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GCSE - Psychology

Terms in this set (138)

Activation-Synthesis Model
A model of dreaming proposed by Hobson and McCarley where the brain is active but no sensory information is coming into it. The brain puts the information it has together to make sense of it and this is the dream.
Acupuncture
A therapy that uses needles and particular points in the body. It rests on ancient Chinese knowledge and understanding of the body.
Adaptive
A structure or behaviour that makes an individual more likely to survive.
ADHD (Attention-Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder)
Where a child does not attend well to classwork, is hyperactive, tends to be forgetful, impulsive and easily distracted.
Adrenal Glands
Pair of glands that release hormones, one of which is testosterone.
Aggression
Angry or violent behaviour or attitude.
Aim
A statement of what a study is being carried out to find.
Ambiguous Figure
A stimulus with two possible interpretations, in which it is possible to perceive only one of the alternatives at any time.
Amygdala
A brain structure involved in aggression.
Antennae
The feelers on the head of an animal such as a moth or cockroach.
Anxiety
A state of fear or worry.
Association
The link between the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus that makes the neutral stimulus cause the same response.
Authoritarian
A style of government where society's members have little input and have to accept the government's decisions.
Axon
The 'cable' that leads from a cell body of a neutron down to the terminal buttons that hold the neurotransmitter.
Bar Chart
A graph with separate bars, usually there is one bar for each condition in an experiment.
Bias
When decisions are not fair because of something in the situation or person's thinking, such as a repsonse bias to a questionnaire.
Binocular Depth Cues
Information about distance that needs two eyes, such as stereopsis.
Blindspot
The area of the retina where the optic nerve leaves. It has no rods of cones so cannot detect light.
British Psychological Society (BPS)
The society that governs psychology in Britain and controls the profession.
Case Study
A research method studying an individual or a small group and gathering in-depth and detailed information using different means.
Castration
Surgical removal of testicles.
Cell Body
The inner core of a neuron where the impulse starts from.
Censorship
Preventing information from being circulated in some way.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The brain and the spinal column.
Chromosome Abnormality
A mutation of genetic material that results in a change in the number or structure of chromosomes.
Circadian Rhythm Disorders
Problems with the body's 24-hour-sleep-wake cycle.
Classic/Pavlovian Conditioning
A learning process which builds up an association between two stimuli through repeating pairings.
Claustrophobia
Fear of closed spaces.
Clinical Psychologist
A psychologist who works within mental health and helps people with various disorders such as depression.
Closed Question
Simple question with few possible answers.
Closure
Lines or shapes are perceived as complete figures even if parts are missing.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
A very popular therapy, studies suggest it is the most successful. The individual is encouraged to look at their thinking and perhaps change how they perceive things as well as change their behaviour.
Collectivist
Describes a culture that encourages group dependence, cooperation and group identity, eg Japan. People rely on each other to achieve together.
Colour after-effect
An illusion caused by focusing on a coloured stimulus and perceiving opposit colours immediately afterwards.
Competence
A psychologist's ability to conduct a study.
Condensation
When many thoughts and elements from the unconscious are represented in the dream in one symbol.
Conditioned Response (CR)
The action produced in classical conditioning after association has taken place, which is triggered by the conditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
A trigger for a behaviour called the conditioned repsonsem which only produces this behaviour after association has taken place.
Cones
Light-sensitive cells in the retina that can detect colour.
Confidentiality
An ethical guideline for studies that involve people as participants, which ensures that information gained must not be shared with others without permission.
Conform
To adjust to expectations made of us.
Consent
Permission to take part in a study.
Construct
A way of thinking about someone, formed from experiences.
Content Analysis
A research method used to measure the number of times something comes up in a book, newspaper article, television programme, etc.
Continuity
Straight lines, curves and shapes are perceived to carry on being the same.
Control Group
A group that does not receive an experimental condition. This group provides a baseline against which to compare those participants who do experience a condition of the experiment.
Controls
Ways to keep variables constant in all conditions of an experiment.
Correlation
A measure of an association or relationship between two factors or variables. For example, the factors of family size and crime can be correlated to see if there is a link between the two.
Correlation Study
A study that sees if there is a link between two variables, eg testosterone and aggression.
Counselling
A term for various forms of therapy
Countertransference
When an analyst transfers feelings onto the client in response to transference from the client.
Credible
When a theory or findings agree with our beliefs and understanding and/or come with evidence that we can't accept.
Criminal Consistency
The idea that a person will commit a crime in a way that mirror their own personality and ability.
Custom
A longstanding practice of a particular group of people.
Deception
Being lied to.
Debrief
Being told the truth about a study when it is over.
Defendant
A person who has been accused of a crime and is now in court.
Delinquency
Breaking the rules in a minor way.
Demand Characteristics
When we change our behaviour to meet the demands of the situation.
Dendrite
Thread-like structure that spread out from the cell body and receive a neurotransmitter from the terminal buttons of other neurons.
Dependent Variable
The factor which is measured in an experiment.
Deprivation
When we change our behaviour to meet the demands of the situation.
Depth Cues
The visual 'clues' that we use to understand depth or distance.
Descriptive Statistics
Ways to summarise results from a study. They can show a typical score or how spread out the results were.
Detachment
Referring to a lack of an attachment figure in early childhood.
Displacement
When something that seems to be unimportant in a dream is made central, to shift attention from what is really important.
Distortion Illusion
Where our perception is deceived by some aspect of the stimulus. This can affect the shape or size of an object.
Doctorate (PhD)
The highest degree awarded, the step-up from a Masters degree.
Dream Analysis
A method used by Freud to help uncover unconscious thoughts, by analysing dreams and uncovering symbols.
Dyslexia
Difficulties with reading.
Educational Psychologist
Works with children and their development, in particular their learning and schooling.
EEG (electroencephalograph)
A machine with electrodes is attached to the head and can pick up brain activity, which can be shown in graph form on a monitor.
Empathic Listening
A way of listening to another person so that there is real understanding. It also involves responding in a way that shows you have listened.
Entrapment
When the law tries to force a person to commit an offence or implicate themselves in a crime they may not have committed.
Ethical Guidelines
Advice to help psychologists solve ethical issues.
Ethical Issues
Potential psychological or physical risks for people in experiments.
Ethics
Moral issues which are dealt with using guidelines and principles.
Evaluate
Identify the good and bad points, or stengths and weaknesses, of a theory or point of view.
Evolution
The changes in organisms which occur because of natural selection.
Experiment
A research method which measures participants' performance in two or more conditions.
Experimental Design
The way that participants are used in different conditions in an experiment.
Exposure Therapy
A therapy that is used for specific phobias which focuses on thinking.
Extinction
The loss of a classically conditioned response when the conditioned repsonse is repeated many times without the unconditioned stimulus.
Extraneous Variables
Any variables that might affect the results of the may not be controlled.
Eyewitness
Somebody who sees a crime or aspects of a crime scene and who helps the police to find out what has happened or to catch whoever was responsible.
False Memory
Any memory that is not true and can be given by someone else 'remembering' an event and telling another person, who then 'remembers' it as true.
Family Therapy
Therapy that involves the family of the patient.
Fear Hierarchy
In phobia treatment, a listing of the least feared up to to the most feared situation that can be used to tackle the phobia systematically.
Fiction
An illusion caused when a figure is perceived even though it is not present in the stimulus.
Figure-Ground
A small, complex, symmetrical object is seen as separate from a background.
Flooding
A therapy that is occasionally used for phobias. It involves facing the person with their fear either in reality or using their imagination.
Forensic Psychologist
Works with offenders and within criminal settings to focus on offender behaviour, for example.
Free Association
A method used by Freud in psychoanalysis where the patient is encouraged to express a flow of conciousness. The process helps uncover links which can then be interpreted.
Generalisable
Refers to findings of studies and whether they can be saud to be true of people other than those that were studied.
Generalisation
When a conditioned response is produced to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned repsonse.
Genes
Units of hereditary information that control characteristics and are passed from one generation to the next.
Gestalt laws
Perceptual rules that organise stimuli.
Height in the Plane
Objects closer to the horizon are perceived to be more distant than ones below or above the horizon.
Hierarchy of Fears
A list of fears that are arranged from most to least feared.
Holistic
Taking into account the person as a whole rather than just one aspect, for example someone's snoring.
Hormones
Chemicals produced by the human body that send signals to organs around the body via the bloodstream.
Hypersomnia
Problems with sleeping too much.
Hypnotherapy
A therapy that uses hypnosis to bring about a very relaxed state so that issues can be explored.
Hypothesis
A testable statement of the difference between the conditions in an experiment. It describes how the independent variable will affect the dependent variable.
Identification
A feeling of similarity with a role model that leads to the imitation of their behaviour - we believe we can be like them.
Impulse
The electrical signal that travels from the cell body of a neuron to the terminal buttons, where it releases a neurotransmitter.
Illusory Contour
A boundary that is perceived in a figure but is not present in the stimulus.
Independent Groups Design
Different participants are used in each condition in an experiment.
Independent Variable
The factor which is changed by the researcher in an experiment to make two or more conditions.
Individualistic
Describes a culture that encourages independence, personal achievement, competition and individuality.
Informed Consent
An individual's right to know what will happen in an experiment, and its aims, before agreeing to participate.
Insomnia
Problems getting to sleep or staying asleep.
Interventions
Plans that list changes in behaviour or attitudes that are required to help ease problem situations or change problem behaviour.
Latent Content
The meaning underlying the dream. If the symbols from the manifest content are translated by an analyst, they can reveal unconscious thoughts.
Likert-Style Questions
Statements with a ranked answer scale from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree'.
Limbic System
An area of the brain involved in emotion.
Linear Perspective
When parallel lines appear to converge in the distance.
Longitudinal Study
Research that takes place over a long period of time. It is used to track changes in behaviour of the same children over time. However, it can be very time consuming and participants may drop out of the study.
Mandatory
Has to be done.
Manifest Content
What the dream is said to be about by the dreamer .
Maternal Deprivation
When the bond is broken between caregiver and child because of separation.
Mean
An average that is calculated by adding up all the scores in a set and dividing by the number of scores.
Median
An average that is the middle number in a set of scores when they are put in an order from smallest to largest.
Medical Model
The idea that in a society the problems are 'illnesses' and can be diagnosed and treated. In society we work within this model.
Methodology
Refers to how psychology works, including how data is gathered. It involves considering 'how do we know?'
Mode
An average that is the most common score or response in a set.
Modelling
Observing, identifying with and copying the behaviour of a role model.
Monocular Depth Cues
Information about distance that comes from one eye, such as superimposition, relative size, texture gradient, linear perspective and height in the plane.
Moral Censorship
Deciding what material is suitable for broadcasting or publishing and what material is not considered moral or suitable.
Motion After-Effect
An illusion caused by paying attention to movement in one direction and perceiving movement in the opposite direction immediately afterwards.
Movement Inhibition
The state, during REM sleep, when the body is paralysed and there is no movement.
Narcolepsy
A brain disorder where people have sudden attacks of sleep in the day.
Natural Experiment
An experiment where the independent variable is naturally occuring and not set up by the researchers.
Nature
What we are born with.
Neuron
A cell in the body, including in the brain, that sends information using both electrical and chemical processes.
Neurotransmitter
A chemical at the terminal button of a neutron, which is released by the impulse and then goes into the synaptic gap.
Non-Verbal Information
Information that we pick up from other people apart from their words. It includes facial expressions, gestures, and physical movements/positions. Folded arms, for example, may indicate defensiveness.
Nurture
What we learn from the way we are raised.
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