Psych 342: Chapter Three Vocabulary

Axon

Part of the neuron that carries neural impulses to other cells

Behaviorism

An approach to understanding behavior that emphasizes the relation between observable behavior and specifiable environmental events (or stimuli)

Catecholamine hypothesis of depression

Proposed that the mood disorders resulted from a relative depletion of norepinephrine in the brain (hence, MAO-I drugs were useful because they enhanced NE activity)

Chromosome

Elongated body in the cellular nucleus that carries genetic information (There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in human somatic cells.)

Concordance

In genetic research, the degree to which related individuals share a similar trait

Conditioned reinforcer

Consequence that has gained ITS reinforcing value by being paired with other reinforcers

Contingency

The specified dependency between a behavior and its antecedents and consequences

Convert sensitization

Form of behavior therapy in which a person is asked to imagine an upsetting scene in order to produce a form of aversion conditioning

Defense mechanism

In Freudian theory, strategy whereby a person avoids anxiety- arousing experiences

Dendrite

Branching fiber of a neuron that receives input from other neurons

Disciminative stimulus

A stimulus that serves as a signal that a certain response will lead to a reinforcer

Displacement

Defense mechanism in which the person shifts a reaction from the original target person or situation to some other person or situation (e.g., anger displacement from boss to family)

Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia

Proposed that the disorder was caused by excessive dopamine activity in the brain (hence, DA-blocking drugs like Thorazine were useful)

Ego

In Freudian theory, that part of the mind that mediates between id impulses and external reality

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Therapeutic induction of convulsive seizures by applying electrical current to the brain; found to have some effectiveness with severe depressions

Epigenetic

Study of heritable phenotypic variation resulting from environmental conditions and life experiences

Fixation

In Freudian theory, an unusual investment of libidinal energy at a certain psychosexual stage

Fraternal or dizygotic (DZ) twins

Twins that result from the simultaneous fertilization of two separate ova, with such a pair having the same degree of genetic similarity as any two nontwin siblings born to the same parents

Free association

Basic procedure in psychoanalysis in which the patient is asked to say, without censorship, whatever comes to mind

Gene

Unit of hereditary information carried in a chromosome by DNA

Genotype

Total set of inherited characteristics determined by a person's genetic makeup

Humanistic approach

Emphasis on viewing people as whole human beings rather than analyzing them in an impersonal fashion

ID

In Freudian theory, that part of the mind from which instinctual impulses originate

Identical or monozygotic (MZ) twins

Twins resulting from the splitting of a single fertilized ovum who have exactly the same genetic makeup

Intrapsychic

Unobservable mental events such as ideas, wishes, and unconscious conflicts

Isolation

Defense mechanism in which a person separates emotional from intellectual content or otherwise separates experiences that would be anxiety arousing if permitted to occur together

Libido

Psychoanalytic concept referring to sexual instincts

Modeling

Teaching a behavior by performing the behavior and having the learner imitate it

Negative reinforcement

The contingent removal of an unpleasant stimulus, which strengthens subsequent responding

Neuron

Individual nerve cell

Neurotransmitter

Chemical substance released into the synapse that enables transmission of impulses from one neuron to another

Oedipal conflict

In Freudian theory, the erotic attachment to the other-sex parent, involving feelings

of competition and hostility toward the same-sex parent and fears of retaliation (castration anxiety in boys) from the same- sex parent

Phenotype

Observed characteristic that results from interaction between genotype and environmental influences

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

Rare single-gene recessive metabolic disorder that can result in intellectual disability

Phobia

Strong, irrational fear of some specific object, animal, or situation

Positive reinforcement

The contingent presentation of a pleasant result, which strengthens subsequent responding

Primary reinforcer

Event, usually biological in nature, that almost always provides reinforcement, such as eating when hungry (Primary reinforcers do not acquire their reinforcing properties through learning.)

Projection

Defense mechanism in which a person disowns some impulse and attributes it to another person

Psychosurgery

Procedure that attempts to treat abnormal behavior by surgical intervention on the brain

Punisher

Type of consequence that weakens or suppresses the behaviors that produce it

Reaction formation

Defense mechanism in which a person behaves in a way directly opposite from some underlying impulse

Regression

In Freudian theory, a return to some earlier state of psychosexual development in the face of some current frustration

Reinforcement

Consequence that strengthens the future probability of a response that produces it

Repression

Defense mechanism in which the anxiety- arousing memory or impulse is prevented from becoming conscious

Resistance

In psychoanalysis, the phenomenon in which patients unconsciously resist gaining insight into unconscious motives and conflicts

Reversal design

An experimental design in which new reinforcement contingencies are instated for a period of time, followed by reinstatement of the old reinforcement contingencies, and finally the installment of the original,

new contingencies (Sometimes a fourth reversal is included to show that the new contingencies are causing any observed changes in behavior.)

Sublimation

Defense mechanism in which sexual instincts are rechanneled into substitute activities

Superego

In Freudian theory, the internalized representative of parental or cultural values

Synapse

A tiny gap separating neurons, across which chemical communications between cells can occur

Systematic desensitization

A counterconditioning procedure in which subjects are exposed to gradually stronger anxiety-producing stimuli while maintaining a state

of relaxation

Tardive dyskinesia

Occasional long- term side effect of phenothiazine treatment of schizophrenia that involves rhythmical, stereotyped movements and lip smacking

Transference

Irrational emotional reaction of a patient to the therapist (usually in psychoanalysis) in which early attitudes toward parents are "transferred" to the therapist

Unconscious

In psychoanalytic theory, that part of the mind outside of conscious awareness, containing hidden instincts, impulses, and memories