Jess Kavanagh-
Absolute refractory periodThe period during which a neuron lies dormant after an action potential has been completed.
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Absolute thresholdThe minimum amount of stimulation needed for a person to detect the stimulus 50 percent of the time.
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AccommodationThe process by which the shape of an eye's lens adjusts to focus light from objects nearby or far away. Also: the modification of a schema as new information is incorporated.
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AcetylcholineA neurotransmitter involved in muscle movement, attention, arousal, memory, and emotion.
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Achievement motiveAn impulse to master challenges and reach a high standard of excellence.
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Achievement testsAn assessment that measures skills and knowledge that people have already learned.
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AcronymA word made out of the first letters of several words.
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AcrosticA sentence or phrase in which each word begins with a letter that acts as a memory cue.
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Action potentialA short-lived change in electric charge inside a neuron.
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Activation-synthesis theoryA theory proposing that neurons in the brain activate randomly during REM sleep.
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Active listeningA feature of client-centered th erapy that involves empathetic listening, by which the therapist echoes, restates, and clarifies what the client says.
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AdaptationAn inherited characteristic that increases in a population because it provides a survival or reproductive advantage.
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Adaptive behaviorsBehaviors that increase reproductive success.
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Additive strategyThe process of listing the attributes of each element of a decision, weighing them according to importance, adding them up, and determining which one is more appealing based on the result.
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Adoption studiesStudies in which researchers examine trait similarities between adopted children and their biological and adoptive parents to figure out whether that trait might be inherited.
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Adrenal cortexThe outer part of the adrenal glands, which secretes corticosteroids.
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Adrenal medullaThe inner part of the adrenal glands, which secretes catecholamines.
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Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)A hormone released by the pituitary gland that stimulates release of corticosteroids from the adrenal cortex.
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Afferent nervesBundles of axons that carry information from muscles and sense organs to the central nervous system.
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AfterimageA color we perceive after another color is removed.
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Age of viabilityThe point at which a fetus has some chance of surviving outside the mother if born prematurely.
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AgonistsChemicals that mimic the action of a particular neurotransmitter.
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AgoraphobiaA disorder involving anxiety about situations from which escape would be difficult or embarrassing or places where there might be no help if a panic attack occurred.
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AlgorithmA step-by-step procedure that is guaranteed to solve a problem.
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All-or-none lawStates that neurons fire to generate an action potential only if stimulation reaches a minimum threshold.
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Alpha wavesType of brain waves present when a person is very relaxed or meditating.
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Alternate-forms reliabilityThe ability of a test to produce the same results when two different versions of it are given to the same group of people.
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Ambiguous languageLanguage that can be understood in several ways.
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AmplitudeThe height of a wave.
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AmygdalaA part of the limbic system of the brain that is involved in regulating aggression and emotions, particularly fear.
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AnimismThe belief that inanimate objects are alive.
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Anorexia nervosaA disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a body weight in the normal range, intense fear about gaining weight, and highly distorted body image.
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AntagonistsChemicals that block the action of a particular neurotransmitter.
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Anterograde amnesiaAn inability to remember events that occurred after a brain injury or traumatic event.
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Antisocial personality disorderA disorder characterized by a lack of conscience and lack of respect for other people's rights, feelings, and needs, beginning by age fifteen.
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AppraisalThe process of evaluating an environmental challenge to determine whether resources are available for dealing with it.
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Approach-approach conflictA conflict between two desirable alternatives.
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Approach-avoidance conflictA conflict that arises when a situation has both positive and negative features.
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Aptitude testsAn assessment that predicts people's future ability to acquire skills or knowledge.
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ArchetypesImages or thoughts that have the same meaning for all human beings.
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AssimilationThe broadening of an existing schema to include new information.
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AtherosclerosisHardening of arteries because of cholesterol deposits.
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AttachmentThe close bond between babies and their caregivers.
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Attachment stylesTypes of attachment, which include secure attachment, anxious-ambivalent attachment, and avoidant attachment.
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AttitudesEvaluations people make about objects, ideas, events, or other people.
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AttributionsInferences people make about the causes of events and behavior.
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Atypical antipsychotic drugsA new class of antipsychotic drugs that are effective for treating negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia. They target the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine.
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Auditory nerveA nerve that sends impulses from the ear to the brain.
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Automatic thoughtsSelf-defeating judgments people make about themselves.
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Autonomic nervous systemThe part of the peripheral nervous system connected to the heart, blood vessels, glands, and smooth muscles.
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Availability heuristicA rule-of-thumb strategy in which people estimate probability based on how quickly they remember relevant instances of an event.
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Avoidance-avoidance conflictA conflict that arises when a choice must be made between two undesirable alternatives.
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Avoidant personality disorderA disorder involving social withdrawal, low self-esteem, and extreme sensitivity to being evaluated negatively.
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Aversion therapyA therapy in which a stimulus that evokes an unpleasant response is paired with a stimulus that evokes a maladaptive behavior.
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AxonA fiber that extends from a neuron and sends signals to other neurons.
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BabblingA producton of sounds that resemble many different languages.
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Basal metabolic rateThe rate at which energy is used when a person is at complete rest.
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Basilar membraneA membrane in the inner ear that runs along the length of the cochlea.
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Behavior geneticsThe study of behavior and personality differences among people.
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Behavior therapiesTreatments involving complex conversations between therapists and clients that are aimed at directly influencing maladaptive behaviors through the use of learning principles.
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Belief perseveranceThe process of rejecting evidence that refutes one's beliefs.
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BenzodiazepinesA class of antianxiety drugs. They are also called tranquilizers.
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Beta wavesThe type of brain waves present when a person is awake and alert.
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BiasThe distortion of results by a variable that is not part of the hypothesis.
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Big FiveFive basic personality traits from which other traits are derived. They include neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
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Binocular cuesDepth perception cues that require both eyes.
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Biological rhythmsPeriodic physiological changes.
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Biomedical therapiesTreatments that involve efforts to directly alter biological functioning through medication, electric shocks, or surgery.
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Biopsychosocial model of illnessThe idea that physical illness is the result of a complicated interaction among biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.
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Bipolar disordersDisorders in which people alternate between periods of depression and mania.
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Blood-brain barrierA membrane that lets some substances from the blood into the brain but keeps out others.
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Borderline personality disorderA disorder characterized by impulsive behavior and unstable relationships, emotions, and self-image.
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BrainThe main organ in the nervous system.
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Brain wavesTracings that show the electrical activity of the brain.
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Broca's areaA part of the brain, in the left frontal lobe, that is involved in speech production.
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Bulimia nervosaA disorder involving binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as vomiting, fasting, excessive exercise, or use of laxatives, diuretics, and other medications to control body weight.
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Bystander effectThe tendency of people to be less likely to offer help to someone who needs it if other people are also present.
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Cannon-Bard theoryThe idea that the experience of emotion happens at the same time that physiological arousal happens.
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Case studyA research method in which an individual subject is studied in depth.
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Castration anxietyThe fear a male child has that his father will cut off his penis for desiring his mother.
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Catatonic typeA subtype of schizophrenia characterized by unnatural movement patterns such as rigid, unmoving posture or continual, purposeless movements, or by unnatural speech patterns such as absence of speech or parroting of other people's speech.
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CatecholaminesHormones released by the adrenal medulla in response to stress.
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CatharsisThe release of tension that results when repressed thoughts or memories move into a patient's conscious mind.
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Central nervous systemThe part of the nervous system that includes the brain and the spinal cord.
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CentrationThe tendency to focus on one aspect of a problem and ignore other key aspects.
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CerebellumA part of the hindbrain that controls balance and coordination of movement.
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Cerebrospinal fluidThe fluid that cushions and nourishes the brain.
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CerebrumThe largest part of the brain, involved in abstract thought and learning.
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ChromosomesThin strands of DNA that contain genes.
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ChunkingThe process of combining small bits of information into bigger, familiar pieces.
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CiliaHair cells that are embedded in the basilar membrane of the ear.
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CingulotomyA surgical procedure that involves destruction of part of the frontal lobes. It is sometimes done to treat severe disorders that do not respond to other treatments.
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Circadian rhythmsBiological cycles that occur about every twenty-four hours.
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Classical conditioningA type of learning in which a subject comes to respond to a neutral stimulus as he would to another stimulus by learning to associate the two stimuli. It can also be called respondent conditioning or Pavlovian conditioning.
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Client-centered therapyA humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, that aims to help clients increase self-acceptance and personal growth by providing a supportive emotional environment.
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ClosureThe tendency to interpret familiar, incomplete forms as complete by filling in gaps.
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CochleaA coiled tunnel in the inner ear that is filled with fluid.
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CognitionThinking. It involves mental activities such as understanding, problem solving, decision making, and creativity.
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Cognitive appraisalThe idea that people's experience of emotion depends on the way they appraise or evaluate the events around them.
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Cognitive developmentThe development of thinking capacity.
