Glossary / Lexicon

Contact is a term used in criminal justice that refers to an investigator who maintains contact with the undercover officer. Contact may also be defined as the relationship between a person and others. Contact involves a person's feeling of connection with others or the world outside herself/himself while maintaining separation from it.

Description

In psychology, "contact" refers to the interaction or connection between individuals or between an individual and their environment. Contact encompasses various forms of interpersonal engagement, including verbal communication, physical proximity, and emotional connection. It plays a fundamental role in social development, interpersonal relationships, and psychological well-being, influencing perceptions, attitudes, and behavior. Contact can occur in diverse contexts, such as friendships, romantic relationships, family dynamics, group settings, and therapeutic encounters. The quality of contact can vary based on factors such as trust, intimacy, reciprocity, and cultural norms, shaping the nature and outcomes of social interactions. Understanding contact dynamics is essential for studying topics such as attachment, empathy, social influence, and group cohesion in psychology.

Application Areas

• Interpersonal relationships
• Social psychology research
• Group dynamics
• Counseling and psychotherapy
• Community psychology
• Cross-cultural psychology

Treatment and Risks

• Treatment: Contact-based interventions, such as group therapy or social skills training, aim to improve interpersonal skills, increase social support, and enhance well-being by facilitating positive interactions and connections with others. Techniques such as role-playing, communication exercises, and exposure therapy may be employed to promote effective contact and relationship building.
• Risks: Risks associated with contact in psychology include social rejection, interpersonal conflict, and emotional distress resulting from negative interactions or lack of meaningful connections. Additionally, overreliance on social media and digital communication platforms may lead to superficial or disconnected forms of contact, potentially exacerbating feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Examples

• A therapist encourages a client with social anxiety disorder to gradually increase contact with others through exposure to social situations and role-playing exercises.
• A group of students collaborates on a project, engaging in regular meetings and communication to achieve their shared goals.
• A parent comforts their child with physical contact and soothing words after a distressing experience, fostering a sense of security and trust.

Similar Concepts and Synonyms

• Interaction
• Connection
• Engagement
• Relationship
• Association
• Communication

Weblinks

• travel-glossary.com: 'Contact' in the travel-glossary.com

Articles with 'Contact' in the title

• Contact call: Contact call: Contact call refers to a sound produced by a bird that appears to tell a nearby bird of the caller's location. Often, contact calls are used by family members
• Contact hypothesis: Contact hypothesis refers to the prediction that contact between the members of different groups will reduce intergroup conflict - that regular interaction between members of different groups reduces prejudice, providing that it occurs unde . . .
• Equal-status contact: An Equal-status contact refers to a contact on an equal basis. Just as a relationship between people of unequal status breeds attitudes consistent with their relationship, so do relationships between those of equal status
• Initial contact information: Initial contact information generally includes data obtained prior to the first interview as well as in-take materials. Typically included are such items as information on record, in.ake data, psychological testing results, and the in-take . . .
• Contactful interactions: Contactful interactions is defined as interactions that are open to the other's point of view and clearly express the speaker's point of view. In the psychology context, contactful interactions refer to social interactions or exchanges . . .
• Contact boundaries: Contact boundaries: Contact boundaries is defined as the boundaries that distinguish between one person/or one aspect of a person and an object, another person, or another aspect of oneself
• Contact comfort: Contact comfort: Contact comfort is defined as a pleasant and reassuring feeling human and animal infants get from touching or clinging to something soft and warm, generally their mother- the pleasure derived from physical contact with . . .

Summary

In psychology, contact refers to the interaction and connection between individuals or between an individual and their environment. It plays a crucial role in social development, interpersonal relationships, and psychological well-being, influencing perceptions, attitudes, and behavior. Contact-based interventions aim to improve interpersonal skills and enhance well-being, while risks include social rejection and emotional distress resulting from negative interactions. Understanding contact dynamics is essential for studying various aspects of social behavior and promoting positive relationships and social support networks.

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