The symbol for psychology or psychology studies is Ψ, which is the Greek letter psi and the shape of a trident or pitchfork. The capital-letter version of psi (Ψ) is generally preferred over the lower-case psi (ψ).
About the Greek Letter Ψ and Psychology
Psi is the 23rd letter in the Modern Greek alphabet. Psi is also the first letter in the Greek word for psychology: Ψυχολογία. The root word ψυχή (‘psichy’ or psyche), means “life”, “soul”, and “heart” in Greek.
The origins of psychology can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks along with the Romans. Psychology and philosophy are intertwined disciplines. The Greeks proposed many theories and philosophies of the human mind.
Plato, Aristotle, and other ancient Greek philosophers examined a wide range of topics relating to what we now consider psychology.
The History of Psychology
Image Versions of the Psychology Symbol
Here are examples of three psychology symbol images that you can click to download and save. These are clear (transparent) png images 300px wide.
Greek Text Versions of the Psychology Symbol
To type the psychology symbol, you can copy and paste the text Ψ on this page. You can also use the following text codes.
Ψ
Ψ
Psi symbol decimal
Ψ
Ψ
Psi symbol hex
Ψ
Ψ
Psi symbol named entity
To type capital Psi in a Word document, just type the code 03A8 and then hit ALT + X. Works like magic.
To type Ψ on a Mac:
- Press Command + Control + Spacebar to open the Character Viewer.
- Search for “Psi” and select the Ψ symbol to insert it.
What Ψ Represents
The Ψ symbol, which is the Greek letter psi, is an iconic emblem in psychology. It appears in logos of psychological associations to denote membership and authority, on academic materials as a marker of educational content, and in professional settings to identify practitioners’ expertise.
| User | Placement | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Psychological Associations | Logos, Official Documents | Represents commitment to psychological sciences; signifies authority and recognition in the field. |
| Educational Institutions | Department logos, Textbooks, Online Courses | Denotes academic content related to psychology; used to signify educational material. |
| Practitioners | Marketing Materials, Business Cards | Identifies professional expertise in psychology; enhances credibility and professional identity. |
| Publishers | Journals, Research Papers | Indicates content is scholarly and related to psychological research. |
| Digital Platforms | Social Media, Blogs, Online Campaigns | Enhances visibility of psychological content; used for branding in digital and social media. |
The Ψ symbol instantly identifies psychology content, associations, and professionals. It is used across different media—from print to digital—to enhance the visibility of psychological sciences and promotes easy recognition.
Example Symbols in the Field of Psychology
If you’re a psychology major, a psychologist, or otherwise work in the industry, you’ll no doubt come across the psychology symbol in visual images. It can also be used as shorthand writing for the word “psychology”.
Generally, however, the “human mind” dominates visual imagery relating to the term psychology. See the examples above. A focus on the workings of the brain is appropriate because psychology refers to the scientific study of the mind and behaviour.
rt4
It is also used to represent wave function
Darell Phillips
You REALLY should watch the single season series of FlashForward (2009-2010).
I picked up from the promotional teasers before the series first aired that they were pushing on each of the promos of the ten characters a common theme. The Global blackout period of 2:17 can be thought of as 137 seconds. The number is assigned to the Fine Structure Constant of Quantum Mechanics. This leads to the Wave Function that you mentioned.
I was called out by one of the showrunners for my ideas but he couldn’t confirm them of course. A month later, the show revealed all of my ideas.
I also spotted the PSI symbol actually being the literal footprint of the vertical linear accelerator towers that were partly responsible for the GBO. It humorously looked like Big Bird’s leg and foot from Sesame Street (lol).
I used the mentioning of the “FlashForward” consciousness leap of six months early in the show saying that the entire world’s population became seers of future events as ANOTHER way for the PSI symbol on the towers.
Because of the Easter egg clues allowing me to predict future details in the series, I became “Cassandra” in the Greek stories. Not believed until the future confirmed it as fact. Hehe.
It was a (too) brilliant show and wasn’t renewed. Oh, I also predicted the reveal of the 1957 Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics because of very subtle changes in continuity.
I also included in my pre-aired theory that the Kabbalah would be included. I was amazed to find that this important book of Numerology’s title ITSELF broke down into the number 137.
No less an interesting person than Richard Feynman said that every physicist should place the framed number on the wall as proof that they hadn’t figured out everything. When discovered in 1915, it was so important that the Greek letter a for alpha was assigned to it.
Sorry, as usual I get carried away. I loved this series. It was supposed to be the replacement for LOST.
Dori
please also list the keystrokes for Apple Pages. thanks!
Lerna Courses
Mac method added. Thanks for the suggestion!