psychogenicadj.
/ˌsʌɪkə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪk/, U.S. /ˌsaɪkoʊˈdʒɛnɪk/ΚΠ
1897 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 8 231 To the..bias which we all inherit..is now, in these later psychogenic ages, added the passion for individual survival.
2. Having a psychological cause, esp. as opposed to a physical one.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > [adjective] > mental, not physical > in origin
psychogenetic1910
psychogenic1917
psychotoxic1951
1917 C. R. Payne tr. O. Pfister Psychoanalytic Method xxv. 32 The educator is often unable to tell whether a psychogenic or physiogenic disturbance [Ger. psychogene oder physiogene Störung] is present.
1926 J. I. Suttie tr. S. Ferenczi Further Contrib. Psycho-anal. viii. 107 A psychogenic disturbance of the voice.
1964 M. Critchley Developmental Dyslexia xii. 71 Only too often the backwardness in reading is deemed either an environmental, or a psychogenic problem, or both.
1973 Sci. Amer. Sept. 124/1 Whatever the cause of a psychotic disorder, be it biological or psychogenic, the mental content of the psychosis must reflect the input to the mind.
1995 C. Sagan Demon-haunted World xiii. 230 Some illnesses are psychogenic. Many can be at least ameliorated by a positive cast of mind.
Derivatives
ˌpsychoˈgenically adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > [adverb] > in origin
psychogenically1923
1923 Psychoanalytic Rev. 10 315 Individuals arrested on the charge of writing and sending obscene letters through mail, can often be shown to be homosexuals, whose antisocial activities are psychogenically motivated by unconscious conflicts and they should therefore be treated as mentally ill and not as criminals.
1995 C. Sagan Demon-haunted World xiii. 230 Nausea and vomiting can also be caused psychogenically—for instance by fear.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1897