) is situated at the intersection between economics and sociology. Its intellectual origins can be traced back to the work of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim at the end of the 19th century.
Phenomenological Sociology
From The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology
Phenomenology is the study of conscious human experience in everyday life. As first developed by Alfred Schutz, phenomenological sociology is the study of the connection between human consciousness and social life.
Political Sociology
From Collins Dictionary of Sociology
The branch of sociology concerned with the study of politics or the political subsystems of society.
Social Psychology
From Cambridge dictionary of sociology
Social psychology continues to straddle the border between sociology and psychology. However, despite a number of theoretical concerns in common, sociological social psychology and psychological social psychology remain largely independent endeavors.
Sociobiology
From The Social Science Jargon-Buster
The study of the biological and evolutionary base of social behaviour.
Sociolinguistics
The study of language as it affects and is affected by social relations. Sociolinguistics encompasses a broad range of concerns.
Urban Sociology
From Collins Dictionary of Sociology
The study of social relationships and structures in the city

Society: Topic Page
At a socio-political level, a society is an extended group of individuals residing within a bounded geographic area, subject to common political authority and law, has mutual institutions, and shares a distinctive culture. At a broader level, a society is any social grouping that comes together, or is lumped together, on the basis of some shared characteristic or interest.
Communities: Topic Page
From the Latin communitas, a unified body of individuals, the term ‘community’ is one of the most important words in the modern and contemporary political, philosophical and sociological lexicon. A community is any large or small group of people sharing a common history, language, set of values or goals (CULTURE).
Culture: Topic Page
In anthropology, the integrated system of socially acquired values, beliefs, and rules of conduct which delimit the range of accepted behaviors in any given society. Cultural differences distinguish societies from one another.
Race: Topic Page
A historical means of social classification and differentiation that attempts to essentialize political and cultural differences by linking physical traits (i.e. skin, blood, genes) and social practices (i.e. religion, violence, passion) to innate, immutable characteristics (see essentialism).

Assimilation (Sociology): Topic Page
The most commonly understood form of assimilation is that of cultural assimilation.
Collective Behavior
From The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology
Treated generically, this term refers to behavior that is carried out by some sort of collective rather than by an individual.
Social change
From The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology
Social change is any alteration in the cultural, structural, population, or ecological characteristics of a social system such as a society.
Social Movements: Topic Page
Individuals united by a common purpose who act collectively to promote or resist political or social change.
Social Structure
From The Blackwell Dictionary Of Sociology
Every social system has a structure, and it is this that accounts for much of the differences between systems and the patterns of human experience and behavior that constitute what we know as social life.

Conflict: Topic Page
Conflict theory in sociology emphasizes struggles over resources and the formation of groups and social cleavages that may lead to organized conflict.
Crime: Topic Page
Behaviour or action that is punishable by criminal law. A crime is a public, as opposed to a moral, wrong; it is an offence committed against (and hence punishable by) the state or the community at large. Many crimes are immoral, but not all actions considered immoral are illegal.
Ethnicity: Topic Page
In its most restricted form [ethnicity] refers to a group’s shared biological origins; in its broader definition it more closely resembles the concept of nationality.
Gender: Topic Page
The notion of gender can be understood to be referring to the cultural assumptions and practices that govern the social construction of men, women and their social relations.
Government: Topic Page
A political system through which a body of people is administered and regulated.
Ideology: Topic Page
Set of ideas, beliefs, and opinions about the nature of people and society, providing a framework for a theory about how people should live, as well as how society is or should be organized. A nation's ideology is usually reflected in the political system it creates.
Social Classes: Topic Page
In everyday language, class refers to social groupings based on similar occupational conditions that have the same access to economic, social, and political resources.
Social Inequality: Topic Page
Social inequality is used to describe the varying levels of group and individual access to resources and power in a given society.
Social Welfare: Topic Page
Or public charity, organized provision of educational, cultural, medical, and financial assistance to the needy....

Conflict Theory: Topic Page
Conflict theorizing originated in Europe in the works of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel.
Functionalism
From The Social Science Jargon-Buster
A sociological perspective that focuses on the contributions any particular social unit makes towards the larger social system.
Marxism: Topic Page
Perhaps no other modern idea has spread as quickly and as widely as the sociopolitical ideas of the 19th-century thinker Karl Marx (1818-1883).
Positivism
From Collins Dictionary Of Sociology
The doctrine formulated by Comte which asserts that the only true knowledge is scientific knowledge.
Social Constructivism: Topic Page
Social constructivism with respect to a given phenomenon is the view that the latter does not possess an independent existence but is “constructed”—that is, generated and maintained through collective human action, thought, discourse, or other social practices.
Structuralism
From Reader's Guide to the Social Sciences
Structuralism is the approach which seeks to isolate, and decode, deep structures of meaning, organised through systems of signs inherent in human behaviour (language, ritual, dress and so on).
Symbolic Interactionism
From The Social Science Jargon-Buster
Sociological perspective that focuses on the way individuals interpret social symbols.
Utilitarianism: Topic Page
Utilitarians judge the moral value of acts, institutions and/or rules according to their consequences.

Psychology Topics

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT is an extremely successful and popular method of psychotherapy, loosely based on cognitive principles.
Functionalism
From The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
The view that mental states are defined by their causes and effects. As a metaphysical thesis about the nature of mental states, functionalism holds that what makes an inner state mental is not an intrinsic property of the state, but rather its relations to sensory stimulation (input), to other inner states, and to behavior (output).
Gestalt
School of psychology that interprets phenomena as organized wholes rather than as aggregates of distinct parts, maintaining that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Moral Psychology
From The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
The subfield of psychology that traces the development over time of moral reasoning and opinions in the lives of individuals.
Organizational Psychology
From The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology
A branch of applied psychology covering organizational, military, economic and personnel psychology and including such areas as tests and measurements, the study of organizations and organizational behaviour, personnel practices, human engineering, human factors, the effects of work, fatigue, pay, consumer surveys and market research.
Positive Psychology
Positive psychology’s first focal area, positive subjective experience, is characterized by the study of such topics as well-being, personal happiness, life satisfaction, optimal human experience, exceptional performance, states of flow (total involvement), the importance of meaningful activity, and the good life. The second focus concerns the study of positive individual traits, and the field has already identified 24 “character strengths and virtues.”
Psychoanalysis
Name given by Sigmund Freud to a system of interpretation and therapeutic treatment of psychological disorders.
Structuralism
From The Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science
As a school or system of psychology, structuralism had its antecedents in British philosophy of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depressive Illness or Manic Depression)
Formerly manic-depressive disorder or manic-depression, severe mental disorder involving manic episodes that are usually accompanied by episodes of depression.
Depression
Depression is commonly used as a definition of an emotion like despondency, dejection or gloom.
Dysthymia
From Encyclopedia of Women's Health
Dysthymic disorder is a chronic mood disorder characterized by depressed mood (extreme irritability in children and teenagers) almost every day for most of the day for at least 2 years in adults and 1 year for children and teenagers.
Postpartum Depression
Shortly after the birth of a child, many women experience a period of dysphoria known as postpartum blues. It has been estimated that up to 80% of postpartum women experience symptoms of negative mood and affect that sharply contrast with expectations of feeling happy and a sense of accomplishment.
Premenstrual Syndrome
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Any of various symptoms experienced by women of childbearing age in the days immediately preceding menstruation. It is most common in women in their twenties and thirties.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Recurrent fall or winter depression characterized by excessive sleeping, social withdrawal, depression, overeating, and pronounced weight gain.

Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a psychiatric illness in which individuals are anxious about being in situations where escape may be difficult or embarrassing.
Anxiety
Anticipatory tension or vague dread persisting in the absence of a specific threat. In contrast to fear, which is a realistic reaction to actual danger, anxiety is generally related to an unconscious threat.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
According to conventional definitions, it occurs when an individual acquires separate, multiple identities, some of which may be amnesic for others and some of which may have full awareness of the others.
Hysteria
In psychology, a disorder commonly known today as conversion disorder, in which a psychological conflict is converted into a bodily disturbance.
Panic Disorder
A panic attack is the sudden onset of intense apprehension, fearfulness, or terror, often associated with feelings of impending doom.
Phobias
From Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology
A phobia involves intense fear, triggered by the presence or anticipation of a particular stimulus. Many different kinds of phobias have received special names, including acrophobia (fear of heights), agoraphobia (fear of public places), and claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces).
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD), mental disorder that follows an occurrence of extreme psychological stress, such as that encountered in war or resulting from violence, childhood abuse, sexual abuse, or serious accident.

Anorexia
Lack of desire to eat, or refusal to eat, especially the pathological condition of anorexia nervosa, most often found in adolescent girls and young women.
Eating Disorders
The eating disorders are characterised by overvalued beliefs about the importance of body weight and shape.
Echolalia
From Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of the Handicapped and Other Exceptional Children and Adults
Echolalia is a strong, almost mandatory, tendency to repeat spontaneously what has been said by another person (Benson & Ardila, 1996).
Gambling
The wagering of either money or material goods of value on the outcome of a chance happening, such as roulette or dice-throwing, or where an element of skill can be used to judge the likelihood of an outcome, such as in horse racing or football.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessions and compulsions are fairly common mental phenomena that most people have experienced, but they can become severe enough to interfere with one's functioning.
Tourette Syndrome
Tourette syndrome is a complex debilitating neurological disorder that arises during childhood or adolescence mostly affecting people under the age of 21.

Schizophrenia
Group of severe mental disorders characterized by reality distortions resulting in unusual thought patterns and behaviors.
Psychosis
In psychiatry, a broad category of mental disorder encompassing the most serious emotional disturbances, often rendering the individual incapable of staying in contact with reality.
Catatonia
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Mental state generally characterized by statuesque posturing, muscular immobility, mutism, and apparent stupor. The muscles are held in a pliant state called waxy flexibility, and the catatonic person obediently permits himself to be rearranged into awkward positions that he may subsequently hold for hours.
Thought Disorder
From Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology
Thought disorder is typically diagnosed when a patient’s speech is incoherent and unintelligible to the listener. Eugen Bleuler, (1911/1950), who coined the term ‘schizophrenia’, believed it to be the consequence of ‘loosening of the associations’, which he argued is a fundamental symptom of the disorder.

Alzheimer's Disease
Common manifestation of dementia , thought to afflict 1 in 20 people over 65.
Aphasia
From Encyclopedia of Special Education
Everyone with the diagnosis of aphasia has an acquired language disorder, but the type of language disorder and the severity of these difficulties vary.
Delirium
From Encyclopedia of Nursing Research.
Delirium is an acute, fluctuating disturbance of attention with disorganized thinking and altered psychomotor activity (Meagher, MacLullich, & Laurila, 2008). It frequently accompanies acute physical illness and is found in all care settings and all ages.
Dementia
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
progressive deterioration of intellectual faculties resulting in apathy, confusion, and stupor. In the 17th cent. the term was synonymous with insanity, and the term dementia praecox was used in the 19th cent. to describe the condition now known as schizophrenia.
Epilepsy
A chronic disorder of cerebral function characterized by periodic convulsive seizures. There are many conditions that have epileptic seizures.
Parkinson's Disease
Degenerative disease of the brain characterized by a progressive loss of mobility, muscular rigidity, tremor, and speech difficulties. The condition is mainly seen in people over the age of 50.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
(ADHD), formerly called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, a chronic, neurologically based syndrome characterized by any or all of three types of behavior: hyperactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity.
Autism
One of a spectrum of disorders defined by problems with communication, imagination, and social interaction. The symptoms may be present from birth or may develop in early childhood, around the third year.
Cerebral Palsy
Disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination.
Developmental Disabilities
From Encyclopedia of Special Education
A term representing an umbrella category referring to a diverse group of physical, cognitive, psychological, sensory, and speech impairments that begin anytime during an individual’s development up to 22 years of age.
Dyslexia
From Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development
Although the majority of children learn to read without difficulty, a substantial minority (between 4 and 10 percent) have significant problems.
Learning Disabilities
From Encyclopedia of Special Education
Children and adults classified as learning disabled (LD) are those individuals who are of normal intelligence but suffer mental information processing difficulties.
Selective Mutism
From Encyclopedia of Special Education
Selective mutism is a psychological disorder of childhood characterized by total and persistent lack of speech in at least one specific environment (such as the classroom), despite the presence of normal speech in other environments.

Addiction
State of dependence caused by frequent and regular use of drugs, alcohol, or other substances. It is characterized by uncontrolled craving, tolerance, and symptoms of withdrawal when access is denied.
Alcoholism
Disease characterized by impaired control over the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Amphetamines
Any one of a group of drugs that are powerful central nervous system stimulants. Amphetamines have stimulating effects opposite to the effects of depressants such as alcohol, narcotics, and barbiturates.
Cannabis
Psychoactive substances obtained from Cannabis sativa or Indian hemp are the oldest euphoriants. Also called marijuana, these substances do not usually result in physical DEPENDENCE, but chronic abuse leads to passivity, apathy and inertia
Cocaine
Alkaloid drug derived from the leaves of the coca shrub. A commonly abused illegal drug, cocaine has limited medical uses.
Designer Drugs
From The Encyclopedia of Addictions and Addictive Behaviors
Although there is a long list of drugs that are banned by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as Schedule I illegal drugs, underworld chemists constantly seek to develop new drugs that create the same effects of stimulants or hallucinogens or other drugs, but whose chemical formulation has not yet been banned. These are called “designer drugs.”
Ecstasy
An illegal recreational drug in increasing use since the 1980s. It is a modified amphetamine with mild psychedelic effects, and works by releasing large a mounts of serotonin (a neurotransmitter) from the brain.
Hallucinogens
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Any substance that acts on the central nervous system to produce changes in perception and mood and often hallucinations. Hallucinogens include LSD, peyote, and mescaline. Their effects are unpredictable and they are illegal in most countries.
Heroin
Opiate drug synthesized from morphine (see narcotic). Originally produced in 1874, it was thought to be not only nonaddictive but useful as a cure for respiratory illness and morphine addiction, and capable of relieving morphine withdrawal symptoms.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)
lkaloid synthesized from lysergic acid, which is found in the fungus ergot (Claviceps purpurea). It is a hallucinogenic drug that intensifies sense perceptions and produces hallucinations, mood changes, and changes in the sense of time.
Mescaline
from Black's Medical Dictionary, 43rd Edition
Derived from the Mexican peyote cactus, Anhalonium lewinii, this is a hallucinogen used for many centuries by Indian tribes in Mexico as an intoxicant to produce ecstatic states for religious celebrations. In recent times its ability to produce temporary psychotic symptoms has been used to investigate the mechanism of PSYCHOSIS.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine, or “meth,” is an addictive central nervous system (CNS) stimulant with limited medical value.
Opioid Abuse
Following an increase in the prevalence of chronic pain and campaigns denouncing inadequate treatment of pain, the past two decades have culminated in what researchers and healthcare advocates are calling an “opioid epidemic” in Canada and the United States where prescription opioid consumption is highest worldwide.
Opium
Substance derived by collecting and drying the milky juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. Opium varies in color from yellow to dark brown and has a characteristic odor and a bitter taste.
Overdose
From Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
An overdose is the accidental or intentional use of a drug or medicine in an amount that is higher than normally used or prescribed.

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