Explain the meaning of encapsulation in object-oriented programming and describe the role of private methods in this context.

Encapsulation is a principle of object-oriented programming that involves hiding the internal implementation of an object and providing access to data and methods only through a defined interface. This helps protect the object's state from incorrect usage and simplifies code maintenance.

Private methods are methods that are not accessible outside the class and are used to implement internal logic. They help separate the public interface from internal details, making the code more resilient to changes.

Example in Python:

class BankAccount:
    def __init__(self, balance):
        self.__balance = balance  # private attribute

    def deposit(self, amount):
        if amount > 0:
            self.__increase_balance(amount)

    def __increase_balance(self, amount):  # private method
        self.__balance += amount

    def get_balance(self):
        return self.__balance

Here, __increase_balance is a private method that cannot be called directly from outside, which protects the balance from incorrect modification.