Psychological fiction

Psychological fiction (also psychological realism) is a literary genre that emphasizes interior characterization, as well as the motives, circumstances, and internal action which is derivative from and creates external action; not content to state what happens, it rather reveals and studies the motivation behind the action. Character and characterization are prominent, often delving deeper into characters' mentalities than other genres. Psychological novels are known as stories of the "inner person." Some stories employ stream of consciousness, interior monologues, and flashbacks to illustrate characters' mentalities. While these textual techniques are prevalent in literary modernism, there is no deliberate effort to fragment the prose or compel the reader to interpret the text.

Early examples
The Tale of Genji, written in 11th-century Japan, was considered a psychological novel by Jorge Luis Borges. In the west, the origins of the psychological novel can be traced as far back as Giovanni Boccaccio's 1344 Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta; that is before the term psychology was coined.

The first rise of the psychological novel as a genre is said to have started with the sentimental novel of which Samuel Richardson's Pamela is a prime example.

In French literature, Stendhal's The Red and the Black and Madame de La Fayette's The Princess of Cleves are considered early precursors of the psychological novel. The modern psychological novel originated, according to The Encyclopedia of the Novel, primarily in the works of Nobel laureate Knut Hamsun – in particular, Hunger (1890), Mysteries (1892), Pan (1894) and Victoria (1898).

Notable examples
One of the greatest writers of the genre was Fyodor Dostoyevsky. His novels deal strongly with ideas, and characters who embody these ideas, how they play out in real world circumstances, and the value of them, most notably The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment.

In the literature of the United States, Henry James, Patrick McGrath, Arthur Miller, and Edith Wharton are considered "major contributor[s] to the practice of psychological realism."

Subgenres

 * Psychological thriller - Psychological thriller is a subgenre of the thriller and psychological novel genres, emphasizing the inner mind and mentality of characters in a creative work. Because of its complexity, the genre often overlaps and/or incorporates elements of mystery, drama, action, slasher, and horror — often psychological horror. It bears similarities to the Gothic and detective fiction genres.
 * Psychological horror - Psychological horror is a subgenre of the horror and psychological novel genres, which psychological, emotionally and mentally relies on the state of characters to generate horror. On occasions, it overlaps with the psychological thriller subgenre to enhance the story suspensefully.
 * Psychological drama - Psychological drama is a subgenre of the drama and psychological novel genres, which focuses upon the emotional, mental and psychological development of characters in a dramatic work.