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AP Psych
AP Psych Vocabulary
856
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
04/04/2011

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

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Term
absolute threshold
Definition
The lowest level of stimulation that a person can consciously detect 50 percent of the time the stimulation is present.
Term
accommodation
Definition
as a monocular clue, the brain's use of information about the chaning thickness of the lens of the eye in response to looking at objects tat are close or far away
Term
acculturative stress
Definition
stress resulting from the need to change and adapt  a persons ways to the majority culture
Term
acquired (secondary) drives
Definition
those drives that are learned thorugh experience or conditioning, such as the need for money or social approval
Term
acrophobia
Definition
fear of heights
Term
action potential
Definition
the realease of the neural impulse consisting of a reversal of the electrical charge within the axon
Term
action therapy
Definition
therapy in which the main goal is to change disordered or inapporpriate behavior directly
Term
activation-information-mode model (AIM)
Definition
revised version of the activation-synthesis explanation of dreams in which infomation that is accessed during waking hours can have an influence on the synthesis of dreams
Term
activation-synthesis hypothesis
Definition
explanation that states that dreams are created by the higher centers of the cortex to explain the activatoin by the brain stem of cortical cells during REM sleep periods
Term
activity theory
Definition
theory of adjustment to aging that assumes older people are happier if they remain active in some way, such as volunteering or developing a hobby.
Term
acute stress disorder (ASD)
Definition
a disorder resuliting from exposure to a major stressor, with symptoms of anxiety, recurring nightmares, sleep disturbances, problems inconcentration, and moments in which people seem to "relive" the even in dreams and flashbacks for as long as one month following the event.
Term
adaptive theory
Definition
theory of sleep proposing that animals and humans evolved sleep patterns to avoid predators by sleeping when predators are most active
Term
adolescence
Definition
the period of life from about age 13 to the early twenties, during which a young person is no longer physically a child but is not yet an independent, self-supporting adult
Term
adrenal glands
Definition
endocrine glands located on top of each kidney that secrete over 30 different homones to deal with stress, regulate salt intake, and provide a secondery source of sex hormones affecting the sexual change that occur during adolescence.
Term
aerial perspective
Definition
the haziness that surrounds objects that are farther away from the viewer, causing the distance to be perceived as greater
Term
affect
Definition
in psychology, a term indicating "emotion" or "mood"
Term
afferent (sensory) neuron
Definition
a neuron that carries information from the senses to the central nervous system
Term
afterimages
Definition
images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed
Term
aggression
Definition
behavior intended to hurt or destroy another person
Term
agonists
Definition
chemical substances that mimic or enchance the effects of a neurotransmitter on the receptor sites of the next cell, increasing or dedecreasing the activity of that cell
Term
agoraphobia
Definition
fear of being in a place or situation from which escape is difficult or impossible
Term
agreeableness
Definition
the emotional style of a person that may range from easygoing, friendly, and likeable to grumpy, crabby, and unpleasant
Term
AIDS
Definition
sexually transmitted viral disorder that causes deterioration of the immune system and eventually results in death due to complication infections that the body can no longer fight.
Term
alcohol
Definition
the chemical resuliting from fermentation or distillatoin of various kinds of vegetable matter
Term
algorithms
Definition
very specific, step-by-step procedures for sovling certain types of people
Term
all-or-none
Definition
referring to the fact that a neuron either fires completely or does ot fire at all
Term
all-or-nothing thinking
Definition

the tendency to believe that one's performance must be perfect or the result will be a total failure

 

Term
alpha waves
Definition
brain waves that indicate a state of relaxation or light sleep
Term
altered state of consciousness
Definition
state in which there is a shift in the quality or pattern of mental activity as compared to waking consciousness
Term
altruism
Definition
prosocial behavior that is done with no expectation of reward and may involve the risk of harm to oneself
Term
amphetamines
Definition
stimulants that are synthesized (made) in laboratories rather than being found in nature
Term
amygdala
Definition
brain structure located near the hippocampus, responsible for fear responses and memory of fear
Term
anal expulsive personality
Definition
a person fixated in the anal stage who is messy, destructive, and hostile
Term
anal stage
Definition
second stage occuring from about 1 to 3 years of age, in which the anus is the erogenous zone and toilet raining is the source of conflict
Term
analytical intelligence
Definition
the ability to break problems down into component parts, or analysis, for problem solving
Term
androgens
Definition
male hormones
Term
androgyny
Definition
characteristic of possessing the most positive personality characteristics of males and females regardless of sex
Term
andropause
Definition
gradual changes in the sexual hormones and reproductive system of middle-aged males
Term
anorexia nervosa
Definition
a conditon in which a person reduces eating to the point that a weight loss of 15 percent below the ideal body wight or more occurs
Term
antagonists
Definition
chemical substances that block or reduce a cell's response to the action of other chemicals or neurotransmitters
Term
anterograde amnesia
Definition
loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories
Term
antianxiety drugs
Definition
drugs used to treat and calm anxiety reactions, typically minor tranquilizers
Term
antidepressant drugs
Definition
drugs used to treat depression and anxiety
Term
antipsychotic drugs
Definition
drugs used to treat psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and other bizarre behavior
Term
antisocial personality disorder
Definition
disorder in which a person has no morals or conscience and often behaves in an impulsive manner without regard for the consequences of that behavior
Term
anxiety disorders
Definition
disorders in which the main symptom is excessive or unrealistic anxiety and fearfulness
Term
anxiety disorders
Definition
disorders in which the main symptom is excessive or unrealistic anxiety and fearfulness
Term
applied behavior analysis (ABA)
Definition
modern term for a form of behavior modification that uses shaping techniques to mold a desired behavior or response
Term
applied psychology
Definition
the use of psychological concepts in solving real world problems
Term
approach-approach conflict
Definition
conflict occurring when a person must choose between two desirable goals
Term
approach-avoidance conflict
Definition
conflict occurring when a perosn must choose or not choose a goal that has both positive and negative aspects
Term
arbitrary inference
Definition
distortion of thinkng in which a person draws a conclusion that is not based on any evidence
Term
archetypes
Definition
Jung's collective, universal human memories
Term
arousal theory
Definition
theory of motivation in which people arres said to have an optimal level of tension that they seek to maintain by increasing or decreasing stimulation
Term
artificial intelligence
Definition
the creation of a machin that can think like a human
Term
association areas
Definition
areas within each lobe of the cortex responsible for the coordination and interpretation of information, as well as higher mental processing
Term
attachment
Definition
the emotional bond between an infant and the primary caregiver
Term
attitude
Definition
a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain person, object, idea,or situation
Term
attribution
Definition
the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others
Term
attribution theory
Definition
the theory of how people make attributions
Term
auditory canal
Definition
short tunnel that runs from the pinna to the eardrum
Term
auditory learners
Definition
people who learn best by hearing and saying things out loud
Term
auditory nerve
Definition
bundle of axons from the hair cells in the inner ear
Term
authenticity
Definition
the genuine, open, and honest response of the therapist to the client
Term
authoritarian parenting
Definition
style of parenting in which parent is riged and overly strict, showing little warmth to the child
Term
authoritative parenting
Definition
style of parenting in which parents combind warmth and affection with firm limits on a child's behavior
Term
autobiographical memory
Definition
the memory for events and facts related to one's personal life story
Term
automatic encoding
Definition
tendency of certain kinds of information to enter long-term memory with little or no effortful encoding
Term
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Definition
division of the PNS consisting of nerves that controll all of the involuntary muscles, organs, and glands
Term
autonomy versus shame and doubt
Definition
second stage of personality development in which the toddler strives for physical independence
Term
aversion therapy
Definition
form of behavioral therapy in which an undesirable behavior is paired with an averisve stimulus to reduce the frequency of the behavior
Term
avoidance-avoidance conflict
Definition
conflict occurring when a person must choose between two undesriable goals
Term
axon
Definition
tublelike structure that carries the neural message to other cells
Term
axon terminals
Definition
branches at the end of the axon
Term
barbiturates
Definition
depressant drugs that have a sedative effect
Term
basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Definition
the rate at which the body burns energy when the organism is resting
Term
basic anxiety
Definition
anxiety created when a child is born into the bigger and move powerful world of older children and adults
Term
basic level type
Definition
an example of a type of concept around which other similar concepts are orgainized, such as "dog" "cat" or "pear"
Term
behavior modification or applied behavior analysis
Definition
the use of learning techniques to modify or change undesriable behavior and increase desirable behavior
Term
behavior modification
Definition
the use of operant conditioning techniques to bring about desired changes in behavior
Term
behavior therapies
Definition
action therapies based on the principles of classical and operant condtioning and aimed at changing disordered behavior without concern for the original causes of such behavior
Term
behavioral genetics
Definition
field of study devoted to discovering the genetic bases for personality characteristics
Term
behaviorism
Definition
the cienc of behavior that focuses on oberservable behavior only
Term
bell curve
Definition
alternate name for the normal curve, which is said to be shaped like a bell
Term
benevolent sexism
Definition
acceptance of positive stereotypes of males and females that leads to unequal treatment
Term
benzodiazepines
Definition
drugs that lower anxiety and reduce stress
Term
bilateral cingulotomy
Definition
psychosurgical technique in which an electrode wire is inserted into the cinguated gyrus area of the brain with the guidance of a magnetic resonance imaging machine for the purpose of destroying that area of brain tissue with an electric current
Term
bilateral ECT
Definition
electrconvulsive therapy in which the electrodes are placed on both sides of the head
Term
bimodal
Definition
condition in whihc a distribution has two modes
Term
bimodal distributions
Definition
frequency distribution in which there are two highpoints rather than one
Term
binocular disparity
Definition
the difference in images between the two eyes, which which is greater for objects that are close and smaller for distant objects
Term
binocular cues
Definition
cues for perceiving depth based on both eyes
Term
biofeedbacks
Definition
using of feedback about biological conditions to bring involuntary responses, such as blood pressure and relaxation, under voluntary control
Term
biological preparedness
Definition
referring to the tendency of animals to learn certain associations, such as taste and nausea, with only one or few pairings due to the survival value of the learning
Term
biological model
Definition
model of explaining behavior as caused by biological changes in the chemical, structural, or genetic systems of the body
Term
biomedical therapies
Definition
therapies that directly affect the biological functioning of the body and brain
Term
biomedical therapy
Definition
therapy for mental disorders in which a person with a problem is treated with biological or medical methods to relieve symptoms
Term
biopsychological perspective
Definition
perspective that attributes human and animal behavior to biolgoical events occurring in the body, such as genetic influences, hormones, and the activity of the nervous system
Term
biopsychosocial model
Definition
perspective in which abnormal behavior is seen as the result of the combined and interacting forces of biological, psychological, social, and cultural influences
Term
bipolar disorder
Definition
severe mood swings between major depressive episodes and manic episodes
Term
bisexual
Definition
person attracted to both men and women
Term
blind spot
Definition
area in the retina whwere the axons of the three layers of retinal cells exit the eye to form to the optic nerve, insensitive light
Term
boderline personality disorder
Definition
maladaptive personality pattern in which the person is moody, unstable, lacks a clear sense of idenity, and often clings to others
Term
bottom-up processing
Definition
the analysis of the smaller features to build up to a complete perception
Term
brightness constancy
Definition
the tendency to perceive the apparent brightness of an object as the same even when the light conditions change
Term
Broca's aphasia
Definition
condition resulting from damage to Broca's area, causing the affected person to be unable to spek fluently, to mispronounce words, and to speak haltingly
Term
bulimia
Definition
a condition in which a person develops a cycle of "binging" or overating enormous amounts of food at one sitting, and "purging," or deliberately vomiting after eating
Term
burnout
Definition
negative changes in thoughts, emotions, and behavior as a result of prolonged stress or frustration
Term
bystander effect
Definition
referring to the effect that the presence of other people has on the decision to help or not help, with help becoming less likely as the number of bystanders increases
Term
caffeine
Definition
a mild stimulat found in coffee, tea, and several other plant-based substances
Term
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
Definition
theory in whihc the physiological reaction and the emotion are assumed to occur at the same time
Term
case study
Definition
study of one individual in great detail
Term
catastrophe
Definition
an unpredictable, large-scale event that creates a tremendous need to adapt and adjust as well as overwhelming feelings of threat
Term
catatonic
Definition
type of schizophrenia in which the person experiences periods of statue-like immobility mixed with occasional bursts of energetic, frantic movement, and talking
Term
central nervous system (CNS)
Definition
part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord
Term
central-route processing
Definition
type of information procssing that involves attending to the content of the message itself
Term
centration
Definition
in Piaget's theory, the tendency of a young child to focus only on one feature of an object while ignoring other relevant features
Term
cerebellum
Definition
part of the lower brain located behind the pons that controls and coordinates involuntary, rapid, fine motor movement
Term
cerebral hemispheres
Definition
the two sctions of the ocrtex on the left and right sides of the brain
Term
cerebrum
Definition
the upper part of the brain consisting of the two hemispheres and the structures that connect them
Term
character
Definition
value judgments of a peron's moral and ethical behavior
Term
chromosome
Definition
tightly wound strand of genetic material or DNA
Term
circadian rhythm
Definition
a cycle of bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24-hour period
Term
classical conditioning
Definition
learning to make an involuntary (reflex) response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that nomrally produces the reflex
Term
claustrophobia
Definition
fear of being in a small, enclosed space
Term
clinical psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the psychologists diagnose and treat people with psychological disorders that may frange from mild to severe
Term
closures
Definition
the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete
Term
cocaine
Definition
a natural drug derived from the leaves of the coca plant
Term
cochlea
Definition
snail-shaped structure of the inner ear that is filled with fluid
Term
cognitive arousal theory
Definition
theory of emotion in which both the physical arousal and the labeling of that arousal based on cues from the environment must occur before the emotion is experienced
Term
cognitive development
Definition
the development of thinking, problem solving, and memory
Term
cognitive dissonance
Definition
sense of discomfort or distress that occurs when a person's behavior does not correspond to that peron's attitudes
Term
cognitive neuroscience
Definition
study of the physical changes in the brain and nervous system during thinking
Term
cognitive perspective
Definition
modern perspective that focues on memory,intelligence, perception, problem solving, and learning
Term
cognitive perspective
Definition
modern theory in which classical conditioning is seen to occur because the conditioned stimulus provides information or an expectancy about the coming of the unconditioned stimulus
Term
cognitive psychologists
Definition
psychologists who study the way people think, remember, and mentally organize information
Term
cognitive reserve
Definition
the ability of the brain to build and maintain new neurons and the connections between them
Term
cognitive therapy
Definition
therapy in which the focus is on helping clients recognize distrotions in their thinking and replace distored, unrealistic beliefs with more realistic, helpful thoughts
Term
cognitive universalism
Definition
theory that concepts are universal and influence the development of language
Term
cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
Definition
action therapy in which the goal is to help clients overcome problems by learning to think mmre reationally and lobically
Term
cognitive-meditational theory
Definition
theory of emotion in which a stimulus must be interpreted (appraised) by a person in order to result in a physcial response and an emotional reaction
Term
collective unconscious
Definition
Jung's name for the memories shared by all members of the human species
Term
College Undergraduate Stress Scale (CUSS)
Definition
asseessment that measures the amount of stress in a collee student's life over a one-year peoriod resulting from major life events
Term
companionate love
Definition
type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment
Term
comparative psychology
Definition
area of pscychology in which the psychologists study animals and their behavior for the purpose of comparing and contrasting it to human behvavior
Term
compensation (substiution)
Definition
defense mechanism in which a person makes up for inferiorities in one area by becoming superior in another area
Term
compliance
Definition
chanign one's behavior as a result of other people directiong or asking for the change
Term
computed tomography (CT)
Definition
brain-imaging method using computer-controlled X-rays of the brain
Term
concentrative meditation
Definition
form of meditation in which a person focuses the mind on some repetitieve or unchaing stimulus so that the mind can be cleared of disturbing thoughts and the body can experience relaxation
Term
concept maps
Definition
a visual representation of the relationships between key concepts, terms, and ideas
Term
conception
Definition
the moment at which a female become pregnant
Term
concepts
Definition
ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities
Term
concrete operations stage
Definition
third stage of conginitve development in which the school-age child becomes capable of logical thought processes but is not yet capable of abstract thinking
Term
conditional emotional response (CER)
Definition
emotional response that has become classically conditioned to occur to learned stimuli, such as a fear of dogs or the emotional reaction that occurs when seeing an attractive person
Term
conditioned response (CR)
Definition
learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulus
Term
conditioned stimulus (CS)
Definition
stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned reflex response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus
Term
conditioned taste aversion
Definition
development of a nausea or aversive response to a particular taste becasue that taste was followed by a nausea reaction, occurring after only one association
Term
cones
Definition
visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina
Term
confirmation bias
Definition
the tendency to search for evidence that fits one's beliefs while ignoring any evidence that does not fit those beliefs
Term
conformity
Definition
changin one's own behavior to match that of other people
Term
conscience
Definition
part of the superego that produces pride or guild, depedning on how accpetable behavior is
Term
conscientiousness
Definition
the care a person gives to organization and thoughtfulness of others; dependability
Term
consciousness
Definition
a person's awarenss of everything that is going on around him or her at any given amoment, which is used to organize behavior
Term
conservation
Definition
in Piaget's theory, the ability to understand that simply chanign the appearnce of an object does not change the object's nature
Term
consolidation
Definition
the changes that take plcae in the structure and functioning of neurons when an engram is formed
Term
constructive processing
Definition
referring to the retrieval of memories in which those memories are altered, revised, or influence by newer information
Term
consumer psychology
Definition
branch of psychology that studies the habits of consumers in the marketplace
Term
contiguity
Definition
the tendency to perceive two things that happen close togehter in time as being related
Term
contingency contract
Definition
a formal, written agreement between the therapist and client (or teacher and student) in which goals for behavioral change, reinforcements, and penalties are clearly stated
Term
continuity
Definition
the tendency to perceive things as simply as possible with a continuous pattern rather than ewith a complex, broken-up pattern.
Term
continuous reinforcement
Definition
the reinforcement of each and every correct response
Term
control group
Definition
subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment
Term
conventional morality
Definition
second level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which the child's behavior is govenrned by conforming to the socieity's norms of behavior
Term
convergence
Definition
the rotation of the two eyes in their sockets to focus on a single object, resulting in greater convergence fro closer objects and lesser convergence if objects are distant
Term
convergent thinking
Definition
type of thinking in whcih a problem is seen as having only one answer, and all lines of thinking will eventually lead to that single answer, using previous knowledge and logic
Term
conversion disorder
Definition
somatoform disorder in which the person experiences a specific symptom in the somatic nervous system's functioning, such as paralysis, numbness, or blindness, for whcih there is no physical cause
Term
coping strategies
Definition
actions that people can take to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize the effects of stressors
Term
corpus callosum
Definition
thick band of neuronsthat connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres
Term
correlation
Definition
a measure of the relationship between two variables
Term
correlation coefficient
Definition
a number derived from the formula for measuring a correlation and indicating the stregth and direction of a correlation
Term
correlation coefficient
Definition
a number that represents the strength and direction of a relationship existing between two variables
Term
cortex
Definition
outermost covering of the brain consisting of densely packed neurons, responsible for higher hthought processes and interpretation of sensory input
Term
counseling psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the psychologists help people with problems of adjustment
Term
creative intelligence
Definition
the ability to deal with new and different concepts and tocome up with new ways of solving problems
Term
creativity
Definition
the process of solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in new ways
Term
critical periods
Definition
times during whcih certain environmental influences can have an impact on the development of the infant
Term
crital thinking
Definition
making reasoned judgments about claims
Term
cross-sectional design
Definition
research design in which several different age-groups of participants are studied at one particular point in time
Term
cross-sequential design
Definition
research design in which participants are first studied by means of a cross-secitonal design but are also followed and assessed for a period of no more than six years
Term
cult
Definition
any group of people with a particular relgious or philosophical set of beliefs and identity
Term
cultural relativity
Definition
the need to consider the unique characteristics of the culture in which behavior takes place
Term
culture-bound syndromes
Definition
disorders found only in particular cultures
Term
curve of forgettings
Definition
a graph showing a distinct pattern in which forgetting is very fast within the first hour after learning a list and then tapers off gradually
Term
cybertherapy
Definition
psychotherapy that is offered on the INternet. Also called online, Internet, or Web therapy or counseling
Term
cyclothymia
Definition
disorder that consits of mood swings from moderate depression to hypomania and lasts two years or more
Term
dark adaptation
Definition
the recovery of the eye's sensitivity to visual stimui in darkness after exposure to bright lights
Term
decay
Definition
loss of memory due to the passage of time, during which the memory trace is not used
Term
declarative memory
Definition
type of long-term memory containing information that is conscious and known
Term
deep lesioning
Definition
insertion of a thin, insulated wire into the brain through which an electrical current is sent that destroys the brain cells at the tip of the wire
Term
delta waves
Definition
long, slow waves that indicate the deepest stage of sleep
Term
delusional disorder
Definition
a psychotic disorder in which the primary symptom is one or more delusions
Term
delusions
Definition
false beliefs held by a person who refuses to accpet evidence of their falseness
Term
dendrites
Definition
branchlike structures that receive messages from other neurons
Term
denial
Definition
psychological defense mechanism in which the person refuses to acknowlege or recongize a threatening situation
Term
dependent variable
Definition
variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the experiment (electric shock level in Milrgram's)
Term
depersonalization disorder
Definition
dissociative disorder in which individuals feel detached and disconnected from themselves, their bodies, and their surrounds
Term
depressants
Definition
drugs that decrease the functioning of the nvervous system
Term
depth perception
Definition
the ability to perceive the world in three dimensions
Term
descriptive statistics
Definition
a way of organizing numbers and summarizing them so that patterns can be determined
Term
developmental psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the psychologists study the changes in the way people think, relate to others, and feel as they age
Term
developmentally delayed
Definition
condition in which a person's behavioral and congivitve skills exist at an earlier developmental stage than the skills of others who are the same chronological age. A more accptable term for mental retardation
Term
deviation IQ scores
Definition
a type of intelligence measure that assumes that IQ is normally distributed around a mean of 100 iwth a standard deviation of about 15
Term
diffusion of responsibility
Definition
occurring when a person fails to take responsibility for actions or for inaction because of the presence of ther people who are seen to share the responsibility
Term
direct observation
Definition
assessment in which the professional observes the client engage in ordinary, day-to-day behavior in either a clinical or natural setting
Term
directive
Definition
therapy in which the therapist actively gives interpretations of a client's statements and may suggest certain behavior or actions
Term
discrimination
Definition
treating people differently beacuse of prejudice toward the social group to which they belong
Term
disorganized
Definition
type of schizophrenia in which behavior is bizarre and childish and thinking, speech, and motor actions are very disordered
Term
displaced aggression
Definition
taking out one's frustrations on some less threatening or more available target, a form of displacement
Term
displacement
Definition
psychological defense mechanism in which emotional reactions and behavioral responses are shifted to targets that are more available or less threatening than the original target
Term
display rules
Definition
learned ways of controlling displays of emotion in social setting
Term
dispositional cause
Definition
cause of behavior attributed to internal factors such as personality or character
Term
dissociative amnesia
Definition
loss of memory for personal information, either partial or complete
Term
dissociative disorders
Definition
disorders in which there is a break in conscious awareness, memory, the sense of identity, or some combination
Term
dissociative fuge
Definition
traveling away from familiar surroundings with amnesia for the trip and possible amnesia for personal information
Term
dissociative identity disorder
Definition
disorder occurring when a person seems to have two or more distinct personalities within one body
Term
distress
Definition
the effect of unpleasant and undesirable stressors
Term
distributed practice
Definition
spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods
Term
disuse
Definition
another name for decay, assuming that memories that are not used wil evenutally decay and disappear
Term
divergent thinking
Definition
type of thinking in which a person starts from one point and comes up with many different ideas or possibilties based on that point
Term
dizygotic twins
Definition
often called fraternal twins, occurring when two eggs each get fertilized by two different sperm, resulting in two zygotes in the uterus at the same time
Term
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
Definition
special molecule that contains the genetic material of the organism
Term
dominant
Definition
referring to a gene that actively controls the expression of a trait
Term
door-in-the-face technique
Definition
asking for a large comitment and being refused and then asking for a smaller commitment
Term
double approach-avoidance conflict
Definition
conflit in which the person must decide between two goals, with each goal possessing both poisitive and negative aspects
Term
double-blind study
Definition
study in which neither the experimentre nor the subjects know if the subjects are in the experimental or control group
Term
drive
Definition
a psychological tension and physical arousal arising when there is a need that motivates the organism to act in order to fulfill the need and reduce the tension
Term
drive-reduction theory
Definition
approach to motivation that assumes behavior arises from physiological needs that cause internal drives to push the organism to satisfy the need and reduce tension and arousal
Term
dysthymia
Definition
a moderate depression that lasts for two years or more and is typically a reactoin to some external stressory
Term
echoic memory
Definition
the brief memory of something a person has just heard
Term
eclectic therapies
Definition
therapy style that results from combining elements of several differenent therapy techniques
Term
educational psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the psycholgists are concerned with the study of human learning and development of new learning techniques
Term
efferent (motor) neuron
Definition
a neuron that carries messages from the central nervous system to the muscles of the body
Term
ego
Definition
part of the personality that develops out of a need to deal with reality, mostly conscious, rational, and logical
Term
egocentrism
Definition
the inability to see hte world through anyone else's eyes
Term
ego integrity
Definition
sense of wholeness that comes from having lived a full ife and the ability to let go of regrets; the final completion of the ego
Term
eidetic imagery
Definition
the ability to access a visual memory for 30 seconds or more
Term
elaboration likelihood model
Definition
model of persuassion stating that people will either elaborate on the persuasive message or fail to elaborate on it and that the future actions of those who do elaborate are more predictable than those who do not
Term
elaborative rehearsal
Definition
a method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that infomration meaningful in some way
Term
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Definition
form of biomedial therapy to treat severe depression in which electrodes are placed on either one or both sides of a person's head and an electric current is passed thorugh the electrodes that is strong enough to cause a seizure or convulsion
Term
electroencephalograph (EEG)
Definition
machine designed to record the brain-wave patternts produced by electical activity of the surface of the brain
Term
embyro
Definition
name for the developing organism from two weeks to eightweeks after fertilization
Term
embryonic period
Definition
the period from to to eight weeks after fertilization during which the major organs and structures of the organims develop
Term
emotion
Definition
the "feeling" aspect of consciousness, characterized by a certain phycial arouasal, a certain behavior that reveals the emotion to the outside world, and an inner awareness of feelings
Term
emotional intelligence
Definition
the awareness of and ability to manage one's own emotoins as well as the ability to be self-motivated, able to feel what others feel, and soically skilled
Term
emotion-focused coping
Definition
coping strategies that change the impact of a stressor by changing the emotional reaction to the stressor
Term
empathy
Definition
the ability of the therapist to understand the feelings of the client
Term
encoding
Definition
the set of mental operations that people perform on sensory information to convert that information into a form that is usable in the brain's storage systems
Term
encoding failure
Definition
failure to process information into memory
Term
encoding specificity
Definition
the tendency for memory of information to be improved if related informaiton (such as surroundins or physiological state) availiable when the memory is first formed is also available when the memory is being retrieved
Term
endocrine glands
Definition
glands that secrete chemicals called hormones directly into the bloodstream
Term
environmental psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the focus is on how people interact with and are affected by their physical environments
Term
episodic memory
Definition
type of delcarative memory containing personal information not readily available to others, such as daily activites and events
Term
equal status contact
Definition
contact between groups in which the groups have equal status with neither group having power over the other
Term
escape or withdrawal
Definition
leaving the presence of a stressor, either literally or by a psychological withdrawal into fantasy, durg abuse, or apathy
Term
estrogens
Definition
female hormones
Term
eustress
Definition
the effect of positive events, or the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being
Term
evolutionary perspective
Definition
perspective that focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share
Term
excitatory synapes
Definition
synapse at which a neurotransmitter casues the receiving cell to fire
Term
expectancy
Definition
a person's subjective feeling that a particular behavior will lead to a reinforcing consequence
Term
expectancy-values theories
Definition
incentive therories that assume the actions of humans cannot be predicted or fully understood without understanding the beliefs, values, and the importance that a person attaches to tose beliefs and values at any given moment in time
Term
experiment
Definition
a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the determination of casue-and-effect relationships
Term
experimental group
Definition
subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable
Term
experimental psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the psychologists primarily do research and experiments in the areas of learning, memory, thinking, perception, motivation, and language
Term
experimenter effect
Definition
tendency of the experimenter's expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study
Term
explicit memory
Definition
memory that is consciously known, such as declarative memory
Term
extiniciton
Definition
the disappearance or weakening of a learned response follwoing the removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus (in classcial conditioining) or the removal of a reinforcer (in operant conditioning)
Term
extraversion
Definition
dimension of persnality referring to one's need to be with other people
Term
extraverts
Definition
people who are outgoing and social
Term
extrinsic motivation
Definition
type of motivation in which a person performs an ction becasue it leads to an outcome that is separate from or external to the person (money)
Term
eye-movement desensitizatoin reprocessing (EMDR)
Definition
controversial form of therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and similar anxiety problems in which the client is directed to move the eyes rapidly back an forth while thinking of a disturbing memory
Term
facial feedback hypothesis
Definition
theory of emotion that assumes that facial expressions provide feedback to the brain concerning the emotion being expressed, which in turn casues and intensifies the emotion
Term
false positive
Definition
error of recognition in which people think that they recognize some stimulus that is not actually in memory
Term
family counseling (family therapy)
Definition
a form of group therapy in which family members meet together with a counselor or therapist to resolve problems that affect the entire family
Term
fertilization
Definition
the union of the ovum and sperm
Term
fetal period
Definition
the time from about eight weeks after conception until the birth of the child
Term
tetus
Definition
name for the developing organism from eight weeks after fertilization to the birth of the baby
Term
figure-ground
Definition
the tendency to perceive objects or figures as existing on a background
Term
five-factor model (Big Five)
Definition
model of personality tratis that describes five basic trait dimensions
Term
fixation
Definition
disorder in which the person does not fully resolve the conflict in a paritcular psychosexual stage, resuliting in personality traits and behavior associated with that earlier stage
Term
fixed interval schedule of reinforcement
Definition
schedule of reinforcement in which the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is always the same
Term
fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement
Definition
schedule of reinforcemtn in which the number of responses required for reinforcement is always the same
Term
flashbulb memories
Definition
type of automatic encoding that occurs because an unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the person remembering it
Term
flat affect
Definition
a lack of emotional responsiveness
Term
flooding
Definition
technique of treating phobias and other stress disorders in which the person is rapidly and intensely exposed to the fear-provoking situation or object and prevented from making the usual avoidance or escape response
Term
foot-in-the-door technique
Definition
asking for a small commitment and after gaining compliance asking for bigger commitments
Term
forensic psychology
Definition
area of psychology concerned with people in the legal system, inlcuding profiling of criminals, jury selection, and expert witnessing
Term
formal concepts
Definition
concepts that are defined by specific rules or features
Term
formal operations stage
Definition
Piaget's last stage of congnitive development in which the adolescent becomes capable of abstract thinking
Term
free association
Definition
psychoanalytic technique in which a patient was encouraged to talk about anything that came ot mind without fear of negative evaluations
Term
free-floating anxiety
Definition
anxiety that is unrelated to any realistic, known source
Term
frequency count
Definition
assessment in which the frequency of a particular behavior is counted
Term
frequency distribution
Definition
a table or graph that shows how often different numbers or scores appear in a particular set of scores
Term
frequency theory
Definition
theory of pitch that states that pitch is related to the speed of vibrations in the basilar membrane
Term
frontal lobes
Definition
areas of the cortex located in the front and top of the brain, responsible for higher mental processes and decision making as well as the production of fluent speech
Term
frustration
Definition
the psychological experience produced by the blocking of a desired goal or fulfillment of a perceived need
Term
fully functioning person
Definition
a person who is in touch with and trusting of the deepest, innermost urges and feelings
Term
functional fixedness
Definition
a block to problem solving that comes from thinking about objects in terms of only their typical functions
Term
functionalism
Definition
early perspective in psychology associated with William James, in which the focus of study is how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play
Term
fundamental attribution error (actor-observer bias)
Definition
the tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors in determining behavior while underestimating situational factors
Term
g factor
Definition
the ability to reason and solve problems, or general intelligence
Term
gender
Definition
the psychological and behavioral aspects of being male or female
Term
gender identity
Definition
perception of one's gender and the behavior that is associated with that gender
Term
gender roles
Definition
the culture's expectations for masculine or feminine behavior, inlcuding attitudes, actions, and personality traits associated with being male or femle in that culture
Term
gender schema theory
Definition
theory of gender identity acquisition in which a child develops a mental pattern, or schema, for being male or female and then organizes observed and learned behavior around that schema
Term
gender stereotype
Definition
a concept held about a person or group of people that is based on being male or female
Term
gender typing
Definition
the process of qcquirng gender role characterisitcs
Term
gene
Definition
section of DNA having the same arrangement of chemical elements
Term
general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Definition
the three stages of the body's physiological reaction to stress, inlcuding alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
Term
generalized anxiety disorder
Definition
disorder in which a person has feelings of dread and impending doom along with physical symptoms of stress, which lasts six months or more
Term
generativity
Definition
providing guidance to one's children or the next generation, or contributing to the well-being of the next generation through career or volunteer work
Term
genetics
Definition
the science of inherited traits
Term
germinal period
Definition
first two weeks after fertilization during which the zygote moves down to the uterus and gegins to implant in the lining
Term
Gestalt psychology
Definition
early perspective in psyhology focusing on perception and sensation particularly the perception of patterns and whole figures
Term
Gestalt therapy
Definition
form of directive insight therapy in which the therapist helps clients to accept all parts of their feelings and subjective experiences, using leading questions and planned experiences such as role-playing
Term
gifted
Definition
the 2 percent of the population falling on the upper end of the normal curve and typically possessing an IQ of 130 or above
Term
glial cells
Definition
grey fatty cells that provide support for the neurons to grow on and around, deliver nutrients to neurons, produce myelin to coat axons, clean up waste products and dead neurons, inlfuence information processing, and during prenatal development, influence the generation of new neurons
Term
glucagons
Definition
hormones that are secreted by the pancreas to control the levels of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in the body by increasing the level of glucose in the bloodstream
Term
gonads
Definition
sex glands; secrete hormones that regulate sexual development and behavior as well as reproduction
Term
grammar
Definition
the system of rules governing the structure and use of a language
Term
groupthink
Definition
kind of thinking that occurs when people place more importance on maintinag group cohesiveness than on assessing the facts of the problem with which the group is concerned
Term
gustation
Definition
the sensation of a taste
Term
habits
Definition
in behaviorism, sets of well-learned responses that have become automatic
Term
habituation
Definition
tendency of the brain to stop attending to constant, unchanging information
Term
hallucinations
Definition
false sensory perceptions, such as hearing voices that do not really exist
Term
hallucinogens
Definition
drugs that cause false sensory messages, altering the perception of reality
Term
halo effect
Definition
tendency of an interviewer to allow positive characteristics of a client to influence the assessments of the client's behavior and statements
Term
hardy personality
Definition
a person who seems to thrive on stress but lacks the anger and hostility of the Type A personality
Term
hassles
Definition
the daily annoyances of everyday life
Term
health psychology
Definition
area of psychology focusing on how physical activities, psychological traits, and social relationships affect overall health and rate of illnesses
Term
hermaphroditism
Definition
the condition of posssessing both male and female sexual organs
Term
heroin
Definition
narcotic drug derived from opium that is extermely addictive
Term
hertz (Hz)
Definition
cycle or waves per second, a measurement of frequency
Term
heterosexual
Definition
person attracted to the opposite sex
Term
heuristic
Definition
an educated guess based on prior experiences that helps narrow down the possible solutions of a problem. Also known as a "rule of thumb"
Term
higher-order conditioning
Definition
occurs when a storng conditioned stimulus is paried with a neutral stimuls, causing the neutral stimulus to become a second conditioned stimulus
Term
hindsight bias
Definition
the tendency to falsely believe, through revision of older memories to include newer infomration, that one could have correcly predicted the outcome of an event
Term
hippocampus
Definition
curved stucture located within each temporal lobe, resonsible for the formation of long-term memories and the storage of memory for location of objects
Term
histogram
Definition
a bar graph showing a frequency distribution
Term
homeostais
Definition
the tendency of body to maintain a steady state
Term
homosexual
Definition
person attracted to the same sex
Term
hormones
Definition
chemicals released into the bloodstream by endocrine glands
Term
human development
Definition
the scientific study of the changes that occur in peopl as they age from conception until death
Term
human factors psychology
Definition
area of industrial/organizational psychology concerned with the study of the way humans and machines interact with each other
Term
humanistic perspective
Definition
the "third force" in psychology that focuses on those apsects of personality that make people uniquely human, such as subjective feelings and freedom of choice
Term
hypnosis
Definition
state of consciousness in which the person is espcially susceptible to suggestion
Term
hypochondriasis
Definition
somatoform disorder in which the person is terrified of being sick and worries constantly, going to doctors repeately, and becoming preoccupied with every sensation of the body
Term
hypothalamus
Definition
small sturicture in the brain located below the thalamus and directly above the pituitary gland responsible for motivational behavior such as sleep, hunger, thirst and sex
Term
hypothesis
Definition
tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations
Term
iconic memory
Definition
visual sensory memory lasting only a fraction of a second
Term
id
Definition
part of the personality present at birth and completely unconscious
Term
ideal self
Definition
one's perception of whom one should be or would like to be
Term
identification
Definition
defense mechanism in which a person tries to become like someone else to deal with anxiety
Term
identity versus role confusion
Definition
fifth stage of personality development in which the adolescent must find a consisten sense of self
Term
imaginary audience
Definition
type of thought common to adolescents in which young people believe that other people are just as concerned about the adolescent's thoughts and characteristiscs as they themselves are
Term
immune system
Definition
the system of cells, organs, and chemicals of the body that responds to attacks from diseases, infections, and injuries
Term
implicit memory
Definition
memory that is not easiy brought into conscious awareness, such as procedural memory
Term
implicit personality theory
Definition
sets of assumptions about how different types of people, personailty traits, and actions are related to each other
Term
impression formation
Definition
the forming of the first knowledge that a person has concerning another preson
Term
incentive approaches
Definition
theories of motivation in which behavior is explained as a response to the external stimulus and its rewarding properties
Term
incentives
Definition
things that attract or lure people into action
Term
independent variable
Definition
variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter
Term
individualized educational program (IEP)
Definition
a special education plan drawn up by teachers for children with special needs such as giftedness or mental retardation
Term
industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology
Definition
area of psychology concerned with the relationships between people and their work environment
Term
industry versus inferiority
Definition
fourth stage of personality development in which the child strives for a sense of competence and self-esteem.
Term
infantile amnesia
Definition
the inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3
Term
inferential statistics
Definition
statistical analysis of two or more sets of numerical data to deduce the possiblity of error in measurement and to determine if the differences between the data sets are greater than chance variation would predict
Term
infomraiton-processing model
Definition
model of memory that assumes the processing of information for memory storage is similar to the way a computer processes memory in a series of three stages
Term
in-groups
Definition
social groups with whom a person identifies; "us"
Term
inhibitory synapse
Definition
synapse at which a neurotransmitter causes the receiving cell to stop firing
Term
initiative versus guilt
Definition
third stage of personality development in which the preschool-aged child stives for emotional and psycholgoical independence and attempts to satisfy curiosity about the world
Term
insight
Definition
the sudden perception of relationships among various parts of a problem, allowing the solution to the problem to come quickly
Term
insight therapies
Definition
therapies in which the main goal is helping people to gain insight with respect to their behavior, thoughts, and feelings
Term
insomnia
Definition
the inability to get to sleep, stay asleep, or get a good quality sleep
Term
instinct approach
Definition
approach to motivation that assumes people are governed by instincts similar to those of animals
Term
instinctive drift
Definition
tendency for an animal's behavior to revert to genetically controlled patterns
Term
instincts
Definition
the biologically determined and innate patterns of behavior that exist in both people and animals
Term
insulin
Definition
a hormone secreted by the pancreas to control the levels of fats, proteins, and carbohydrats in the body by reducing the level of glucose in the bloodstream
Term
intelligence
Definition
the ability to learn from one's experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems
Term
intelligence quotient (IQ)
Definition
a number representing a measure of intelligence, resluting from the division of one's mental age by one's chronological age and then multiplying the quotient by 100
Term
interneuron
Definition
a neuron found in the center of the spinal cord that receives information from the afferent neurons and sends commands to the muscles through the efferent neurons. Interneurons also make up the bulk of the neurons in the brain
Term
interpersonal attraction
Definition
liking or having the desire for a relationship with another person
Term
intersex
Definition
alternate term for hermaphroditism
Term
intersexed, intersexual
Definition
a person who possesses ambiguous sexual organs, making it diffiuclt to determine actual sex from a visual inspection at birth
Term
interview
Definition
method of personality assessment in which the professional asks questions of the client and allows the client to answer, either in a structured or unstructured fashion
Term
intimacy
Definition
an emotinal and psychological closeness that is based on the ability to trust, share, and care, while still maintaining a sense of self.
Term
intrinsic motivation
Definition
type of motivation in which a person performs an action because the act itself is rewarding or satisfying in some internal manner
Term
introversion
Definition
dimension of personality in which people tend to withdraw from excessive stimulation
Term
introverts
Definition
people who prefer solitude and dislike being the center of attention
Term
irreversibility
Definition
in Piaget's theory, the inabilty of the young child to mentally reverse an action
Term
James-Lange theory of emotion
Definition
theory in which a physiolgocial reaction leads to the labeling of an emotion
Term
"jigsaw classroom"
Definition
educatoinal technique in which each individual is given only part of the information needed to solve a problem, causing the separate individuals to be forced to work togehter to find the solution
Term
just noticeable difference (jnd or the difference threshold)
Definition
the smallest difference between two stimuli that is detectable 50 percent of the time
Term
kinesthetic learners
Definition
people who prefer to learn by doing and being active
Term
kinesthetic sense
Definition
sense of the location of body parts in relation to the ground and each other
Term
language
Definition
a system for combining symbols (such as words) so that an unlimited number of meaningful statements can be made for the purpose of communicating with others
Term
latency
Definition
fouth stage occuring during the school years, in which the sexual feelings of the child are repressed while the child develops in other ways
Term
latent content
Definition
the symbolic or hidden meaning of dreams
Term
latent learning
Definition
learning that remains hidden until its application become useful
Term
Law of Effect
Definition
law stating that if an action is followed by a pleasureable consequence, it will tend to be repeated, and if followed by an unpleasant consequence, it will tend not to be repeated
Term
learned helplessness
Definition
the tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past
Term
learning/perfomrance distinction
Definition
referring to the observation that learning can take place without actual performance of the learned behavior
Term
learning style
Definition
the particular way in which a person takes in information
Term
leptin
Definition
a hormone that, when released into the bloodstream, signals the hypothalamus that the body has had enough food, and reduces the appetite while increasing the feeling of being full
Term
levels-of-processing model
Definition
model of memory that assumes information that is more "deeply processed," or processed according to its meaning rather tahan just the sound or physical characterisitcs of the word or words, will be remembere more efficiently and for a longer period of time
Term
light adaptation
Definition
the recovery of the eye's sensitivity to visual stimuli in light after exposure to darkness
Term
limbic system
Definition
a group of several brain structures located under the cortex and involved in learning, emotion, memory and motivation
Term
linear perspective
Definition
the tendency for parallel lines to appear to converge on each other
Term
linguistic relativity hypothesis
Definition
the theory that thought processes and concepts are controlled by language
Term
locus of control
Definition
the tendency for people to assume that they either have control or do not have control over events and consequences in their lives
Term
longitudinal design
Definition
research design in which one participant or group of participants is studied over a long period of time
Term
long-term memory (LTM)
Definition
the system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently
Term
lowball technique
Definition
getting a commitment froma person and then raising the cost of that commitment
Term
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)
Definition
powerful synthetic hallucinogen
Term
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Definition
brain-imaging method using radio waves and magnetic fields of the body to produce detailed images of the brain
Term
magnification and minimization
Definition
distoritons of thinking in which a person blows a negative event out of proportion to its importance (magnification) while ignoring relevant positive events (minimization)
Term
magnification
Definition
the tendency to interpret situations as far more dangerous, harmful or important than they actually are
Term
maintenance rehearsal
Definition
practice of saying some information to be remembered over and over in one's head in order to maintin it in short-term memory
Term
major depression
Definition
severe depression that comes on suddenly and seems to have no external cause
Term
maladaptive
Definition
anything that does not allow a person to function within or adapt to the stresses and everyday demands of life
Term
mammary glands
Definition
glands within the breast tissue that produce milk when a woman gives birth to an infant
Term
manic
Definition
having the quality of excessive excitement, energy, and elation or irritability
Term
manifest content
Definition
the actual content of one's dream (as opposed to latent content)
Term
marijuana
Definition
mild hallucinogen (aka pot, weed) derived from the leaves and flowers of a particular type of hemp plant
Term
MDMA (ecstacy or X)
Definition
designer durg that can have both stimulant and hallucinatory effects
Term
mean
Definition
the arithmetic average of a distribution of numbers
Term
means-end analysis
Definition
heuristic in which the difference between the starting situation and the goal is determined and then steps are taken to reduce that difference
Term
measure of central tendency
Definition
numbers that best represent the most typical score of a frequency distribution
Term
median
Definition
themiddle score in an ordered distirbution of scores, or the mean of the two middle numbers; the 50th percentile
Term
meditation
Definition
mental series of exercises meant to refocus attention and achieve a trancelike state of consciousness
Term
medulla
Definition
the first large swelling at the top of the spinal cord, forming the lowest part of the brain, which is responsible for life-sustatining funcitons such as breathing, swallowing, and heart rate
Term
memory
Definition
an active system that receives information from the senses, puts that information into a usable form, and organizes it as it stores it away, and then retrieves the information from storage
Term
memory trace
Definition
physcial change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed
Term
menopause
Definition
the cessation of ovualtion and menstrual cycles and the end of a woman's reproductive capability
Term
menstrual cycle
Definition
monthly shedding of the blood and tissue that line the uterus in preparation for pregnancy when conception does not occur
Term
mental image
Definition
mental represntations that stand for objects or events and have a picture-like quality
Term
mental set
Definition
the tendency for people to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked for them in the past
Term
mescaline
Definition
natural hallucinogen derived form the peyote cactus buttons
Term
microsleeps
Definition
brief sidesteps into sleep lasting only a few seconds
Term
minimization
Definition
the tendency to give little or no importance to one's successes or positive events and traits
Term
mirror neurson
Definition
neurons that fire when an animal or person performs an action and also when an animal or person observes that same action being performed by another
Term
misinformation effect
Definition
the tendency of misleading information presented after an event to alter the memories of the event itself
Term
mnemonic
Definition
a strategy or trick for aiding memory
Term
mode
Definition
the most frequent score in a distirbution of scores
Term
modeling
Definition
learning through the observation and imitation of others
Term
monocular cues (pictorial depth cues)
Definition
cues for perceiving depth based on one eye only
Term
monzygotic twins
Definition
identical twins formed when one zygote splits into two separate masses of cells, each of which develops into separate embyro
Term
mood disorders
Definition
disorders in which mood is severely disturbed
Term
morphemes
Definition
the smallest units of meaning within a language
Term
morphine
Definition
narcotic drug derived from opium, used to treat severe pain
Term
motion parallax
Definition
the perception of motion of objects in which close objects appear to move more quickly than objects that are farther away
Term
motivation
Definition
the process by which activities are started, directed, and continued so that physical or psychological needs or wants are met
Term
motor cortex
Definition
section of the frontal lobe located at the back, responsible for sending motor commands to the muscles of the somatic nervous system
Term
motor pathway
Definition
nerves coming from the CNS to the voluntary muscles, consiting of efferent neurons
Term
Muller-Lyer illusion
Definition
illusion of line length that is distorted by inward-turning or outward-turning corners on the ends of the lines, causing lines of equal length to appear to be different
Term
multiple approach-avoidance conflict
Definition
conflict in which the person must decide between more than two goals, with each goal possessing both positve and negative aspects
Term
myelin
Definition
fatty substances prduced by certain glial cells that coat the axons of neurons to insulate, protect, and speed up the neural impulse
Term
narcolepsy
Definition
sleep diorder in which a person falls immediately into REM sleep during the day without warning
Term
narcotics
Definition
a class of opium-related drugs that suppress the sensation of pain by binding to and stimulating the nervous system's natrual receptor sites for endorphins
Term
natural concepts
Definition
concepts people form as a result of their experiences in the real world
Term
natural killer cell
Definition
immune system cell responsible for suppressing viruses and destroying tumor cells
Term
nature
Definition
the influence of our inherited characterisitcs on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions
Term
need
Definition
a requirment of some material (such as food or water) that is essential for survival of the organism
Term
need for achievement (Nach)
Definition
a need that involves a strong desire to succeed in attaining goals, not only realistic ones but also challenging ones
Term
need for affiliation (NAff)
Definition
the need for friendly social interactions and relationships with others
Term
need for power (nPow)
Definition
the need to have control or influence over others
Term
negative reinforcement
Definition
the reinforcement of a response by the removal, escape from, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus
Term
negative symptoms
Definition
symptoms of schizophrenia that are less than normal behavior or an absence of normal behavior; poor attention, flat affect, and poor speech production
Term
negatively skewed
Definition
a distirbution of scores in which score are concentrated in the high end of the distribution
Term
neo-Freudians
Definition
followers of Freud who developed their own competing psychodynamic theories
Term
nerves
Definition
bundles of axons coated in myelin that travel together through the body
Term
nervous system
Definition
an extensive network of specialized cells that carries information to and from all parts of the body
Term
neurofeedback
Definition
form of biofeedback using brain-scanning devices to provide feedback about brain activity in an effort to modify behavior
Term
neuron
Definition
the basic cell that makes up the nervous system and that receives and sends messages within that system
Term
neuroplasticity
Definition
the ability within the brain to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in response to experience or trauma
Term
neuroscience
Definition
a branch of life sciences that deals with the structure and fuction of neurons, nerves, and nervous tissue, especially focusing on their relationship to behavior and learning
Term
neurotic personalities
Definition
personalities typified by maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships in Hornye's theory
Term
neuroticism
Definition
degree of emotional instibility or stability
Term
neurotransmitter
Definition
chemical found in the synaptic vesicles that, when released, has an effect on the next cell
Term
neutral stimulus (NS)
Definition
stimulus that has no effect on the desired response
Term
nicotine
Definition
the active ingredient in tobacco
Term
night terrors
Definition
relatively rare disorder in which the person experiences extreme fear and screams or runs around during deep sleep without waking fully
Term
nightmares
Definition
bad dreams occurring during REM sleep
Term
non-REM (NREM) sleep
Definition
any of the stages of sleep that do not include REM
Term
nondirective
Definition
therapy sytle in which the therapist remains relatively neutral and does not interpret or take direct actions with regard to the client, instead remaining a calm, nonjudgemental listener while the client talks
Term
norm of reciprocity
Definition
assumption that if someone does something for a person, that person should do something for the other in return
Term
normal curve
Definition
a special frequency polygon in which the scores are symetrically distributed around the mean, and the mean, median, and mode are all located on the same point on the curve with scores decreasing as the curve extends from the mean
Term
nurture
Definition
the influence of the environment on personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions
Term
obedience
Definition
changing one's behavior at the command of an authority figure
Term
object permanence
Definition
the knowlege that an object exists even when it is not in sight
Term
objective introspection
Definition
the process of examining and measuring one's own thoughts and mental activities
Term
observational learning
Definition
learning new behavior by watching an model perform that behavior
Term
observer bias
Definition
tendency of observers to see what they expect to see
Term
observer effect
Definition
tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are being observed
Term
obsessive-compulsive disorder
Definition
disorder in which intruding, recurring thoughts or obsessions create anxiety that is relieved by performing a repetitive, ritualistic behavior (compulsion)
Term
occipital lobe
Definition
section of the brain located at the rear and bottom of each cerebral hemisphere containing the visual centers of the brain
Term
Oedipus complex
Definition
situation occurring in the phallic stage in which a child develops a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent and jealousy of the same-sex parent
Term
olfaction (olfactory sense)
Definition
the sensation of smell
Term
olfactory bulbs
Definition
areas of the brain located just above the sinus cavity and just below the frontal lobes that receive information from the olfactory receptor cells
Term
openness
Definition
one of the five factors; willingness to try new things and be open to new experiences
Term
The Big Five(OCEAN-Characteristics)
Definition
Opennes, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism
Term
operant
Definition
any behavior that is voluntary
Term
operant conditioning
Definition
the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses
Term
operational definition
Definition
definition of a variable of interest that allows it to be directly measured
Term
opium
Definition
substance derived from the opium poppy from which all narcotic drugs are derived
Term
opponent-process theory
Definition
theory of color vision that proposes four primary colors with cones arrange in pairs: red and green, blue and yellow
Term
optimists
Definition
people who expect positive outcomes
Term
oral stage
Definition
first stage occurring in the first yar of life in whihc the mouth is the erogenous zone and weaning is the primary conflict
Term
organic or stress-induced dysfuction
Definition
sexual problem caused by physical disorder or psychological stress
Term
orgasm
Definition
a series of rhythmic contractions of the muscles of the baginal walls or the penis, also the third and shortest phase of sexual response
Term
out-groups
Definition
social groups with whom a person does not identify: "them"
Term
ovaries
Definition
the female suxual glands or gonads
Term
overgeneralization
Definition
distortion of thinking in which a person draws sweeping conclusions based on only one incident or event and applies those conclusions to events that are unrelated to the original; also the tendency to interpret a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat and failure
Term
overlap (interposition)
Definition
the assumption that an object that appears to be blocking part of another object is in front of the second object and closer to view
Term
ovum
Definition
the female sex cell, or egg
Term
pancreas
Definition
endocrine gland; controls the levels of sugar in the blood
Term
panic attack
Definition
sudden onset of intense panic in which multiple phsycial symptoms of stress occur, often with feelings that one is dying
Term
panic disorder
Definition
disroder in which panic attacks occur frequently enough to cause the person difficulty in adjusting to daily life
Term
panic disorder with agoraphobia
Definition
fear of leaving one's familiar surroundings because oone might have a panice attack in public
Term
parallel distributed processing (PDP) model
Definition
a model of memory in which memory processes are proposed to take place at the same time over a large network of neural connections
Term
parameter
Definition
a number representing some measure of central tendency or variablity within a population
Term
paranoid
Definition
type of schizphreniain whihc the person suffers from delusions of persecution, grandeur, and jealousy, together with hallucinations
Term
paraphilia
Definition
a sexual disorder in which the person's preferred method of sexual arousal and fulfillment is through sexual behvior that is unusual or socially unacceptable
Term
parapsychology
Definition
the study of ESP, ghosts, and other subjects that do not normally fall into the realm of ordinary psychology
Term
parasympathetic division
Definition
part of the ANS that restores the body to normal funcitoning after arousal and is responsible for the day-to-day functioing of the organs and glands
Term
parietal lobes
Definition
sections of the brain located at the top and back of each cerebral hemisphere containing the centers for touch, taste, and temperature sensations
Term
partial reinforcement effect
Definition
the tendency for a response that is reinforced after some, but not all, correct responses to be very resistant to extinction
Term
participant modeling
Definition
technique in which a model demonstrates the desired behavior in a step-by-step, gradual process while the client is encouraged to imitate the model
Term
participant observation
Definition
a naturalistic observation in which the observer becomes a participant in the group being observed
Term
PCP
Definition
sysnthesized drug now used as an animal tranquilizer that can cause stimulant, depressant, narcotic, or hallucinogenic effects
Term
peak experiences
Definition
according to Maslow, times in a peron's life during which self-actualization is temporarily achieved
Term
pedophile
Definition
a person hwo has recurring sexual thoughts, fantasies, or engages in sexual actions toward prepubescent (nonsexually mature) children
Term
pedophilia
Definition
deririvng sexual arousal and pleasure from touching or having sexual relations with prepubescent children or fantasizing about such contact
Term
penis
Definition
the organ through which males urninate and which delivers the male sex cells or sperm
Term
perception
Definition
the mehtod by which the sensations experienced at any given moment are interpreted and organized in some meaningful fashion
Term
perceptual set (perceptual expectancy)
Definition
the tendency to percieve things a certain way because previous experiences or expectations influence those perceptions
Term
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Definition
all nerves and neurons that are not contained in the brain and spinal cord but that run through the body itself
Term
peripheral-route processing
Definition
type of infomration processing that involves attending to factors not involved in the message, such as the appearance of the source of the message, the length of the message and other noncontent factros
Term
permissive indulgent
Definition
permisive parenting in which parents are so involved that children are allowed to behave without set limits
Term
permissive neglectful
Definition
permissive parenting in whihc parents are uninvolved with child or childs behavior
Term
permissive parenting
Definition
style of parenting in whihch parent makes few, if any demands on a child's behavior
Term
personal fable
Definition
type of thought common to adolescents in which young people believe themsevles to be unique and protected from harm
Term
personal unconscious
Definition
Jung's name for the unconscious mind as described by Freud
Term
personality
Definition
the unique and relatively stable ways in which people think, feel, and behave
Term
personality disorder
Definition
disorders in whihc a person adopts a persistent, rigid, and maladaptive pattern of behavior that interferes with normal social interactions
Term
personality inventory
Definition
paper and pencil or computerized test that consists of statements that require a specific, standardized response fromm the person taking the test
Term
personlity psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the psychologists study the differences in personality among people
Term
personalization
Definition
distortion of thinking in which a person takes responsibilty or blame for events that are unconnected to the person
Term
person-centered therapy
Definition
a nondirective insight therapy based on the work of Carl Rogers in which the client does all the talking and the therapist listens
Term
persuasion
Definition
the process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, positioin, or couse of action of another person through arguement, pleading or explanation
Term
pessimists
Definition
people who expect negative outcomes
Term
phallic stage
Definition
third stage occurring from about 3 to 6 years of age, in which the child discovers sexual feelings
Term
phobia
Definition
an irrational, persistent fear of an object, situation, or social activity
Term
phonemes
Definition
the basic units of sound in language
Term
phototherapy
Definition
the use of lights to treat seasonal affective disorder or other disorders
Term
physical dependence
Definition
condition occurring when a peron's body become unable to function normally without a particular drug
Term
physiological psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the psychologists study the biological bases of behavior
Term
pineal gland
Definition
endocrine gland located near the base of the cerebrum; secretes meltonin
Term
pinna
Definition
the visible part of the ear
Term
ptich
Definition
psychological experience of sound that corresponds to the frequency of the sound waves; higher frequenices are perceived as higher pitches
Term
pituitary gland
Definition
gland located in the brain that secretes human growth hormone and influences all other hormone-secreting glands (also known as the master gland)
Term
place theory
Definition
theory of pitch that states that different pitches are experienced by the stimulation of hair cells in differentt locations on the organ of Corti
Term
placebo effect
Definition
the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior
Term
pleasure principle
Definition
principle by which the id functions; the immediate satisfaction of needs without regard for the consequences
Term
polygon
Definition
line graph showing a frequency distribution
Term
pons
Definition
the larger swelling above the medulla that connects the top of the brain to the bottom and that plays a part in sleep, dreaming, left-right body coordination, and arousal
Term
population
Definition
the entire group of people or animals in which the researcher is interested
Term
positive psychology movement
Definition
a viewpoint that recommends shifting the focus of psychologyaway from the negative aspects to a more positive focus on strenghts, well-being, and the pursuit of happiness
Term
positive regard
Definition
warmth, affection, love and respect that come from significant others in one's life
Term
positive reinforcement
Definition
the reinforcement of a response by the addition of experiencing of of a pleasurable stimulus
Term
positive symptoms
Definition
symptoms of schizphrenia that are excesses of behavior or occur in addition to normal behavior; hallucinations, delusions, and distorted thinking
Term
positevly skewed
Definition
a distribution of scores in whihc scores are concentrated in the low end of the distribution
Term
positron emission tomography (PET)
Definition
brain-imaging metod in which a radioactive sugar is injected into the subject and a computer compiles a color-coded image of the activiy of the brain with ligher color indicating more acitivity
Term
postconventional morality
Definition
third level of Kholberg's stages of moral devlopment in which the peron's behavior is govenred by moral principles that have been decided on by the individual and that may be in disagreement with accpeted soical norms
Term
postpartum depression
Definition
depression occurring within a year after giving birth in about 10 percent of women and that includes intense worryabout the baby, thoughts of suicide, and fears of harming the baby
Term
postpartum psychosis
Definition
a rare and severe form of depression that occurs in women just after giving birth and includes delusional thinking and hallucinations
Term
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Definition
a disorder resuliting from exposure to a major stressor, with symptoms of anxiety, nightmares, poor sleep, reliving the event, and concentration problems, lasting for more than a month
Term
practical intelligence
Definition
the ability to use information to get along in life and become successful
Term
pragmatics
Definition
aspects of language involving the practical ways of communicating with others, or the social "niceties" of language
Term
preconventional morality
Definition
first level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which the child's behavior is governed by the consequences of the behavior
Term
prefrontal lobotomy
Definition
psychosurgery in whihc hte connections of the prefrontal lobes of the brain to the rear portions are severed
Term
prejudice
Definition
negative attitude held by a person about the members of a particular social group
Term
properational stages
Definition
Piaget's second stage of congitive development in which the prechool cihld learns to use language as a means of exploring the world
Term
pressure
Definition
the psychological experience produced by urgnt demands of expectations for a person's behvior that come form an outside source
Term
primacy effect
Definition
tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that follows
Term
primary appraisal
Definition
the first step in assessing stress, which involves estimatinog the severity of a stressor and classifying it as either a threat or a challenging
Term
primary drives
Definition
those drives that involve needs of the body such as hunger and thirst
Term
primary reinforcer
Definition
any reinforcer that is naturally reinforcing by meeting a basic biological need, such as hunger, thirst, or touch
Term
primary sex characteristics
Definition
sexual organs present at birth and direclty involved in human reproduction
Term
proactive interference
Definition
memory retrieval problem that occurs when older information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of newer information
Term
problem solving
Definition
process of cognitiion that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways
Term
problem-focused coing
Definition
coping strategies that try to eliminate the source of a stress or reduce its impact through direct actions
Term
procedural (nondeclarative) memory
Definition
type of long-term memory including memory for skills,procedures, habits, and conditioned repsones. These memories are not conscous but are implied to exist because they affect conscious behavior
Term
projection
Definition
psychological defense mechanism in which unaccpetable or threatening impulses or feelings are seen as originating with someone else, usually the target of the impulses or feelings
Term
projective tests
Definition
personality assessments that present ambiguous visual stimuli to the client and ask the client to respond with whatever comes to mind
Term
prosocial behavior
Definition
socially desirable behavior that benefits others
Term
prostate glands
Definition
gland that secretes most of the fluid holding the male sex cells or sperm
Term
prototype
Definition
an example of a concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of a concept
Term
proximity
Definition
physical or geographical nearness
Term
pseudopsychologies
Definition
system of explaining human behvior that are not based on or consistent with scientific evidence
Term
psilocybin
Definition
natrual hallucinogen found in certain mushrooms
Term
psychiatric social worker
Definition
a social worker with some training in therapy methods who focuses on the environmental conditions that can have an impact on metal disorders, such as poverty, overcrowding, stress, and drug abuse
Term
psychiatrist
Definition
a medical doctor who has specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders
Term
pscyhoactive drugs
Definition
drugs that alter thinking, perception, and memory
Term
psychoanalysis
Definition
Freud's term for both the theory of personality and the therapy based on it
Term
psychoanalyst
Definition
either a psychiatrist or a psychologist who has speical training in the theories of Sigmund Freud and his method of psychoanalysis
Term
pychodynamic perspective
Definition
modern version of psychoanalysis that is more focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of other motivations behind a person's behavior than sexual motivations
Term
psychodynamic therapy
Definition
a newer an dmore general term for therapies based on psychoanalysis with an emphasis on transference, shorter treament times, and a more direct therapeutic approach
Term
psychological defense mechanisms (460)
Definition
unconscious distortions of a person's perception of reality that reduce stress and anxiety
Term
psychological dependence
Definition
the feeling that a drug is needed to continue a feeling of emotional or psychological well-being
Term
psychological disorders
Definition
any pattern of behavior that casues people significant distress, cause them to harm others, or harms their ability to function in daily life
Term
psychologist
Definition
a professional with an academic degree and specialized training in one or more areas of psychology
Term
psychology
Definition
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Term
psychopathology
Definition
the study of abnormal behavior
Term
psychoneuroimmunology
Definition
the study of the effects of psychological factors such as stress, emotions, thoughts and behavior on the immune system
Term
psychopharmacology
Definition
the use of drugs to control or relieve the symptoms of psycholgocal disorders
Term
psychophysiological disorder
Definition
modern term for psychosomatic disorder
Term
psychosexual stages
Definition
five stages of personlity development proposed by Freud and tied to the sexual development of the child
Term
psychosomatic disorder
Definition
disorder in which psychological stess causes a real physical disorder or illness
Term
psychosurgery
Definition
surgery performed on brain tissue to relieve or control severe psychological disorders
Term
psychotherapy
Definition
therapy for mental disorders in which a person with a problem talks with a psychological professional
Term
psychotic
Definition
term applied to a person who is no longer able to perceive what is real and what is fantasy
Term
puberty
Definition
the physical changes that occur in the body as sexual development reaches its peak
Term
punishment
Definition
any event or object that, when following a response, makes that response less likely to happen again
Term
punishment by application
Definition
the punishment of a response by the addition or experiencing of an unpleasant stimulus
Term
punishment by removal
Definition
the punishment of a response by the removal of a pleasurable stimulus
Term
random assignment
Definition
process of assigning subject to the experimental r control groups randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group
Term
range
Definition
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
Term
rapid eye movement (REM)
Definition
stage of sleep in which the eyes move rapidly under the eylides and the person is typically experiencing dreams
Term
rating scale
Definition
assessment in which a numerical value is assigned to specific behavior that is listed in the scale
Term
rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)
Definition
cognitive-behavioral therapy in which clients are direclty challenged in their irrational beliefs and helped to resturcture their thinking in to order rational belief statements
Term
rationalizatoin
Definition
psychological defense mechanism in which a person invents acceptable excuses for unaccpetable behavior
Term
reaction formation
Definition
psychological defense mechanism in which a person forms an opposite emotional or behavioral reaction ot hte way he or she really feels to keep those true feelings hidden from self and other
Term
real self
Definition
one's perception of actual characteristics, traits, and abilities
Term
realistic conflict theory
Definition
theory stating that prejudice and discrimination will be increased between groups that are in conflict over a limited resource
Term
reality principle
Definition
principle by which the ego functions; the satisfaction of the demands of the id only when negative consequences will not result
Term
recall
Definition
type of memory retrieval in whcih the information io be retrieved must be 'pulled' from memory with very few external cues
Term
recency effect
Definition
tendency to remember information at the end of a body of infomration better than the information at the beginning of it
Term
receptive meditation
Definition
form of meditation in which a person attempts to become aware of everything in immediate conscious experience, or an expansion of consciousness
Term
receptor sites
Definition
holes in the surface of the dendrites or certain cells of the muscles and glands, which are shaped to fit only certain neurotransmitters
Term
recessive
Definition
referring to a gente that only influences the expression of a trait when paired with an identical gene
Term
reciprocal determinism
Definition
Bandura's explanation of how the factors of environment, persoanl characteristics, and behavior can interact to determine future behavior
Term
reciprocity of liking
Definition
tendency of people to like other people who like them in return
Term
recognition
Definition
the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or ract
Term
reflection
Definition
therapy technique in which the therapist restates what the client says rather than interpreting those statements
Term
reflex arc
Definition
the connection of the afferent neurons to the interneurons to the efferent neurons, resulting in a reflex action
Term
reflex arc
Definition
the connection of the afferent neurons to the interneurons to the efferent neurons, resulting in a reflex action
Term
Refractory period
Definition
time period in males just after orgasm in which the mail cannot become aroused or achieve correction
Term
Regression
Definition
Psychological defense mechanism in which a person falls back on childlike patterns of responding to a reaction to stressful situations
Term
Reinforcement
Definition
Reinforce our The strengthening of the response by following it with a pleasurable consequence or the removal of an unpleasant stimulus
Term
Reinforcer
Definition
Any event or object that, when following a response, increases the likelihood of that response occurring again
Term
Relative size
Definition
Perception that occurs when objects that a person expects to be above a certain size up here to the small and far, therefore, assumed to be much farther away
Term
Reliability
Definition
The tendency of a test to reduce the same scores again and again each time is given to the same people
Term
REM behavior disorder
Definition
A rare disorder in which the mechanism that blocks the movement of the voluntary muscles fails, allowing the person to trash around and even get out and back down nightmares
Term
REM paralysis
Definition
The inability of the voluntary muscles to move during REM sleep
Term
REM rebound
Definition
Increase amounts of REM sleep after being deprived of REM sleep on earlier nights
Term
Replicate
Definition
In research, we're seeing a steady or experiment to see the same results will be attained in an effort to demonstrate reliability of results
Term
Representative sample
Definition
Randomly selected sample subjects from a larger population of subjects
Term
Repression
Definition
Psychological defense mechanism in which the person refuses to consciously remember a threatening or unacceptable event, instead of pushing those events into the unconscious mind if
Term
Resistance
Definition
Occurring when a patient becomes reluctant to talk about a certain topic, either changing the subject or becoming signed
Term
Resolution
Definition
The final phase of the sexual response in which the body is returned to a Normal State
Term
Resting potential
Definition
The state and a wrong when a fire in a neural impulse
Term
restorative theory
Definition
theory of sleep proposing that sleep is necessary to the physical health of the body and serves to replenish chemicals and repair cellular damage
Term
reticular formation
Definition
an area of neurons running through the middle of the medula and the pons and slightly beyond that is responsible for selective attention.
Term
Retrieval
Definition
Getting information that is in storage into a form that can be used
Term
Retrieval cue
Definition
A stimulus for remembering
Term
Retroactive interference
Definition
Memory retrieval problem that occurs when new or information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of older information
Term
Retrograde amnesia
Definition
Loss of memory from the point of some injury or trauma backwards, or a loss of memory from the past
Term
reuptake
Definition
process by which neurotransmitters are take back into the synaptic vesicles
Term
Reversible figures
Definition
Visual illusions in which to figure and ground can be reversed
Term
Rods
Definition
The visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina, responsible for non color sensitivity to low levels of light
Term
Romantic love
Definition
A type of love consisting of intimacy and passion
Term
Rorschach inkblot test
Definition
Projected test that uses 10 inkblots as the ambiguous stimuli
Term
S factor
Definition
The ability to excel in certain areas, or specific intelligence
Term
Sample
Definition
Group of subjects selected from a larger population of subjects, usually selected randomly
Term
Scaffolding
Definition
Process in which a more skilled letter gets help to a less skilled learner, reducing the amount of help as the less skilled learner becomes more capable
Term
Scheme
Definition
In this case, a mental concept formed through experiences with objects and events
Term
schizophrenia
Definition
Severe disorder in which the person suffers from a disordered thinking, bizzare behavior, hallucinations, and inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality
Term
School psychology
Definition
Psychology in which the psychologist works directly in the schools, doing assessments, educational placement, and diagnosing educational problems
Term
Scientific method
Definition
System of gathering data and so the bias and error in measurements are reduced
Term
scrotum
Definition
External sack that holds the testes
Term
seasonal affective disorder SAD
Definition
In disorder caused by the body's reaction to the levels of sunlight in the winter months
Term
Secondary appraisal
Definition
The second step in assessing a threat, which involves estimating that the resources available to the person for coping with the stressor
Term
Secondary reinforcer
Definition
Any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after becoming paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars
Term
Secondary sex characteristics
Definition
Sexual organs and trace the development puberty and are indirectly involved in human reproduction
Term
Selective attention
Definition
The ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input
Term
Selective thinking
Definition
Distortion of thinking in which a person focuses only on one aspect of a situation while ignoring all other relevant aspects
Term
self
Definition
archetype that works with the ego to manage other archetypes and balance the personality
Term
self-actualization
Definition
according to Maslow, the point that is seldom reached at which people have sufficiently satisfied the lower needs and achieved their full human potential
Term
self-actualizing tendency
Definition
the striving to fulfill one's innate capacities and capabilities
Term
self-concept
Definition
the image of oneself that develops from interactions with important, significant people in one's life
Term
self-determination theory (SDT)
Definition
theory of human motivation in which the social contex t of an action has an effect on the type of motivation existing for the action
Term
self-efficacy
Definition
individual's expectancy of how effective his or her efforts to accomplish a goal will be in any particular circumstance
Term
self-fulfilling prophecy
Definition
the tendency of one's expectations to affect one's behavior in such a way as to make the expectations more likely to occur
Term
self-help groups (support groups)
Definition
a group composed of people who have similar problems and who meet togehter without a therapist or counselor for the purpose of discussion, problem soving, and social and emotional support
Term
semantic memory
Definition
type of declarative memory containing general knowledge, such as knowlege of language and information learned in formal education
Term
semantic network model
Definition
model of memory organization that assumes information is stored in the brain in a connected fashion, with concepts that are related stored phsycially clower to eachc other than concepts that are not highly related
Term
semantics
Definition
the rules for dtermining the meaning of words and sentences
Term
seminal fluid
Definition
fluid released from the penis at orgasm that contais the sperm
Term
sensation
Definition
the process that occurs when speical recptors in the sense organs are activated, allowing various forms of outside stimuli to become neural signals in the brain
Term
sensation seeker
Definition
someone who needs more arousal than the average person
Term
sensorimotor stage
Definition
piaget's first stage of congnitive development in which the infant uses its senses and motor abilities to interact with objects in the environment
Term
sensory adaptation
Definition
tendency of sensory receptor cells to become less responsive to a stimulus that is unchanging
Term
sensory conflict theory
Definition
an explanation of motion sickness in whihc the information from the eyes conflicts with the information from the vestibular senses, resuliting in dissiness, nasuea, and other physical discomfort
Term
sensory memory
Definition
the very first stage of memory, the point at whihc infromation events the nervous system through the sensroy systems
Term
sensory pathway
Definition
nerves coming from the sensory organs to the CNS consisting of afferent neurons
Term
serial position effect
Definition
tendency of infomration at the beginning and end of a body of information to be remembered more accurately than information in the middle of the body of information
Term
sexism
Definition
prejudice about males and/or females leading to unequal treatment
Term
sexual deviance
Definition
behvior that is unacceptable according to societal norms and expectations
Term
sexual dysfunction
Definition
a problem in sexual functioning
Term
sexual orientation
Definition
a person's sexual attraction and affection for members of either the opposite or the same se
Term
shape constancy
Definition
the tendency to interpet the shape of an object as being constant, even when its shape changes on the retina
Term
shaping
Definition
the reinforcemnt of simple steps in behavior that lead to a desired, more complex behavior
Term
Short term memory
Definition
The memory system in which information is held for brief periods of time while being used
Term
Significant difference
Definition
The difference between groups of numerical data that's considers large enough to be due to factors other than chance variation
Term
Skewed distribution
Definition
frequency distribution in which most of the scores fall to one side or the other of distribution
Term
Similarity
Definition
A tendency to perceive things that work similar to each other as being part of the same group
Term
Single blind study
Definition
Studying which the subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group
Term
Situational cause
Definition
Cause of behavior attributed to external factors, such as the ways, the action of others, or some other aspect of the situation
Term
Situational context
Definition
The social or environmental setting of a person's behavior
Term
Size constancy
Definition
The tendency to interpret an object is always being the same actual size, regardless of its distance
Term
Skin senses
Definition
The sensation of touch, pressure, temperature, pain
Term
Sleep apnea
Definition
Disorder in which the person stops breathing for nearly ½ minute or more
Term
Sleep deprivation
Definition
Any significant loss of sleep, resulting in problems in concentration and irritability
Term
Sleepwalking (somnambulsim)
Definition
Occurring during keep sweet, a 1% of moving around for walking around in one sleep
Term
social categorization
Definition
the assignment of a person one has just met to a category based on characterisitics the new person has in common iwht other people with whom one has had experience in the past
Term
social cognition
Definition
the mental processes that people use to make sense of the social world arund them
Term
social-cogntitive learning theorists
Definition
theorists who emphasize the importance of both the influences of other people's behavior and of a person's own expectancies of learning
Term
social-cognitive theory of hypnosis
Definition
theory that assumes that people who are hypnotized are not in an altered state but are merely playing the role expected of them in the situation
Term
social-cogntivitve view
Definition
learning theory that inlcudes cogntive processes such as anticipating, judging, memory, and imitation of models
Term
social cognitive
Definition
referring to the use of cognitive processes in relation to understanding the social world
Term
social comparison
Definition
the compairson of oneself to otthers in ways that raise one's self-esteem
Term
social facilitation
Definition
the tendency for the presence of toehr people to have a positive impact on the performance of an easy task
Term
social identity
Definition
the part of the self-concept including one's view of self as a member of a particular social category
Term
soical identity theory
Definition
theory in whihc the formation of a person's identity within a particular soical group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison
Term
soical impairment
Definition
the tendency for the presence of other people to have a negative impact on the performance of a difficult task
Term
social influence
Definition
the process through whihc the real or implied presence of others can direclty or indirectly influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of an individual
Term
soical learners
Definition
people who prefer to learn with other people or in groups
Term
social loafing
Definition
the tendency for people to put less effort into a simple task when working with others on that task
Term
social phobia
Definition
fear of interacting with others or being in soical situations that might lead to a negative evalutation
Term
social psychology
Definition
the sientific study of how a person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior are influenced by the real, imagined, or implied presence of others
Term
Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
Definition
assessment that measures the amount of stress in a person's life over a one-year period resulting from major life events
Term
social role
Definition
the pattern of behavior that is expected of a person who is in a particular social position
Term
social support system
Definition
the network of family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and others who can offer support, comfort, or aid to a person in need
Term
sociocultural perspective
Definition
perspective in whihc abnormal behavior (like normal behavior) is seen as the product of the learning and shaping of behavior within the context of the family, the social group to which one belongs, and the culture within which the family and social group exist
Term
soma
Definition
the cell body of the neuron responsible for maintaining the life of the cell
Term
somatic nervous system
Definition
division of the PNS consisting of nerves that carry information from the senses to the CNS and from the CNS to the voluntary muscles of the body
Term
somatization disorder
Definition
somatoform disorder in which the person dramatically complains of a specific symptom such as nausea, difficulty swallowing, or pain for whihc there is no real physical cause
Term
somatoform disorders
Definition
disorders that take the form of bodily illnesses and symptoms but for which there are no real physical disorders
Term
somatosensory cortex
Definition
area of neurons running down the front of the parietal lobes responsible for processing informaiton form the skin and internal body receptors for touch, temperature, body position, and possibly taste
Term
somesthetic sense
Definition
the body sense consiting of the skin senses, the kinesthetic sense, and the vestibular senses
Term
source traits
Definition
the more basic tratis that underlie the surface traits, forming the core of personality
Term
spatial neglect
Definition
condition produced by damage to the association areas of the right hemisphere resulting in an inablity to recognize objects or body parts in the left visual field
Term
specific phobia
Definition
fear of objects or specific situations or events
Term
spinal cord
Definition
a long bundle of neurons that carries messaes between the body and the brain and is responsible for very fast, lifesaving reflexes
Term
spinal cord
Definition
a long bundle of neurons that carries messaes between the body and the brain and is responsible for very fast, lifesaving reflexes
Term
spontaneous recovery
Definition
the reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occured
Term
sports psychology
Definition
area of psychology in which the psychologist help athletes and others to prepare themselves mentally for participation in sports activities
Term
standard deviation
Definition
the square root of the average squared deviations from the mean of scores in a distibution; a measure of variability
Term
statistic
Definition
a measure of central tendency or variability computed from a sample
Term
statistically significant
Definition
referring to differences in data sets that are larger than chance variation would predict
Term
statistically significant
Definition
referring to differences in data sets that are larger than chance variation would predict
Term
statistics
Definition
brac of mathematics concerned withthe collection and interpretation of numerical data
Term
stem cells
Definition
sepcial cells found in all the tissues of the body that are capable of manufacturing other cell types when tose cells need to be replaced due to damage or wear and tear
Term
stereotype
Definition
a set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all members of a particular social category usually based on superficial, irrelevant characteristics
Term
stereotype vulnerability
Definition
the effect that people's awareness of the stereotypes associated with their social group has on their behavior
Term
stimulants
Definition
drugs that increase the functioning of the nervous system
Term
stimulatory hallucinogenics
Definition
drugs that produce a mixture of psychochomotor stimulant and hallucinogenic effects
Term
stimulus discrimination
Definition
the tendency to stop making a generalized response to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus because the similar stimulus is never paired with the unconditioned stimulus
Term
stimulus generalization
Definition
the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response
Term
stimulus motive
Definition
a motive that appears to be unlearned but causes an increase in stimulation, such as curiosity
Term
stimulus substitution
Definition
original theory in whihc pavlov stated that classical conditioning occurred becasue the conditined stimulus became a substitue for the unconditioned stimulus by being paired closely together
Term
storage
Definition
holding onto information for some period of time
Term
stress
Definition
the term used to descirbe the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging
Term
stressors
Definition
events that cause a stress reaction
Term
stress-vulnerability model
Definition
explanation of disorder that assumes a biological sensitivity, or vulnerability, to a certain disorder will result in the development of that disorder under the right conditions of environmental stress
Term
structuralism
Definition
early perspective in psychology associated with Wilhem Wundt and Edward Titchener, in which the focus of study is the structure of basic elements of the mind
Term
subjective
Definition
referring to concepts an dimpressions that are only valid within a particular person's perception and may be influenced by biases, prejudice, and personal experiences
Term
subjective discomfort
Definition
emotional distress or emotional pain
Term
sublimination
Definition
channeling socially unacceptable impulses and urges into socially accpetable behavior
Term
subordinate concept
Definition
the most specific category of a concept, such as one's pet dog or a pear in one's hand
Term
successive approximations
Definition
small steps in behavior, one after the other, that lead to a particular goal behavior
Term
superego
Definition
part of the personlity that acts as a moral center
Term
superordinated concept
Definition
the most general form of a type of concept, such as "animal" or "fruit"
Term
surface traits
Definition
aspects of personality that can easily be seen by other people in the outward actions of a person
Term
sympathetic division (fight-or-flight system)
Definition
part of the ANS that is responsible for reacting to stressful events and bodily arousal
Term
synapse (synaptic gap)
Definition
mircoscopic fluid-filled space between the synaptic knob of one cell and the dendrites or surface of the next cell
Term
synaptic vesicles
Definition
saclike structures found inside the synaptic knob containing chemicals
Term
synethesia
Definition
disorder in which the signals from the various sensory organs are processed in the wrong corical areas, resulting in the sense information being interpreted as more than one sensation
Term
syntax
Definition
the system of rules for combining words and phrases to form grammatically correct sentences
Term
systematic desensitizaiton
Definition
behavior technique used to treat phobias, in which a client is asked to make a list of ordered fears and taught to relax while concentrating on those fears
Term
tactile learners
Definition
people who need to touch objects in order to learn about them
Term
termperment
Definition
the enduring characteristics with which each person is born
Term
temporal lobes
Definition
areas of the cortex located just behind the temples containing the neurons responsible for the sense of hearing and meaningful speech
Term
teratogen
Definition
any factor that can cause a birth defect
Term
testes (testicles)
Definition
the male sex glands or gonads
Term
texture gradient
Definition
the tendency for textured surfaces to appear to become smaller and finer as distance from the viewer increases
Term
thalamus
Definition
part of the limbic system located in the center of the brain, this structure relays sensory information from the lower part of the brain to the porper areas of the cortex and processes some sensory infromation before sending it to its proper area
Term
that's-not-all technique
Definition
a sales technique in which the persuader makes an offer and then adds something eextra to make the offer look better before the target person can make a decision
Term
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Definition
projective test taht uses 20 picute of people in ambiguous situations as the visual stimuli
Term
therapeutic alliance
Definition
the relationship between therapist and client that develops as a warm, caring, accepting relationship characterized by empathy, mutal respect, and understanding
Term
therapy
Definition
treatment methods aimed at making people feel better and funciton more effectively
Term
theta waves
Definition
brain waves indicating the early stages of sleep
Term
thinking (cognition)
Definition
mental activity that goes on in the brain when a person is organizing and attempting to understand infomration and communicating information to others
Term
thyroid gland
Definition
endocrine gland found in the neck; regulates metabolism
Term
time-out
Definition
an extinction process in whihc a person is removed from the situation that provides reinforcement for undesirable behavior, usually by being placed in a quiet corner or room away from possible attention and reinforcement oppurtunities
Term
token economy
Definition
the use of objects called tokens to reinforce behavior in whihc the tokens can be accumulated and exchanged for desired items or privileges.
Term
top-down processing
Definition
the use of preexisting knwledge to organized individual features into a unified whole
Term
trait
Definition
a consistent, enduring way of thinking, feeling, or behaving
Term
trait theories
Definition
therioes that endeavor to described the charactersitics that make up human personality in an effort to predict future behavior
Term
trait-situation interaction
Definition
the assumtpiong that the particular circumstances of any given situation will influence the way in which a trait is expressed
Term
transduction
Definition
the process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, into neural activity
Term
transference
Definition
in psychoanalysis, the tendency for a patient or client to project positive or negative feeling for important people from the past onto the therapist
Term
transvetism
Definition
deriving sexual arousal and pleasure fromdressing in the clothing of the opposite sex
Term
trial and error (mechanical solution)
Definition
problem-solving method in whihc one possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found
Term
triarchic theory of intelligence
Definition
Sternberg's theory that ther are three kinds of intelligence: analytical, creative, and practical
Term
trichromatic theory
Definition
theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green
Term
trust versus mistrust
Definition
first stage of personality development in whihc the infant's basic sense of trust or mistrust develops as a result of consistent or inconsistent care
Term
Type A personality
Definition
person who is ambititous, time conscious, extremely hardworking, and tends to have high levels of hostilty and anger as well as being easily annoyed
Term
Type B personality
Definition
person who is relzeed and laid-back, less driven and competitive that Type A, and slow to anger
Term
Type C personality
Definition
pleasant but repressed person, who tends to internalize his or her anger and anxiety and who finds expressing emotions difficult
Term
t-test
Definition
type of inferetial statistical analysis typically used when two means are compared to see if they are significantly different
Term
unconditional positive regard
Definition
positive regard that is given without conditions or stings attached
Term
unconditional positive regard
Definition
referring to the warmth, respect, and accepting atmosphere created by the therapist for the client in person-centered therapy
Term
unconditioned response (UCR)
Definition
an involuntary (reflex) response to a naturally occurring or unconditioned stimulus
Term
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Definition
a naturally occurring stimulus that leads to an involutary (reflex) response
Term
unconscious mind
Definition
level of th emind in whihc thoughts, feelings, memories, and other information are kept that are not easily or voluntarily brought into consciousness
Term
unilateral ECT
Definition
electroconvulsive therapy in whihc the electrodes are placed on only one sed of the head and the forehead
Term
uterus
Definition
the womb in which the baby grows during pregnancy
Term
vagina
Definition
the tube that leads from the outside of a female's body to the opening of the womb
Term
validity
Definition
the degree to which a test actually measures what it's supposed to measure
Term
variable interval schedule of reinforcement
Definition
schedule of reinforcement in which the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is different for each trial or event
Term
variable ratio schedule of reinforcement
Definition
schedule of reinforcement in which the number or responses required for reinforcement is different for each trial or event
Term
vestibular senses
Definition
the sensations of movement, balance, and body position
Term
vicarious conditioning
Definition
classical conditioning of a relfex response or emotion by watching the reaction of another person
Term
visual accommodation
Definition
the change in the thickness of the lens as the ey efocuses on object that are far away or close
Term
visual learners
Definition
people who learn best by seeing, reading, and looking at images
Term
volley principle
Definition
theory of pitch that states that frequencies above 100 Hz cause the hair cells (auditory neurons) to firein a volley pattern, or take turns firing
Term
waking consciousness
Definition
state in chih thoughts, feelings, and sensations are clear, organized, and the person feels alert
Term
weight set point
Definition
the particular level of weight that the body tries to maintain
Term
Wernicke's aphasia
Definition
condition resulting from damage to Wernickes area, causing the affected person ot be unable to understand or produce meaningful language
Term
withdrawal
Definition
phsycial symptoms that can include nausea, pain, tremors, crankiness, and high blood pressure, resulting from a lack of an addictive drug in the body systems
Term
working memory
Definition
an active system that processes the information in short-term memory
Term
Yerkes-Dodson law
Definition
law stating performance is related to arousal; moderate levels of arousal lead to better performance than do levels of arousal that are too low or too high. This effect varies with the difficulty of the task: Easy tasks require a high-moderate level wheras more difficult tasks require a low-moderate level
Term
zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Definition
Vygotsky's concept of the difference between what a child can do alone and what that chid can do with the help of a teacher
Term
z score
Definition
a statistical mearusre that indicates how far away from the mean a particular score is in terms of the number of standard deviations that exist between the mean and that score
Term
zygote
Definition
cell resulting from the uniting of the ovum and the sperm
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