AP Psychology Exam Review
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1.
(cerebral) cortex
wrinkled outer portion of brain; center
for higher order brain functions such
as thinking, planning, judgment;
processes sensory information and
directs movement
2.
Aaron Beck
pioneer in Cognitive Therapy.
Suggested negative beliefs cause
depression.
3.
Abnormal Behavior
Behavior characterized as atypical,
socially unacceptable, distressing to
the individual or others, maladaptive,
and/or the result of distorted
cognitions
4.
5.
Abnormal
psychology
Abraham Maslow
The field of psychology concerned
with the assessment, treatment, and
prevention of maladaptive behavior.
humanistic psychology; hierarchy of
needs-needs at a lower level dominate
an individual's motivation as long as
they are unsatisfied; selfactualization, transcendence
Adolescence
The period of extending from the onset of
puberty to early adulthood
adrenal
glands
endocrine glands located above the kidney and
secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine,
which prepare the body for "fight or flight"
afferent
neuron
nerve cell that sends messages to brain or
spinal cord from other parts of the body; also
called sensory neurons
17.
Ageism
Prejudice against the elderly and the resulting
discrimination against them
18.
Aggression
Any behavior intended to harm another
person or thing.
19.
agonist
chemical that mimics or facilitates the actions
of a neurotransmitter
20.
Agoraphobia
anxiety disorder characterized by marked fear
and avoidance of being alone in a place from
which escape might be difficult or
embarrassing
Albert
Bandura
pioneer in observational learning (AKA social
learning), stated that people profit from the
mistakes/successes of others; Studies: Bobo
Dolls-adults demonstrated 'appropriate' play
with dolls, children mimicked play
14.
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21.
6.
Absolute threshold
The statistically determined minimum
level of stimulation necessary to excite
a perceptual system.
7.
Accommodation
According to Piaget, the process by
which existing mental structures and
behaviors are modified to adapt to new
experiences
22.
Albert Ellis
pioneer in Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET),
focuses on altering client's patterns of
irrational thinking to reduce maladaptive
behavior and emotions
8.
acetylcholine (ACh)
neurotransmitter that causes
contraction of skeletal muscles; lack
of Ach linked with Alzheimer's
disease;
23.
Alfred Adler
neo-Freudian, psychodynamic; Contributions:
inferiority complex, organ inferiority; Studies:
birth order influences personality
24.
Alfred Binet
pioneer in intelligence (IQ) tests, designed a
test to identify slow learners in need of helpnot applicable in the U.S. because it was too
culture-bound (French)
25.
Algorithm
Procedure for solving a problem by
implementing a set of rules over and over
again until the solution is found.
all-or-none
principle
the law that the neuron either fires at 100% or
not at all
Altruism
Behaviors that benefit other people and for
which there is no discernable extrinsic
reward, recognition, or appreciation.
Alzheimer's
Disease
A chronic and progressive disorder of the
brain that is the most common cause of
degeneration dementia
amnesia
inability to remember information (typically,
all events within a specific period), usually due
to physiological trauma
9.
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achievement test
test designed to determine a person's
level of knowledge in a given subject
area
ACTH
(arenocorticotropic
hormone)
released by adrenal glands; triggered
by norepinephrine to prolong the
response to stress (used in the
sympathetic nervous system)
action potential
an electrical current sent down the
axon of a neuron and is initiated by
the rapid reversal of the polarization
of the cell membrane
Actor-observer
Effect
The tendency to attribute the behavior
of others to dispositional causes but to
attribute one's own behavior to
situational causes.
adaptation
a trait or inherited characteristic that
has increased in a population because
it solved a problem of survival or
reproduction
26.
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13.
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amygdala
part of the limbic system; influences emotions
such as aggression, fear, and self-protective
behaviors
31.
Anal Stage
Freud's second stage of personality
development, from about age 2 to about age 3,
during which children learn to control the
immediate gratification they obtain through
defecation and to become responsive to the
demands of society.
Approachavoidance
conflict
Conflict that results from having to choose an
alternative that has both attractive and
unappealing aspects
45.
aptitude test
a test designed to predict a person's future
performance
46.
Archetypes
In Jung's theory, the emotionally charged
ideas and images that are rich in meaning
and symbolism and exist within the collective
unconscious.
44.
32.
Androgynous
Having both stereotypically male and
stereotypically female characteristics
47.
Aristotle
Ancient Greek philosopher. Wrote "Peri
Psyches" ("About the Mind").
33.
Anna Freud
child psychoanalysis; emphasized importance
of the ego and its constant struggle
48.
Arousal
34.
Anna O.
Austrian-Jewish woman (real name: Bertha
Pappenheim) diagnosed with hysteria, treated
by Josef Breuer for severe cough, paralysis of
the extremities on the right side of her body,
and disturbances of vision, hearing, and
speech, as well as hallucinations and loss of
consciousness. Her treatment is regarded as
marking the beginning of psychoanalysis.
Activation of the central nervous system, the
autonomic nervous system, and the muscles
and glands
49.
Assessment
Process of evaluating individual differences
among human beings by means of tests
interviews, observations, and recordings of
physiological.
50.
Assimilation
According to Piaget, the process by which
new ideas and experiences are absorbed and
incorporated into existing mental structures
and behaviors
association
areas
areas of the cerebral cortex that are not
involved in primary motor or sensory
functions, rather, they are involved in higher
mental processes such as thinking,
planning, and communicating
52.
Attachment
The strong emotional tie that a person feels
toward special other persons in his or her life
53.
Attitudes
Patterns of feelings and beliefs about other
people, ideas, or objects that are based on a
person's past experiences, shape his or her
future behavior, and are evaluative in nature.
54.
Attributions
The process by which a person infers other
people's motives or intensions by observing
their behavior.
55.
audition
the sense of hearing
authoritarian
parenting
style of parenting marked by emotional
coldness, imposing rules and expecting
obedience
authoritative
parenting
parenting style characterized by emotional
warmth, high standards for behavior,
explanation and consistent enforcement of
rules, and inclusion of children in decision
making
autonomic
nervous
system
a division of the peripheral nervous system
that regulates involuntary functions; made up
of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous
systems
aversive
conditioning
learning involving an unpleasant or harmful
stimulus or reinforcer
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Anorexia
Nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by an
obstinate and willful refusal to eat, a distorted
body image, and an intense fear of being fat
anorexia
nervosa
eating disorder most common in adolescent
females characterized by weight less than
85% of normal, restricted eating, and
unrealistic body image
antagonist
chemical that opposes the actions of a
neurotransmitter
anterograde
amnesia
loss of memory for events and experiences
occurring from the time of an amnesiacausing event forward
Antisocial
personality
disorder
Personality disorder characterized by
egocentricity, and behavior that is
irresponsible and that violates the rights of
other people, a lack of guilt feelings, an
inability to understand other people and a
lack of fear of punishment.
Anxiety
a generalized feeling of fear and
apprehension that may be related to a
particular situation or object and is often
accompanied by increased physiological
arousal.
41.
aphasia
inability to understand or use language
42.
Appraisal
the evaluation of the significance of a
situation or event as it relates to a person's
well-being
43.
Approachapproach
conflict
51.
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Conflict that results from having to choose
between two attractive alternatives
59.
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Aversive
counterconditioning
A counterconditioning technique in
which an aversive or noxious
stimulus is paired with a stimulus
with the undesirable behavior.
Avoidanceavoidance conflict
Conflict that results from having to
choose between two distasteful
alternatives
axon
a single long, fiber that carries
outgoing messages to other neurons,
muscles, or glands
axon terminal
B.F. Skinner
terminal button, synaptic knob; the
structure at the end of an excellent
terminal branch; houses the synaptic
vesicles and neurotransmitters
behaviorism; pioneer in operant
conditioning; behavior is based on
an organism's reinforcement history;
worked with pigeons
65.
Babinski reflex
Reflex in which a newborn fans out
the toes when the sole of the foot is
touched
66.
Backward search
Heuristic procedure in which a
problem solver works backward from
the goal or end of a problem to the
current position, in order to analyze
the problem and reduce the steps
needed to get from the current
position to the goal.
67.
behavior
an observable action
68.
Behavior therapy
A therapy that is based on the
application of learning principles to
human behavior and that focuses on
changing overt behaviors rather than
on understanding subjective feelings,
unconscious processes, or
motivations; also known as behavior
modification.
Biofeedback
A process through which people receive
information about the status of a physical
system and use this feedback information to
learn to control the activity of that system
Bipolar
disorder
mood disorder originally know as manicdepressive disorder because it is
characterized by behavior that vacillates
between two extremes; mania and
depression.
blind spot
area on retina with no receptor cells (where
optic nerve leaves the eye)
Blood-Brain
Barrier
A mechanism that prevents certain molecule
from entering the brain but allows others to
cross
Body
Language
Communication of information through
body positions and gestures.
Bonding
Special process of emotional attachment
that may occur between parents and babies
in the minutes and hours immediately after
birth
bottom-up
processing
information processing that begins at the
sensory receptors and works up to
perception
80.
brain
portion of the CNS above the spinal cord;
consists of hindbrain, midbrain, and
forebrain
81.
brainstem
top of the spinal column
82.
Brainstorming
Problem-solving technique that involves
considering all possible solutions without
making prior evaluative judgments.
83.
Brightness
The lightness or darkness of reflected light,
determined in large part by the light's
intensity.
84.
Broca's area
located in left frontal lobe; controls
production of speech
Bulimia
Nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by repeated
episodes of binge eating (and a fear of not
being able to stop eating) followed by
purging
bulimia
nervosa
eating disorder characterized by pattern 9of
eating binges followed by purging (e.g.,
vomiting, laxatives, exercise)
Burnout
State of emotional and physical exhaustion,
lowered productivity, and feelings of
isolation, often caused by work-related
pressures
Bystander
Effect
Unwillingness to help exhibited by
witnesses to an event, which increase when
there are more observers.
73.
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85.
69.
behavioral genetics
study of hereditary influences and
how it influences behavior and
thinking
70.
behaviorism
perspective that defines psychology
as the study of behavior that is
directly observable or through
assessment instruments
71.
Benjamin Whorf
language; his hypothesis is that
language determines the way we
think
72.
binocular cues
depth cues that are based on two eyes
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Cannon-Bard
theory of
emotion
conscious experience of emotion and
physiological arousal occur at the same
time
Carl Jung
neo-Freudian, analytic psychology;
archetypes; collective unconscious; libido is
all types of energy, not just sexual; dream
studies/interpretation
Carl Rogers
Carol Gilligan
Case study
case study
humanistic psychology; Contributions:
founded client-centered therapy, theory that
emphasizes the unique quality of humans
especially their freedom and potential for
personal growth, unconditional positive
regard,
moral development studies to follow up
Kohlberg. She studied girls and women and
found that they did not score as high on his
six stage scale because they focused more
on relationships rather than laws and
principles. Their reasoning was merely
different, not better or worse
a descriptive study that includes an
intensive study of one person and allows an
intensive examination of a single case,
usually chosen for its interesting or unique
characteristics
a highly detailed description of a single
individual or a vent
Catatonic type
of
schizophrenia
Type of schizophrenia characterized either
by displays of excited or violent motor
activity or by stupor.
central
nervous
system
the brain and spinal cord
cerebellum
part of the brain that coordinates balance,
movement, reflexes
Charles
Darwin
biologist; developed theory of evolution;
transmutation of species, natural selection,
evolution by common descent; "The Origin
of Species" catalogs his voyage on The
Beagle
Charles
Spearman
intelligence; found that specific mental
talents were highly correlated, concluded
that all cognitive abilities showed a
common core which he labeled 'g' (general
ability)
Child abuse
physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment
of a child.
101.
chromosome
threadlike structure within the nucleus of
cells that contain genes
chunks
104.
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manageable and meaningful units of
information organized in such a way that it
can be easily encoded, stored, and retrieved
111.
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114.
Circadian
Rhythms
Internally generated patterns of body
functions, including hormonal signals,
sleep, blood pressure, and temperature
regulation, which have approximately a 24hour cycle and occur even in the absence of
normal cues about whether it is day or night
Clark Hull
motivation theory, drive reduction;
maintained that the goal of all motivated
behavior is the reduction or alleviation of a
drive state, mechanism through which
reinforcement operates
Classical
Conditioning
Conditioning process in which an originally
neutral stimulus, by repeated pairing with a
stimulus that normally elicits a response,
comes to elicit a similar or even identical
response; aka Pavlovian conditioning
Clientcentered
therapy
An insight therapy, developed be Carl Rogers,
that seeks to help people evaluate the world
and themselves from their own perspective by
providing them with a nondirective
environment and unconditional positive
regard; also known as person-centered
therapy.
clinical
psychologist
psychologist who treats people serious
psychological problems or conducts research
into the causes of behavior
cochlea
snail-shaped fluid-filled tube in the inner ear
involved in transduction
Cognitive
Dissonance
A state of mental discomfort arising from a
discrepancy between two or more of a
person's beliefs or between a person's beliefs
and overt behavior.
Cognitive
Psychology
The study if the overlapping fields of
perception, learning, memory, and thought,
with a special emphasis on how people
attend to, acquire, transform, store, and
retrieve knowledge.
cognitive
psychology
perspective that focuses on the mental
processes involved in perception, learning,
memory, and thinking
Cognitive
theories
In the study of motivation, an explanation of
behavior that asserts that people actively and
regularly determine their own goals and the
means of achieving them through thought.
cognitiveappraisal
theory of
emotion
our emotional experience depends on our
interpretation of the situation we are in
cohort effect
observed group differences based on the era
when people were born and grew up,
exposing them to particular experiences that
may affect the results of cross-sectional
studies
Collective
Unconscious
In Jung's theory, a shared storehouse of
primitive ideas and images that reside in
the unconscious and are inherited from
one's ancestors.
Collective
Unconscious
Jung's theory of a shared storehouse of
primitive ideas and images that are
inherited ideas and images, called
archetypes, are emotionally charged and
rich in meaning and symbolism
Color
Blindness
The inability to perceive different hues.
computerized
axial
tomography
(CT scan)
creates a computerized image using x-rays
passed through the brain
Concept
Mental category used to classify an event or
object according to some distinguishing
property or feature.
Concordance
rate
The degree to which a condition or traits
shared two or more individuals or groups
Concrete
operational
stage
Piaget's thrid stage of cognitive
development (lasting from approximately
age 6 or 7 to age 11 or 12), during which the
child develops the ability to understand
constant factors in the environment, rules,
and higher-order symbolic systems
Conditioned
Response
Response elicited by a conditioned stimulus
Conditioned
Stimulus
Neutral stimulus that, through repeated
association with an unconditioned
stimulus, begins to elicit a conditioned
response
124.
Conditioning
Systematic procedure through which
associations and responses to specific
stimuli are learned
125.
cones
photoreceptors that detect color and fine
detail in bright-light conditions; not
present in peripheral vision
126.
Conflict
The emotional state or condition that arises
when a person must choose between two or
more competing motives, behaviors, or
impulses
115.
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Conformity
People's tendency to change attitudes or
behaviors so that they are consistent with
those of other people or with social norms.
confounding
variable
anything that causes a difference between
the IV and the DV other than the
independent variable
Consciousness
The general state of being aware of and
responsive to events in the environment, as
well as one's own mental processes
130.
Consciousness
Freud's level of mental life that
consists of those experiences that
we are aware of at any given time.
131.
Conservation
Ability to recognize that objects can
e transformed in some way, visually
or phycially, yet still be the same in
number, weight, substance, or
volume
132.
consolidation
the process of changing a shortterm memory to a long-term one
133.
control group
subjects and not exposed to a
changing variable in an experiment
conventional level of
moral development
morality based on fitting in to the
norms of society
135.
Convergent thinking
In problem solving, the process of
narrowing down choices and
alternatives to arrive at a suitable
answer.
136.
convolutions
the folds in the cerebral cortex that
increase the surface area of the
brain
137.
Coping
Process by which a person takes
some action to manage, master,
tolerate, or reduce environmental or
internal demands that cause or
might cause stress and that tax the
individual's inner resources
138.
cornea
transparent covering of the eye
139.
corpus callosum
large band of white neural fibers
that connects to to brain
hemispheres and carries messages
between them; myelinated; involved
in intelligence, consciousness, and
self-awareness; does it reach full
maturity until 20s
correlation
coefficient
a number that expresses the degree
and direction of the relationship
between 2 variables, ranging from 1 to +1
correlational
research
establish the relationship between
two variables
counseling
psychologist
psychologist who treats people with
adjustment problems
143.
Counterconditioning
Process of reconditioning in which
a person is taught a new, more
adaptive response to a familiar
stimulus.
144.
Creativity
A feature of thought and problem
solving that includes the tendency to
generate or recognize ideas
considered to be high-quality,
original, novel, and appropriate.
134.
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Critical
Period
The time in to development of an organism
when it is especially sensitive to certain
environmental influences; outside of that
period the same influences will have far less
effect
Crosssectional
Studies
A type of research design that compares
individuals of different ages to determine how
they differ
Crosssectional
study
A type of research design that compares
individuals of different ages to determine how
they differ on an important dimension
crystallized
intelligence
learned knowledge and skills such as
vocabulary, which tends to increase with age
Daniel
Goleman
emotional intelligence
Dark
adaptation
The increase in sensitivity to light that occurs
when the illumination level changes from
high to low, causing chemicals in the rods
and cones to regenerate and return to their
inactive state.
162.
Deindividuation
The process by which individuals lose
their self-awareness and distinctive
personality in the context of a group,
which may lead them to engage in
antinormative behavior.
163.
Delusions
False beliefs that are inconsistent with
reality but are held in spite of evidence
that disproves them.
Demand
characteristics
Elements of an experimental situation
that might cause a participant to perceive
the situation in a certain way or become
aware of the purpose of the study and
thus bias the participant to behave in a
certain way, and in so doing, distort
results.
demand
characteristics
clues participants discover about the
purpose of a study that suggest how they
should respond
166.
Dementia
Impairment of mental functioning and
global cognitive abilities in otherwise
alert individuals, causing memory loss
and related symptoms and typically
having a progressive nature
167.
dendrites
branching extensions of neuron that
receives messages from neighboring
neurons
168.
Denial
Defense mechanism by which people
refuse to accept reality.
169.
Dependence
The situation that occurs when the drug
becomes part of the body's functioning
and produces withdrawal symptoms
when the drug is discontinued
dependent
variable
the variable in a controlled experiment
that is expected to change due to the
manipulation of the independent variable
depressants
(AKA sedativehypnotics)
Any of a class of drugs that relax and
calm a user and, in higher doses, induce
sleep; also known as a depressant
Depressive
disorders
general category of mood disorders in
which people show extreme and
persistent sadness, despair, and loss of
interest in life's usual activities.
descriptive
statistics
general set of procedures used to
summarize, condense, and describe sets
of data
Descriptive
Studies
A type of research method that allows
researchers to measure variables so that
they can develop a description of a
situation or phenomenon
developmental
psychologist
studies psychological development across
the lifespan
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Darley &
Latane
social psychology; bystander apathy,
diffusion of responsibility
David
McClelland
achievement motivation; developed scoring
system for TAT's use in assessing
achievement motivation
David
Rosenhan
did study in which healthy patients were
admitted to psychiatric hospitals and
diagnoses with schizophrenia; showed that
once you are diagnosed with a disorder, the
label, even when behavior indicates
otherwise, is hard to overcome in a mental
health setting
David
Weschler
established an intelligence test especially for
adults (WAIS); also WISC and WPPSI
Debriefing
Informing participants about the true nature
of a experiment after its completion.
debriefing
a procedure to inform participants about the
true nature of an experiment after its
completion
157.
decay
loss of information from memory as a result
of disuse and the passage of time
158.
Decentration
Process of changing from a totally selforiented point of view to one tha recognizes
other people's feelings, ideas, and viewpoints
Decision
making
Assessing and choosing among alternatives.
declarative
memory
memory for specific information
Defense
Mechanism
An unconscious way of reducing anxiety by
distorting perceptions of reality.
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Developmental
Psychology
The study of the lifelong, often age-related,
processes of change in the physical,
cognitive, moral, emotional, and social
domains of functioning; such changes are
rooted in biological mechanisms that are
genetically controlled, as well as in social
interactions
177.
Deviation IQ
A standard IQ test score whose mean and
standard deviation remain constant for all
ages
178.
Dichromats
People who can distinguish only two of
the three basic colors.
difference
threshold
minimum difference between any two
stimuli that person can detect 50% of the
time
Discrimination
Behavior targeted at individuals or groups
and intended to hold them apart and treat
them differently.
Disorganized
type of
schizophrenia
type of schizophrenia characterized by
severely disturbed thought processes,
frequent incoherence, disorganized
behavior, and inappropriate affect.
Displacement
Defense mechanism by which people
divert sexual or aggressive feelings for one
person onto another person.
Dissociative
amnesia
Dissociative disorder characterized by the
sudden and extensive inability to recall
important personal information, usually of
a traumatic or stressful nature.
Dissociative
disorders
psychological disorders characterized by a
sudden but temporary alteration in
consciousness, identity, sensorimotor
behavior, or memory
179.
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Dissociative
identity
disorder
dissociative disorder characterized by the
existence within an individual of two or
more distinct personalities, each of which
is dominant at different times and directs
the individual's behavior at those times;
commonly known as multiple personality
disorder.
Divergent
thinking
In problem solving, the process of
widening the range of possibilities and
expanding the options for solutions.
DNA
deoxyribonucleic acid; genetic formation
in a double-helix; can replicate or
reproduce itself; made of genes
dominant
genes
member of a gene terror that controls the
appearance of a certain trait
189.
dopamine
neurotransmitter that influences voluntary
movement, attention, alertness; lack of
dopamine linked with Parkinson's disease;
too much is linked with schizophrenia
190.
Double bind
a situation in which an individual is given two
different and inconsistent messages.
doubleblind
procedure
technique in which neither the persons
involved for those conducting the experiment
know in what group to participate is involved
Doubleblind
techniques
A research technique in which neither the
experimenter nor the participants know who
is in the control and experimental groups.
Dream
A state of consciousness that occurs during
sleep, usually accompanied by vivid visual,
tactile, or auditory imagery.
Dream
analysis
Psychoanalytic technique in which a patient's
dreams are described in detail and interpreted
so as to provide insight into the individual's
unconscious motivations.
Drive
an internal aroused condition that directs an
organism to satisfy a physiological need
Drive theory
(aka, drivereduction
theory)
an explanation of behavior that assumes that
an organism is motivated to act because of a
need to attain, reestablish, or maintain some
goal that helps with survival
197.
Drug
Any chemical substance that, in small
amounts, alters biological or cognitive
processes or both
198.
dualism
seeing mind and body as two different things
that interact
199.
eclectic
use of techniques and ideas from a variety of
approaches
educational
psychologist
focuses on how effective teaching and
learning take place
Edward
Bradford
Titchener
Student of Wilhelm Wundt; founder of
Structuralist school of psychology.
Edward
Thorndike
behaviorism; Law of Effect-relationship
between behavior and consequence
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EEG
(electroencephalogram)
shows brain's electrical activity
by positioning electrodes over
the scalp
efferent neuron
nerve cell that send messages
from brain and spinal cord to
other parts of body; also called
motor neurons
Ego
Egocentrism
Ekman & Friesen
Elaboration Likelihood
Model
elaborative rehearsal
In Freud's theory, the part of
personality that seeks to satisfy
instinctual needs in accordance
with reality.
Inability to perceive a situation
or event except in relation to
oneself; also know as selfcenteredness
Universal Emotions (based upon
facial expressions); Study
Basics: Constants across culture
in the face and emotion
Theory suggesting that there are
two routes to attitude change:
the central route, which focuses
on thoughtful consideration of
an argument for change, and the
peripheral route, which focuses
on less careful, more emotional,
and even superficial evaluation.
rehearsal involving repletion
and analysis, in which a
stimulus may be associated with
(linked to) other information
and further processed
Electroconvulsive
therapy (ECT)
A treatment for severe mental
illness in which an electric
current is briefly applied to the
head in order to produce a
generalized seizure.
Electroencephalogram
(EEG)
Graphical record of brain-wave
activity obtained through
electrodes placed on the scalp
and forehead
Electromagnetic
Radiation
The entire spectrum of waves
initiated by the movement of
charged particles.
Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
developmental psychology;
wrote "On Death and Dying": 5
stages the terminally ill go
through when facing death (1.
denial, 2. anger, 3. bargaining,
4. depression, 5. acceptance)
Elizabeth
Loftus
cognition and memory; studied repressed
memories and false memories; showed how
easily memories could be changed and falsely
created by techniques such as leading
questions and illustrating the inaccuracy in
eyewitness testimony
215.
Embryo
The prenatal organism from the 5th through
the 49th day after conception
216.
Emotion
A subjective response, usually accompanied by
a physiological change, which is interpreted n
a particular way by the individual and often
leads to a change in behavior
emotional
intelligence
the ability to perceive, express, understand,
and regulate emotions
218.
empiricism
the view that knowledge should be acquired
through observation and often an experiment
219.
encoding
organizing sensory information so it can be
processed by the nervous system
encoding
specificity
principle
retrieval cues that match original information
work better
endocrine
glands
the bodies "slow" chemical communication by
secreting hormones directly into the
bloodstream
endocrine
system
glands that secrete hormones into the
bloodstream, which regulate body and
behavioral processes
endorphins
chemical similar to opiates that relieves pain;
may induce feelings of pleasure
engineering
psychologist
does research on how people function best
with machines
epinephrine
adrenaline; activates a sympathetic nervous
system by making the heart beat faster,
stopping digestion, enlarging pupils, sending
sugar into the bloodstream, preparing a blood
clot faster
episodic
memory
memory of specific personal events and
situations (episodes) tagged with information
about time
Equity
Theory
Social psychological theory that states that
people attempt to maintain stable, consistent
interpersonal relationships in which the ratio
of member's contributions is balanced.
Erik
Erikson
neo-Freudian, humanistic; 8 psychosocial
stages of development: theory shows how
people evolve through the life span. Each
stage is marked by a psychological crisis that
involves confronting "Who am I?"
Ernst
Weber
perception; identified just-noticeabledifference (JND) that eventually becomes
Weber's law
214.
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229.
230.
ESP
the controversial claim that sensation
can occur apart from sensory input
231.
ethics
rules of proper and acceptable conduct
that investigators use to guide
psychological research
232.
ethnocentrism
tendency to believe that one's own group
is the standard, the reference point by
which other people and groups should
be judged
246.
evolutionary
psychology
perspective that seeks to explain and
predict behaviors by analyzing how the
human brain developed over time, how
it functions, and how input from the
environment affects human behaviors
247.
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243.
244.
245.
248.
Extinction
(classical
conditioning)
The procedure of withholding the
unconditioned stimulus and presenting the
conditioned stimulus alone, which gradually
reduces the probability of the conditioned
response
Extinction
(operant
conditioning)
The process by which the probability of an
organism's emitting a response is reduced
when reinforcement no longer follows the
response
Extrinsic
motivation
Motivation supplied by rewards that come
from the external environment
Factor
analysis
Statistical procedure designed to discover the
independent elements (factors) in any set of
data
family
studies
studies of hereditability on the assumption
that if a gene influences a certain trait, close
relatives should be more similar on that trait
in distant relative
Family
therapy
A type of therapy in which two or more
people who are committed to one another's
well-being are treated at once, in and effort
to change the ways the interact.
fetal alcohol
syndrome
(FAS)
group of abnormalities that occur in the
babies of mothers who drink alcoholic
beverages during pregnancy
Ex Post Facto
Design
A type of design that contrasts groups of
people who differ on some variable of
interest to the researcher.
ex post facto
study
a type of design that contrasts groups of
people who differ on some variable of
interest to the researcher
ex post facto
study
describes differences between groups of
participants that differ naturally on a
variable such as race or gender
251.
chemical secreted at terminal button
that causes the neuron on the other side
of the synapse to fire
252.
Fetus
The prenatal organism from the 8th week
after conception until birth
253.
Fixation
An excessive attachment to some person or
object that was appropriate only at an earlier
stage of development
Fixedinterval
Schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which a
reinforcer (reward) is delivered after a
specified interval of time, provided that the
required response occurs at least once in the
interval
Fixed-ratio
Schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which a
reinforcer(reward) is delivered after a
specified number of responses has occurred
flashbulb
memories
detailed memory for events surrounding a
dramatic event that is vivid and remembered
with confidence
fluid
intelligence
cognitive abilities requiring speed or rapid
learning that tends to diminish with age
forebrain
top of the brain which includes the
thalamus, hypothalamus, and cerebral
cortex; responsible for emotional regulation,
complex thought, memory aspect of
personality
excitatory
neurotransmitter
Excitement phase
the first phase of the sexual response
cycle during which there are increases
in heart rate blood pressure and
respiration
Expectancy
Theories
Explanations of behavior that focus on
people's expectations about reaching a
goal and their need for achievement as
energizing factors
experiment
a procedure in which a researcher
systematically manipulates and
observes elements of a situation in order
to test a hypothesis and make a causeand-effect statement
Experimental
design
A design in which researchers
manipulate an independent variable
and measure a dependent variable to
determine a cause-and-effect
relationship
experimental
group
in an experiment, the group of
participants to whom a treatment is
given
experimenter
bias
expectation of the person conducting an
experiment which may be affect the
outcome
explicit memory
conscious memory that a person is
aware of
249.
250.
254.
255.
256.
257.
258.
259.
260.
261.
262.
263.
264.
265.
266.
267.
268.
269.
270.
271.
272.
forebrain
largest, most complicated, and most advanced
of the three divisions of the brain; comprises
the thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system,
basal ganglia, corpus callosum, and cortex
forensic
psychologist
applies psychological concepts to legal issues
Formal
operational
stage
Piaget's fourth and final stage of cognitive
development (beginning at about age 12),
during which the individual can think
hypothetically, can consider future
possibilites, and can use deductive logic
fovea
small area of retina where image is focused
Francis
Galton
differential psychology AKA "London School"
of Experimental Psychology; Contributions:
behavioral genetics, maintains that
personality & ability depend almost entirely on
genetic inheritance; compared identical &
fraternal twins, hereditary differences in
intellectual ability
fraternal
twins
twins from two separate fertilized eggs
(zygotes); share half of the same genes
Free
association
Psychoanalytic technique in which a person is
asked to report to the therapist his or her
thoughts and feelings as they occur,
regardless of how trivial, illogical, or
objectionable their content may appear.
frequency
number of wavelengths that pass a point in a
given amount of time; determines hue of light
and the pitch of a sound
frequency
distribution
a chart or array of scores, usually arranged
from highest to lowest, showing the number
of instances for each score
frequency
polygon
graph of a frequency distribution that shows
the number of instances of obtained scores,
usually with the data points connect by
straight lines
frontal lobes
control emotional behaviors, make decisions,
carry out plans; speech (Broca's area);
controls movement of muscles
273.
274.
275.
276.
277.
278.
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280.
281.
282.
283.
284.
functionalism
school of psychological thought that was
concerned with how and why the conscious
mind works
Fundamental
Attribution
Error
The tendency to attribute other people's
behavior to dispositional (internal) causes
rather than situational (external) causes.
GABA
(gammaaminobutyric
acid)
neurotransmitter that inhibits firing of
neurons; linked with Huntington's disease
gate control
theory
pain is only experienced in the pain
messages can pass through a gate in the
spinal cord on their route to the brain
Gazzaniga or
Sperry
neuroscience/biopsychology; studied split
brain patients
Gender
A socially and culturally constructed set of
distinctions between masculine and
feminine sets of behaviors that is promoted
and expected by society
Gender
Identity
A person's sense of being male or female
Gender
Schema
Theory
The theory that children and adolescents
use gender as an organizing theme to
classify and interpret their perceptions about
the world and themselves
Gender
stereotype
A fixed, overly simple, sometimes incorrect
idea about traits, attitudes, and behaviors of
males or females
gene
a DNA segment on a chromosome that
controls transmission of traits
Generalized
anxiety
disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by
persistent anxiety occurring on more days
than not for at least 6 months, sometimes
with increased activity of the autonomic
nervous system, apprehension, excessive
muscle tension, and difficulty in
concentrating
genetic
mapping
dividing the chromosomes into smaller
fragments that can be characterized and
ordered so that the fragments reflect their
respective locations on specific
chromosomes
Fulfillment
In Roger's theory of personality, an inborn
tendency directing people toward actualizing
their essential nature and thus attaining their
potential.
285.
genetics
Functional
fixedness
Inability to see that an object can have a
function other than its stated or usual one.
study of how traits are transmitted from one
generation to the next
286.
Genital Stage
functional
MRI (fMRI)
shows brain activity at higher reolution than
PET scan when changes in oxygen
concentration in neurons alters its magnetic
qualities
Freud's last stage of personality
development, from the onset of puberty
through adulthood, during which the sexual
conflicts of childhood resurface (at puberty)
and are often resolved during adolescence).
287.
genotype
an individual's genetic make-up
Gestalt
psychology
school of psychological thought that argued
that behavior cannot be studied in parts but
must be viewed a s whole
Gibson &
Walk
developmental psychology; "visual cliff"
studies with infants
290.
glial cells
supportive cells of nervous system that guide
growth of new neurons; forms myelin
sheath; holds neuron in place; provides
nourishment and removes waste
306.
291.
gonads
reproductive glands-male, testes; female,
ovaries
307.
Gordon
Allport
trait theory of personality; 3 levels of traits:
cardinal, central, and secondary
308.
graded
potential
shift in electrical charge in a tiny area of the
neuron (temporary); transmits a long cell
membranes leaving neuron and polarized
state; needs higher than normal threshold of
excitation to fire
288.
289.
292.
293.
294.
295.
296.
297.
298.
299.
Grammar
Grasping
reflex
Group
The linguistic description of how a language
functions, especially the rules and patterns
used for generating appropriate and
comprehensible sentences.
Reflex that causes a newborn to grasp
vigorously any object touching the palm or
fingers or placed in the hand
Two or more individuals who are working
with a common purpose or have some
common goals, characteristics, or interests.
Group
Polarization
Shifts or exaggeration in group members'
attitudes or behavior as a result of group
discussion.
Group
therapy
Psychotherapeutic process in which several
people meet as a group with a therapist to
receive psychological help.
Groupthink
The tendency of people in a group to seek
concurrence with one another when
reaching a decision, rather than effectively
evaluating options.
300.
gustation
sense of taste
301.
habituation
decreased responsiveness with repeated
presentation of the same stimulus
302.
303.
304.
hallucinogens
(AKA
psychedelic
drugs)
Consciousness-altering drugs that affect
moods, thoughts, memory, judgment, and
perception and that are consumed for the
purpose of producing those results
Halo effect
The tendency for one characteristic of an
individual to influence a tester's evaluation
of other characteristics
Hans Eysenck
personality theorist; asserted that
personality is largely determined by genes,
used introversion/extroversion
Harry
Harlow
development, contact comfort, attachment;
experimented with baby rhesus monkeys and
presented them with cloth or wire "mothers;"
showed that the monkeys became attached to
the cloth mothers because of contact comfort
Harry Stack
Sullivan
interpersonal psychoanalysis; groundwork
for enmeshed relationships, developed the
Self-System, a configuration of personality
traits
health
psychologist
focuses on psychological factors in illness
Health
psychology
Subfield concerned with the use of
psychological ideas and principles to
enhance health, prevent illness, diagnose
and treat disease, and improve rehabilitation
Henry
Murray
personality assessment; created the Thematic
Apperception Test (TAT) with Christina
Morgan, stated that the need to achieve
varied in strength in different people and
influenced their tendency to approach and
evaluate their own performances
310.
Heritability
The genetically determined proportion of a
trait's variation among individuals in a
population
311.
heritability
the proportion of variation among
individuals that is due to genetic causes
Herman von
Helmholtz
Theorist who both aided in the development
of the trichromatic theory of color perception
and Place theory of pitch perception.
Hermann
Ebbinghaus
memory; studied memorization of
meaningless words
Hermann
Ebbinghaus
the first person to study memory scientifically
and systematically; used nonsense syllables
and recorded how many times he had to study
a list to remember it well
Hermann
Rorschach
developed one of the first projective tests, the
Inkblot test which consists of 10
standardized inkblots where the subject tells
a story, the observer then derives aspects of
the personality from the subject's
commentary
Heuristics
Sets of strategies, rather than strict rules, that
act as guidelines for discovery-oriented
problem solving.
Higherorder
Conditioning
Process by which a neutral stimulus takes on
conditioned properties through pairing with
a conditioned stimulus
hindbrain
the most primitive of the three functional
divisions of the brain, consisting of the pons,
medulla, reticular formation, and cerebellum
305.
309.
312.
313.
314.
315.
316.
317.
318.
319.
hindbrain
division which includes the cerebellum,
Pons, and medulla; responsible for
involuntary processes: blood pressure, body
temperature, heart rate, breathing, sleep
cycles
320.
hippocampus
part of the limbic system and is involved in
learning and forming new long-term
memories
Hobson &
McCarley
sleep/dreams/consciousness; pioneers of
Activation-Synthesis Theory of dreams;
sleep studies that indicate the brain creates
dream states, not information processing or
Freudian interpretations
321.
Holmes &
Rahe
stress and coping; used "social
readjustment scale" to measure stress
323.
Homeostasis
Maintenance of a constant state of inner
stability or balance
324.
hormone
chemical that carries messages that travel
through the bloodstream to help regulate
bodily functions
322.
325.
326.
327.
328.
329.
330.
Howard
Gardner
devised theory of multiple intelligences:
logical-mathematic, spatial, bodilykinesthetic, intrapersonal, linguistic,
musical, interpersonal, naturalistic
Hue
The psychological property of light referred
to as color, determined by the wavelengths
of reflected light.
human
genomes
30,000 genes needed to build a human
humanistic
psychology
perspective that emphasizes the uniqueness
of the individual and the idea that humans
have free will
Humanistic
theory
Hyperopic
An explanation of behavior that emphasizes
the entirety of life rather than individual
components of behavior and focuses on
human dignity, individual choice, and selfworth
Able to see objects at a distance clearly but
having trouble seeing things up close;
farsighted
331.
hypnosis
state with deep relaxation and heightened
suggestibility
332.
hypothalamus
area of the brain that is part of the limbic
system and regulates behaviors such as,
eating, drinking, sexual behaviors,
motivation; also body temperature
333.
hypothesis
a tentative statement or idea expressing a
causal relationship between two events or
variables that is to be evaluated in a
research study
334.
Id
In Freud's theory, the source of
a person's instinctual energy,
which works mainly on the
pleasure principle.
335.
Ideal Self
In Roger's theory of
personality, the self a person
would ideally like to be.
336.
identical twins
twins from a single fertilized
egg (zygote) with the same
genetic makeup; also called
monozygotic (MZ) twins
337.
imagery
the creation or re-creation of a
mental picture of a sensory or
perceptual experience
338.
Imaginary Audience
A cognitive distortion
experienced by adolescents, in
which they see themselves as
always "on stage" with an
audience watching
339.
implicit memory
memory a person is not aware
of possessing
340.
Impression Formation
The process by which a person
uses behavior and appearance
of others to form attitudes
about them.
341.
independent variable
the variable in a controlled
experiment that the
experimenter directly and
purposefully manipulates to
see how the other variables
under study will be affected
industrial/organizational
psychologist
applies psychological
principles to the workplace to
improve productivity and the
quality of work life
343.
inferential statistics
procedures used to draw
conclusions about larger
populations from small
samples of data
344.
informed consent
the agreement of participants
to take part in an experiment
and their acknowledgement
that they understand the
nature of their participation in
the research, and have been
fully informed about the
general nature of the research,
its goals, and methods
inhibitory
neurotransmitter
chemical secreted at terminal
button that prevents (or
reduces ability of) the neuron
on the other side of the
synapse from firing
342.
345.
Insight
therapy
Any therapy that attempts to discover
relationships between unconscious
motivations and current abnormal
behavior.
347.
Insomnia
Problems in going to sleep or maintaining
sleep
348.
instinct
inherited, automatic species-specific
behaviors
349.
insulin
hormone backpacks in the regulation of
blood sugar by acting in the utilization of
carbohydrates; released by pancreas; too
much-hypoglycemia, too little-diabetes
350.
Intelligence
The overall capacity of an individual to act
purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal
effectively with the environment
346.
351.
interference
the suppression of one bit of information by
another
352.
interneurons
nerve cell that transmits messages between
sensory and motor neurons
Interpersonal
Attraction
The tendency of one person to evaluate
another person (or a symbol or image of
another person) in a positive way.
Interpretation
In Freud's theory, the technique of
providing a context, meaning, or cause for a
specific idea, feeling, or set of behaviors;
the process of tying a set of behaviors to its
unconscious determinant.
362.
363.
364.
365.
366.
353.
354.
368.
A state of being or feeling in which each
person in a relationship is willing to selfdisclose and to express important feelings
and information to the other person.
369.
Intrinsic
motivation
Motivation that leads to behaviors engaged
in for no apparent reward except the
pleasure and satisfaction of the activity
itself
370.
357.
introspection
a person's description and analysis of what
he or she is thinking and feeling or what he
or she has just thought about
358.
ions
electrically charged particles found both
inside and outside a neuron; negative ions
are found inside the cell membrane in a
polarized neuron
359.
iris
colored part of the eye that regulates size of
pupil
355.
356.
360.
361.
Intimacy
367.
Ivan Pavlov
discovered classical conditioning; trained
dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell
James-Lange
theory of
emotion
conscious experience of emnotion results
from one's awareness of physiological
arousal
371.
372.
373.
374.
Jean Piaget
cognitive psychology; created a 4-stage theory
of cognitive development, said that two basic
processes work in tandem to achieve cognitive
growth (assimilation and accommodation)
John B
Watson
behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors
of people and their reactions on a given
situation; famous for Little Albert study in
which baby was taught to fear a white rat
John
Garcia
Researched taste aversion. Showed that when
rats ate a novel substance before being
nauseated by a drug or radiation, they
developed a conditioned taste aversion for the
substance.
John Locke
17th century English philosopher. Wrote that
the mind was a "blank slate" or "tabula rasa";
that is, people are born without innate ideas.
We are completely shaped by our environment .
Judith
Langlois
developmental psychology;: social development
& processing, effects of appearance on
behavior, origin of social stereotypes,
sex/love/intimacy, facial expression
just
noticeable
difference
(JND)
experience of the difference threshold
Karen
Horney
neo-Freudian, psychodynamic; criticized
Freud, stated that personality is molded by
current fears and impulses, rather than being
determined solely by childhood experiences and
instincts, neurotic trends; concept of "basic
anxiety"
Karl
Wernicke
"Wernicke's area"; discovered area of left
temporal lobe that involved language
understanding: person damaged in this area
uses correct words but they do not make sense
Kenneth
Clark
social psychology; research evidence of
internalized racism caused by stigmatization;
doll experiments-black children chose white
dolls
kinesthesis
body sense that provides information about the
position and movement of individual parts of
the body
Konrad
Lorenz
ethology (animal behavior); studied imprinting
and critical periods in geese
Kurt Lewin
social psychology; German refugee who
escaped Nazis, proved the democratic style of
leadership is the most productive; studied
effects of 3 leadership styles on children
completing activities
Langer &
Rodin
Social Psychology; Helping behavior, personal
responsibility; studied the effects of enhanced
personal responsibility and helping behavior
375.
376.
377.
378.
379.
380.
381.
382.
Language
A system of symbols, usually words, that
convey meaning and a set of rules for
combining symbols to generate an infinite
number of messages.
Latency
Stage
Freud's fourth stage of personality
development, from about age 7 until puberty,
during which sexual urges are inactive.
Latent
Content
The deeper meaning of a dream, usually
involving symbolism hidden meaning, and
repressed or obscured ideas and wishes
Latent
Learning
Learning that occurs in the absence of direct
reinforcement and that is not necessarily
demonstrated through observable behavior
Law of Effect
behaviors followed by pleasant consequences
are strengthened while behaviors followed by
unpleasant consequences are weakened
(Thorndike)
Lawrence
Kohlberg
moral development; presented boys moral
dilemmas and studied their responses and
reasoning processes in making moral
decisions. Most famous moral dilemma is
"Heinz" who has an ill wife and cannot
afford the medication. Should he steal the
medication and why?
Learned
Helplessness
The behavior of giving up or not responding
to punishment, exhibited by people or
animals exposed to negative consequences or
punishment over which they have no control
Learned
helplessness
the behavior of giving up or not responding,
exhibited by people and animals exposed to
negative consequences or punishment over
which they feel they have no control.
383.
Learning
Relatively permanent change in an organism
that occurs as a result of experiences in the
environment
384.
lens
structure behind pupil that changes shape to
focus light rays onto the retina
Leon
Festinger
social cognition, cognitive dissonance; Study
Basics: Studied and demonstrated cognitive
dissonance
Lev Vygotsky
child development; investigated how culture
& interpersonal communication guide
development; zone of proximal development;
play research
385.
386.
387.
levels-ofprocessing
approach
brain encodes information in different ways
or on different levels; deeper processing leads
to deeper memory
388.
Lewis Terman
revised Binet's IQ test and established
norms for American children; tested group
of young geniuses and followed in a
longitudinal study that lasted beyond his
own lifetime to show that high IQ does not
necessarily lead to wonderful things in life
389.
Libido
In Freud's theory, the instinctual (and
sexual) life force that, working on the
pleasure principle and seeking immediate
gratification, energizes the id.
390.
Light
The small portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum that is visible to the human eye.
391.
limbic system
a donut ring-shaped of loosely connected
structures located in the forebrain between
the central core and cerebral hemispheres;
consists of: septum, cingulate gyrus,
endowments, hypothalamus, and to
campus, and amygdala; associated with
emotions and memories
392.
Linguistics
The study of language, including speech
sounds, meaning, and grammar.
393.
Little Albert
subject in John Watson's experiment,
proved classical conditioning principles,
especially the generalization of fear
Lloyd and
Margaret
Peterson
did work on short-term memory
Logic
The system of principles of reasoning used
to reach valid conclusions or make
inferences.
long-term
memory
storage mechanism that keeps a relatively
permanent record of memory
long-term
potentiation
the biochemical processes that make it
easier for the neuron to respond again
when it has been stimulated
Longitudinal
Study
A research method that focuses on a
specific group of individuals at different
ages to examine changes that have
occurred over time
Longitudinal
Study
A research approach that follows a group
of people over time to determine change or
stability in behavior.
Lucid Dream
Dream in which the dreamer is aware of
dreaming while it is happening
magnetic
resonance
imaging (MRI)
creates a computerized image using a
magnetic field and pulses of radio waves
Mainstreaming
Practice of placing children with special
needs in regular classroom settings, with
the support of professionals who provide
special education services
394.
395.
396.
397.
398.
399.
400.
401.
402.
403.
404.
405.
406.
407.
408.
409.
maintenance
rehearsal
repetitive review of information with little or
no interpretation
Major
depressive
disorder
Depressive disorder characterized by loss of
interest in almost all of life's usual activities;
a sad, hopeless, or discourage mood, sleep
disturbance; loss of appetite; loss of energy;
and feelings of unworthiness and guilt.
Manifest
Content
The overt story line, characters, and setting of
a dream-the obvious, clearly discernible
events of the dream
Martin
Seligman
learning; Positive Psychology; learned
helplessness theory of depression; Studies:
Dogs demonstrating learned helplessness
Mary
Ainsworth
developmental psychology; compared effects
of maternal separation, devised patterns of
attachment; "The Strange Situation":
observation of parent/child attachment
Mary CoverJones
behaviorism/learning; pioneer in systematic
desensitization, maintained that fear could be
unlearned
Masters &
Johnson
motivation; human sexual response—studied
how both men and women respond to and in
relation to sexual behavior
mean
the arithmetic average of a set of scores
Means-ends
analysis
Heuristic procedure in which the problem
solver compares the current situation with the
desired goal to determine the most efficient
way to get from one to the other.
measure of
central
tendency
a descriptive statistic that tells which result or
score best represents an entire set of scores
413.
median
the measure of central tendency that is the
data point with 50% of the scores above it
and 50% below it
414.
Mediation
The use of a variety of techniques including
concentration, restriction of incoming
stimuli, and deep relaxation to produce a
state of consciousness characterized by a
sense of detachment.
410.
411.
412.
415.
416.
417.
medulla
(also
medulla
oblongata)
part of the brain which controls living
functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood
pressure, body temperature
memory
the ability to recall past events, images, ideas,
or previously learned information or skills;
the storage system that allows a person to
retain and retrieve previously learned
information
memory
span
the number of items a person can reproduce
from short-term memory, usually consisting
of one or two chunks
418.
menarche
first menstrual period
419.
menopause
the cessation of the ability to reproduce
Metal
retardation
Below-average intellectual functioning, as
measured on an IQ test, accompanied by
substantial limitations in functioning that
originate before age 8
421.
midbrain
the second level of the three organizational
structures of the brain that receives signals
from other parts of the brain or spinal cord
and either relays the information to other
parts of the brain or causes the body to act
immediately; involved in movement
422.
midbrain
the middle division of brain responsible for
hearing and sight; location where pain is
registered; includes temporal lobe,
occipital lobe, and most of the parietal lobe
423.
mode
the most frequently occurring score in a set
of data
424.
Model:
an analogy or a perspective that uses a
structure from one field to help scientists
describe data in another field
425.
monism
seeing mind and body as different aspects
of the same thing
426.
Monochromats
People who cannot perceive any color,
usually because their retinas lack cones.
monocular
cues
depth cues that are based on one eye
moral
development
growth in the ability to tell right from
wrong, control impulses, and act ethically
429.
Morality
A system of learned attitudes about social
practices, instituations, and individual
behavior used to evaluate situations and
behavior as right or wrong, good or bad
430.
Moro reflex
Reflex in which a newborn strectches out
the arms and legs and cries in response to
a loud noise or an abrupt change in the
environment
431.
Morpheme
A basic unit of meaning in a language.
motivated
forgetting
occurs when frightening, traumatic events
are forgotten because people want to forget
them
433.
Motivation
any internal condition, although usually
an internal one, that initates, activates, or
maintains an organism's goal directed
behavior
434.
Motive
a specific (usually internal) condition,
usually involving some form of arousal,
which directs an organism's behavior
toward a goal.
435.
motive
a need or want that causes someone to act
420.
427.
428.
432.
436.
437.
438.
motor
neurons
efferent neurons; neurons that carry
messages from spinal cord/brain to
muscles and glands
motor
projection
areas
primary motor cortex; areas of the three
boat cortex for response messages from the
brain to the muscles and glands
mutation
unexpected changes in the gene replication
process that are not always evident in
phenotype and create unusual and
sometimes harmful characteristics of body
or behavior
439.
myelin sheath
a white, fatty covering of the axon which
speeds transmission of message
440.
Myopic
Able to see clearly things that are close but
having trouble seeing objects at a distance;
nearsighted.
441.
442.
443.
444.
445.
446.
447.
448.
449.
450.
451.
natural
selection
the principle that those characteristics and
behaviors that help organisms adapt, be fit,
and survive will be passed on to successive
generations, because flexible, fit
individuals have a greater chance of
reproduction
Naturalistic
observation
A descriptive research method in which
researchers study behavior in its natural
context.
naturalistic
observation
observing and recording behavior naturally
without trying to manipulate and control
the situation
nature
a person's inherited traits, determined by
genetics
naturenurture
controversy
deals with the extent to which heredity and
the environment each influence behavior
Need
State of physiological imbalance usually
accompanied by arousal
452.
neural plasticity
Ability of the brain to change their
experience, both structurally and
chemically
453.
neurogenesis
production of new brain cells;
November 1988: cancer patients
proved that new neurons grew until the
end of life
454.
neuron
individual cells that are the smallest
unit of the nervous system; it has three
functions: receive information, process
it, send to rest of body
455.
neuropsychologist
concerned with the relationship
between brain/nervous system and
behavior
456.
neuroscience
study of the brain and nervous system;
overlaps with psychobiology
457.
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers released by
terminal buttons into the synapse
458.
Noam Chomsky
language development; disagreed with
Skinner about language acquisition,
stated there is an infinite # of
sentences in a language, humans have
an inborn native ability to develop
language
Non-rapid Eye
Movement Sleep
Four distinct stages of sleep during
which no rapid eye movements occur.
nonconscious
the level of consciousness devoted to
processes completely unavailable to
conscious awareness (e.g., fingernails
growing)
Nonverbal
Communication
The communication of information by
cues or actions that include gestures,
tone of voice, vocal inflections, and
facial expressions.
462.
norepinephrine
noradrenaline; chemical which is
excitatory, similar to adrenaline, and
affects arousal and memory; raises
blood pressure by causing blood
vessels to become constricted, but also
carried by bloodstream to the anterior
pituitary which relaxes ACTH thus
prolonging stress response
Normal curve
A bell-shaped graphic representation
of data showing what percentage of
the population falls under each part of
the curve
normal
distribution
approximate distribution of scores
expected when a sample is taken from
a large population, drawn as a
frequency polygon that often takes the
form of a bell-shaped curve, called the
normal curve
459.
460.
461.
Need for
achievement
A social need that directs a person to strive
constantly for excellence and success
Negative
Reinforcement
Removal of a stimulus after a particular
response to increase the likelihood that the
response will recur
nerve
bundles of axons
nervous
system
the structures and organs that facilitate
electrical and chemical communication in
the body and allow all behavior and mental
processes to take place
463.
neural
impulse
action potential; the firing of a nerve cell;
the entire process of the electrical charge
(message/impulse) traveling through inner
on; can be as fast as 400 fps (with myelin)
or 3 fps (no myelin)
464.
465.
Norms
The scores and corresponding percentile
ranks of a large and representative sample
of individuals from the population for which
a test was designed
466.
nurture
a person's experiences in the environment
467.
Obedience
Compliance with the orders of another
person or group of people.
Object
permanence
The realization of infants that objects
continue to exist even when they are out of
sight
Observational
Learning
Theory
Theory that suggests that organisms learn
new responses by observing the behavior of
a model and then imitating it; aka. Social
learning theory
observer bias
expectations of an observer which may
distort an authentic observation
Obsessivecompulsive
disorder
Anxiety disorder characterized by persistent
and uncontrollable thoughts and irrational
beliefs that cause the performance of
compulsive rituals that interfere with daily
life.
occipital
lobes
primary area for processing visual
information
Oedipus
Complex
Feelings of rivalry with the parent of the
same sex and sexual desire for the parent of
the other sex, occurring during the phallic
stage and ultimately resolved through
identification with the parent of the same
sex.
468.
469.
470.
471.
472.
473.
474.
475.
476.
477.
478.
opponentprocess theory of
emotion
following a strong emotion, an opposing
emotion counters the first emotion,
lessening the experience of that
emotion; on repeated occasions, the
opposing emotion becomes stronger
480.
Optic chiasm
Point at which half of the optic nerve
fibers from each eye cross over and
connect to the other side of the brain.
481.
optic nerve
carries impulses from the eye to the
brain
482.
Oral Stage
Freud's first stage of personality
development, from birth to about age 2,
during which the instincts of infants are
focused on the mouth as the primary
pleasure center.
483.
Orgasm phase
the third phase of the sexual response
cycle, during which autonomic nervous
system activity reaches its peak and
muscle contractions occur in spasms
throughout the body, but especially in
the genital area
Overjustification
effect
Decrease in likelihood that an
intrinsically motivated task, after having
been extrinsically rewarded, will be
performed when the reward is no longer
given.
485.
pancreas
organ lying between the stomach and
small intestine; regulates blood sugar by
secreting to regulating hormones insulin
and glucagon
Panic Attack
Anxiety disorders characterized as acute
anxiety, accompanied by sharp
increases in autonomic nervous system
arousal, that is not triggered by a
specific event.
parallel
processing
simultaneously analyzing different
elements of sensory information, such
as color, brightness, shape, etc.
Paranoid type of
schizophrenia
type of schizophrenia characterized by
hallucinations and delusions of
persecution or grandeur (or both), and
sometimes irrational jealousy.
parasympathetic
nervous system
a branch of the autonomic nervous
system that maintains normal body
functions; it calms the body after
sympathetic stimulation
parathormone
hormone that controls imbalances levels
of calcium and phosphate in the blood
and tissue fluid; influences levels of
excitability; secreted by parathyroids
479.
484.
olfaction
sense of smell
486.
Operant
Conditioning
Conditioning in which an increase or
decrease in the probability that a behavior
will recur is affected by the delivery of
reinforcement or punishment as a
consequence of the behavior;
487.
a definition of a variable in terms of the set
of methods or procedures used to measure or
study that variable
488.
operational
definition
opiates (AKA
narcotics)
Drugs derived from the opium poppy,
including opium, morphine, and heroin
Opponentprocess
theory
Visual theory, proposed by Herring, that
color is coded by stimulation of three types
of paired receptors; each pair of receptors is
assumed to operate in an antagonist way so
that stimulation by a given wavelength
produces excitation (increased firing) in one
receptor of the pair and also inhibits the
other receptor.
489.
490.
491.
492.
parathyroid
for glands embedded in the thyroid; secretes
parathormone; controls announces level of
calcium and phosphate (which influence
levels of excitability)
parietal
lobes
processes sensory information including
touch, temperature, and pain from other body
parts
493.
participant
an individual who takes part in an experiment
and whose behavior is observed as part of the
data collection process
494.
Paul Ekman
emotion; found that facial expressions are
universal
Percentile
score
A score indicating what percentage of the test
population would obtain a lower score
percentile
score
the percentage of scores at or below a certain
score
Perception
Process by which an organism selects and
interprets sensory input so that it acquires
meaning.
505.
Phineas Gage
Vermont railroad worker who survived a
severe brain injury that changed his
personality and behavior; his accident
gave information on the brain and which
parts are involved with emotional
reasoning
506.
Phineas Gage
railroad worker who survived a severe
brain injury that dramatically changed his
personality and behavior; case played a
role in the development of the
understanding of the localization of brain
function
Phobic
disorders
Anxiety disorders characterized by
excessive and irrational fear of, and
consequent attempted avoidance of,
specific objects or situations.
508.
Phoneme
A basic or minimum unit of sound in a
language.
509.
Phonology
The study of the patterns and distributions
of speech sounds in a language and the
tacit rules for their pronunciation.
510.
Photoreceptors
The light-sensitive cells in the retina- the
rods and cones.
511.
photoreceptors
light sensitive cells (rods and cones) that
convert light to electrochemical impulses
512.
pineal gland
endocrine gland that produces melatonin
that helps regulate sleep/wake cycle
513.
pitch
the highness or lowness of a sound
514.
pituitary gland
endocrine gland that produces a large
amount of hormones; it regulates growth
and helps control other endocrine glands;
located on underside of brain; sometimes
called the "master gland"
515.
placebo
typically a pill that is used as a control in
the experiment; a sugar pill
516.
Placebo effect
A nonspecific improvement that occurs as
a result of a person's expectations of
change rather than as a direct result of any
specific therapeutic treatment.
517.
placebo effect
response to the belief that the IV will have
an effect, rather than the IV's actual effect,
which can be a confounding variable
518.
Placenta
A mass of tissue that is attached to the
wall f the uterus and connected to the
developing fetus by the umbilical cord; it
supplies nutrients and eliminates waste
products
519.
Plateau phase
the second phase of the sexual response
cycle, during which physical arousal
continues to increase as the partners
bodies prepare for orgasm
507.
495.
496.
497.
498.
499.
500.
501.
502.
503.
504.
peripheral
nervous
system
Personal
Fable
division that connects the central nervous
system to the rest of the body; includes all
sensory and motor neurons; divided into
somatic nervous system and autonomic
nervous system
A cognitive distortion experienced by
adolescents, in which they believe they are so
special and unique that other people cannot
understand them and risky behaviors will not
harm them
Personality
A pattern of relatively permanent traits,
dispositions, or characteristics that give some
consistency to people's behavior.
Personality
disorders
psychological disorders characterized by
inflexible and longstanding maladaptive
behaviors that typically cause stress and/or
social or occupational problems.
Phallic
Stage
Freud's third stage of personality development,
from about age 4 through age 7, during which
children obtain gratification primarily from
the genitals.
phenotype
the expression of genes
Phillip
Zimbardo
social psychology; Stanford Prison Study;
college students were randomly assigned to
roles of prisoners or guards in a study that
looked at who social situations influence
behavior; showed that peoples' behavior
depends to a large extent on the roles they are
asked to play
520.
521.
polarization
polygenic
inheritance
when the neuron is at rest; condition of
neuron when the inside of the neuron is
negatively charged relative to the outside
of Enron; is necessary to generate the
neuron signal in release of this
polarization
process by which several genes interact
to produce a certain trait; responsible for
most important traits
522.
pons
part of the brain involved in sleep/wake
cycles; also connects cerebellum and
medulla to the cerebral cortex
523.
population
all of the individuals in the group to
which a study applies
positive
psychology
in emerging Theo psychology that
focuses on positive experiences; includes
subjective well-being, selfdetermination, the relationship between
positive emotions and physical health,
and the factors that allow individuals,
communities, and societies to boorish
524.
525.
526.
527.
528.
Positive
Reinforcement
Presentation of a stimulus after a
particular response in order to increase
the likelihood that the response will
recur
positron
emission
tomography
(PET scan)
shows brain activity when radioactively
tagged glucose rushes to active neurons
postconventional
level of moral
development
morality based on one's own individual
moral principles (i.e., conscience)
Posttraumatic
stress disorder
(PTSD)
Psychological disorder that may become
evident after a person has undergone
extreme stress caused by some type of
disaster; common symptoms include
vivid, intrusive recollections or
reexperiences of the traumatic event and
occasional lapses of normal
consciousness
Negative evaluation of an entire group of
people, typically based on unfavorable (and
often wrong) stereotypes about groups.
Premack
principle
commonly occurring behavior can
reinforce a less frequent behavior
prenatal
development
period of development from conception
until birth
Preoperational
stage
Piaget's second stage of cognitive
development (lasting from about age 2 to
age 6 or 7), during which the child begins
to represent the world symbolically
536.
Prevalence
the percentage of a population displaying a
disorder during any specified period.
537.
primacy effect
the more accurate recall of items presented
at the beginning of a series
Primary
Punisher
Any stimulus or event that is naturally
painful or unpleasant to an organism
Primary
Reinforcer
Reinforcer that has survival value for an
organism; this value does not have to be
learned
proactive
interference
previously learned information interferes
with the ability to learn new information
Problem
Solving
The behavior of individuals when
confronted with a situation or task that
requires insight or determination of some
unknown elements.
procedural
memory
memory for skills, including perceptual,
motor, and cognitive skills required to
complete tasks
Projection
Defense mechanism by which people
attribute their own undesirable traits to
others.
Projective
Tests
Devices or instruments used to assess
personality, in which examinees are
shown a standard set of ambiguous stimuli
and asked to respond to the stimuli in their
own way.
Prosocial
Behavior
Behavior that benefits someone else or
society but that generally offers no obvious
benefit to the person performing it and may
even involve some personal risk or
sacrifice.
546.
Prototype
An abstraction, an idealized pattern of an
object or idea that is stored in memory and
used to decide whether similar objects or
ideas are members of the same class of
items.
547.
pseudoscience
an unscientific system which pretends to
discover psychological information that
his means are unscientific or deliberately
fraudulent
533.
534.
535.
538.
539.
540.
541.
542.
543.
529.
Preconscious
Freud's level of the mind that contains
those experiences that are not currently
conscious but may become so with
varying degrees of difficulty.
530.
preconscious
level of consciousness that is outside
awareness but contains feelings and
memories that can easily be brought into
conscious awareness
preconventional
level of moral
development
morality based on consequences to self
531.
Prejudice
532.
544.
545.
548.
psychiatrist
a medical doctor who
specializes in the diagnosis
and treatment of mental
disorders
549.
Psychoactive Drug
A drug that alters behavior,
thought, or perception by
altering biochemical reactions
in the nervous system, thereby
affecting consciousness
550.
Psychoanalysis
A lengthy insight therapy that
was developed by Freud and
aims at uncovering conflicts
and unconscious impulses
through special techniques,
including free association,
dream analysis, and
transference.
551.
psychoanalyst
one who uses psychoanalysis
to treat psychological problems
552.
psychoanalytic
perspective developed by freud,
which assumes that
psychological problems are the
result of anxiety resulting from
unresolved conflicts and forces
of which a person might be
unaware
553.
554.
555.
556.
557.
psychobiology
Psychodynamically
Psycholinguistics
psychologist
psychology
study that focuses on
biological foundations of
behavior and mental
processes; overlaps with
neuroscience
560.
Psychophysics
Subfield of psychology that focuses on the
relationship between physical stimuli and
people's conscious experiences of them.
561.
Psychosurgery
Brain surgery used in the past to alleviate
symptoms of serious mental disorders.
562.
Psychotherapy
The treatment of emotional or behavior
problems through psychological
techniques.
563.
Psychotic
suffering from a gross impairment in
reality testing that interferes with the
ability to meet the ordinary demands of
life.
564.
Puberty
The period during which the reproductive
system matures; it begins with an increase
in the production of sex hormones, which
signals the end of childhood
565.
Punishment
Process of presenting an undesirable or
noxious stimulus, or removing a desirable
stimulus, to decrease the probability that a
preceding response will recur
566.
pupil
small opeing in iris that is smaller in
bright light and larger in darkness
random
sample
selection of a part of the population
without reason; participation is by chance
568.
range
the spread between the highest and the
lowest scores in a distribution
569.
Rape
Forcible sexual assault on an unwilling
partner.
Rapid Eye
Movement
Sleep
Stage of sleep characterized by highfrequency, low-amplitude brain-wave
activity, rapid and systematic eye
movements, more vivid dreams, and
postural muscle paralysis
Rationalemotive
therapy
A cognitive behavior therapy that
emphasizes the importance of logical,
rational thought processes.
567.
570.
Therapies that use approaches
or techniques derived from
Freud, but that reject or modify
some elements of Freud's
theory.
571.
The study of how language is
acquired, perceived,
understood, and produced.
572.
Rationalization
professional who studies
behavior and uses behavioral
principles in scientific
research or in applied settings
Defense mechanism by which people
reinterpret undesirable feelings or
behaviors in terms that make them appear
acceptable.
573.
Raw score
the scientific study of behavior
and mental processes
A test score that has not been transformed
or converted in any way
574.
Raymond
Cattell
intelligence: fluid & crystal intelligence;
personality testing: 16 Personality Factors
(16PF personality test)
Reactance
The negative response evoked when there
is an inconsistency between a person's
self-image as being free to choose and the
person's realization that someone is trying
to force him or her to choose a particular
occurrence.
558.
psychometrician
focuses on methods of
acquiring and analyzing data
559.
Psychoneuroimmunology
An interdisciplinary area of
study that includes behavioral,
neurological, and immune
factors and their relationship
to the development of disease
575.
576.
577.
578.
579.
580.
581.
582.
583.
584.
585.
586.
587.
588.
589.
590.
591.
Reaction
Formation
Defense mechanism by which people behave in
a way opposite to what their true but anxietyprovoking feelings would dictate.
Reasoning
The purposeful process by which a person
generates logical and coherent ideas, evaluates
situations, and reaches conclusions.
recency
effect
the more accurate recall of items presented at
the end of a series
Receptive
fields
Areas of the retina that, when stimulated,
produce a change in the firing of cells in the
visual system.
receptor
site
a location on a receptor neurons which is like a
key to a lock (with a specific nerve transmitter);
allows for orderly pathways
recessive
gene
member of the gene terror that controls the
appearance of a certain trait only if it is paired
with the same gene
Reflex
Automatic behavior that occurs involuntarily in
response to a stimulus and without prior
learning and usually shows little variability
from instance to instance
refractory
period
after firing when a neuron will not fire again no
matter how strong the incoming message may
be
Regression
A return to a prior stage after a person has
progressed through the various stages of
development; caused by anxiety.
rehearsal
process of repeatedly verbalizing, thinking
about, or otherwise acting on or transforming
information in order to keep that information
active in memory
Reinforcer
Any event that increases the probability of a
recurrence of the response that preceded it
relative
refractory
period
a period after firing when a neuron is returning
to its normal polarize state and will only fire
again if the incoming message open
parentheses impulse) is stronger than usual;
returning to arresting state
Reliability
Ability of a test to yield very similar scores for
the same individual over repeated testings
REM
(rapid eye
movement)
sleep
sleep stage when the eyes move about, during
which vivid dreams occur; brain very active but
skeletal muscles paralyzed
René
Descartes
17t century French philosopher. Famously
known for writing "cogito ergo sum" ("I think,
therefore I am"). Wrote about concept of
dualism.
replication
Representative
sample
A sample that reflects the characteristics of
the population from which it is drawn
Representative
sample
A sample of individuals who match the
population with whom they are being
compared with regard to key variables such
as socioeconomic status and age
representative
sample
selection of a part of the population which
mirrors the current demographics
Repression
Defense mechanism by which anxietyprovoking thoughts and feelings are forced
to the unconscious.
Residual type
of
schizophrenia
a schizophrenic disorder in which the
person exhibits inappropriate affect,
illogical thinking, and/or eccentric
behavior but seems generally in touch with
reality.
597.
Resilience
The extent to which people are flexible and
respond adaptively to external or internal
demands
598.
Resistance
In psychoanalysis, an unwillingness to
cooperate, which a patient signals by
showing a reluctance to provide the
therapist with information or to help the
therapist understand or interpret a
situation.
Resolution
Phase
the fourth phase of the sexual response
cycle, following orgasm, during which the
body returns to its resting, or normal state
response bias
preconceived notions of a person
answering [a survey] which may alter the
experiments purpose
resting
potential
when a neuron is in polarization; more
negative ions are inside the neuron cell
membrane with a positive ions on the
outside, causing a small electrical charge;
release of this charge generates a neuron's
impulse (signal/message)
reticular
formation
(RF) (RES)
netlike system of neurons that weaves
through limbic system and plays an
important role in attention, arousal, and
alert functions; arouses and alerts higher
parts of the brain; anesthetics work by
temporary shutting off RF system
603.
retina
light-sensitive surface on back of eye
containing rods and cones
604.
retrieval
process by which stored information is
recovered from memory
retroactive
interference
newly learned information interferes with
the ability to recall previously learned
information
retrograde
amnesia
loss of memory of events and experiences
that preceded an amnesia-causing event
592.
593.
594.
595.
596.
599.
600.
601.
602.
605.
the repetition of an experiment to test the
validity of its conclusion
606.
607.
608.
609.
610.
611.
612.
613.
614.
Robert
Rosenthal
social psychology; focus on nonverbal
communication, self-fulfilling prophecies;
Studies: Pygmalion Effect-effect of teacher's
expectations on students
Robert
Sternberg
intelligence; devised the Triarchic Theory of
Intelligence (academic problem-solving,
practical, and creative)
622.
623.
Robert
Yerkes
intelligence, comparative; Yerkes-Dodson law:
level of arousal as related to performance
Robert
Zajonc
motivation; believes that we invent explanations
to label feelings
624.
rods
photoreceptors that detect black, white, and
gray, and movement; used for vision in dim light
625.
Rooting
reflex
Reflex that causes a newborn to turn the head
toward a light touch on lips or cheek
Rosenhan
Psychopathology and Social Psychology; effects
of labeling; Rosenhan and colleagues checked
selves into mental hospitals with symptoms of
hearing voices say "empty, dull and thud."
Diagnosed with schizophrenia. After entered,
acted normally. Never "cleared" of diagnosis.
Roles and labels in treating people differently.
Rosenthal
&
Jacobson
Intelligence and learning, self-fulfilling
prophecy; Study Basics: Researchers misled
teachers into believing that certain students had
higher IQs. Teachers changed own behaviors
and effectively raised the IQ of the randomly
chosen students
626.
627.
628.
629.
615.
Saccades
Rapid voluntary movements of the eyes.
630.
616.
sample
a group of participants who are assumed to be
representative of the population about which an
inference is being made
631.
The depth and richness of a hue determined by
determined by the homogeneity of the
wavelengths contained in the reflected light;
also known as purity.
632.
617.
Saturation
SchachterSinger
theory of
emotion
we determine our emotion based on our
physiological arousal, then label that emotion
according to our explanation for that arousal
619.
Schema
In Piaget's view, a specific mental structure; an
organized way of interacting with the
environment and experiencing it- a
generalization a child makes based on
comparable occurences of various actins, usally
physical, motor actions
620.
schema
framework of basic ideas about people, objects
and events based on past experience in longterm memory
schema
a conceptual framework that organizes
information and allows a person to make sense
of the world
618.
621.
633.
634.
635.
Schizophrenic
disorders
a group of psychological disorders
characterized by a lack of reality testing
and by deterioration of social and
intellectual functioning and personality
beginning before age 45 and lasting at
least 6 months
school
psychologist
assesses and counsels students, consults
with educators and parents, and performs
behavioral intervention when necessary
science
way of getting knowledge about the world
based on observation
scientific
method
in psychology, the techniques used to
discover knowledge about human behavior
and mental processes
Secondary
Punisher
Any neutral stimulus that initially has no
intrinsic negative value for an organism
but acquires punishing qualities when
linked with a primary punisher
Secondary
Reinforcer
Any neutral stimulus that initially has no
intrinsic value for an organism but that
becomes rewarding when linked with a
primary reinforcer
Secondary Sex
Characteristics
The genetically determined physical
features that differentiate the sexes but are
not directly involved with reproduction
selection
studies
studies that estimate the hereditability of a
trait by breeding animals with another
animal that has the same trait
selective
attention
focused awareness of only a limited
amount of all you are capable of
experiencing
Self
In Roger's theory of personality, the
perception an individual has of himself or
herself and of his or her relationships to
other people and to various aspects of life.
Selfactualization
In humanistic theory, the final level of
psychological development, in which one
strives to realize one's uniquely human
potential-to achieve everything one is
capable of achieving
Selfactualization
The process of growth and the realization
of individual potential; in the humanistic
view, a final level of psychological
development in which a person attempts to
minimize ill health, be fully functioning,
have a superior perception of reality, and
feel a strong sense of self-acceptance.
selfactualization
the human need to fulfill one's potential
Self-efficacy
The belief that a person can successfully
engage in and execute a specific behavior
Self-efficacy
A person's belief about whether he or she
can successfully engage in and execute a
specific behavior.
Self-fulfilling
prophecy
The creation of a situation that
unintentionally allows personal
expectancies to influence participants
self-fulfilling
prophecy
when a researcher's expectations
unknowingly create a situation that affects
the results
Selfperception
Theory
Approach to attitude formation that assumes
that people infer their attitudes and
emotional states from their behavior.
Self-serving
Bias
People's tendency to ascribe their positive
behaviors to their own internal traits, but
their failures and shortcomings to external,
situational factors.
Selye's
General
Adaptation
Syndrome
three-stage process which describes the
body's reaction to stress: 1) alarm reaction,
2) resistance, 3) exahaustion
semantic
memory
memory of ideas, rules, words, and general
concepts about the world
643.
Semantics
The analysis of the meaning of language,
especially of individual words.
644.
Sensation
Process in which the sense organs' receptor
cells are stimulated and relay initial
information to higher brain centers for
further processing.
636.
637.
638.
639.
640.
641.
642.
645.
646.
647.
648.
649.
Sensorimotor
stage
sensory
adaptation
The first of Piaget's four stages of cognitive
development (covering roughly the first 2
years of life), during which the child
develops some motoer coordination skills
and a memory for past events
temporary decrease in sensitivity to a
stimulus that occurs when stimulation is
unchanging
sensory
memory
performs initial encoding; provides brief
storage; also called sensory register
sensory
neurons
afferent neurons; neurons that carry
messages from sensory organs to the brain
and spinal cords
serotonin
neurotransmitter that affects sleep, arousal,
mood, appetite; lack of it is linked with
depression
650.
set point
preset natural body weight, determined by
the number of fat cells in the body
651.
Sex
The biologically based categories of male
and female
652.
Shaping
Selective reinforcement of behaviors that
gradually approach the desired response
shaping
positively reinforcing closer and closer
approximation of a desired behavior to
teach a new behavior
short-term
storage
holds information for processing; fragile;
also called short term memory or working
memory
Signal
Detection
Theory
Theory that holds that an observer's
perception depends not only on the
intensity of a stimulus but also on the
observer's motivation, the criteria he or she
sets for determining that a signal is
present, and on the background noise.
significant
difference
in an experiment, a difference that is
unlikely to have occurred because of chance
alone and is inferred to be most likely due to
the systematic manipulations of variables
by the researcher
657.
Size constancy
Ability of the visual perceptual system to
recognize that an object remains constant
in size regardless of its distance from the
observer or the size of its image on the
retina.
658.
Skinner Box
Named for its developer, B.F. Skinner, a
box that contains a responding mechanism
and a device capable of delivering a
consequence to an animal in the box
whenever it makes the desired response
Social
Categorization
The process of dividing the world into "in"
groups and "out" groups.
Social
Cognition
The process of analyzing and interpreting
events, other people, oneself, and the world
in general.
Social
Facilitation
Change in behavior that occurs when
people believe they are in the presence of
other people.
Social
Influence
The ways people alter the attitudes or
behaviors of others, either directly or
indirectly.
663.
Social Interest
In Adler's theory, a feeling of openness
with all humanity.
664.
Social Loafing
Decrease in effort and productivity that
occurs when an individual works in a group
instead of alone.
665.
Social Need
An aroused condition that directs people to
behave in ways that allow them to feel good
about themselves and others and to
establish and maintain relationships
666.
Social phobia
Anxiety disorder characterized by fear of,
and desire to avoid, situations in which the
person might be exposed to scrutiny by
others and might behave in an
embarrassing or humiliating way.
653.
654.
655.
656.
659.
660.
661.
662.
667.
668.
669.
social
psychologist
focuses on how the individual's behavior
and mental processes are affected by
interactions with other people
Social
Psychology
The scientific study of how people think
about, interact with, influence, and are
influenced by the thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors of other people.
Sociobiology
A discipline based on the premise that
even day-to-day behaviors are determined
by the process of natural selection - that
social behaviors that contribute to the
survival of a species are passed on via the
genes from one generation to the next.
sociocultural
psychology
perspective concerned with how cultural
differences affect behavior
671.
Socrates
Ancient Greek philosopher. Promoted
introspection by saying, "Know thyself."
672.
Solomon Asch
conformity; showed that social pressure
can make a person say something that is
obviously incorrect ; in a famous study in
which participants were shown cards
with lines of different lengths and were
asked to say which line matched the line
on the first card in length
670.
673.
674.
675.
676.
677.
678.
679.
680.
681.
682.
somatic nervous
system
division of peripheral nervous system;
controls voluntary actions
sound
localization
the process by which the location of
sound is determined
Specific phobia
Anxiety disorder characterized by
irrational and persistent fear of a
particular object or situation, along with
a compelling desire to avoid it.
spinal cord
portion of the CNS that carries messages
to the PNS; connects brain to the rest of
the body
Stanford-Binet
intelligence
tests
constructed by Lewis Terman, originally
used ratio IQ (MA/CA x 100); now based
on deviation from mean
Stanley
Milgram
obedience to authority; had participants
administer what they believed were
dangerous electrical shocks to other
participants; wanted to see if Germans
were an aberration or if all people were
capable of committing evil actions
Stanley
Schachter
emotion; stated that in order to experience
emotions, a person must be physically
aroused and know the emotion before you
experience it
statedependent
learning
the tendency to recall information learned
while in a particular physiological state
most accurately when one is in that
physiological state again
687.
statistics
branch of mathematics that deals with
collecting, classifying, and analyzing data
688.
Stereotypes
Fixed, overly simple and often erroneous
ideas about traits, attitudes, and behaviors
of groups of people; stereotypes assume
that all members of a given group are
alike.
689.
Stimulant
A drug that increases alertness, reduces
fatigue, and elevates mood
Stimulus
Discrimination
Process by which an organism learns to
respond only to a specific stimulus and not
to other stimuli
Stimulus
Generalization
Process by which a conditioned response
becomes associated with a stimulus that is
similar but not identical to the original
conditioned stimulus
692.
storage
the process of maintaining or keeping
information readily available; the
locations where information is held
693.
strain studies
studies of hereditability it be a behavioral
traits using animals that have been inbred
to produce strains that are genetically
similar to one another
683.
684.
685.
686.
690.
691.
split brain
patients
people whose corpus callosum has been
surgically severed
Spontaneous
Recovery
Recurrence of an extinguished
conditioned response, usually following a
rest period
sports
psychologist
helps athletes improve their focus,
increase motivation, and deal with
anxiety and fear of failure
694.
Stress
A nonspecific, emotional response to real
or imagined challenges or threats; a result
of a cognitive appraisal by the individual
standard
deviation
a descriptive statistic that measures the
variability of data from the mean of the
sample
695.
Stressor
Standard score
A score that expresses an individual's
position relative to the mean, based on
the standard deviation
An environmental stimulus that affects an
organism in physically or psychologically
injurious ways, usually producing anxiety,
tension, and physiological arousal
696.
structuralism
school of psychological thought that
considered the structure and elements of
conscious experience to be the proper
subject matter of psychology
Standardization
Process of developing uniform procedures
for administering and scoring a test and
for establishing norms
697.
698.
699.
700.
701.
702.
Subgoal
analysis
Heuristic procedure in which a problem is
broken down into smaller steps, each of
which has a subgoal.
Sublimation
Defense mechanism by which people redirect
socially unacceptable impulses toward
acceptable goals.
Subliminal
perception
Perception below the threshold of
awareness.
Substance
Abuser
A person who overuses and relies on drugs to
deal with everyday life
Sucking
reflex
Reflex that causes a newborn to make
sucking motions when a finger or nipple if
placed in the mouth
Superego
In Freud's theory, the moral aspect of mental
functioning comprising the ego ideal (what a
person would ideally like to be) and the
conscience and taught by parents and
society.
Superstitious
Behavior
Behavior learned through coincidental
association with reinforcement
Survey
One of the descriptive methods of research; it
requires construction of a set of questions to
administer to a group of participants
survey
research
the measurement of public opinion through
the use of sampling and questioning
sympathetic
nervous
system
a branch of the autonomic nervous system
and prepares the body for quick action in
emergencies; "fight or flight"
Symptom
substitution
The appearance of one overt symptom to
replace another that has been eliminated by
treatment.
708.
synapse
the space between two neurons where
neurotransmitters are secreted by terminal
buttons and received by dendrites
709.
synaptic cleft
synaptic gap or synaptic space; tiny gap
between the terminal of one neuron and the
dendrites of another neuron (almost never
touch); location of the transfer of an impulse
from one neuron to the next
synaptic
vesicles
tiny oval-shaped sacs in a terminal of one
neuron; assist in transferring mineral
impulse from one neuron to another neuron
by releasing specific neurotransmitters
703.
704.
705.
706.
707.
710.
711.
Syntax
The way words and groups of words combine
to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Systematic
desensitization
A three-stage counterconditioning
procedure in which people are taught to
relax when confronting stimuli that
forming elicited anxiety.
713.
Temperament
Early-emerging and long-lasting
individual differences in disposition and in
the intensity and especially the quality of
emotional reactions
714.
temporal lobes
main area for hearing, understanding
language (Wernicke's area),
understanding music; smell
715.
Teratogen
Substance that can produce developmental
malformations (birth defects) during the
prenatal period
terminal
buttons (axon
terminals)
ends of axons that secrete
neurotransmitters
717.
thalamus
motor sensory relay center for four of the
five senses; and with a brain stem and
composed of two egg-shaped structures;
integrates in shades incoming sensory
signals; Mnemonic-"don't smell the
llamas because the llamas smell bad"
718.
Thanatology
The study of the psychological and medical
aspects of death and dying
719.
theory
a collection of interrelated ideas and facts
put forward to describe, explain, and
predict behavior and mental processes
720.
Theory of mind
An understanding of mental states such as
feelings, desires, beliefs, and intentions
and of the causal role they play in human
behavior
721.
thyroid gland
located in neck; regulates metabolism by
secreting thyroxine
722.
thyroxine
released by thyroid; hormone that
regulates the body's metabolism;
OVERACTIVE-over-excitability,
insomnia, reduced attention span, fatigue,
snap decisions, reduced concentration
(hyperthyroidism); UNDERACTIVE-desire
to sleep, constantly tired, weight gain
(hypothyroidism)
723.
timbre
the quality of a sound determined by the
purity of a waveform
724.
Time-out
An operant conditioning procedure in
which a person is physically removed from
sources of reinforcement to decrease the
occurrence of undesired behaviors.
725.
Token economy
An operant conditioning procedure in
which individuals who display appropriate
behavior receive tokens that they can
exchange for desirable items or activities.
712.
716.
726.
727.
728.
729.
730.
731.
token economy
Tolerance
operant training system that uses
secondary reinforcers (tokens) to increase
appropriate behavior; learners can
exchange tokens for desired rewards
The characteristic of requiring higher and
higher doses of a drug to produce the same
effect.
744.
unconscious
level of consciousness that includes
unacceptable feelings, wishes, and
thoughts not directly available to
conscious awareness
Undifferentiated
type of
schizophrenia
a schizophrenic disorder that is
characterized by a mixture of symptoms
and does not meet the diagnostic criteria
of any one type.
Trait
Any readily identifiable stable quality that
characterizes how an individual differs
from other individuals.
746.
Validity
Process by which a perceptual system
analyzes stimuli and converts them into
electrical impulses; also known as coding.
Ability of a test to measure what it is
supposed to measure and to predict what
it is supposed to predict
747.
variability
the extent to which scores differ from one
another
748.
variable
a condition or characteristic of a
situation or a person that is subject to
change (it varies) within or across
situations or individuals
Variableinterval
Schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which a
reinforcer (reward) is delivered after
predetermined but varying amounts of
time, provided that the required response
occurs at least once after each interval
Variable-ratio
Schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which a
reinforcer (reward) is delivered after a
predetermined but variable number of
responses has occurred
751.
Vasocongestion
In the sexual response cycle,
engorgement of the blood vessels,
particularly in the genital area, due to
increased blood flow
752.
vestibular sense
body sense of equilibrium and balance
753.
visual acuity
sharpness of vision
754.
Visual cortex
The most important area of the brain's
occipital lobe, which receives and further
processes information from the lateral
geniculate nucleus; also known as the
striate cortex.
Von Restorff
effect
occurs when recall is better for a
distinctive item, even if it occurs in the
middle of a list
Vulnerability
A person's diminished ability to deal
with demanding life events.
Walter B.
Cannon
motivation; believed that gastric activity
as in empty stomach, was the sole basis
for hunger; did research that inserted
balloons in stomachs
Transduction
triarchic
theory of
intelligence
Robert Sternberg's theory that describes
intelligence as having analytic, creative
and practical dimensions
Trichromatic
theory
Visual theory, stated by Young and
Helmholtz that all colors can be made by
mixing the three basic colors: red, green,
and blue; a.k.a the Young-Helmholtz
theory.
736.
Trichromats
People who can perceive all three primary
colors and thus can distinguish any hue.
737.
twin studies
studies as identical and rhetorical twins to
determine relative influence of heredity and
environment on human behavior
738.
Freud's level of mental life that consists
of mental activities beyond people's
normal awareness.
information processing guided by preexisting knowledge or expectations to
construct perceptions
Psychoanalytic phenomenon in which a
therapist becomes the object of a patient's
emotional attitudes about an important
person in the patient's life, such as a
parent.
735.
Unconscious
top-down
processing
Transference
734.
743.
cognition; studied rats and discovered the
"cognitive map" in rats and humans
occurs when initial processing of
information is similar to the process of
retrieval; the better the match, the better
the recall
733.
Stimulus that normally produces a
measurable involuntary response
Tolman
transfer
appropriate
processing
732.
Unconditioned
Stimulus
742.
Type A
behavior
Behavior pattern characterized by
competitiveness, impatience, hostility, and
constant efforts to do more in less time
Type B
behavior
Behavior pattern exhibited by people who
are calmer, more patient, and less hurried
than Type A individuals
Types
Personality categories in which broad
collections of traits are loosely tied together
and interrelated.
745.
749.
750.
755.
739.
756.
740.
741.
Unconditioned
Response
Unlearned or involuntary response to an
unconditioned stimulus
757.
Wechsler
intelligence tests
three age individual IQ tests: WPPSI (children), WISC (children), WAIS (adults)
759.
Wernicke's area
located in left temporal lobe; plays role in understanding language and making meaningful sentences
760.
Wilhelm Wundt
structuralism; in 1879 founded first psychology laboratory in world at University of Leipzig; introspection, basic
units of experience
761.
William Dement
Sleep researcher who discovered and coined the phrase "rapid eye movement" (REM) sleep.
762.
William James
founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment
763.
William Sheldon
personality; theory that linked personality to physique on the grounds that both are governed by genetic
endowment: endomorphic (large), mesomorphic (average), and ectomorphic (skinny)
Withdrawal
Symptoms
The Reaction experienced when a substance abuser stops using a drug with dependence properties
765.
Wolpe
learning; systematic desensitization
766.
working memory
Temporarily holds current or recent information for immediate or short-term use; Information is maintained for 2030 seconds while active processing (e.g., rehearsal) takes place
Working
through
In psychoanalysis, the repetitive cycle of interpretation, resistance to interpretation, and transference.
Zajonc &
Markus
intelligence and development; discovered that first born and only children tend to have higher IQs than latter born
children
zone of proximal
development
the range between the level at which a child can solve a problem working alone with difficulty, and the level at
which a child can solve a problem with the assistance of adults or children with more skill
Zygote
A fertilized egg
758.
764.
767.
768.
769.
770.