EVERYTHING

24 Character strengths and virtues

A classification system to identify positive traits, organized into categories of wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.

Absolute threshold

The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.

Accommodation (in psychology)

The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus images of near or far objects on the retina.

Accommodation (developmental psychology)

Adapting our current schemas to incorporate new information.

Achievement motivation

A desire for significant accomplishment, mastery of skills or ideas, control, and attaining high standards.

Achievement test

A test designed to assess what a person has learned.

Acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response.

Action potential

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Active listening

Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and seeks clarification.

Actor-observer bias

The tendency for actors to attribute their behavior to external causes, while observers attribute others' behavior to internal causes.

Acute schizophrenia

A form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurring in response to a traumatic event.

Adaptation-level phenomenon

Our tendency to form judgments relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

Addiction

Compulsive substance use that continues despite harmful consequences.

Adolescence

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.

Aerobic exercise

Sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; also helps alleviate anxiety.

Affiliation need

The need to build and maintain relationships and feel part of a group.

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally.

Agonist

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action.

Agoraphobia

Fear or avoidance of situations where one may experience a loss of control.

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

All-or-none response

A neuron’s reaction of either firing with a full-strength response or not firing.

Alpha waves

The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Amygdala

Lima-bean-sized neural clusters linked to emotion.

Androgyny

Displaying both masculine and feminine psychological characteristics.

Anorexia nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by maintaining a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight.

Antagonist

A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action.

Anterograde amnesia

An inability to form new memories.

Antianxiety drugs

Drugs used to control anxiety and agitation.

Antidepressant drugs

Drugs used to treat depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and other diagnoses.

Antipsychotic drugs

Drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorders.

Antisocial behavior

Negative, destructive, harmful behavior.

Antisocial personality disorder

A disorder where a person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing.

Anxiety disorders

A group of disorders characterized by excessive fear and anxiety.

Aphasia

Impairment of language caused by left hemisphere damage.

Approach and avoidance motives

The drive to move toward (approach) or away from (avoid) a stimulus.

Aptitude test

A test designed to predict a person’s future performance.

Asexual

Having no sexual attraction toward others.

Assimilation

Interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas.

Association areas

Areas of the cerebral cortex involved in higher mental functions such as learning and thinking.

Associative learning

Learning that certain events occur together, which can be two stimuli or a response and its consequence.

Attachment

An emotional tie with others, shown in young children by seeking closeness to caregivers.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

A psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity.

Attitudes

Feelings influenced by beliefs that predispose responses to objects and events.

Attribution theory

The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s traits.

Audition

The sense or act of hearing.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

A disorder marked by limitations in communication and social interaction.

Autokinetic effect

The illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room.

Automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information and well-learned information.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the muscles of internal organs.

Availability heuristic

Judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

Aversive conditioning

Associating an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior.

Axon

The neuron extension that passes messages through branches.

Babbling stage

The stage in speech development where infants utter various sounds.

Barbiturates

Drugs that depress central nervous system activity.

Basal metabolic rate

The body’s resting rate of energy output.

Basic trust

A sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy, formed during infancy.

Behavior feedback effect

The tendency of behavior to influence our and others’ thoughts and feelings.

Behavior genetics

The study of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Behavior therapy

Therapy that uses learning principles to reduce unwanted behaviors.

Behavioral approach

Focuses on effects of learning on personality development.

Behaviorism

The view that psychology should study behavior without reference to mental processes.

Belief perseverance

The persistence of one’s initial beliefs even after they are discredited.

Big Five factors

Five traits that describe personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.

Binocular cue

A depth cue that depends on the use of two eyes.

Biological psychology

The scientific study of links between biological and psychological processes.

Biomedical therapy

Medications or procedures that act on an individual’s physiology.

Biopsychosocial approach

An integrated approach to analyze behavior from biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels.

Bipolar disorders

Disorders marked by alternating between depression and mania.

Bipolar I disorder

The most severe form of bipolar disorder characterized by euphoric states.

Bipolar II disorder

A less severe form of bipolar characterized by alternating between depression and hypomania.

Blind spot

The point where the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a blind spot.

Blindsight

A condition where a person can respond to visual stimuli without consciously experiencing it.

Bottom-up processing

Information processing that begins with sensory receptors and works up to brain integration.

Brainstem

The central core of the brain responsible for automatic survival functions.

Broaden-and-build theory

Proposes that positive emotions broaden awareness and help build skills and resilience.

Broca’s area

Frontal lobe area involved in language expression.

Bulimia nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by inappropriate weight-loss behavior.

Burnout

Physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion from overwhelming workload.

Bystander effect

The tendency for a bystander to be less likely to help if others are present.

Case study

A non-experimental technique studying an individual or group in depth.

Catharsis

The idea that releasing aggressive energy relieves aggressive urges.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory

The theory that intelligence is based on g and specific abilities.

Cell body

The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus.

Central executive

A memory component that coordinates activities of subsystems.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord.

Central route persuasion

Occurs when people’s thinking is influenced by evidence and arguments.

Cerebellum

The hindbrain's “little brain” responsible for processing input and balance.

Cerebral cortex

The fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres.

Change blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment.

Chronic schizophrenia

A form of schizophrenia that appears by late adolescence.

Chunking

Organizing items into manageable units; often occurs automatically.

Circadian rhythm

Our biological clock, regulating bodily rhythms on a 24-hour cycle.

Classical conditioning

Learning to link two or more stimuli; a type of learning.

Cochlea

A coiled tube in the inner ear that triggers nerve impulses by sound waves.

Cochlear implant

A device that converts sounds into electrical signals to stimulate the auditory nerve.

Cognition

All mental activities associated with thinking and remembering.

Cognitive dissonance theory

The theory that we act to reduce discomfort when two thoughts are inconsistent.

Cognitive learning

The acquisition of mental information by observing or through language.

Cognitive map

A mental representation of the layout of one's environment.