| Term | Definition |
|---|
| psychology | the scientific study of behavior and mental processes |
| behavior | an observable action |
| monism | seeing mind and body as different aspects of the same thing |
| dualism | seeing mind and body as two different things that interact |
| eclectic | use of techniques and ideas from a variety of approaches |
| empiricism | the view that knowledge should be acquired through observation and often an experiment |
| science | way of getting knowledge about the world based on observation |
| theory | a collection of interrelated ideas and facts put forward to describe, explain, and predict behavior and mental processes |
| scientific method | in psychology, the techniques used to discover knowledge about human behavior and mental processes |
| hypothesis | a tentative statement or idea expressing a causal relationship between two events or variables that is to be evaluated in a research study |
| experiment | a procedure in which a researcher systematically manipulates and observes elements of a situation in order to test a hypothesis and make a cause-and-effect statement |
| 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 |
| dependent variable | the variable in a controlled experiment that is expected to change due to the manipulation of the independent variable |
| experimental group | in an experiment, the group of participants to whom a treatment is given |
| control group | subjects and not exposed to a changing variable in an experiment |
| variable | a condition or characteristic of a situation or a person that is subject to change (it varies) within or across situations or individuals |
| sample | a group of participants who are assumed to be representative of the population about which an inference is being made |
| random sample | selection of a part of the population without reason; participation is by chance |
| operational definition | a definition of a variable in terms of the set of methods or procedures used to measure or study that variable |
| participant | an individual who takes part in an experiment and whose behavior is observed as part of the data collection process |
| double-blind procedure | technique in which neither the persons involved for those conducting the experiment know in what group to participate is involved |
| debriefing | a procedure to inform participants about the true nature of an experiment after its completion |
| ethics | rules of proper and acceptable conduct that investigators use to guide psychological research |
| ethnocentrism | tendency to believe that one's own group is the standard, the reference point by which other people and groups should be judged |
| case study | a highly detailed description of a single individual or a vent |
| ex post facto study | describes differences between groups of participants that differ naturally on a variable such as race or gender |
| naturalistic observation | observing and recording behavior naturally without trying to manipulate and control the situation |
| correlational research | establish the relationship between two variables |
| survey research | the measurement of public opinion through the use of sampling and questioning |
| experimenter bias | expectation of the person conducting an experiment which may be affect the outcome |
| observer bias | expectations of an observer which may distort an authentic observation |
| response bias | preconceived notions of a person answering [a survey] which may alter the experiments purpose |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| placebo | typically a pill that is used as a control in the experiment; a sugar pill |
| pseudoscience | an unscientific system which pretends to discover psychological information that his means are unscientific or deliberately fraudulent |
| representative sample | selection of a part of the population which mirrors the current demographics |
| 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 |
| self-fulfilling prophecy | when a researcher's expectations unknowingly create a situation that affects the results |
| statistics | branch of mathematics that deals with collecting, classifying, and analyzing data |
| descriptive statistics | general set of procedures used to summarize, condense, and describe sets of data |
| 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 |
| measure of central tendency | a descriptive statistic that tells which result or score best represents an entire set of scores |
| mean | the arithmetic average of a set of scores |
| median | the measure of central tendency that is the data point with 50% of the scores above it and 50% below it |
| mode | the most frequently occurring score in a set of data |
| range | the spread between the highest and the lowest scores in a distribution |
| correlation coefficient | a number that expresses the degree and direction of the relationship between 2 variables, ranging from -1 to +1 |
| inferential statistics | procedures used to draw conclusions about larger populations from small samples of data |
| 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 |
| standard deviation | a descriptive statistic that measures the variability of data from the mean of the sample |
| variability | the extent to which scores differ from one another |
| structuralism | school of psychological thought that considered the structure and elements of conscious experience to be the proper subject matter of psychology |
| 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 |
| functionalism | school of psychological thought that was concerned with how and why the conscious mind works |
| 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 |
| Gestalt psychology | school of psychological thought that argued that behavior cannot be studied in parts but must be viewed a s whole |
| behaviorism | perspective that defines psychology as the study of behavior that is directly observable or through assessment instruments |
| cognitive psychology | perspective that focuses on the mental processes involved in perception, learning, memory, and thinking |
| humanistic psychology | perspective that emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual and the idea that humans have free will |
| self-actualization | the human need to fulfill one's potential |
| sociocultural psychology | perspective concerned with how cultural differences affect behavior |
| 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 |
| positive psychology | in emerging Theo psychology that focuses on positive experiences; includes subjective well-being, self-determination, the relationship between positive emotions and physical health, and the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to boorish |
| psychologist | professional who studies behavior and uses behavioral principles in scientific research or in applied settings |
| clinical psychologist | psychologist who treats people serious psychological problems or conducts research into the causes of behavior |
| counseling psychologist | psychologist who treats people with adjustment problems |
| psychiatrist | a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders |
| psychoanalyst | one who uses psychoanalysis to treat psychological problems |
| developmental psychologist | studies psychological development across the lifespan |
| educational psychologist | focuses on how effective teaching and learning take place |
| engineering psychologist | does research on how people function best with machines |
| forensic psychologist | applies psychological concepts to legal issues |
| health psychologist | focuses on psychological factors in illness |
| industrial/organizational psychologist | applies psychological principles to the workplace to improve productivity and the quality of work life |
| neuropsychologist | concerned with the relationship between brain/nervous system and behavior |
| psychometrician | focuses on methods of acquiring and analyzing data |
| school psychologist | assesses and counsels students, consults with educators and parents, and performs behavioral intervention when necessary |
| social psychologist | focuses on how the individual's behavior and mental processes are affected by interactions with other people |
| sports psychologist | helps athletes improve their focus, increase motivation, and deal with anxiety and fear of failure |
| confounding variable | anything that causes a difference between the IV and the DV other than the independent variable |
| demand characteristics | clues participants discover about the purpose of a study that suggest how they should respond |
| 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 |
| percentile score | the percentage of scores at or below a certain score |
| refractory period | after firing when a neuron will not fire again no matter how strong the incoming message may be |
| acetylcholine (ACh) | neurotransmitter that causes contraction of skeletal muscles; lack of Ach linked with Alzheimer's disease; |
| 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 |
| ACTH (arenocorticotropic hormone) | released by adrenal glands; triggered by norepinephrine to prolong the response to stress (used in the sympathetic nervous system) |
| 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 |
| all-or-none principle | the law that the neuron either fires at 100% or not at all |
| amygdala | part of the limbic system; influences emotions such as aggression, fear, and self-protective behaviors |
| aphasia | inability to understand or use language |
| 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 |
| autonomic nervous system | a division of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary functions; made up of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems |
| axon terminal | terminal button, synaptic knob; the structure at the end of an excellent terminal branch; houses the synaptic vesicles and neurotransmitters |
| axon | a single long, fiber that carries outgoing messages to other neurons, muscles, or glands |
| behavioral genetics | study of hereditary influences and how it influences behavior and thinking |
| brain | portion of the CNS above the spinal cord; consists of hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain |
| brainstem | top of the spinal column |
| Broca's area | located in left frontal lobe; controls production of speech |
| central nervous system | the brain and spinal cord |
| cerebellum | part of the brain that coordinates balance, movement, reflexes |
| (cerebral) cortex | wrinkled outer portion of brain; center for higher order brain functions such as thinking, planning, judgment; processes sensory information and directs movement |
| chromosome | threadlike structure within the nucleus of cells that contain genes |
| computerized axial tomography (CT scan) | creates a computerized image using x-rays passed through the brain |
| convolutions | the folds in the cerebral cortex that increase the surface area of the brain |
| 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 |
| dendrites | branching extensions of neuron that receives messages from neighboring neurons |
| 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 |
| dopamine | neurotransmitter that influences voluntary movement, attention, alertness; lack of dopamine linked with Parkinson's disease; too much is linked with schizophrenia |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| excitatory neurotransmitter | chemical secreted at terminal button that causes the neuron on the other side of the synapse to fire |
| 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 |
| forebrain | top of the brain which includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, and cerebral cortex; responsible for emotional regulation, complex thought, memory aspect of personality |
| fraternal twins | twins from two separate fertilized eggs (zygotes); share half of the same genes |
| frontal lobes | control emotional behaviors, make decisions, carry out plans; speech (Broca's area); controls movement of muscles |
| functional MRI (fMRI) | shows brain activity at higher reolution than PET scan when changes in oxygen concentration in neurons alters its magnetic qualities |
| GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) | neurotransmitter that inhibits firing of neurons; linked with Huntington's disease |
| gene | a DNA segment on a chromosome that controls transmission of traits |
| genetics | study of how traits are transmitted from one generation to the next |
| genotype | an individual's genetic make-up |
| 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 |
| gonads | reproductive glands-male, testes; female, ovaries |
| 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 |
| heritability | the proportion of variation among individuals that is due to genetic causes |
| hindbrain | division which includes the cerebellum, Pons, and medulla; responsible for involuntary processes: blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, breathing, sleep cycles |
| hippocampus | part of the limbic system and is involved in learning and forming new long-term memories |
| hormone | chemical that carries messages that travel through the bloodstream to help regulate bodily functions |
| human genomes | 30,000 genes needed to build a human |
| 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 |
| identical twins | twins from a single fertilized egg (zygote) with the same genetic makeup; also called monozygotic (MZ) twins |
| inhibitory neurotransmitter | chemical secreted at terminal button that prevents (or reduces ability of) the neuron on the other side of the synapse from firing |
| 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 |
| interneurons | nerve cell that transmits messages between sensory and motor neurons |
| ions | electrically charged particles found both inside and outside a neuron; negative ions are found inside the cell membrane in a polarized neuron |
| 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 |
| magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) | creates a computerized image using a magnetic field and pulses of radio waves |
| medulla (also medulla oblongata) | part of the brain which controls living functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| myelin sheath | a white, fatty covering of the axon which speeds transmission of message |
| nature-nurture controversy | deals with the extent to which heredity and the environment each influence behavior |
| nerve | bundles of axons |
| 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) |
| neural plasticity | Ability of the brain to change their experience, both structurally and chemically |
| neurogenesis | production of new brain cells; November 1988: cancer patients proved that new neurons grew until the end of life |
| 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 |
| neuroscience | study of the brain and nervous system; overlaps with psychobiology |
| neurotransmitters | chemical messengers released by terminal buttons into the synapse |
| 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 |
| occipital lobes | primary area for processing visual information |
| pancreas | organ lying between the stomach and small intestine; regulates blood sugar by secreting to regulating hormones insulin and glucagon |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| peripheral nervous system | 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 |
| phenotype | the expression of genes |
| pineal gland | endocrine gland that produces melatonin that helps regulate sleep/wake cycle |
| 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" |
| polarization | 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 |
| polygenic inheritance | process by which several genes interact to produce a certain trait; responsible for most important traits |
| pons | part of the brain involved in sleep/wake cycles; also connects cerebellum and medulla to the cerebral cortex |
| positron emission tomography (PET scan) | shows brain activity when radioactively tagged glucose rushes to active neurons |
| psychobiology | study that focuses on biological foundations of behavior and mental processes; overlaps with neuroscience |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| selection studies | studies that estimate the hereditability of a trait by breeding animals with another animal that has the same trait |
| 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 |
| somatic nervous system | division of peripheral nervous system; controls voluntary actions |
| spinal cord | portion of the CNS that carries messages to the PNS; connects brain to the rest of the body |
| 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 |
| sympathetic nervous system | a branch of the autonomic nervous system and prepares the body for quick action in emergencies; "fight or flight" |
| synapse | the space between two neurons where neurotransmitters are secreted by terminal buttons and received by dendrites |
| 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 |
| temporal lobes | main area for hearing, understanding language (Wernicke's area), understanding music; smell |
| terminal buttons (axon terminals) | ends of axons that secrete neurotransmitters |
| 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" |
| thyroid gland | located in neck; regulates metabolism by secreting thyroxine |
| 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) |
| twin studies | studies as identical and rhetorical twins to determine relative influence of heredity and environment on human behavior |
| Wernicke's area | located in left temporal lobe; plays role in understanding language and making meaningful sentences |
| nature | a person's inherited traits, determined by genetics |
| nurture | a person's experiences in the environment |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| adaptation | a trait or inherited characteristic that has increased in a population because it solved a problem of survival or reproduction |
| 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 |
| agonist | chemical that mimics or facilitates the actions of a neurotransmitter |
| antagonist | chemical that opposes the actions of a neurotransmitter |
| hindbrain | the most primitive of the three functional divisions of the brain, consisting of the pons, medulla, reticular formation, and cerebellum |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| split brain patients | people whose corpus callosum has been surgically severed |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| encoding | organizing sensory information so it can be processed by the nervous system |
| levels-of-processing approach | brain encodes information in different ways or on different levels; deeper processing leads to deeper memory |
| encoding specificity principle | retrieval cues that match original information work better |
| transfer appropriate processing | occurs when initial processing of information is similar to the process of retrieval; the better the match, the better the recall |
| storage | the process of maintaining or keeping information readily available; the locations where information is held |
| sensory memory | performs initial encoding; provides brief storage; also called sensory register |
| short-term storage | holds information for processing; fragile; also called short term memory or working memory |
| Lloyd and Margaret Peterson | did work on short-term memory |
| memory span | the number of items a person can reproduce from short-term memory, usually consisting of one or two chunks |
| chunks | manageable and meaningful units of information organized in such a way that it can be easily encoded, stored, and retrieved |
| rehearsal | process of repeatedly verbalizing, thinking about, or otherwise acting on or transforming information in order to keep that information active in memory |
| maintenance rehearsal | repetitive review of information with little or no interpretation |
| elaborative rehearsal | rehearsal involving repletion and analysis, in which a stimulus may be associated with (linked to) other information and further processed |
| working memory | Temporarily holds current or recent information for immediate or short-term use; Information is maintained for 20–30 seconds while active processing (e.g., rehearsal) takes place |
| long-term memory | storage mechanism that keeps a relatively permanent record of memory |
| procedural memory | memory for skills, including perceptual, motor, and cognitive skills required to complete tasks |
| declarative memory | memory for specific information |
| episodic memory | memory of specific personal events and situations (episodes) tagged with information about time |
| semantic memory | memory of ideas, rules, words, and general concepts about the world |
| explicit memory | conscious memory that a person is aware of |
| implicit memory | memory a person is not aware of possessing |
| consolidation | the process of changing a short-term memory to a long-term one |
| retrieval | process by which stored information is recovered from memory |
| ex post facto study | a type of design that contrasts groups of people who differ on some variable of interest to the researcher |
| state-dependent learning | the tendency to recall information learned while in a particular physiological state most accurately when one is in that physiological state again |
| primacy effect | the more accurate recall of items presented at the beginning of a series |
| recency effect | the more accurate recall of items presented at the end of a series |
| imagery | the creation or re-creation of a mental picture of a sensory or perceptual experience |
| schema | a conceptual framework that organizes information and allows a person to make sense of the world |
| decay | loss of information from memory as a result of disuse and the passage of time |
| Von Restorff effect | occurs when recall is better for a distinctive item, even if it occurs in the middle of a list |
| interference | the suppression of one bit of information by another |
| proactive interference | previously learned information interferes with the ability to learn new information |
| retroactive interference | newly learned information interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information |
| amnesia | inability to remember information (typically, all events within a specific period), usually due to physiological trauma |
| retrograde amnesia | loss of memory of events and experiences that preceded an amnesia-causing event |
| anterograde amnesia | loss of memory for events and experiences occurring from the time of an amnesia-causing event forward |
| motivated forgetting | occurs when frightening, traumatic events are forgotten because people want to forget them |
| long-term potentiation | the biochemical processes that make it easier for the neuron to respond again when it has been stimulated |
| flashbulb memories | detailed memory for events surrounding a dramatic event that is vivid and remembered with confidence |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| Concept | Mental category used to classify an event or object according to some distinguishing property or feature. |
| 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. |
| Problem Solving | The behavior of individuals when confronted with a situation or task that requires insight or determination of some unknown elements. |
| Algorithm | Procedure for solving a problem by implementing a set of rules over and over again until the solution is found. |
| Heuristics | Sets of strategies, rather than strict rules, that act as guidelines for discovery-oriented problem solving. |
| Subgoal analysis | Heuristic procedure in which a problem is broken down into smaller steps, each of which has a subgoal. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Functional fixedness | Inability to see that an object can have a function other than its stated or usual one. |
| 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. |
| Convergent thinking | In problem solving, the process of narrowing down choices and alternatives to arrive at a suitable answer. |
| Divergent thinking | In problem solving, the process of widening the range of possibilities and expanding the options for solutions. |
| Brainstorming | Problem-solving technique that involves considering all possible solutions without making prior evaluative judgments. |
| Reasoning | The purposeful process by which a person generates logical and coherent ideas, evaluates situations, and reaches conclusions. |
| Logic | The system of principles of reasoning used to reach valid conclusions or make inferences. |
| Decision making | Assessing and choosing among alternatives. |
| 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. |
| Linguistics | The study of language, including speech sounds, meaning, and grammar. |
| Psycholinguistics | The study of how language is acquired, perceived, understood, and produced. |
| Phonology | The study of the patterns and distributions of speech sounds in a language and the tacit rules for their pronunciation. |
| Phoneme | A basic or minimum unit of sound in a language. |
| Morpheme | A basic unit of meaning in a language. |
| Semantics | The analysis of the meaning of language, especially of individual words. |
| Syntax | The way words and groups of words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. |
| Grammar | The linguistic description of how a language functions, especially the rules and patterns used for generating appropriate and comprehensible sentences. |
| Naturalistic observation | A descriptive research method in which researchers study behavior in its natural context. |
| Consciousness | The general state of being aware of and responsive to events in the environment, as well as one's own mental processes |
| Circadian Rhythms | Internally generated patterns of body functions, including hormonal signals, sleep, blood pressure, and temperature regulation, which have approximately a 24-hour cycle and occur even in the absence of normal cues about whether it is day or night |
| Electroencephalogram (EEG) | Graphical record of brain-wave activity obtained through electrodes placed on the scalp and forehead |
| Rapid Eye Movement Sleep | Stage of sleep characterized by high-frequency, low-amplitude brain-wave activity, rapid and systematic eye movements, more vivid dreams, and postural muscle paralysis |
| Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep | Four distinct stages of sleep during which no rapid eye movements occur. |
| Insomnia | Problems in going to sleep or maintaining sleep |
| Dream | A state of consciousness that occurs during sleep, usually accompanied by vivid visual, tactile, or auditory imagery. |
| Lucid Dream | Dream in which the dreamer is aware of dreaming while it is happening |
| Manifest Content | The overt story line, characters, and setting of a dream-the obvious, clearly discernible events of the dream |
| Latent Content | The deeper meaning of a dream, usually involving symbolism hidden meaning, and repressed or obscured ideas and wishes |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| Drug | Any chemical substance that, in small amounts, alters biological or cognitive processes or both |
| Psychoactive Drug | A drug that alters behavior, thought, or perception by altering biochemical reactions in the nervous system, thereby affecting consciousness |
| Tolerance | The characteristic of requiring higher and higher doses of a drug to produce the same effect. |
| Dependence | The situation that occurs when the drug becomes part of the body's functioning and produces withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued |
| Blood-Brain Barrier | A mechanism that prevents certain molecule from entering the brain but allows others to cross |
| Sedative-Hypnotic | Any of a class of drugs that relax and calm a user and, in higher doses, induce sleep; also known as a depressant |
| Opiates | Drugs derived from the opium poppy, including opium, morphine, and heroin |
| Stimulant | A drug that increases alertness, reduces fatigue, and elevates mood |
| Psychedelic Drugs | Consciousness-altering drugs that affect moods, thoughts, memory, judgment, and perception and that are consumed for the purpose of producing those results |
| Substance Abuser | A person who overuses and relies on drugs to deal with everyday life |
| Withdrawal Symptoms | The Reaction experienced when a substance abuser stops using a drug with dependence properties |
| Motivation | any internal condition, although usually an internal one, that initates, activates, or maintains an organism's goal directed behavior |
| Drive 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 |
| Drive | an internal aroused condition that directs an organism to satisfy a physiological need |
| Need | State of physiological imbalance usually accompanied by arousal |
| Homeostasis | Maintenance of a constant state of inner stability or balance |
| Conflict | The emotional state or condition that arises when a person must choose between two or more competing motives, behaviors, or impulses |
| Approach-approach conflict | Conflict that results from having to choose between two attractive alternatives |
| Avoidance-avoidance conflict | Conflict that results from having to choose between two distasteful alternatives |
| Approach-avoidance conflict | Conflict that results from having to choose an alternative that has both attractive and unappealing aspects |
| Arousal | Activation of the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and the muscles and glands |
| 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. |
| Expectancy Theories | Explanations of behavior that focus on people's expectations about reaching a goal and their need for achievement as energizing factors |
| Motive | a specific (usually internal) condition, usually involving some form of arousal, which directs an organism's behavior toward a goal. |
| 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 |
| Extrinsic motivation | Motivation supplied by rewards that come from the external environment |
| Intrinsic motivation | Motivation that leads to behaviors engaged in for no apparent reward except the pleasure and satisfaction of the activity itself |
| 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. |
| Humanistic theory | An explanation of behavior that emphasizes the entirety of life rather than individual components of behavior and focuses on human dignity, individual choice, and self-worth |
| Self-actualization | 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 |
| Excitement phase | the first phase of the sexual response cycle during which there are increases in heart rate blood pressure and respiration |
| Vasocongestion | In the sexual response cycle, engorgement of the blood vessels, particularly in the genital area, due to increased blood flow |
| Plateau phase | the second phase of the sexual response cycle, during which physical arousal continues to increase as the partners bodies prepare for orgasm |
| 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 |
| Resolution Phase | the fourth phase of the sexual response cycle, following orgasm, during which the body returns to its resting, or normal state |
| Survey | One of the descriptive methods of research; it requires construction of a set of questions to administer to a group of participants |
| Representative sample | A sample that reflects the characteristics of the population from which it is drawn |
| Need for achievement | A social need that directs a person to strive constantly for excellence and success |
| Self-efficacy | The belief that a person can successfully engage in and execute a specific behavior |
| 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 |
| Appraisal | the evaluation of the significance of a situation or event as it relates to a person's well-being |
| Sensation | Process in which the sense organs' receptor cells are stimulated and relay initial information to higher brain centers for further processing. |
| Perception | Process by which an organism selects and interprets sensory input so that it acquires meaning. |
| Psychophysics | Subfield of psychology that focuses on the relationship between physical stimuli and people's conscious experiences of them. |
| Absolute threshold | The statistically determined minimum level of stimulation necessary to excite a perceptual system. |
| Subliminal perception | Perception below the threshold of awareness. |
| 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. |
| Electromagnetic Radiation | The entire spectrum of waves initiated by the movement of charged particles. |
| Light | The small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. |
| Myopic | Able to see clearly things that are close but having trouble seeing objects at a distance; nearsighted. |
| Hyperopic | Able to see objects at a distance clearly but having trouble seeing things up close; farsighted |
| Photoreceptors | The light-sensitive cells in the retina- the rods and cones. |
| Transduction | Process by which a perceptual system analyzes stimuli and converts them into electrical impulses; also known as coding. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Receptive fields | Areas of the retina that, when stimulated, produce a change in the firing of cells in the visual system. |
| Saccades | Rapid voluntary movements of the eyes. |
| Hue | The psychological property of light referred to as color, determined by the wavelengths of reflected light. |
| Brightness | The lightness or darkness of reflected light, determined in large part by the light's intensity. |
| Saturation | 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. |
| 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. |
| Color Blindness | The inability to perceive different hues. |
| Opponent-process 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. |
| Trichromats | People who can perceive all three primary colors and thus can distinguish any hue. |
| Monochromats | People who cannot perceive any color, usually because their retinas lack cones. |
| Dichromats | People who can distinguish only two of the three basic colors. |
| 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. |
| Learning | Relatively permanent change in an organism that occurs as a result of experiences in the environment |
| Conditioning | Systematic procedure through which associations and responses to specific stimuli are learned |
| Reflex | Automatic behavior that occurs involuntarily in response to a stimulus and without prior learning and usually shows little variability from instance to instance |
| 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 |
| Unconditioned Stimulus | Stimulus that normally produces a measurable involuntary response |
| Unconditioned Response | Unlearned or involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus |
| Conditioned Stimulus | Neutral stimulus that, through repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus, begins to elicit a conditioned response |
| Conditioned Response | Response elicited by a conditioned stimulus |
| Higher-order Conditioning | Process by which a neutral stimulus takes on conditioned properties through pairing with a conditioned stimulus |
| 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 |
| Spontaneous Recovery | Recurrence of an extinguished conditioned response, usually following a rest period |
| Stimulus Generalization | Process by which a conditioned response becomes associated with a stimulus that is similar but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus |
| Stimulus Discrimination | Process by which an organism learns to respond only to a specific stimulus and not to other stimuli |
| 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; |
| 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 |
| Shaping | Selective reinforcement of behaviors that gradually approach the desired response |
| Reinforcer | Any event that increases the probability of a recurrence of the response that preceded it |
| Positive Reinforcement | Presentation of a stimulus after a particular response in order to increase the likelihood that the response will recur |
| Negative Reinforcement | Removal of a stimulus after a particular response to increase the likelihood that the response will recur |
| Primary Reinforcer | Reinforcer that has survival value for an organism; this value does not have to be learned |
| Secondary Reinforcer | Any neutral stimulus that initially has no intrinsic value for an organism but that becomes rewarding when linked with a primary reinforcer |
| Superstitious Behavior | Behavior learned through coincidental association with reinforcement |
| Punishment | Process of presenting an undesirable or noxious stimulus, or removing a desirable stimulus, to decrease the probability that a preceding response will recur |
| Primary Punisher | Any stimulus or event that is naturally painful or unpleasant to an organism |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Fixed-interval 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 |
| Variable-interval 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 |
| Fixed-ratio Schedule | A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer(reward) is delivered after a specified number of responses has occurred |
| Variable-ratio Schedule | A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer (reward) is delivered after a predetermined but variable number of responses has occurred |
| 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 |
| Latent Learning | Learning that occurs in the absence of direct reinforcement and that is not necessarily demonstrated through observable behavior |
| 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 |
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