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AP Psych Review
These are terms that I was struggling with going into the AP test.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| empirical evidence | information acquired by observation or experimentation; "seeing is believing" |
| the American Psychological Association (APA) | leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the US |
| Likert Scales | scale used to represent people's attitude to a topic |
| social desirability bias | a tendency to give socially approved answers |
| third variable problem | a confounding variable that influences both variables of interest |
| descriptive statistics | statistics that summarize data from a sample |
| inferential statistics | statistics that infer the properties of a population |
| regression to the mean | tendency for extreme scores to fall back toward the average |
| positive skew | when a distribution includes more low scores; tail on the right |
| negative skew | when a distribution includes more high scores; tail on the left |
| effect sizes | a quantitative measure of the magnitude of the experimental effect |
| meta analysis | a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies |
| informed assent | agreement by a minor or adult not able to give legal consent to participate in research |
| cerebral cortex | the brain's outer layer responsible for thinking and processing information |
| frontal lobes | involved in speaking, muscle movements, and making plans |
| prefrontal cortex | part of the frontal lobes involved in decision making and cognitive behavior |
| motor cortex | area at the rear of the frontal lobes responsible for voluntary movements |
| parietal lobes | located in upper back area of the skull, responsible for processing sensory information |
| somatosensory cortex | area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations |
| occipital lobes | the back part of the brain involved in visual processing |
| temporal lobes | lower part of cerebral cortex that plays roles in hearing, understanding language, and memory |
| brainstem | the oldest part of the brain, responsible for automatic survival functions |
| reticular activating system | network of neurons in the brainstem essential for arousal and attention |
| limbic system | brain region involved in emotions and drives |
| thalamus | brain's relay station for sensory information |
| hypothalamus | brain region controlling several metabolic processes, including temperature and emotions |
| amygdala | almond-shaped clusters in the limbic system linked to emotion, especially fear |
| multiple sclerosis (MS) | a disease that involves an immune system attack on the myelin sheath of nerve fibers in the central nervous system |
| myasthenia gravis | an autoimmune disorder that impairs communication between nerves and muscles |
| glutamate | a major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in information transmission throughout the brain |
| GABA | a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain; calm inducer |
| Substance P | a neurotransmitter involved in pain perception |
| acetylcholine | a neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction |
| ghrelin | a hormone that increases food intake and promotes fat storage |
| leptin | a hormone that suppresses appetite and increases energy expenditure |
| norepinephrine | a hormone and neurotransmitter involved in arousal, as well as in learning and mood regulation |
| contralateral hemispheric organization | the arrangement where each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body |
| hemispheric specialization | the control of distinct neurological functions by the left and right hemispheres of the brain |
| Broca's Area | the region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere involved in producing speech |
| Broca's Aphasia | a condition resulting from damage to Broca's area, causing impaired speaking |
| Wernicke's Area | a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression |
| Wernicke's Aphasia | a condition resulting from damage to Wernicke's area, causing difficulty in understanding or creating coherent speech |
| electroencephalogram (EEG) | a device that records electrical activity in the brain |
| functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) | imaging technique that measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow |
| lesioning | damaging precise brain areas to study their functions in behaviors and mental processes |
| shift work | jobs that require workers to be on duty at times when most people are asleep, affecting circadian rhythms |
| NREM Stage 1 | the lightest stage of sleep, often marked by slowed breathing and heart rate |
| hypnagogic sensations | brief sensory phenomena that occur just before falling asleep or upon awakening |
| NREM Stage 2 | sleep stage characterized by periodic sleep spindles- bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain activity |
| NREM Stage 3 | deepest sleep stage during which brain emits delta waves |
| REM Sleep | a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity; a dream state |
| activation-synthesis | theory that suggests that the brain engages in a lot of random neural activity, dreams make sense of that activity |
| consolidation theory | proposes that dreams help to process and consolidate memories from that day |
| narcolepsy | a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks |
| REM sleep behavior disorder | a sleep disorder in which sufferers physically act out their dreams |
| somnambulism | sleepwalking during deep sleep |
| agonists | drugs that increase neurotransmitter action |
| antagonists | drugs that inhibit neurotransmitter action |
| transduction | conversion of one form of energy into another. in sensation, transforming stimulus into neural impulses. |
| just-noticeable difference | the minimal change in stimulus that can just barely be detected |
| sensory adaptation | diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation |
| Weber's Law | the principle that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage |
| synesthesia | the perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway |
| retina | the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing receptor rods and cones plus layers of other neurons that process visual information |
| blind spot | the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there |
| visual nerve | the optic nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain |
| lens | the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina |
| accomodation | the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina |
| nearsightedness | a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly that distant objects because distance objects focus in front of the retina |
| farsightedness | a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina |
| photoreceptors | rods and cones located in the retina that convert light energy into neural signals |
| rods | retinal receptors that detect black, white, and grey; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond |
| 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 details and give rise to color sensations. |
| trichromatic theory | theory stating that the retina contains three different color receptors for red, green, and blue, which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color |
| opponent-process theory | theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision (ex. red-green) |
| fovea | the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster |
| afterimages | visual illusions that occur after the initial visual stimulus has been removed, typically when staring at a colored image then looking away |
| ganglion cells | neurons in the retina that connect to the bipolar cells; their axons from the optic nerve |
| dichromatism | a form of color blindness characterized by the inability to see one or more colors |
| monochromatism | a rare form of color blindness where individuals cannot see any color, only shades of gray |
| prosopagnosia | an inability to recognize the faces of familiar people, typically as a result of damage to the brain |
| blindsight | a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it |
| wavelength | the distance between successive peaks of a wave, typically used in the context of electromagnetic waves |
| pitch | a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency |
| amplitude | the height of a wave's crest, which affects perceived loudness in sounds |
| loudness | the intensity of a sound wave, which humans perceive as volume |
| pitch perception | how high or low a sound is perceived, which is related to the frequency of the sound wave |
| place theory | theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated |
| volley theory | the theory that relates the frequency of a sound to the pulsing of the auditory neurons |
| frequency theory | theory stating that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, allowing us to sense pitch |
| sound localization | the ability to determine the origin of a sound in space |
| conduction deafness | hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea |
| sensorineural deafness | hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerve |
| thalamus | the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla |
| supertasters | individuals who have more taste buds than average and can taste flavors more intensely |
| medium tasters | individuals with an average number of taste buds, experiencing average intensity of flavors |
| nontasters | individuals who have fewer taste buds that average and taste flavors less intensely |
| sensory interaction | the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste |
| warm/cold receptors | sensory receptors that respond to temperature changes |
| gate control theory | |
| vestibular sense | the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance |
| semicircular canals | structures in the ear involved in maintaining balance |
| kinesthesis | the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts |
| bottom-up processing | analysis starting with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information |
| top-down processing | information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, drawing on our expectations and experiences |
| perceptual set | a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another |
| Gestalt Psychology | an approach emphasizing that the whole of anything is greater that its parts |
| closure | the perceptual tendency to mentally complete incomplete figures |
| figure and ground | organizing the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground) |
| proximity | grouping nearby figures together |
| cocktail party effect | ability to attend to only one voice among many |
| inattentional blindness | failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere |
| change blindness | failing to notice changes in the environment |
| binocular depth cues | depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes |
| retinal disparity | a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes; the brain computes distance |
| convergence | a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object |
| monocular depth cues | depth cues available to either eye alone |
| relative clarity | a monocular cue for perceiving depth; hazy objects are farther away than sharp, clear objects |
| relative size | a monocular cue that smaller objects are perceived as more distant |
| texture gradient | a gradual change from coarse, distinct texture to fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance |
| linear perspective | parallel lines appear to converge with distance |
| interposition | if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer |
| perceptual constancies | perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change |
| apparent movement | the perception that a stationary object is movement; |
| prototypes | a mental image or example of a category |
| heuristics | shortcuts or rules of thumb for problem-solving; faster than algorithms but not guaranteed to work |
| representativeness heuristic | judging likelihood based on how well an example represents a specific category |
| availability heuristic | estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common |
| mental set | a tendency to approach situations in a certain way because that method worked in the past |
| priming | the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory |
| framing | the way an issue is posed; framing can significantly affect decisions and judgments |
| Gambler's Fallacy | the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event of the event hasn't occurred recently |
| Sunk-Cost Falllacy | the tendency to continue an endeavor once an investment in time, money, or effort has been made |
| convergent thinking | a type of critical thinking in which one focuses on finding a single, correct answer |
| functional fixedness | the tendency to perceive the functions of an object as fixed and unchanging |
| testing effect | enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simple re-reading, information |
| metacognition | thinking about thinking; awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes |
| g (general intelligence) | a factor that underlies specific mental abilities and is measured by every task on an intelligence test |
| multiple intelligence | theory proposing that there are different types of intelligence that are independent of one another |
| construct validity | the extent to which a test measure that theoretical construct it is intended to measure |
| predictive validity | the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior |
| stereotype threat | anxiety that one's behavior might confirm a negative stereotype about one's group |
| stereotype lift | performance improvement that results when threats are removed and individuals are reminded that they might outperform others |
| Flynn Effect | the observed rise over time in standardized intelligence test scores |
| episodic memory | the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place |
| semantic memory | memory for knowledge about the world |
| implicit memory | retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection |
| procedural memory | type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits |
| prospective memory | remembering to perform a planned action or recall a planned intention at some future point in time |
| long-term potentiation | an increase in a synapses firing potential after brief, rapid, stimulation; believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory |
| working memory | a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming and auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from the long-term memory |
| central executive | the part of working memory that directs attention and processing |
| phonological loop | the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information |
| visuospatial sketchpad | the part of working memory that holds visual and spatial information |
| multi-store model | a memory model that suggests information flows through a series of storage systems |
| sensory memory | the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system |
| iconic memory | a brief sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more that a few tenths of a second |
| 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 |
| short-term memory | a memory system that retains information for limited durations, closely related to working memory |
| levels of processing model | theory that deeper levels of processing result in longer-lasting memory codes |
| method of loci | a mnemonic device that involves imagining placing items you want to remember along a familiar path |
| chunking-grouping | organizing items into familiar, manageable units to make them easier to remember |
| categories-grouping | sorting information into logical groupings to improve recall |
| hierarchies-grouping | arranging information in a structured order from broad to specific or vice versa |
| spacing effect | the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than massed practice or study |
| memory consolidation | the process by which memories become stable in the brain, usually occurring during sleep |
| massed practice | cramming information all at once; less effective than spacing the information out over time |
| distributed practice | spreading out study sessions over time with breaks in between |
| serial position effect | our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list |
| primacy effect | enhanced recall of items at the beginning of a list |
| recency effect | enhanced recall of items at the end of a list |
| maintenance rehearsal | repeating information over and over to keep it active in short-term memory |
| elaborative rehearsal | a memory technique that involves thinking about the meaning of the term to be remembered, as opposed to simply repeating the word to yourself |
| memory retention | the ability to retain information over time through storage and retrieval of information |
| autobiographical memory | memory system consisting of episodes recollected from an individual's life, based on a combination of episodic ad semantic memory |
| retrograde amnesia | an inability to retrieve information from one's past |
| anterograde amnesia | an inability to form new memories |
| context-dependent memory | the theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better learned when in that same situation or place |
| mood-congruent memory | the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current mood |
| state-dependent theory | the theory that information learned in a particular state of mind in more easily recalled when in that same state of mind |
| the forgetting curve | a graph showing retention and forgetting over time |
| encoding failure | the brain's occasional failure to create a memory link |
| proactive interference | the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information |
| retroactive interference | the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information |
| tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon | the temporary inability to recall information that feels is just out of reach |
| misinformation effect | incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event |
| source amnesia | attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined |
| constructive memory | memory that utilizes knowledge and expectations to fill in the missing details in retrieved memory traces |
| memory consolidation | the neural process be which encoded information becomes stored in memory |
| imagination inflation | the increased confidence in a false memory of an event following repeated imagination of the event |
| habituation (non-associative learning) | learning to decrease responses to a stimulus after repeated presentations |
| stimulus discrimination | in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus |
| higher-order conditioning | a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neural, creating a second conditioned stimulus |
| counterconditioning | a behavior therapy procedure that conditions new responses to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors; based on classical conditioning |
| one-trail conditioning | conditioning that occurs with only one pairing of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli |
| the law of effect | Thorndlike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely |
| primary reinforcements | an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need |
| secondary reinforcements | a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer |
| reinforcement discrimination | occurs when only specific responses are reinforced |
| reinforcement generalization | the tendency to respond to the stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus in operant conditioning |
| instinctive drift | the tendency for animals to revert to instinctive behaviors that interferes with learning |
| vicarious conditioning | learning the consequences of an action by watching others being rewarded or punished for performing the action |
| insight learning | a sudden realization of a problem's solution |
| latent learning | learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it |
| gross motor coordination | the ability to make large, general movements such as walking and crawling |
| sensitive periods | times in development when a person is particularly open to certain kinds of experiences |
| Jean Piaget | swiss psychologist remembered for his studies in the cognitive development of children |
| theory of mind | the ability to attribute mental states- beliefs, intents, desires, emotions, knowledge- to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions that are different from one's own |
| concrete operation stage | in Piaget's theory, the state of cognitive development during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events |
| formal operation stage | in Piaget's theory, the state of cognitive development during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts |
| sensorimotor stage | in Piaget's theory the stage during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities |
| preoperational stage | in Piaget's theory, the stage during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic |
| Lev Vygotsky | Russian psychologist who emphasized the role of the social environment on cognitive development and proposed the zone of proximal development |
| scaffolding | a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking |
| zone of proximal development | vygotsky's theory of the range of tasks that are too difficult for a child to master alone but can be learned with guidance and assistance from adults or more-skilled children |
| crystallized intelligence | the accumulated knowledge and verbal skills that increase with age |
| fluid intelligence | the ability to reason speedily and abstractly, which tends to decease during late adulthood |
| phonemes | the smallest units of sound in a language that are distinctive for speakers of the language |
| morphemes | the smallest units of meaning in a language |
| telegraphic speech | early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram using mostly nouns and verbs |
| overgeneralization of language rules | applying grammatical rules too widely and therefore creating incorrect forms |
| ecological systems theory | bronfenbenner's theory that describes the nested social and cultural contexts that shape development |
| microsystem | the system closest to a person that they have direct contact with |
| mesosystem | the interactions between the different parts of a person's microsystem |
| exosystem | external environmental settings that a person does not experience directly but that can affect them in one of their immediate environments |
| macrosystem | the cultural values, laws, customs, and resources that influence the other systems |
| chronosystem | the patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course as well as sociohistorical circumstances |
| avoidant attachment | an attachment style characterized by difficulty developing intimate relationships |
| anxious attachment | an attachment style characterized by concern that others will not reciprocate one's desire for intimacy |
| disorganized attachment | an attachment style characterized by inconsistent or contradictory behavior patterns in relationships |
| parallel play | activity in which children play side by side without interacting |
| personal fable | adolescents' belief in their own uniqueness and invulnerability |
| social clock | the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement |
| emerging adulthood | a period from about 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved independence adults |
| stage theory of psychosocial development | Erik Erickson's theory that individuals pass through eight developmental stages |
| initiative vs guilt | erickson's third stage; child finds independence in planning, playing, and other activities or not |
| industry vs inferiority | erickson's fourth stage; child learns to be productive or feel inferior |
| integrity vs despair | erickson's final stage; those near the end of life reflect on and evaluate their lives |
| adverse childhood experiences | stressful or traumatic events in childhood that impact an individual's health and well-being throughout life |
| diffusion | lack of direction or an apathy toward making important life decisions |
| foreclosure | the premature commitment to an identity without adequate consideration of other options |
| moratorium | a socially acceptable way to postpone making identity-achievement decisions |
| social comparision | evaluating one's abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others |
| relative deprivation | the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself |
| social facilitation | improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others |
| group polarization | the enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group |
| social loafing | the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal that when individually accountable |
| attribution theory | the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition |
| explanatory style | a person's habitual way of explaining events, typically assessed along three dimensions: internal/external, stable/unstable, and global/specific |
| altruism | unselfish regard for the welfare of helping others |
| social responsibility norm | an expectation that people will help those needing help |
| implicit attitudes | attitudes that influence a person's feeling and behavior at an unconscious level |
| out-group homogeneity bias | perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members |
| ethnocentrism | believing in the superiority of one's own ethnic and cultural group |
| social traps | a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their best interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior |
| elaboration likelihood model | a theory of how persuasive messages lead to attitude changes |
| central route of persuasion | persuasion where people pay attention to the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts |
| peripheral route of persuasion | persuasion where people are swayed by surface characteristics |
| industrial-organizational psychologists | professionals who apply psychological principles and research methods to the workplace |
| hypothalamus | a neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs eating, drinking, body temperature, works with pituitary gland to govern endocrine system, and is linked to emotion and reward |
| pituitary gland | the endocrine system's most influential gland; regulates and controls other endocrine glands |
| arousal theory | the theory that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness and physical and mental activation |
| yerkes-dodson law | the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases |
| sensation-seeking theory | the search for experiences and feelings that are varied, novel, complex, and intense |
| disinhibition | the tendency to transmit messages without considering their consequences |
| boredom susceptibility | the tendency to become easily bored by familiar, repeated experiences |
| incentive theory | a theory of motivation asserting that behavior is directed toward attaining desirable stimuli and avoiding unwanted stimuli |
| self-determination theory | a theory of motivation that is concern with the beneficial effects of intrinsic motivation and the harmful effects of extrinsic motivation |
| lewin's motivational conflicts theory | a theory that describes situations in which there are conflicts between different types of motivations |
| display rules | culturally determined rules about which nonverbal behaviors are appropriate to display |
| elicitors | stimuli that trigger a physiological response, often an emotional one |
| broaden-and-build theory of emotion | theory proposing that happiness predisposes us to think more openly, allowing us to see the "big picture" we otherwise might have overlooked |
| reaction formation | defense mechanism in which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites |
| sublimation | defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities |
| self-efficacy | one's sense of competence and effectiveness |
| big five theory | a trait theory that identifies five main characteristics that account for most individual differences in personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism |
| personality inventories | a type of questionnaire designed to reveal the respondent's personality traits |
| factor analysis | a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test |
| conscientiousness | a personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized |
| eustress | positive stress which can help to improve performance |
| distress | negative stress that can cause anxiety or concern and can decrease performance |
| general adaptation syndrome | Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases- alarm, resistance, and exhaustion |
| alarm reaction phase | the initial reaction to a stressor, activating the body's defenses |
| resistance phase | the second phase, during which the body adapts to and uses resources to cope with a stressor |
| exhaustion phase | the third phase, where the body's resources are depleted |
| tend-and-befriend theory | theory that suggests people, especially women, seek social alliances to manage stress |
| positive psychology | the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goal of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive |
| posttraumatic growth | positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises |
| international classification of mental disorders | a system used by WHO for classifying psychological disorders |
| eclectic approach | a therapeutic approach combining methods from different therapies based on the client's needs |
| diathesis-stress model | suggests that a person may be predisposed for a psychological disorder that remains unexpressed until triggered by stress |
| acrophobia | fear of heights |
| ataque de nervios | a syndrome among individuals of Latino descent, characterized by symptoms of intense emotional upset |
| Taijin Kyofusho | a japanese cultural syndrome characterized by a person's intense fear that their body, body parts, or bodily functions give offense to others |
| Bipolar I Disorder | a type of bipolar spectrum disorder characterized by at least one manic episode with or without mixed or depressive episodes |
| Bipolar II Disorder | a type of bipolar disorder marked by mildly manic episodes and major depressive episodes |
| neurodevelopmental disorders | group of disorders that affect the development of the nervous system, leading to abnormal brain function |
| disorganized motor behavior | a variety of abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, including silliness, unpredictable agitation, or lack of response |
| flat affect | a marked lack of expressed emotions |
| dopamine hypothesis | the theory that schizophrenia results from excessive activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine |
| dissociative fugue | a type of amnesia involving flight from one's home and identity |
| cluster A personality | personality disorders characterized by odd or eccentric thinking |
| paranoid personality disorder | distrust in others, seeing them as deceptive or malevolent without evidence |
| schizoid personality disorder | detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression |
| schizotypal personality disorder | discomfort in close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities of behavior |
| cluster B personality | personality disorders characterized by dramatic, overly emotional, or unpredictable thinking or behavior |
| antisocial personality disorder | disregard for and violation of the rights of others |
| histrionic personality disorder | excessive emotionality and attention seeking |
| borderline personality disorder | instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects |
| cluster C personality | personality disorders characterized by anxious, fearful thinking or behavior |
| avoidant personality disorder | extreme shyness, feelings of inadequacy, and sensitivity to rejection |
| dependent personality disorder | excessive need to be taken care of |
| evidence-based interventions | treatments that are supported by research |
| cultural humility | an approach to engagement across cultures that emphasizes openness and self-awareness in learning about other's cultural identities |
| therapeutic alliance | the relationship between a healthcare professional and a client |
| nonmaleficence | the duty to do no harm |
| free association | a method used in psychodynamic therapy where patients are encouraged to say whatever comes to mind without filter |
| person-centered therapy | a humanistic therapy where therapists use techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathetic environment to facilitate clients' growth |
| cognitive therapies | therapies designed to identify and change maladaptive thinking patterns, perceptions, and behaviors through techniques like cognitive restructuring |
| maladaptive thinking | dysfunctional thought processes that contribute to and exacerbate psychological disorders |
| cognitive restructuring | a therapeutic approach that teaches clients to question the automatic beliefs, assumptions, and predictions that often lead to negative emotions and to replace negative thinking with more realistic and positive beliefs |
| cognitive triad | an irrational and pessimistic view of the three key elements of a person's belief system present in depression: oneself, the future, and the world |
| applied behavior analysis | a scientific technique concerned with applying empirical approaches based upon the principles of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior of social significance |
| systematic desensitization | a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli |
| aversion therapy | a type of behavior therapy that involves repeated pairing of an unwanted behavior with discomfort |
| token economies | an operant conditioning approach where individuals receive tokens immediately after displaying desirable behavior which they can collect and exchange for material awards |
| biofeedback | a process whereby electronic monitoring of a normally automatic bodily function is used to train someone to acquire voluntary control of that function |
| cognitive-behavior therapies | a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy with behavior therapy |
| dialectical behavior therapy | a cognitive-behavioral approach that emphasizes the psychosocial aspects of treatment |
| rational-emotive behavior therapy | a confrontational therapy that vigorously challenges people's illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions |
| psychotropic medication therapy | the treatment of psychiatric disorders with medications that affect brain chemistry |
| psychoactive medication | chemical substances that alter perceptions and moods |
| lithium | a chemical used to counteract mood swings of bipolar disorder |
| tardive dyskinesia | a neurological disorder marked by chronic tremors and involuntary spastic movements |
| lesioning | the removal or destruction of part of the brain |
| transcranial magnetic stimulation | a method used to study the brain and to treat some psychological disorders by stimulating the brain with powerful magnets |
| electroconvulsive therapy | a treatment that involves inducing seizures with the use of electrical current to treat sever depression |
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