(P-S) Key Concepts in Psychology and Neuroscience

parallel processing

A system whereby many aspects of a stimulus are processed simultaneously instead of in a step-by-step or serial fashion. [Section 11.2]

paranoid personality disorder

A psychological disorder characterized by mistrust and misinterpretation of others' motives and actions, and suspicion of harm or betrayal. [Section 8.1]

paranoid-type schizophrenia

A psychological disorder characterized by psychosis is in the form of hallucinations and/or delusions, usually relating to a certain theme. [Section 8.1]

parasomnia

Abnormal behaviors during sleep, including somnambulism and night terrors. [Section 11.5]

parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)

The division of the autonomic nervous system known as the 'resting and digesting' system. It causes a general decrease in body activities such as heart rate and blood pressure. [Sections 10.2 & 12.3]

Parkinson's disease

A movement disorder caused by the death of dopamine-releasing cells. [Section 8.1]

patriarchy

A social system where males are the primary authority figures. [Section 4.2]

patrilineal descent

A system of lineage in which the relatives on the father's side are considered most important. [Section 4.2]

Pavlov, Ivan

Famous for naming and describing the process of classical conditioning by training dogs to salivate to the sound of a ringing bell. [Section 9.1]

Pearson correlation

A numerical value between -1 and 1 that indicates how two variables correlate; a negative value indicates an inverse relationship, a positive value indicates a direct relationship, and values further from zero indicate a stronger relationship. [Section 3.3]

peg word method

Mnemonic strategy that involves assigning images to a sequence of numbers. [Section 9.2]

penis envy

Occurs during the phallic stage (the third of Freud's five psychosexual stages), when a female realizes she does not have a penis. [Section 7.1]

peptide hormone

A hormone made of amino acids that is generally hydrophilic and cannot cross the plasma membranes of cells. [Section 12.4]

peripheral nervous system

All the parts of the nervous system except for the brain and spinal cord. [Sections 10.2 & 12.3]

peripheral route

Cognitive route of persuasion that involves more superficial or secondary characteristics. [Section 6.4]

permissive parenting

Parenting style that creates few rules and demands and little discipline. [Section 9.3]

person-situation controversy

A disagreement about the degree to which a person's reaction in a given situation is due to their personality or is due to the situation itself. [Section 7.1]

personal identity

A distinct sense of self, including personally-defined attributes. [Section 6.1]

personality

The nuanced and complex individual pattern of thinking, feeling, and behavior associated with each person. [Section 7.1]

personality disorder

A psychological disorder characterized by an enduring, rigid set of personality traits that deviates from cultural norms, impairs functioning, and causes distress. [Section 8.1]

personality trait

A generally stable predisposition toward a certain behavior. [Section 7.1]

phenomenological method

The use of introspection to explore the nature of phenomena, often related to perception or subjective experience. [Section 3.3]

phenotype

The observable characteristics and traits of an organism. [Section 6.4]

pheromone

A chemical signal that causes a social response in members of the same species. [Section 11.1]

phobia

A strong unreasonable fear that almost always causes either general anxiety or a full panic attack. [Section 8.1]

phonological loop

Part of working memory that allows for repetition of verbal information to aid with encoding. [Section 11.4]

photoreceptor

A receptor that responds to light. [Section 11.1]

physical attractiveness stereotype

The tendency of people to rate attractive individuals more favorably for personality traits. [Section 6.2]

Piaget, Jean

Developmental psychologist who formulated a four-stage theory of development for children. [Section 11.4]

pineal gland

Region of the brain responsible for the production of melatonin, a hormone that influences sleep/wake cycles and seasonal functions. [Section 11.5]

placebo effect

The phenomenon that if a group of participants simply believes that it has been given a treatment, this can lead to a measurable effect. [Section 3.1]

polyandry

A form of marriage in which a woman is married to more than one man.

polygamy

A form of marriage in which an individual may have multiple wives or husbands simultaneously.

polygyny

A form of marriage in which a man is married to more than one woman.

polysomnography (PSG)

Multimodal technique for measuring physiological processes during sleep, including EEG, EMG, and EOG.

positive punishment

The introduction of a negative or aversive stimulus following a behavior. Tends to decrease the likelihood of that behavior.

positive reinforcement

Reward immediately following a behavior that increases the frequency of that behavior (for example, praise).

positive transfer

When old information facilitates the learning of new information.

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Disorder characterized by re-experiencing a traumatic event through flashbacks or nightmares.

posterior pituitary gland

Nervous tissue located at the rear of the pituitary that secretes two hormones made by the hypothalamus: oxytocin and ADH.

postganglionic neuron

In the autonomic division of the PNS, a neuron that has its cell body in an autonomic ganglion, and whose axon synapses with the target organ.

power

The ability of a study to pick up an effect if one is indeed present; this is related to factors such as large sample size and low variation.

predictive validity

The extent to which a psychometric instrument predicts results along a well-known test or in variable of interest.

prefrontal cortex

Anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain involved in complex behaviors such as planning, sequencing, social responses, and decision making.

preganglionic neuron

In the autonomic division of the PNS, neuron that has its cell body located in the CNS, and whose axon extends into the PNS to synapse with a second neuron at an autonomic ganglion.

prejudice

Thoughts, attitudes, and feelings someone holds about a group that are based on a prejudgment or biased thinking about a group and its members.

primacy effect

A tendency to better recall the first items on a list.

primary groups

Groups that play a more important role in an individual's life; these groups are usually smaller and include those with whom the individual engages with in person.

primary reinforcers

Unconditioned consequences that are innately satisfying or desirable. May be biologically driven.

priming

An effect of implicit memory whereby exposure to a given stimulus 'primes' or prepares the brain to respond to a later stimulus.

principle of aggregation

The idea that an attitude affects a person's aggregate or average behavior, but cannot necessarily predict each isolated act.

proactive interference

A type of memory interference that occurs when previously learned information interferes with the recall of information learned more recently.

projection bias

Occurs when we assume others have the same beliefs we do, due to our tendency to look for similarities between ourselves and others.

proprioceptor

A receptor that responds to changes in the body position, such as stretch on a tendon, or contraction of a muscle.

prospective memory

Remembering to do something in the future.

psychoanalytic theory

According to this theory, personality is shaped by a person's unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories.

psychoanalytic therapy

This therapy approach helps a patient become aware of his or her unconscious sources for emotional issues and conflicts that are causing difficulties.

psychological disorder

A set of behavioral and/or psychological symptoms that are not in keeping with cultural norms and are severe enough to cause significant personal distress.

psychological fixation

Occurs in psychoanalytic theory when parents either frustrate or overindulge a child's expression of sensual pleasure at a certain stage, and as an adult the individual continues to seek sensual pleasure through behaviors related to that stage.

psychometrics

The art and science of measuring psychological processes.

psychosexual stages

According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, individuals progress through five psychosexual stages, one corresponding to the part of the body that is the focus of sensual pleasure.

punishment

In operant conditioning, a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a preceding behavior will be repeated.

pupil

A hole in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to enter the eyeball.

qualitative

Descriptive, as opposed to numerical; often used to refer to data.

quantitative

Numerical, as opposed to descriptive; often used to describe data.

race

The biological, anthropological, or genetic origin of an individual.

racism

Prejudices and discriminatory actions that are based on race (or ethnicity), or hold that one race (or ethnicity) is inferior to another.

randomized block technique

A technique used by researchers who wish to make experimental and control groups similar along a set of variables.

rapid eye movement (REM)

Bursts of quick eye movements present in the last stage of sleep.

rational-legal authority

A form of leadership that is organized around rational legal rules.

recall

Retrieving information from memory.

recency effect

A tendency to recall the last items presented in a list.

reciprocal determinism

A reciprocal interaction between a person's behaviors, personal factors, and environmental factors.

recognition

Retrieving information from memory with the use of cues.

reconstructive memory

Theory that memory is constructed rather than a perfect recollection of an event.

reference group

A group that serves as a standard measure that people compare themselves to.

reflex

Automatic behaviors that occur without thinking.

reflex arc

A relatively direct connection between a sensory neuron and a motor neuron that allows an extremely rapid response to a stimulus.

rehearsal

Technique of repeating verbal information in one's phonological loop to promote the encoding of sensory information into memory.

reinforcement

A consequence that increases the likelihood that a preceding behavior will be repeated. Two types are positive and negative reinforcement.

reinforcement schedule

The frequency and regularity with which rewards are offered, based on a number of target behaviors (ratio) or on a time interval (interval).

relative poverty

An inability to meet the average standard of living within a society.

relative refractory period

The period of time following an action potential when it is possible, but difficult, for the neuron to fire a second action potential.

relearning

The process of learning material that was originally learned.

reliable

The tendency of a survey or other instrument of measurement to produce similar results under similar conditions and measure what they are purported to.

religiosity

The extent that religion influences a person's life.

REM stage

Final stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements (REM) and beta waves, which are seen in individuals when they are awake.

replacement fertility rate

The number of children that a woman or couple must have in order to replace the number of the people in the population who die.

replicability

Obtaining consistent results across various studies to answer the same scientific question using different data and/or new statistical methods.

representativeness heuristic

A mental shortcut in which one judges the likelihood of things based on typical mental representations or examples of those things.

reproducibility

Obtaining consistent results using the same data and statistical methods as a prior study.

reproductive memory

Theory that suggests memory recall occurs through storage of the original stimulus input and subsequent recall.

resource model of attention

States that if multiple tasks exceed the limit of attention, they cannot be done simultaneously.

retention interval

The amount of time elapsed since information was learned and when it must be recalled.

reticular formation

Also known as the Reticular Activating System. Structures in the brainstem that are important for alertness and arousal (as in wakefulness).

retina

The innermost layer of the eyeball. The retina is made up of photoreceptors, bipolar cells, and a layer of ganglion cells.

retroactive interference

A type of memory interference that occurs when newly learned information interferes with the recall of information learned previously.

retrograde amnesia

Occurs when one is unable to recall information that was previously encoded.

rods

Photoreceptors in the retina that respond to dim light and provide black and white vision.

Rogers, Carl

Considered the founder of humanistic psychology who pioneered the person-centered approach to therapy.