ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews what is meant by the term the psychological contract. It will critically evaluate how these contracts can influence our personal relationships and expectations, as well as our interactions with clients/service users/experts by experience, as well as, our relationships with organisations and employers and vice versa. The term psychological contract refers to the covert and usually unspoken and unwritten assumptions, beliefs, expectations and presumptions that influence and pervade all relationships. It is seen as so important by the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development, that in 2018 they issued guidance on the psychological contract. On an individual level the psychological contract belongs to our inner beliefs, which often remains buried in our unconscious. They also reside in the collective memories, expectations and culture of families and organisations: they are silent, hidden, powerful inherited influences on attitudes and behaviours.
