Term
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Definition
| The minimum amount of physical energy needed to produce a reliable sensory experience; operationally defined as the stimulus level at which a sensory signal is detected half the time |
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Term
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Definition
| 1. The process by which the ciliary muscles change the thickness of the lens of the eye to permit variable focusing on near and distant objects. 2. According to Piaget, the process of restructuring or modifying cognitive structures so that new information can fit into them more easily; this process works in tandem with assimilation |
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Term
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Definition
| The stage in a classical conditioning experiment during which the conditioned response is first elicited by the conditioned stimulus |
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Term
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Definition
| The nerve impulse activated in a neuron that travels down the axon and causes neurotransmitters to be released into a synapse |
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Term
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Definition
| A condition in which the body requires a drug in order to function without physical and psychological reaction to its absence |
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Term
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Definition
| A step-by-step procedure that always provides the right answer for a particular type of problem |
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Term
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Definition
| The rule that the size of the action potential is unaffected by increases in the intensity of stimulation beyond the threshold level |
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Term
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Definition
| A chronic organic brain syndrome characterized by gradual loss of memory, decline in intellectual ability, and deterioration of personality |
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Term
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Definition
| Cells that integrate information across the retina; rather than sending signals to the brain, amacrine cells link bipolar cells to other bipolar cells and ganglion cells to other ganglion cells |
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Term
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Definition
| Property of perceptual object that may have more than one interpretation |
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Term
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Definition
| A failure of memory caused by physical injury, disease, drug use, or psychological trauma |
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Term
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Definition
| The part of the limbic system that controls emotion, aggression, and the formation of emotional memory. |
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Term
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Definition
| An insufficient adjustment up or down from an original starting value when judging the probable value of some event or outcome |
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Term
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Definition
| The cognitive capabilities of nonhuman animals; researchers trace the development of cognitive capabilities across species and the continuity of capabilities from nonhuman to human animals |
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Term
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Definition
| The part of the cerebral cortex in which many high-level brain processes occur |
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Term
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Definition
| A state of focused awareness on a subset of the available perceptual information |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of shaping a message depending on the audience for which it is intended |
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Term
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Definition
| The area of the temporal lobes that receives and processes auditory information. |
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Term
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Definition
| The nerve that carries impulses from the cochlea to the cochlear nucleus of the brain |
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Term
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Definition
| Mental processes that do not require attention; they can often be performed along with other tasks without interference |
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Term
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Definition
| The subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s involuntary motor responses by connecting the sensory receptors to the central nervous system (CNS) and the CNS to the smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands |
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Term
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Definition
| A judgment based on the information readily available in memory |
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Term
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Definition
| The extended fiber of a neuron through which nerve impulses travel from the soma to the terminal buttons |
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Term
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Definition
| The level of categorization that can be retrieved from memory most quickly and used most efficiently |
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Term
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Definition
| A membrane in the cochlea that when set into motion, stimulates hair cells that produce the neural effects of auditory perception |
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Term
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Definition
| The area of psychology that focuses on the environmental determinants of learning and behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| Observational reports about the behavior of organisms and the conditions under which the behavior occurs or changes. |
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Term
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Definition
| The actions by which an organism adjusts to its environment. |
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Term
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Definition
| Overt actions and reactions that are observed and recorded, exclusive of self-reported behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| A scientific approach that limits the study of psychology to measurable or observable behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| A multidisciplinary field that attempts to understand the brain processes that underlie behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| The psychological perspective primarily concerned with observable behavior that can be objectively recorded and the relationships of observable behavior to environmental stimuli. |
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Term
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Definition
| A situation that occurs when a person’s prior knowledge, attitudes, or values distort the reasoning process by influencing the person to accept invalid arguments |
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Term
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Definition
| A research design in which different groups of participants are randomly assigned to experimental conditions or control conditions |
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Term
| biological constraints on learning |
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Definition
| Any limitations on an organism’s capacity to learn that are caused by the inherited sensory, response, or cognitive capabilities of members of a given species |
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Term
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Definition
| The approach to identifying causes of behavior that focuses on the functioning of the genes, the brains, the nervous system, and the endocrine system. |
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Term
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Definition
| Nerve cells in the visual system that combine impulses from many receptors and transmit the results to ganglion cells |
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Term
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Definition
| Perceptual analyses based on the sensory data available in the environment; results of analysis are passed upward toward more abstract representations |
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Term
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Definition
| The brain structure that regulates the body’s basic life processes |
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Term
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Definition
| The dimension of color space that captures the intensity of light |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of the brain that translates thoughts into speech or signs |
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Term
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Definition
| Intensive observation of a particular individual or small group of individuals |
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Term
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Definition
| (CNS) The part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of the brain attached to the brain stem that controls motor coordination, posture and balance as well as the ability to learn control of body movements |
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Term
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Definition
| The outer surface of the cerebellum |
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Term
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Definition
| The two halves of the cerebrum, connected by the corpus callosum |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of the brain that regulates higher cognitive and emotional functions. |
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Term
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Definition
| Structures relating to genetics that determine sex of an organism; contain genes; humans have 46 chromosomes, 23 from the mother and 23 from the father |
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Term
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Definition
| The number of months or years since an individual’s birth |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of taking single items of information and recoding them on the basis of similarity or some other organizing principle |
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Term
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Definition
| A consistent pattern of cyclical body activities, usually lasting 24 to 25 hours and determined by an internal, biological clock |
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Term
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Definition
| A type of learning in which a behavior (conditioned response) comes to be elicited by a stimulus (conditioned stimulus) that has acquired its power through an association with a biologically significant stimulus (unconditioned stimulus) |
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Term
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Definition
| The primary organ of hearing; a fluid-filled coiled tube located in the inner ear |
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Term
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Definition
| Processes of knowing including attending, remembering, and reasoning; also the content of the processes, such as concepts and memories |
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Term
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Definition
| A mental representation of a physical space |
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Term
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Definition
| A multidisciplinary field that attempts to understand the brain processes that underlie higher cognitive functions in humans. |
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Term
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Definition
| The perspective on psychology that stresses human thought and the processes of knowing, such as attending, thinking, remembering, expecting, solving problems, fantasizing, and consciousness |
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Term
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Definition
| Higher mental processes such as perception, memory, language, problem solving, and abstract thinking |
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Term
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Definition
| The study of higher mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, and thinking |
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Term
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Definition
| The interdisciplinary field of study of the approach systems and processes that manipulate information |
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Term
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Definition
| Colors opposite each other on the color circle; when additively mixed, they create the sensation of white light. |
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Term
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Definition
| Mental representations of kinds or categories of items and ideas |
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Term
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Definition
| In classical conditioning, formerly neutral stimuli that have become reinforcers |
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Term
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Definition
| In classical conditioning, a response elicited by some previously neutral stimulus that occurs as a result of pairing the neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus |
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Term
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Definition
| In classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response |
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Term
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Definition
| The ways in which events, stimuli, and behavior become associated with one another |
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Term
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Definition
| Photoreceptors concentrated in the center of the retina that are responsible for visual experience under normal viewing conditions for all experiences of color |
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Term
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Definition
| A stimulus other than the variable an experimenter explicitly introduces into a research setting that affects a participant’s behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| A state of awareness of internal events and the external environment |
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Term
| contextual distinctiveness |
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Definition
| The assumption that the serial position effect can be altered by the context and the distinctiveness of the experience being recalled |
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Term
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Definition
| Processes that require attention; it is often difficult to carry out more than one controlled process at a time |
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Term
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Definition
| The degree to which the eyes turn inward to fixate on an object |
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Term
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Definition
| The mass of nerve fibers connecting the two halves of the cerebrum |
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Term
| correlational coefficient (r) |
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Definition
| A statistic that indicates the degree of relationship between two variables. |
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Term
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Definition
| Research methodologies that determine to what extent two variables, traits, or attributes are related. |
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Term
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Definition
| The ability to generate ideas or products that are both novel and appropriate to the circumstances |
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Term
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Definition
| The degree to which test scores indicate a result on a specific measure that is consistent with some other criterion of the characteristic being assessed; also known as predictive validity |
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Term
| crystallized intelligence |
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Definition
| The facet of intelligence involving the knowledge a person has already acquired and the ability to access that knowledge; measures by vocabulary, arithmetic, and general information tests |
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Term
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Definition
| The skin senses that register sensations, pressure or temperature |
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Term
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Definition
| The gradual improvement of the eye’s sensitivity after a shift in illumination from light to near darkness |
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Term
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Definition
| The experience of excessive sleepiness during daytime activities; the major complaint of patients evaluated at sleep disorder centers |
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Term
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Definition
| A procedure at the end of an experiment in which the researcher provides the participant with as much information about the study as possible and makes sure that no participant leaves feeling confused, upset, or embarrassed |
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Term
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Definition
| The tendency to avoid decision making; the tougher the decision, the greater the likelihood of decision aversion |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of choosing between alternatives; selecting or rejecting available options |
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Term
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Definition
| Memory for information such as facts and events |
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Term
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Definition
| A from of thinking in which one draws a conclusion that is intended to follow logically from two or more statements or premises |
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Term
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Definition
| The branches of neurons that receive incoming signals |
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Term
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Definition
| In an experimental setting, a variable that the researcher measures to assess the impact of a variation in an independent variable |
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Term
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Definition
| The doctrine that all events-physical, behavioral, and mental-are determined by specific causal factors that are potentially knowable. |
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Term
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Definition
| An experimental technique in which a different auditory stimulus is simultaneously presented to each ear. |
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Term
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Definition
| The smallest physical difference between two stimuli that can still be recognized as a difference; operationally defined as the point at which the stimuli are recognized as different half of the time |
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Term
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Definition
| Stimuli that act as predictors of reinforcement, signaling when particular behaviors will result in positive reinforcement |
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Term
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Definition
| In the process of perception, the physical object in the world, as contrasted with the proximal stimulus, the optical image on the retina |
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Term
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Definition
| An aspect of creativity characterized by an ability to produce unusual but appropriate responses to problems |
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Term
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Definition
| The physical basis for the transmission of genetic information |
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Term
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Definition
| An experimental technique in which biased expectations of experimenters are eliminated by keeping both participants and experimental assistants unaware of which participants have received which treatment. |
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Term
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Definition
| In Freudian dream analysis, the process by which the internal censor transforms the latent content of a dream into manifest content |
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Term
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Definition
| Sensory memory that allows auditory information to be stored for brief durations |
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Term
EEG
(Electroencephalogram) |
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Definition
| A recording of electrical activity in the brain |
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Term
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Definition
| A technique for improving memory by enriching the encoding of information |
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Term
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Definition
| Type of intelligence defined as the abilities to perceive, appraise, and express emotions accurately and appropriately; to use emotions to facilitate thinking, to understand and analyze emotions, to use emotional knowledge effectively, and to regulate one’s emotions to promote both emotional and intellectual growth |
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Term
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Definition
| The process by which a mental representation is formed in memory |
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Term
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Definition
| The principle that subsequent retrieval of information is enhanced if cues received at the time of recall are consistent with those present at the time of encoding |
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Term
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Definition
| The network of glands that manufacture and secrete hormones into the bloodstream |
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Term
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Definition
| The physical memory trace for information in the brain |
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Term
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Definition
| Long-term memories for autobiographical events and the contents in which they occurred |
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Term
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Definition
| The emotional intelligence counterpart of IQ |
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Term
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Definition
| The female sex hormone produced by the ovaries, that is responsible for the release of the eggs as well as for the development and maintenance of female reproductive structures and secondary sex characteristics. |
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Term
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Definition
| The approach to psychology that stresses the importance of behavioral and mental adaptiveness, based on the assumption that mental capabilities evolved over millions of years to serve particular adaptive purposes. |
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Term
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Definition
| The study of behavior and mind using the principles of evolutionary theory |
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Term
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Definition
| Information entering a neuron that signals it to fire |
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Term
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Definition
| Results that occur when a researcher or observer subtly communicates to participants the kind of behavior he or she expects to find, thereby creating that expected reaction. |
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Term
| experience-sampling method |
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Definition
| An experimental method that assists researchers in describing the typical contents of consciousness; participants are asked to record what they are feeling and thinking whenever signaled to do so |
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Term
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Definition
| Research methodologies that involve the manipulation of independent variables in order to determine their effects on the dependent variables |
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Term
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Definition
| Conscious effort to encode or recover information through memory processes |
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Term
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Definition
| In conditioning, the weakening of a conditioned association in the absence of a reinforcer or unconditioned stimulus |
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Term
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Definition
| The degree to which test items appear to be directly related to the attribute the researcher wishes to measure |
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Term
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Definition
| Objects like regions of the visual field that are distinguished from background |
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Term
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Definition
| A schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a fixed period of time |
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Term
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Definition
| A schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a fixed number of responses |
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Term
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Definition
| The aspect of intelligence that involves the ability to see complex relationships and solve problems |
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Term
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Definition
| A brain imaging technique that combines benefits of both MRI and PET scans by detecting magnetic changes in the flow of blood to cells in the brain |
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Term
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Definition
| The systematic procedures and measurement instruments used by trained professionals to assess an individual’s functioning, aptitudes, abilities, or mental states |
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Term
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Definition
| Area of the retina that contains densely packed cones and forms the point of sharpest vision |
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Term
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Definition
| A particular description of a choice; the perspective from which a choice is described or framed affects how a decision is made and which option is ultimately exercised |
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Term
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Definition
| The theory that a tone produces a rate of vibration in the basilar membrane equal to its frequency, with the result that pitch can be coded by the frequency of neural response |
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Term
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Definition
| region of the brain located above the lateral fissure and in front of the central sulcus; involved in motor control and cognitive activities. |
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Term
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Definition
| An inability to perceive a new use for an object previously associated with some other purpose; adversely affects problem solving and creativity |
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Term
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Definition
| The perspective on mind and behavior that focuses on the examination of their functions in an organism’s interactions with the environment. |
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Term
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Definition
| According to Spearman, the factor of general intelligence underlying all intelligent performance |
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Term
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Definition
| Cells in the visual system that integrate impulses from many bipolar cells in a single firing rate |
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Term
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Definition
| A theory about pain modulation that proposes that certain cells in the spinal cord act as gates to interrupt and block some pain signals while sending others to the brain |
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Term
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Definition
| the biological units of heredity; discrete sections of chromosomes responsible for transmission of traits |
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Term
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Definition
| Then study of the inheritance of physical and psychological traits from ancestors |
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Term
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Definition
| The genetic information for an organism stored in the DNA of its chromosomes |
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Term
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Definition
| the genetic structure an organism inherits from its parents |
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Term
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Definition
| A school of psychology that maintains that psychological phenomena can be understood only when viewed as organized, structured wholes, not when broken down into primitive perceptual elements |
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Term
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Definition
| The cells that hold neurons together and facilitate neural transmission, remove damaged and dead neurons, and prevent poisonous substances in the blood from reaching the brain. |
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Term
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Definition
| A determinant of why people select some parts of sensory input for further processing; it reflects the choices made as a function of one’s goals |
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Term
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Definition
| The backdrop of background areas of the visual field, against which figures stand out |
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Term
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Definition
| False perceptions that occur in the absence of objective stimulation |
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Term
| hemispheric lateralization |
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Definition
| describes how separate hemispheres are responsible for some specific functions. |
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Term
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Definition
| The biological transmission of traits from parents to offspring |
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Term
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Definition
| A statistical estimate of the degree of inheritance of a given trait or behavior, assessed by the degree of similarity between individuals who vary in their extent of genetic similarity |
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Term
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Definition
| the relative influence of genetics versus environment in determining behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| Cognitive strategies or “rules of thumb” often used as shortcuts in solving a complex inferential task |
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Term
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Definition
| The part of the limbic system that is involved in the acquisition of explicit memory |
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Term
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Definition
| Constancy or equilibrium of the internal conditions of the body. |
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Term
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Definition
| The cells that integrate information across the retina; rather than sending signals to the brain, horizontal cells connect receptors to each other |
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Term
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Definition
| The chemical messengers, manufactured and secreted by the endocrine glands that regulate metabolism and influence body growth, mood, and sexual characteristics |
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Term
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Definition
| The dimension of color space that captures the qualitative experience of the color of light |
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Term
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Definition
| The area of study that evaluates the genetic component of individual differences in behaviors and traits |
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Term
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Definition
| A psychological model that emphasizes an individual’s phenomenal world and inherent capacity for making rational choices and developing to maximum potential. |
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Term
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Definition
| An altered state of awareness characterized by deep relaxation, susceptibility to suggestions, and changes in perception, memory, motivation, and self-control |
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Term
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Definition
| The degree to which an individual is responsive to standard hypnotic suggestion |
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Term
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Definition
| The brain structure that regulates motivated behavior (such as eating and drinking) and homeostasis |
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Term
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Definition
| Sensory memory in the visual domain; allows large amounts of information to be stored for very brief durations |
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Term
| identification and recognition |
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Definition
| identification and recognition |
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Term
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Definition
| An experience of a stimulus pattern in a manner that is demonstrably incorrect but shared by others in the same perceptual environment |
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Term
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Definition
| Availability of information through memory processes without conscious effort to encode or recover information |
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Term
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Definition
| In an experimental setting, a variable that the researcher manipulates with the expectation of having an impact on values of the dependent variable |
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Term
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Definition
| A form of reasoning in which a conclusion is made about the probability of some state of affairs; based on available evidence and past experience |
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Term
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Definition
| Missing information filled in on the basis of a sample of evidence or on the basis of prior beliefs and theories |
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Term
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Definition
| Information entering a neuron that signals it not to fire |
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Term
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Definition
| The chronic inability to sleep normally; symptoms include difficulty in falling asleep, frequent waking, inability to return to sleep, and early-morning awakening |
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Term
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Definition
| The tendency for learned behavior to drift toward instinctual behavior over time |
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Term
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Definition
| The global capacity to profit from experience and to go beyond given information about the environment |
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Term
| intelligence quotient (IQ) |
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Definition
| An index derived from standardized tests of intelligence; originally obtained by dividing an individual’s mental age by chronological age and then multiplying by 100; now directly computed as an IQ test score |
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Term
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Definition
| A measure of reliability; the degree to which a test yields similar scores across its different parts, such as odd versus even items. |
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Term
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Definition
| brain neurons that relay messages from sensory neurons to other interneurons or motor neurons |
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Term
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Definition
| The portion of neuron’s cell membranes that selectively permit certain ions to flow in and out |
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Term
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Definition
| The process by which people form opinions, reach conclusions, and make critical evaluations of events and people based on available material; also the product of the mental activity |
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Term
| just noticeable difference |
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Definition
| The smallest difference between two sensations that allows them to be discriminated |
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Term
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Definition
| The sense concerned with bodily position and movement of body parts relative to one another |
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Term
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Definition
| What people say, sign, and write, as well as the processes they go through to produce these messages |
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Term
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Definition
| In Freudian analysis, the hidden meaning of a dream |
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Term
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Definition
| A basic law of learning that states that the power of a stimulus to evoke a response is strengthened when the response is followed by a reward and weakened when it is not followed by a reward |
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Term
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Definition
| A process based on experience that results in a relatively permanent change in behavior or behavior potential |
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Term
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Definition
| A disorder defined by a large discrepancy between individuals measured IQ and their actual performance |
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Term
| learning-performance distinction |
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Definition
| The difference between what has been learned and what is expressed in over behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| Injuries to or destruction of brain tissue |
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Term
| levels-of-processing theory |
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Definition
| A theory that suggests that the deeper the level at which information was processed, the more likely it is to be retained in memory |
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Term
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Definition
| The tendency to perceive the whiteness, grayness, or blackness of objects as constant across changing levels of illumination |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of the brain that regulates emotional behavior, basic motivational urges, and memory, as well as major physiological functions. |
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Term
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Definition
| Memory processes associated with the preservation of information for retrieval at any later time |
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Term
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Definition
| A perceptual dimension of sound influenced by the amplitude of a sound wave; sound waves in large amplitudes are generally experienced as loud and those with small amplitudes as soft |
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Term
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Definition
| The theory that conscious awareness of dreaming is a learnable skill that enables dreamers to control the direction and content of their dreams |
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Term
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Definition
| In Freudian dream analysis, the surface content of a dream, which is assumed to mask the dream’s actual meaning |
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Term
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Definition
| A form of consciousness alteration designed to enhance self-knowledge and well-being through reduced self awareness |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of the brain stem that regulates breathing, waking, and heartbeat |
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Term
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Definition
| The mental capacity to encode, store, and retrieve information |
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Term
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Definition
| In Binet’s measure of intelligence, the age at which a child is performing intellectually, expressed in terms of the average age at which normal children achieve a particular score |
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Term
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Definition
| Condition in which individuals have IQ scores 70 to m75 or below and also demonstrate limitations in the ability to bring adaptive skills to bear on life tasks |
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Term
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Definition
| The tendency to respond to a new problem in the manner used to respond to a previous problem |
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Term
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Definition
| Implicit or explicit knowledge about memory abilities and effective memory strategies; cognition about memory |
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Term
|
Definition
| Strategies or devices that use familiar information during the encoding of new in formation to enhance subsequent access to the information in memory |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of the cerebral cortex that controls the action of the body’s voluntary muscles |
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Term
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Definition
| The neurons that carry messages away from the central nervous system towards the muscles and glands |
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Term
| MRI- (magnetic resonance imaging) |
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Definition
| A technique for brain imaging that scans the brain using magnetic fields and radio waves |
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Term
|
Definition
| A sleep disorder characterized by an irresistible compulsion to sleep during the daytime |
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Term
|
Definition
| Darwin’s theory that favorable adaptations to features of the environment allow some members of a species to reproduce more successfully than others. |
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Term
|
Definition
| A behavior is followed by the removal of an appetitive stimulus, decreasing the probability of that behavior |
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Term
|
Definition
| A behavior is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, increasing the probability of that behavior |
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Term
|
Definition
| The creation of new neurons |
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Term
|
Definition
| Any substance that modifies or modulates the activities of the postsynaptic neuron |
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Term
|
Definition
| a cell in the nervous system specialized to receive, process, and/or transmit information to other cells |
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Term
|
Definition
| The scientific study of the brain and of the links between brain activity and behavior |
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Term
|
Definition
| The chemical messengers released from neurons that cross the synapse from one neuron to another, simulating the postsynaptic neuron |
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Definition
| Not typically available to consciousness or memory |
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Definition
| The period in which a sleeper does not show rapid eye movement; characterized by less dream activity than during REM sleep |
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Definition
| Standards based on measurement of a large group of people; used for comparing the scores of an individual with those of others within a well-defined group |
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Definition
| The process of learning new responses by watching the behavior of another |
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Definition
| The distortion of evidence because of the personal motives and expectations of the viewer |
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Definition
| Rearmost region of the brain; contains the primary visual cortex |
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Definition
| The center where odor-sensitive receptors sent their signals, located just below the frontal lobes of the cortex |
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Definition
| Behavior emitted by an organism that can be characterized in terms of the observable effects it has on the environment |
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Definition
| Learning in which the probability of a response is changed by a change in its consequence |
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Definition
| When a behavior no longer produces predictable consequences, its return to the level of occurrence it had before operant conditioning |
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Definition
| A definition of a variable or condition of the specific operation or procedure used to determine its presence. |
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Definition
| The theory that all color experiences arise from three systems, each of which includes two “opponent” elements (red vs green, blue vs yellow, and black vs white) |
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Definition
| The axons of the ganglion cells that carry information from the eye to the brain |
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Definition
| The body’s response to noxious stimuli that are intense enough to cause, or threaten to cause, tissue damage |
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Definition
| Different versions of a test used ton assess test reliability; the change of forms reduces effects of direct practice, memory, or the desire of an individual to appear consistent on the same items |
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Definition
| Two or more mental processes that are carried out simultaneously |
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Definition
| The subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that monitors the routine operation of the body’s internal functions and conserves and restores body energy |
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Definition
| Region of the brain behind the frontal lobe and above the lateral fissure; contains the somatosensory cortex |
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Term
| partial reinforcement effect |
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Definition
| The behavioral principle that states that responses arte acquired under intermittent reinforcement are more difficult to extinguish than those acquired with continuous reinforcement |
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Definition
| The processes that organize information in the sensory image and interpret it as having been produced by properties of objects or events in the external, three-dimensional world |
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Definition
| The ability to retain an unchanging percept of an object despite variations in the retinal image |
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Definition
| The processes that put sensory information together to give the perception of a coherent scene over the whole visual field |
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Term
| peripheral nervous system |
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Definition
| The part of the nervous system composed of the spinal cord and cranial nerves that connect the body’s sensory receptors to the CNS and the CNS to the muscles and glands |
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Definition
| Brain images produced by a device that obtains detailed pictures of activity in the living brain by recording the radioactivity emitted by cells during different cognitive or behavioral activities |
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Definition
| The observable characteristics of an organism, resulting from the interaction between the organism’s genotype and its environment |
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Definition
| Chemical signals released by organisms to communicate with other members of the species- often serve as long- distance sexual attractors |
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Definition
| The simplest form of apparent motion, the movement illusion in which one or more stationary lights going on and off in succession are perceived as a single moving light |
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Definition
| Receptor cells in the retina that are sensitive to light |
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Definition
| The process by which the body becomes adjusted to a dependence on a drug |
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Definition
| Sound quality of highness or lowness; primarily dependent on the frequency of the sound wave |
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Definition
| Located in the brain, the gland that secretes growth hormone and influences the secretion of hormones by other endocrine glands |
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Definition
| The theory that different frequency tones produce maximum activation at different locations along the basilar membrane, with the result that pitch can be coded by the place at which activation occurs |
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Definition
| An experimental condition in which treatment is not administered; it is used in cases where a placebo effect may occur. |
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Term
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Definition
| A change in behavior in the absence of an experimental manipulation |
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Definition
| Changes in the performance of the brain; may involve the creation of new synapses or changes in the function of existing synapses. |
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Definition
| The region of the brain stem that connects the spinal cord with the brain and links parts of the brain to another |
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Definition
| The entire set of individuals to which generalizations will be made based on an experimental sample |
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Definition
| A behavior is followed by the presentation of an aversive stimulus, decreasing the probability of that behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| A behavior is followed by the presentation of an appetitive stimulus, increasing the probability of that behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| Memories that are not currently conscious but that can be easily called into consciousness when necessary |
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Term
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Definition
| The degree to which test scores indicate a result on a specific measure that is consistent with some other criterion of the characteristic being assessed; also known as criterion validity |
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Term
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Definition
| Improved memory for items at the start of a list |
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Term
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Definition
| Biologically determined reinforcers such as food and water |
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Term
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Definition
| In the assessment of implicit memory, the advantage conferred by prior exposure to a word or situation |
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Term
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Definition
| Circumstances in which past memories make it more difficult to encode and retrieve new information |
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Term
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Definition
| Thinking that is directed toward solving specific problems and that moves from an initial state to a goal state by means of a set of mental operations |
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Term
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Definition
| The elements that make up a problem; the initial state, the incomplete information or unsatisfactory conditions then person starts with; the goal state, the set of information or state the person wishes to achieve; and the set of operations, the steps the person takes to move from the initial state to the goal state |
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Definition
| Memory for how things get done; the way perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills are acquired, retained, and used |
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Definition
| The most representative example of a category |
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Term
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Definition
| The optical image on the retina; contrasted with the distal stimulus, the physical image in the world |
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Term
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Definition
| Chemicals that affect mental processes and behavior by temporarily changing conscious awareness of reality |
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Term
| psychodynamic perspective |
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Definition
| A psychological model in which behavior is explained in terms of past experiences and motivational forces; actions are viewed as stemming from inherited instincts, biological drives, and attempts to resolve conflicts between personal needs and social requirements. |
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Definition
| The use of specified procedures to evaluate the abilities, behaviors, and personal qualities of people |
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Definition
| The psychological need or craving for a drug |
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Term
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Definition
| The scientific study of the behavior or individuals and their mental process. |
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Term
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Definition
| A graph that plots the percentage of detections of a stimulus (on the vertical axis) for each stimulus intensity (on the horizontal axis) |
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Definition
| The field of psychology that specializes in mental testing |
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Definition
| The study of the correspondence between physical stimulation and psychological experience |
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Definition
| Any stimulus that, when made contingent upon a response, decreases the probability of that behavior |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of thinking in which conclusions are drawn from a set of facts; thinking directed toward a given goal or objective |
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Definition
| A method of retrieval in which an individual is required to reproduce the information previously presented |
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Definition
| Improved memory for items at the end of a list |
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Term
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Definition
| The area of the visual field to which a neuron in the visual system responds |
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Term
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Definition
| A method of retrieval in which an individual is required to identify stimuli as having been experienced before |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of putting information together based on general types of stored knowledge in the absence of a specific memory representation |
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Definition
| An unlearned response elicited by specific stimuli that have biological relevance for an organism |
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Term
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Definition
| The period of rest during which a new nerve impulse cannot be activated in a segment of an axon |
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Term
| reinforcement contingency |
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Definition
| A consistent relationship between a response and the changes in the environment that it produces |
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Term
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Definition
| Any stimulus that, when made contingent upon a response, increases the probability of that response |
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Term
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Definition
| A source of information about depth in which the relative distances of objects from a viewer determine the amount and direction of their relative motion in the retinal image |
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Term
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Definition
| The degree to which a test produces similar scores each time it is used; stability or consistency of the scores produced by an instrument. |
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Term
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Definition
| A behavioral sign of the phase of sleep during which the sleeper is likely to be experiencing dreamlike mental activity |
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Term
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Definition
| A subset of a population that closely matches the overall characteristics of the population with respect to the distribution of males and females, racial and ethnic groups, and so on |
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Term
| representativeness heuristics |
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Definition
| A cognitive strategy that assigns an object to a category on the basis of a few characteristics regarded as representative of that category |
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Term
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Definition
| The systematic tendency as a result of nonsensory factors for an observer to favor responding in a particular way |
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Term
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Definition
| The polarization of cellular fluid within a neuron, which provides the capability to produce an action potential |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of the brain stem that alerts the cerebral cortex to incoming sensory signals and is responsible for maintaining consciousness and awakening from sleep |
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Term
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Definition
| The layer at the back of the eye that contains photoreceptors and converts light energy to neural responses |
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Term
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Definition
| The displacement between the horizontal positions of corresponding images in the two eyes |
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Definition
| The recovery of stored information from memory |
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Term
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Definition
| Internally or externally generated stimuli available to help with the retrieval of a memory |
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Term
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Definition
| Circumstances in which the formation of new memories makes it more difficult to recover older memories |
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Term
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Definition
| Photoreceptors concentrated in the periphery of the retina that are most active in dim illumination; rods do not produce sensations of color |
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Term
| rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation) |
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Definition
| A technique for producing temporary inactivation of brain areas using repeated pulses of magnetic stimulation |
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Term
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Definition
| A subset of a population selected as participants in an experiment. |
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Term
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Definition
| The dimension of color space that captures the purity and vividness of color sensations |
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Term
| schedules of reinforcement |
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Definition
| In operant conditioning, the pattern of delivering and withholding reinforcement |
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Term
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Definition
| General conceptual frameworks, or clusters of knowledge, regarding objects, people, and situations; knowledge packages that encode generalizations about the structure of the environment |
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Term
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Definition
| The set of procedures used for gathering and interpreting objective information in a way that minimizes error and yields dependable generalizations. |
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Term
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Definition
| The self-behaviors that are identified through a participants own observations and reports |
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Term
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Definition
| Generic, categorical memories, such as the meanings of words and concepts |
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Term
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Definition
| The process by which stimulation of a sensory receptor gives rise to neural impulses that result in an experience, or awareness, of conditions inside or outside the body |
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Term
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Definition
| A phenomena in which receptor cells lose their power to respond after a period of unchanged stimulation; allows a more rapid reaction to a new source of information |
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Term
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Definition
| The initial memory processes involved in the momentary preservation of fleeting impressions of sensory stimuli |
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Term
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Definition
The neurons that carry messages from sense receptors toward the
central nervous system |
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Term
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Definition
| Specialized cells that convert physical signals into cellular signals that are processed by the nervous system |
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Term
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Definition
| A characteristic of memory retrieval in which the recall of beginning and end items on a list is often better than recall of items appearing in the middle |
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Term
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Definition
| Two or more mental processes that are carried out in order, one after the other |
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Term
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Definition
| A temporary readiness to perceive or react to a stimulus in a particular way |
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Term
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Definition
| The ability to perceive the true shape of an object despite variations in the size of the retinal image |
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Term
| shaping by successive approximations |
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Definition
| A behavioral method that reinforces responses that successively approximate and ultimately match the desired response |
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Term
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Definition
| Memory processes associated with preservation of recent experiences and with retrieval of information from long-term memory; short term memory is of limited capacity and stores information for only a short length of time without rehearsal |
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Term
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Definition
| A systematic approach to the problem of response bias that allows an experimenter to identify and separate the roles of sensory stimuli and the individual’s criterion level in producing the final response |
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Term
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Definition
| The ability to perceive the true size of an object despite variations in the size of the retinal image |
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Term
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Definition
| A sleep disorder of the upper respiratory system that causes the person to stop breathing while asleep |
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Term
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Definition
| A field of research that focuses on evolutionary explanations for the social behavior and social systems of humans and other animal species |
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Term
| socio-cultural perspective |
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Definition
| The psychological perspective that focuses on cross-cultural differences in the causes and consequences of behavior. |
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Term
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Definition
| The cell body of a neuron containing the nucleus and cytoplasm |
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Term
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Definition
| The subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that connects the central nervous system to the skeletal muscles and skin |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of the parietal lobes that processes sensory input from various body areas |
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Term
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Definition
| A disorder that causes sleepers to leave their beds and wander while still remaining asleep; also known as sleepwalking |
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Term
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Definition
| The auditory processes that allow the spatial origins of environmental sounds |
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Term
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Definition
| A measure of the correlation between test taker’s performance on different halves (e.g., odd and even numbered items) of a test |
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Term
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Definition
| The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period |
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Term
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Definition
| A set of uniform procedures for treating each participant in a test, interview, or experiment, or for recording data |
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Term
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Definition
| The threat associated with being at risk for confirming a negative stereotype of one’s group |
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Term
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Definition
| A conditioning process in which an organism learns to respond differently to stimuli that differ from the conditioned stimulus on some dimension |
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Term
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Definition
| The automatic extension of conditioned responding to similar stimuli that have never been paired with the unconditioned stimulus |
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Term
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Definition
| A determinant of why people select some parts of sensory input for further processing; occurs when features of stimuli- objects ion the environment- automatically capture attention; independent of the local goals of a perceiver |
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Term
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Definition
| The retention of encoded material over time |
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Term
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Definition
| The study of the structure of mind and behavior; the view that all human mental experience can be understood as a combination of simple elements or events. |
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Term
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Definition
| Part of the autonomic nervous system; the sympathetic division governs response to emergencies. |
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Term
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Definition
| The gap between one neuron and another |
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Term
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Definition
| The relaying of information from one neuron to another across the synaptic cleft |
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Term
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Definition
| A biological constraint on learning in which an organism learns in one trial to avoid food whose ingestion is followed by illness |
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Term
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Definition
| Region of brain found below the lateral fissure; contains auditory cortex |
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Term
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Definition
| The bulblike structures at the branched endings of axons that contain vesicles filled with neurotransmitters |
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Term
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Definition
| The male sex hormone, secreted by the tests, that stimulates production of sperm and is also responsible for the development of male secondary sex characteristics |
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Term
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Definition
| A measure of the correlation between the scores of the same people on the same test given on two different occasions |
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Term
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Definition
| The brain structure that relays sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex |
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Term
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Definition
| An organized set of concepts that explains a phenomenon or set of phenomena. |
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Term
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Definition
| Reports made by experimental participants of the mental processes and strategies they use while working on a task |
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Term
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Definition
| The means by which organisms learn that, in the presence of some stimuli but not others, their behavior is likely to have a particular effect on the environment |
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Term
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Definition
| The dimension of auditory sensation that reflects the complexity of a sound wave |
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Term
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Definition
| A situation that occurs with continued use of a drug in which an individual requires greater dosages to achieve the same effect |
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Term
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Definition
| Perceptual processes in which information from an individual’s past experience, knowledge, expectations, motivations, and background influence the way a perceived object is interpreted and classified |
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Term
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Definition
| Transformation of one form of energy into another; for example, light is transformed into neural impulses |
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Term
| transfer-appropriate processing |
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Definition
| The perspective that suggests that memory is best when the type of processing carried out at encoding matches the processes carried out at retrieval |
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Term
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Definition
| The theory that there are three types of color receptors that produce the primary color sensations of red, green, and blue |
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Term
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Definition
| In classical conditioning, the response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus without prior training or learning |
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Term
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Definition
| In classical conditioning, the stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response |
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Term
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Definition
| The extent to which a test measures what it was intended to measure |
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Term
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Definition
| In an experimental setting, a factor that varies in amount and kind. |
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Term
| variable-interval schedule |
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Definition
| A schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a variable period of time whose average id predetermined |
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Term
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Definition
| A schedule of reinforcement in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a variable number of responses whose average is predetermined |
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Term
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Definition
| The sense that tells how one’s own body is oriented in the worlds with respect to gravity |
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Term
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Definition
| the region of the occipital lobe in which visual information is processed |
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Term
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Definition
| An extension of frequency theory, which proposes that when peaks in a sound wave come too frequently for a single neuron to fire at each peak, several neurons fire as a group at the frequency of the stimulus tone. |
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Term
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Definition
| An assertion that the size of a difference threshold is proportional to the intensity of the standard stimulus |
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Term
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Definition
| A research design that uses each participant as his or her own control; for example, the behavior of an experimental participant before receiving treatment might be compared to his or her behavior after treatment. |
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Term
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Definition
| A memory resource that is used to accomplish tasks such as reasoning and language comprehension; consists of the phonological loop; visuospatial sketchpad and central executive |
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