Unit 5-8

Consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Hypnosis

A social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.

Posthypnotic Suggestion

A suggestion made during hypnosis that influences behavior afterward.

Dissociation

A split in consciousness allowing some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.

Circadian Rhythm

The biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a roughly 24-hour cycle.

REM Sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur, and the body is mostly paralyzed.

Delta Waves

Large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.

NREM Sleep

Non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except REM.

Insomnia

Persistent problems in falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep.

Night Terrors

Sleep disorder causing high arousal and an appearance of being terrified, usually occurring during NREM-3.

Dream

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through the sleeping mind.

Manifest Content

According to Freud, the remembered storyline of a dream.

Latent Content

According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream.

Substance Use Disorder

A disorder characterized by continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption.

Psychoactive Drug

A chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods.

Tolerance

The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug.

Addiction

Compulsive craving of drugs or certain behaviors despite known harmful consequences.

Withdrawal

The discomfort and distress following discontinued use of an addictive drug.

Depressants

Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.

Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use.

Stimulants

Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Hallucinogens

Psychoactive drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images without sensory input.

LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)

A powerful hallucinogenic drug also known as acid.

Cognitive Learning

Acquiring mental information by observing events or through language.

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

Learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment.

Reinforcement

Any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows.

Positive Reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli after a response.

Punishment

An event that decreases the behavior that it follows.

Biofeedback

A system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Insight

A sudden realization of a problem’s solution.

Self-Control

The ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for long-term rewards.

Observational Learning

Learning by observing others.

Operant Behavior

Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.

Emotion

A response of the whole organism involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of a stable internal state.

Stress

The process by which we perceive and respond to certain events that we appraise as threatening or challenging.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases — alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Type A

Competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.

Type B

Easygoing, relaxed people.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs, starting with physiological needs that must first be satisfied.