psyc

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Biopsychosocial Approach

A model that posits biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors all play significant, interacting roles in human functioning.

Marriage and Family Therapist

A mental health professional trained to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage, couples, and family systems.

Clinical Psychologist

A mental health professional with advanced training in diagnosing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, often through psychotherapy.

Learning

The process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

Memory

The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.

Synapse

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

Neurotransmitter

Chemical messengers that cross synaptic gaps between neurons, influencing whether the receiving neuron will generate a neural impulse.

Plasticity

The brain's ability to change, reorganizing after damage or building new pathways based on experience.

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Feel-good, do-good phenomenon

The tendency for people to be helpful when already in a good mood.

Personality

An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Unconscious

According to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories.

Nature vs. Nurture Debate

Explores the relative contributions of genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental experiences (nurture) to an individual's traits, abilities, and behaviors.

Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Stages

A theory proposing four sequential stages of cognitive development in children.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Persistent and excessive worry about various areas of life for at least six months.

Panic Disorder

Characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks triggering severe physical reactions.

Phobias

Persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Characterized by obsessions (recurrent, unwanted thoughts) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviors performed to reduce anxiety).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A condition developing after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event, characterized by intrusive memories and hyperarousal.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

A persistent state of profound sadness and loss of interest for at least two weeks.

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by starvation despite being significantly underweight.

Bulimia Nervosa

Alternation between binge eating and compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain.

Binge-Eating Disorder

Significant episodes of binge eating followed by distress, without compensatory behaviors.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

A rare dissociative disorder where a person exhibits two or more distinct identities.

Psychotherapy

An emotionally charged interaction between a trained therapist and a client using psychological techniques.

Biomedical Therapy

Uses drugs or other procedures that act directly on the patient’s nervous system to treat psychological disorders.

Cognitive Dissonance

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.

Social Facilitation

The tendency for people to perform better on simple tasks when in the presence of others.

Social Loafing

The tendency for individuals in a group to exert less effort toward a common goal than when individually accountable.

Groupthink

The desire for harmony in a group results in irrational decision-making outcomes.

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition on others' behavior.