All Psych Terms

refractory period

The minimum length of time after an action potential during which another action potential cannot begin

Absolute threshold

The minimum amount of stimulation that an organism can detect for a specific type of sensory input

Accommodation

Changing existing mental structures to explain new experiences

Acculturation

The degree to which a person is socially and psychologically integrated into a new culture

Achievement motive

The need to master difficult challenges, to outperform others, and to meet high standards of excellence

Achievement tests

Tests that gauge a person's mastery and knowledge of various subjects

Acquisition

The formation of a new conditioned response tendency

Action potential

A brief change in a neuron's electrical charge

Adaptation

An inherited characteristic that increased in a population (through natural selection) because it helped solve a problem of survival or reproduction during the time it emerged

afferent nerves

Axons that carry information inward to the central nervous system from the periphery of the body (sensory nerves)

Afterimage

A visual image that persists after a stimulus is removed

Aggression

Any behavior that is intended to hurt someone, either physically or verbally

Agonist

A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter

Agoraphobia

A fear of going out to public places

Alcohol

A variety of beverages containing ethyl alcohol

Algorithm

A methodical, step-by-step procedure for trying all possible alternatives in searching for a solution to a problem

Amnesia

A significant memory loss that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting; See also Anterograde amnesia, Retrograde amnesia

Androgens

The principal class of gonadal hormones in males

Anecdotal evidence

Personal stories about specific incidents and experiences

Anorexia nervosa

Eating disorder characterized by intense fear of gaining weight, disturbed body image, refusal to maintain normal weight, and dangerous measures to lose weight

Antagonist

A chimerical that opposes the action of a neurotransmitter

Anterograde amnesia

Loss of memory for events that occur after a head injury

Antianxiety drugs

Medication that relieve tension, apprehension, and nervousness

Antidepressant drugs

Medications that gradually elevate mood and help bring people out of a depression

Antipsychotic drugs

Medications used to gradually reduce psychotic symptoms, including hyperactivity, mental confusion, hallucinations, and delusions

Antisocial personality disorder

A type of personality disorder marked by impulsive, callous, manipulative, aggressive, and irresponsible behavior that reflects a failure to accept social norms

Anxiety disorders

A class of disorders marked by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety

Applied psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with everyday, practical problems

Approach-approach conflict

A conflict situation in which a choice must be made between two attractive goals

Approach-avoidance conflict

A conflict situation in which a choice must be made about whether to pursue a single goal that has both attractive and unattractive aspects

Aptitude test

Psychological tests used to assess talent for specific types of mental ability

Archetypes

According to Jung, emotionally charged image and though forms that have universal meaning

reticular activating system (RAS)

The nerve fibers running through the brain stem that influence physiological arousal

Assimilation

Interpreting new experiences in terms of existing mental structures without changing them

Attachment

A close, emotional bond of affection between infants and their caregiver

Attention

focusing awareness on a narrowed rance of stimuli or events

Attitudes

Orientations that locate objects of thought on dimentions of judgement

Attributions

Inferences that people draw about the causes of events, others' behavior, and their own behavior

Auditory localization

Locating the source of a sound in space

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

The system of nerves that connect to the heart, blood vessels, smoother muscles, and glands

Availability heuristics

Basing the estimated probability of an event on the case with which relevant instances come to mind

Aversion therapy

A behavior therapy in which an aversive stimulus is paired with a stimulus that elicits an undesirable response

Axon

A long, thin fiber that transmits signals away from the neuron cell body to another neurons, or to muscles or glands

Basilar membrane

A structure that runs the length of the cochlea in the inner ear and holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells

Behavior

Any overt (observable) response or activity by an organism

Behavior modification

A systematic approach to changing behavior through the application of the principles of conditioning

Behavior therapies

Applications of the principles of learning to direct efforts to change clients' maladaptive behaviors

Behavioral contract

A written agreement outlining a promise to adhere to the contingencies of a behavior modification program

Behavioral genetics

An interdisciplinary field that studies the influence of genetic factors on behavioral traits

Behaviorism

A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior

Bilingualism

The acquisition of two languages that use different speech sounds, vocabularies, and grammatical rules

Binocular depth cues

Cues about distance based on the differing views of the two eyes

Biological rhythms

Periodic fluctuations in physiological functioning

Biomedical therapies

Physiological interventions intended to reduce symptoms associated with psychological functioning

Biopsychosocial model

A model of illness that holds that physical illness is caused by a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors

Bipolar disorder

(formerly known as manic-depressive disorder) Mood disorder marked by the experience of both depressed and manic periods

Bisexuals

Persons who seek emotional-sexual relationships with members of either sex

Body mass index (BMI)

Weight (in kilograms) divided by height (in meters) squared (kg/m^2)

Bottom-up processing

In form perception, progression from individual elements to the whole

Bulimia nervosa

Eating disorder characterized by habitually engaging in out-of-control overeating followed by unhealthy compensatory efforts, such as self-induced vomiting, fasting, abuse of laxatives and diuretics, and excessive exercise

Burnout

Physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that is attributable to work-related stress

Bystander effect

A paradoxical social phenomenon in which people are less likely to provide needed help when they are in groups than when they are alone

Cannabis

The hemp plant from which marijuana, hashish, and THC are derived

Catastrophic thinking

Unrealistically pessimistic appraisals of stress that exaggerate the magnitude of one's problems

Catatonic schizophrenia

A type of schizophrenia marked by striking motor disturbances, ranging from muscular rigidity to random motor activity

Catharsis

The release of emotional tension

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and the spinal cord

Cerebral cortex

The convoluted outer layer of the cerebrum

Cerebral hemispheres

The right and left halves of the cerebrum

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

A solution that fills the hollow cavities (ventricles) of the brain and circulates around the brain and spinal cord

Chromosomes

Threadlike strands of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecules that carry genetic information

Chronic Stressors

Threatening events that have a relatively long duration and no readily apparent time limit

Chunk

A group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit

Circadian rhythms

The twenty-four hour biological cycles found in human and many other species

Classical conditioning

A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus acquires the ability to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimuli

Client-centered therapy

An y that emphasizes providing a supportive emotional climate for clients, who plat a major role in determining the place and direction of their therapy

Clinical psychologists

Psychologists who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and everyday behavioral problems

Clinical psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with the disagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders

Cochlea

The fluid-filled, coiled tunnel in the inner ear that contains the receptors for hearing

Coefficient of determination

The percentage of variation in one variable that can be predicted based on the other variable

Cognition

The mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge

Cognitive development

Transitions in youngsters' pattern of thinking, including reasoning, remembering, and problem solving

Cognitive dissonance

A psychological state that exists when related cognitions are inconsistent

Cognitive therapy

An insight therapy that emphasizes recognizing and changing negative thoughts and maladaptive beliefs

Cognitive-behavioral treatments

A varied combination of verbal interventions and behavioral modification techniques used to help clients change maladaptive patterns of thinking

Collective unconscious

According to Jung, a storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from people's ancestral past

Collectivism

Putting group goals ahead of personal goals and defining one's identity in terms of the groups one belongs to

Color blindness

Deficiency in the ability to distinguish among colors

Commitment

An intent to maintain a relationship in spite of the difficulties and costs that may arise

Comorbidity

The coexistence of two or more disorders

Companionate love

Warm, strutting, tolerate affection for another whose life is deeply intertwined with one's own

Compensation

According to Adler, efforts to overcome imagined or real inferiorities by developing one's abilities

Conditioned reinforcers

See Secondary reinforcers

Conditioned response (CR)

A learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that has, through conditioning, acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response

Cones

Specialized visual receptors that play a key role in daylight vision and color vision

Confirmation bias

The tendency to seek information that supports one's decisions and beliefs while ignoring disconfirming information

Conflict

A state that occurs when two or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for expression

Conformity

The tendency for people to yield to real or imagined social pressure

Confounding of variables

A condition that exists whenever two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their independent effects