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AP Test Vocab Review
All Vocab Words
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Delta waves | the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep. |
| Delusions | false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders. |
| Dendrites | a neuron’s bushy, branching exstensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body. |
| Dependent variable | the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable. |
| Depressants | drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions. |
| Depth perception | the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional; allows us to judge distance |
| Descriptive statistics | numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. |
| Developmental psychology | a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span |
| Difference threshold | the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. |
| Discrimination | (1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (2) in psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members. |
| Discriminative stimulus | in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement. |
| Dissociation | a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others. |
| Dissociative disorders | disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous thoughts, memories, and feelings. |
| Dissociative identity disorder | a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. |
| Divergent thinking | expands the number of possible problem solutions(creative thinking that diverges in different directions). |
| DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid) | a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes. |
| Double-blind procedure | an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are blind about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. |
| Down syndrome | a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. |
| Dream | a sequence of images, emotions, & thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind. Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer’s delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties |
| Representativeness Heuristic | judging the likelihood of the things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information (p. 364) |
| Repression | in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories (pp. 346, 560) |
| Resilience | the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma (p. 737) |
| Resistance | in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material (p. 710) |
| Respondent Behavior | behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus (p. 289) |
| Reticular Formation | a nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal (p. 98) |
| Retina | the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information (p. 172) |
| Retinal Disparity | a binocular cue for perceiving depth: By comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance-the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object (p. 184) |
| Retrieval | the process of getting information out of memory storage (p. 319) |
| Retroactive Interference | the disruptive effect of learning on the recall of old information (p. 345) |
| Retrograde Amnesia | an inability to retrieve information from one's past (p. 342) |
| Reuptake | a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron (p. 80) |
| Rods | retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond (p. 173) |
| Role | a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave (pp. 503, 758) |
| Rorschach Inkblot Test | the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots (p. 567) |
| Rumination | compulsive fretting; overthinking about our problems and their causes (p. 679) |
| Sampling Bias | a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample (p. 43) |
| Savant Syndrome | a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing (p. 609) |
| Scapegoat Theory | the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame (p. 785) |
| Scatterplot | a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggest the strength of the correlation |
| Schema | a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information (p. 477) |
| conversion disorder | a disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological bases can be found |
| coping | alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive,or behavioral methods. |
| coronary heart disease | the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries |
| corpus callosum | the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them. |
| correlation | a measure of the extent to which two variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other |
| correlation coefficient | a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (from -1 to +1) |
| counseling psychology | a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being |
| counterconditioning | behavior therapy procedures that use classical spaced conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; include exposure therapies and aversive conditioning |
| creativity | the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas |
| critical period | an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development |
| critical thinking | thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions.Rather, it examines assumptions, assess the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assess conclusions. |
| cross-sectional study | a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another |
| crystallized intelligence | our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age |
| CT(computed tomography) scan | a series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice of the brain structure (also called cat scan) |
| culture | the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next |
| debriefing | the postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants |
| deep processing | encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention |
| defense mechanisms | in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality |
| deindividuation | the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity |
| deja vu | that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an early experience |
| social-cultural psychology | the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking |
| social-responsibility norm | an expectation that people will help those needing their help |
| somatic nervous system | the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles |
| somatic symptom disorder | a psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause |
| somatosensory cortex | area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations |
| source amnesia | attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories |
| spacing effect | the tendency for distributed study or practiced to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice |
| split brain | a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them |
| spontaneous recovery | the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response |
| spotlight effect | overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us) |
| standard deviation | a computed measure of much scores vary around the main score |
| standardization | defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group |
| stanford-Binet | the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test |
| statistical significance | a statistical statement of how likely is that an obtained result occurred by chance |
| stereotype | a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people |
| stereotype threat | a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype |
| stimulants | drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, Ecstasy, and meth amphetamine) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions |
| stimulus | any event or situation that evokes a response |
| storage | the process of retaining encoded information over time |
| stranger anxiety | the fear of strangers that infants commonly display beginning by about eight months of age |
| stress | the process by which we precieve and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging |
| structuralism | early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind |
| Frequency | one number of complete wavelengths that pass a point on a given time |
| Frequency theory | in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch |
| Frontal lobes | portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments |
| Frustration-aggression principle | the principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression |
| Functionalism | early school of thought promoted by james and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental behavior process function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish |
| Fundamental attribution error | the tendancy for observers, when analyzing other’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition |
| Gate-control theory | the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological ‘gate’ that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. |
| Gender | the socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female |
| Gender identity | our sense of being male or female |
| Gender role | a set of expected behaviors for males or females |
| Gender typing | the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role |
| General adaption syndrome | Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, exhaustion |
| General intelligence | a general intelligence factor that, according to Speaman and others, underlines mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test |
| Generalization | the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses |
| Generalized anxiety disorder | an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal |
| Genes | the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes’ segments of dna capable of synthesizing proteins |
| Genome | the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes |
| Gestalt | an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes |
| Glial cells | cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning and thinking |
| Glucose | the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hungry |
| industrial-organized (I/O) psychology | the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces. |
| inferential statistics | numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population. |
| informational social influence | influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality. |
| informed consent | an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. |
| ingroup | "Us"- people with whom we share a common identity. |
| ingroup bias | the tendency to favor our own group. |
| inner ear | the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs. |
| insight | a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions. |
| insight therapies | a variety of therapies that aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing awareness of underling motives and defenses. |
| insomnia | recurring problems in falling or staying asleep. |
| instinct | a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned. |
| intellectual disability | a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty adapting to the demands of life. |
| intelligence | mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. |
| intelligence quotient (IQ) | 1) the ratio of mental age (ma) over chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus IQ=ma/ca * 100). 2) the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100, with scores assigned to relative performance above or below average. |
| intelligence test | a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores. |
| intensity | the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude. |
| interaction | the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another (such as heredity). |
| internal locus of control | the perception that you control your own fate. |
| interneurons | neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs. |
| interpretation | in psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight. |
| intimacy | in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in the late adolescence and early adulthood. |
| Operant behavior | behavior that operates on the environment producing consequences (pg 289) |
| Operant chamber | in operant conditioning research, a chamber (aka a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforce; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking (pg 276) |
| Operant conditioning | a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforce or diminished if followed by a punisher (pg 275) |
| Operational definition | a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. Ex: human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures (pg 39) |
| Opiates | opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depresss neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety (pg 250) |
| Opponent-process theory | the theory that opposing retinal process (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. Ex: some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green. ( pg 179) |
| Optic nerve | the nerve that varies neural impulses from the eye to the brain (pg 173) |
| Organizational Psychology | an I/O psychology subfield that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change (pg 828) |
| Other-Race effect | the tendency to recall faces of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races. (also called the cross-race effect and the own=race bias) (pg 786) |
| Out group | “Them”- those perceived as different or apart from our ingroup (pg 784) |
| Overconfidence | the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments (pg 365) |
| Panic disorder | an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations. Often followed by worry over a possible next attack (pg 662) |
| Parallel Processing | the processing of many aspects of problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving. |
| Parapsychology | the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis (pg 167) |
| Parasympathetic nervous system | the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy (pg 87) |
| Parietal lobes | portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position (pg 105) |
| Passionate Love | an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship (pg 803) |
| Sexual response cycle | the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson – excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution (pg 406) |
| Shallow processing | encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words (pg 324) |
| Shaping | an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior (pg 276) |
| Short-term memory | activated memory that hold a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten (pg 319) |
| Signal detection theory | a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness (pg 156) |
| Skewed distribution | a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value (pg 58) |
| Sleep | periodic, natural loss of consciousness – as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation (pg 227) |
| Sleep apnea | a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings |
| Social anxiety disorder | intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of such (Formerly called social phobia) (pg 662) |
| Social clock | the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement (pg 544) |
| Social exchange theory | the theory that our social behaviors is an exchange process the aim of which is to maximize benefits and maximize costs (pg 809) |
| Social Facilitation | improved performance on simple or well learned tasks in the presence of others (pg 771) |
| Social Identity | the “we” aspects of our self concept; the part of our answer to “who am I?” that comes from our group membership (pg 519) |
| Social Leadership | group oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and other supports (pg 838) |
| Social Learning Theory | The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished (pg 504) |
| Social Loafing | The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pulling their efforts towards attaining a common goal, than when individually accountable. (pg 773) |
| Social Psychology | the scientific study of how we think about, influence and relate to one another. (pg 14, 754) |
| Social Script | cultural model guide for how to act in various situations (pg792) |
| Social Trap | a situation in which conflicting parties by which rationally pursuing their self-interests rather than the good of the group, become caught in mutual destructive behavior (pg 810) |
| Social-cognition perspective | views behavior as influenced by the interaction between people’s traits (including their thinking) and their social context (pg 587) |
| drive-reduction theory | the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state that motivates an organism to satisfy the need |
| DSM-5 | the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders |
| dual processing | the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks |
| echoic memory | a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds |
| eclectic approach | an approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client's problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy |
| Ecstasy(MDAA) | a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen; produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and long-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition |
| educational psychology | the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning |
| effortful processing | encoding that requires attention and conscious effort |
| ego | the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. |
| egocentrism | the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view |
| electroconvulsive therapy(ECT) | a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetisized patient |
| electroencephalogram(EEG) | an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes place on the scalp. |
| embodied cognition | in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments |
| embryo | the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month |
| emerging adulthood | a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood |
| emotion | a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience |
| emotional intelligence | the ability to perceive, understanding, manage, and use emotions |
| emotion-focused coping | attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction |
| empirically derived test | a test developed by testing a pool of items selecting those that discriminate between groups |
| unconditional positive regard | a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance |
| unconditioned response(UR) | in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus |
| unconditioned stimulus(US) | in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally-naturally and automatically-triggers a response |
| unconscious | according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptably thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware |
| validity | the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to |
| variable-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals |
| variable-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses |
| vestibular sense | the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance |
| virtual reality exposure therapy | an anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to electronic simulations of their greatest fears |
| visual cliff | a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals |
| wavelength | the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next |
| Weber's law | the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage |
| Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale(WAIS) | the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance subtests |
| Wernicke's area | controls language reception-a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression |
| withdrawal | the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing and addictive drug or behavior |
| working memory | a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory |
| X chromosome | the sex chromosome found in both men and women; females have two and males have one |
| Y chromosome | the sex chromosome found only in males |
| Yerkes-Dodson | the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases |
| Young-Helmsholtz trichromatic theory | the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors-one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue-which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color |
| zygote | the fertilized egg; it enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo |
| Empiricism | the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation |
| Encoding | the processing of information into the memory system---for example, by extracting meaning |
| Endocrine sytem | the body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream |
| Endorphins | ”morphine within”---natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure |
| Environment | every external influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us |
| Epigenetics | the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change |
| Equity | a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it |
| Estrogens | sex hormones secreted in greater amounts in females that by males and contributing to female sex characteristics |
| Evidence-based practice | clinical decision making that integrates the best available research, with clinical expertise and patient characteristics and preferences |
| Evolutionary perspective | the study of the evolution of behavior and mind, using principles of natural selection |
| Experiment | a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) |
| Experimental group | in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable |
| Experimental psychology | the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method |
| Explicit memory | memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare” (also called declarative memory) |
| Exposure therapies | behavioral techniques that treat anxiety by exposing people (in imagination or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid |
| External Locus of Control | the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate |
| Extinction | the diminishing of a conditioned response |
| Extrasensory perception (ESP) | the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition |
| Extrinsic motivation | a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment |
| Facial feedback effect | the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness |
| absolute threshold | the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time |
| accommodation | (1)in sensation and perception, the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina. (2) in developmental psychology, adapting our current understandings (schema) to incorporate new information |
| achievement motivation | a desire for significant accomplishment; for mastery of skills or ideas; for control; and for attaining a high standard |
| achievement test | a test designed to assess what a person has learned |
| acquisition | in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditional stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response |
| action potential | a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon |
| active listening | empathetic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature Roger's client-centered therapy. |
| adaption-level phenomenon | our tendency to form judgements (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience |
| addiction | compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors (such as gambling) despite known adverse consequences |
| adolescence | the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence |
| adrenal glands | a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress |
| aerobic exercise | sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety |
| aggression | any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy |
| agonist | a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response |
| agoraphobia | fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic |
| AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) | a life threatening sexually transmitted infection caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS depletes the immune system, leaving the person vulnerable to infections |
| alcohol use disorder | alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use |
| algorithm | a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier but also more error prone |
| all-or-none response | a neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing |
| hormones | chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream and effect other tissues |
| hue | the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light. i.e. the color names |
| human factors psychology | an I/O psychology sub field that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be safe and easy to use |
| humanistic psychology | a historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people |
| humanistic theories | view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy growth |
| hypnosis | a social interaction in which one person responds to another persons suggestion with certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts or behavior will spontaneously occur |
| hypothalamus | a brain structure lying below the thalamus: it's in charge of activities(like eating and drinking), helps control the endocrine system through the pituitary gland and is linked to emotion and reward |
| hypothesis | a testable prediction, often implied by a theory |
| iconic memory | a picture image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second |
| id | According to Freud, it is the all the pleasures that people want to unconsciously perform |
| identical twins | twins who develop from the fertilized egg that separated into two babies |
| identification | process in which children develop into their parents with their superego |
| identity | Our sense of who we are |
| illness anxiety disorder | disorder in which a patient interprets normal physical sensations as a symptom of a disease |
| illusory correlation | the perception of a relationship that isn’t there |
| implicit memory | ability to remember separately from a conscious recollection |
| imprinting | the process where young animals form attachments early on life |
| inattention blindness | failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed somewhere else |
| incentive | a positive or negative environment stimuli that motivates behavior |
| independent variable | the experimental factor that is manipulated and its effect is being studies |
| individualism | giving priority to ones goals over group goals |
| intrinsic motivation | a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake |
| intuition | an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning |
| iris | a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening |
| James-Lange theory | the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological response to emotion-arousing stimuli |
| just-world phenomenon | the tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get |
| kinesthesia | the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts |
| language | our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning |
| latent content | according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content) |
| latent learning | learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it |
| law of effect | Throndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely |
| learned helplessness | the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events |
| learning | the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors |
| lens | the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina |
| lesion | tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue |
| levels of analysis | the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon |
| limbic system | neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives |
| linguistic determinism | Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think |
| lobotomy | a psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients. The procedure cut the nerves connecting the frontal loves to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain |
| longitudinal study | research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period |
| long-term memory | the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences |
| long-term potentation | an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory |
| Grammar | a system of rules that enable us to communicate with and understand others. In a given language, semantics is the set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences |
| GRIT | Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction- a strategy designed to decrease international tensions |
| Grit | In psychology, grit is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals |
| Group Polarization | The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group |
| Group Therapy | Therapy conducted with groups rather than individuals, permitting therapeutic benefits from group interaction |
| Grouping | The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups |
| Groupthink | The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives |
| Habitation | Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation |
| Hallucinations | False sensory experience, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus |
| Hallucinogens | Psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input |
| Health Psychology | subfield of psychology that provides psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine |
| Heritablity | The portion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes |
| Heuristics | A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms |
| Hierarchy of needs | Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with psychological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active |
| Higher-order Conditioning | A procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second conditioned stimulus |
| Hindsight Bias | The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it |
| Histogram | A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution |
| Hippocampus | A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage |
| Homeostasis | A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of the body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level |
| Mirror neurons | frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy. |
| Mirror-image perceptions | mutual views often held by conflicting people, as when each side sees itself as ethical and peaceful and views the other side as evil and aggressive. |
| Misinformation effect | incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event. |
| Mnemonics | memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices. |
| Mode | the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution. |
| Modeling | the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior. |
| Molecular genetics | the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes. |
| Monocular cues | depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone. |
| Mood disorders | psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes. (Major depressive disorder, mania, and bipolar disorder.) |
| Mood-congruent memory | the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood. |
| Morpheme | in a language,the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word (such as a prefix). |
| Motivation | a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior. |
| Motor (efferent) neurons | neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands. |
| Motor cortex | an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements. |
| MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) | a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. MRI scans show brain anatomy. |
| Mutation | a random error in gene replication that leads to a change. |
| Myelin sheath | a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next. |
| Narcissism | excessive self-love and self-absorption. |
| Narcolepsy | a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times. |
| Natural selection | the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. |
| Natural observation | observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation. |
| Nature-nurture issue | the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture. |
| Near-death experience | an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations |
| Negative reinforcement | increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not a punishment.) |
| Nerves | bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs |
| Nervous system | the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems |
| Neurogenesis | the formation of new neurons |
| Neuron | a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system |
| Neurotransmitters | chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons |
| Neutral stimulus (NS) | in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning |
| Nicotine | a stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco |
| Night terrors | a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during NREM-3 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered |
| Norm | an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe "proper" behavior |
| Normal curve (normal distribution) | a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes |
| Normative social influence | influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval |
| NREM sleep | nonrapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep |
| Object permanence | the awareness that thing continue to exist even when not perceived |
| Observational learning | learning by observing others. (Also called social learning.) |
| Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) | a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions). |
| Occipital lobes | portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields |
| Oedipus complex | according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father |
| One-word stage | the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words |
| community psychology | a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups |
| companionate love | the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined |
| complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) | as yet unproven health care treatments intended to supplement (compliment) or serve as alternatives to conventional medicine, and which typically are not widely taught in medical schools, used in hospitals, or reimbursed by insurance companies |
| concept | a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people |
| concrete operational stage | in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7-11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events |
| conditioned reinforcer | a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer |
| conditioned response (CR) | in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus |
| conditioned stimulus (CS) | in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR) |
| conduction hearing loss | hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves cochlea |
| cones | retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations |
| confirmation bias | a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence |
| conflict | a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas |
| conformity | adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard |
| confounding variable | a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment |
| consciousness | our awareness of ourselves and our environment |
| conservation | the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects |
| content validity | the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest |
| continuous reinforcement | reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs |
| control group | in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment |
| convergent thinking | narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution |
| Psychoactive drugs | A chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods. |
| Psychoanalysis | Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts. Freud’s therapeutic technique of free association, resistances, dreams, and transferences. |
| Psychodynamic psychology | A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders. |
| Psychodynamic theories | Therapy deriving from psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and that seeks to enhance self-insight. |
| Psychological disorder | A syndrome marked by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior. |
| Psychology | The science of behavior and mental processes. |
| Psychometrics | The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits. |
| Psychoneuroimmunology | The study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health. |
| Psychopharmacology | The study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior. |
| Psychophysics | The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience with them. |
| Psychophysiological illnesses | Literally, “mind-body” illnesses; stress-related illnesses such as headaches and hypertension. |
| Psychosexual stages | Freud’s theory of childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic,latency, genital) during which the pleasure-seeking Id focuses on distinct erogenous zones. |
| Psychosis | Psychological disorder, which a person loses contact with reality; irrational ideas and distorted perception. |
| Psychosurgery | Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue to change behavior. |
| Psychotherapy | Treatment involving psychological techniques; between trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth. |
| Puberty | Sexual maturation; a person becomes capable of reproducing. |
| Punishment | An event that tends to decrease the behavior it follows. |
| Perception | the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information enabling us to recognize meaningful and objects and events. |
| Perceptual adaptation | envision the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field |
| Perceptual constancy | perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change |
| Perceptual set | A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. |
| Peripheral nervous system | The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body |
| Peripheral route persuasion | occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues such as a speakers attractiveness |
| personality | an individuals characteristic pattern of thinking feeling and acting |
| Personality disorders | psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning |
| Personality inventory | A questionnaire on which people respond to items designed to you gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors used to assess selected personality traits |
| Personality psychology | the study of an individuals characteristic pattern of thinking feeling and acting |
| Personnel psychology | an I/O psychology subfield that focuses on employee recruitment selection placement training appraisal and development |
| PET(positron emission tomography) scan | A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes well the brain performs a given task |
| Phi phenomenon | an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession |
| Phobia | An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object activity or situation |
| Phoneme | in a language the smallest distinctive sound unit |
| Pitch | a tones experienced highness or lowness depends on the frequency |
| Pituitary gland | the endocrine system's most influential gland under the influence of the hypothalamus regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands |
| Place theory | in hearing the theory that links the pitch we here with the place with the cochlea's membrane is stimulated |
| Placebo effect | experimental results caused by expectations alone any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an insert substance or condition which the recipient assumes is an active agent |
| Plasticity | the brains ability to change especially during childhood by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience |
| Polygraph | a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies that manages several of the psychological responses accompanying emotion |
| schizophrenia | a psychological disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished or inappropriate emotional response |
| secondary sex characteristic | nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair |
| selective attention | the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus |
| self | in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions |
| self-actualization | according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential |
| self-concept | all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?" |
| self-control | the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards |
| self-disclosure | revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others |
| self-efficacy | one's sense of competence and effectiveness |
| self-esteem | one's feelings of high or low self-worth |
| self-fulfilling prophecy | a belief that leads to its own fulfillment |
| self-serving bias | a readiness to perceive oneself favorably |
| sensation | the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
| sensorimotor stage | in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities |
| sonsorineural hearing loss | hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves |
| sensory (afferent) neurons | neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord |
| sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation |
| sensory interaction | the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste |
| sensory memory | the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system |
| serial position effect | our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and fist items (a primary effect) in a list |
| set point | the point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight |
| sexual dysfunction | a problem that consistently impairs arousal or functioning |
| sexual orientation | an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual orientation), or both sexes (bisexual orientation) |
| Pupil | adjustable opening in center of eye through which light enters |
| Random assignment | assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance |
| Random Sample | a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion |
| Range | difference between highest and lowest scores |
| Rational | emotve behavior therapy |
| Recall | measure of memory in which person must retrieve information learned earlier |
| Reciprocal Determinism | the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment |
| Reciprocity Norm | an expectation that people will help those that have helped them |
| Recognition | measure of memory in which person need only identify items previously learned |
| Reflex | a simple, automatic response to a stimulus |
| Refractory period | a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired |
| Regression toward the mean | tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back toward their average |
| Reinforcement | in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows |
| Reinforcement Schedule | pattern that defines how often a response will be reinforced |
| Relative Deprivation | perception that we are worse off relative to those with whom we compare ourselves |
| Relearning | measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again |
| Reliability | extent to which a test yields consistent results |
| REM Rebound | tendency for REM sleep to increases following REM sleep deprivation |
| REM Sleep | Rapid Eye Movement Sleep, A recurring stage in which vivid dreams commonly occur |
| Repetivie transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) | application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain, used to stimulate or suppress brain activity |
| Replication | repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances |
| Alpha Waves | The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state. |
| Altruism | Unselfish regard for the welfare of others. |
| Amphetamines | Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded up body functions and associated energy and mood changes. |
| Amygdala | Two lima-bean sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion. |
| Anorexia Nervousa | An eating disorder in which a person maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight. |
| Antagonist | A molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response. |
| Anterograde Amnesia | An inability to form new memories. |
| Antianxiety Drugs | Drugs used to control anxiety and agitation. |
| Antidepressant Drugs | Drugs used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD. |
| Antipsychotic Drugs | Drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other severe thought disorders. |
| Antisocial Personality Disorder | A personality disorder in which a person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even towards friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist. |
| Anxiety Disorders | Psychological disorders characterized by distressing persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety. |
| Aphasia | Impairment od language, usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area Or to Wernicke’s area. |
| Applied Research | Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. |
| Aptitude Test | A test designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn. |
| Assimulation | Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas. |
| Association Areas | Areas of the cerebral cortex not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking. |
| Associative Learning | Learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli or a response and its consequences. |
| Attachment | An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation. |
| Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | A psychological disorder marked by the appearance at age 7 of one or more of the following three symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. |
| Binocular cues | depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes. |
| Biofeedback | a system for electronically recording, amplifying and feeding information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension. |
| Biological psychology | the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. |
| Biomedical therapy | prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the person’s physiology |
| Biopsychosocial approach | an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis. |
| Bipolar disorder | a mood disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. (Formerly called manic-depressive disorder.) |
| Blind spot | the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there. |
| Bottom-up processing | analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to brain’s integration of sensory information. |
| Brainstem | the oldest part of the central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions. |
| Broca’s area | controls language expression-an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech. |
| Bulimia nervosa | an eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) with purging (by vomiting or laxative use) or fasting. |
| Bystander effect | the tendency for giving bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present. |
| Cannon-Bard theory | the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) psychological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion. |
| Case study | a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. |
| Catharsis | in psychology, the idea that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges. |
| Central nervous system (CNS) | the brain and spinal cord. |
| Central route persuasion | occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. |
| Cerebellum | the “little brain” at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory. |
| Cerebral cortex | the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center. |
| Change blindness | failing to notice changes in the environment. |
| Attitude | feelings, often influenced by our beliefs that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events. |
| Attribution theory | the theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition. |
| Audition | the sense or act of hearing. |
| Austism spectrum disorder (ASD) | a disorder that appears in children and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and receptive behaviors. |
| Automatic processing | unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well- learned information, such as word meanings |
| Automatic nervous system (ANS) | the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms. |
| Availability heuristic | estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory;if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common |
| Aversive conditioning | a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol). |
| Axon | the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands. |
| Babbling stage | beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language. |
| Barbiturates | drugs that depress central nervous system activity; reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment. |
| Basal metabolic rate | the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure. |
| Basic research | pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base. |
| Basic trust | according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers. |
| Behavior genetics | the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. |
| Behavior therapy | therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors. |
| Behavioral approach | in personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development. |
| Behavioral psychology | the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors. |
| Behaviorism | the view of psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologist today agree with (1) but not with (2). |
| Belief perseverance | clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited. |
| Binge-eating disorder | significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt without the compensatory purging of fasting that marks bulimia nervosa. |
| LSD | powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid. |
| lymphocytes | the two types of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system: B lymphocytes release antibodies that fight bacterial infections; T lymphocytes attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances. |
| major depressive disorder | mood disorder in which a person experiences in the absence of drugs or another medical condition, two or more weeks with five or more symptoms, at least on of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure. |
| mania | mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state. |
| manifest content | according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream ( as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content ). |
| maturation | biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relativity uninfluenced by experience. |
| mean | average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores. |
| median | middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it. |
| medical model | concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated ,and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital. |
| medulla | base of the brainstem; controls heart-beat and breathing. |
| memory | persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. |
| menarche | first menstrual period. |
| menopause | time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines. |
| mental age | measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8. |
| mental set | tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past. |
| mere exposure effect | phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them. |
| meta-analysis | procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies. |
| methamphetamine | powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speed-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels. |
| middle ear | chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones ( hammer, anvil, and stirrup ) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window. |
| Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory | most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders. |
| chromosomes | threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes |
| chunking | organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically |
| circadian rhythm | the biological clock; regular body rhythms (for example: of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24 hour cycle |
| classical conditioning | a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli to anticipate events |
| client-centered therapy | a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate client's growth |
| clinical psychology | a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders |
| cocaine | a powerful and addictive stimulant, derived from the coca plant, producing temporarily increased alertness and euphoria |
| cochlea | a coiled bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses |
| cochlear implant | a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea |
| cognition | all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating |
| cognitive dissonance theory | the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when 2 of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. for example, when we become aware that our attitudes clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes. |
| cognitive learning | the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language. |
| cognitive map | mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it. |
| cognitive neuroscience | the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language) |
| cognitive psychology | the scientific study of all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering,and communicating. |
| cognitive therapy | therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions. |
| cognitive-behavioral therapy | (CBT) a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavioral therapy (changing behavior) |
| cohort | a group of people from a given time period |
| collective unconscious | Curl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history |
| collectivism | giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly |
| color constancy | perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object |
| population | all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn |
| positive psychology | the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive |
| positive reinforcement | increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. a positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response |
| posthypnotic suggestion | a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer being hypnotized; used by some clinicians to hemp control undesired symptoms and behaviors |
| posttraumatic growth | positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises |
| posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jump anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience |
| predictive validity | the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; is it assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and criterion behavior |
| prejudice | an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members. it usually involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action |
| preoperational stage | in Piaget's theory, the stages which a child learns to use language but does not yet learn to comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic |
| primary reinforcer | an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need |
| primary sex characteristics | the body structures that make human reproduction possible (overies, testes) |
| priming | the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing ones perceptions, memory, or response |
| proactive interference | the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information |
| problem-focused coping | attempting to alleviate stress directly- by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor |
| projective test | a personality test, such as the Roraschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics |
| prosocial behavior | positive, constructive, helpful behavior (opposite of antisocial behavior) |
| prototype | a mental image, or best example of a category. matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin) |
| psychiatry | a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorder; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy |
| Factor analysis | a statistical procedure used to identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on the test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score |
| False consensus effect | the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and our behaviors |
| Family therapy | therapy that treats the family as a system. Views an individual’s unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members |
| feature detectors | nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement |
| Feel-good, do-good phenomenon | people’s tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood |
| Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) | physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features |
| fetus | the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth |
| figure-ground | the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground) |
| Fixation | according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved |
| Fixed-interval schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed |
| Fixed-ratio schedule | in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses |
| Flashbulb memory | a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment of event |
| Flow | a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one’s skills |
| Fluid intelligence | our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood |
| fMRI (functional MRI) | a technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRO scans. fMRI scans show brain function as well as its structure |
| foot-in-the-door phenomenon | the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a large request |
| formal operational stage | in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts |
| fovea | the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster |
| framing | the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments |
| fraternal twins (dizygotic twins) | twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment |
| free association | in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing |
| structural interviews | an interview process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applications, each of whom is rated on established scales |
| subjective well-being | self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people’s quality of life. |
| subliminal | below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness |
| substance use disorder | continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk |
| superego | the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations |
| superordinate goals | shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation |
| suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) | a pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness |
| survey | a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group |
| sympathetic nervous system | the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations |
| synapse | the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft |
| systematic desensitization | a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias |
| task leadership | goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals |
| telegraphic speech | early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram-“go car”-using mostly nouns and verbs |
| temperament | a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity |
| temporal lobes | portion of the celebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear |
| tend and befriend | under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend) |
| teratogens | (literally, “monster makers”) agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm |
| terror-management theory | a theory of death-related anxiety, explores people’s emotional and behavioral response to reminders of their impending death |
| testing effect | enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning |
| Testosterone | the most important male sex hormone, which stimulates the growth of male characteristics during puberty and in the fetus |
| thalamus | the brains sensory control center, located on top of the brain stem: it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla |
| thc | the major ingredient in marijuana; triggers mild hallucinations |
| Thematic Apperception Test | a projective test in which people express their inner feelings amd interests through the stories they make about their ambiguous scenes |
| theory | an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events |
| theory of mind | peoples ideas about their own and others mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts anf the behaviors these might predict |
| therapeutic alliance | a bond of trust and mutual understanding between a therapist and client who work together constructively to overcome the patients problems |
| threshold | the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse |
| token economy | an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later overcome the clients problem |
| tolerance | the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drugs effect |
| top-down processing | information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations |
| trait | a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and expectations |
| transduction | conversion of one form of energy into another |
| transference | the patients transfer of emotions linked with other relationships |
| transgender | an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs than those asociated with their birth gender |
| two-factor theory | the theory by Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion, you must be physically aroused and cognitively label he arousel |
| two-word stage | beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in two-word statements |
| type a | Term by Friedman and Rosenman for competitive, hard-driving and aggressive people |
| type b | Term by Friedman and Rosenman for easygoing and relaxed people |
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