Question	Answer
lapses in memory that are caused by breaks in attention or our focus being somewhere else	absentmindedness
minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time	absolute threshold
adjustment of a schema by changing a scheme to accommodate new information different from what was already known	accommodation
input of sounds, words, and music	acoustic encoding
period of initial learning in classical conditioning in which a human or an animal begins to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus will begin to elicit the conditioned response	acquisition
electrical signal that moves down the neuron’s axon	action potential
phenomenon of explaining other people’s behaviors are due to internal factors and our own behaviors are due to situational forces	actor-observer bias
period of development that begins at puberty and ends at early adulthood	adolescence
sits atop our kidneys and secretes hormones involved in the stress response	adrenal gland
maturing of the adrenal glands	adrenarche
a written legal document that details specific interventions a person wants (see living will)	advance directive
continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus	afterimage
prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their age	ageism
seeking to cause harm or pain to another person	aggression
drug that mimics or strengthens the effects of a neurotransmitter	agonist
anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear, anxiety, and avoidance of situations in which it might be difficult to escape if one experiences symptoms of a panic attack	agoraphobia
first stage of the general adaptation syndrome; characterized as the body’s immediate physiological reaction to a threatening situation or some other emergency; analogous to the fight-or-flight response	alarm reaction
problem-solving strategy characterized by a specific set of instructions	algorithm
phenomenon that incoming signal from another neuron is either sufficient or insufficient to reach the threshold of excitation	all-or-none
specific version of a gene	allele
type of brain wave characteristic during the early part of NREM stage 1 sleep, which has fairly low amplitude and a frequency of 8–12 Hz	alpha wave
humans’ desire to help others even if the costs outweigh the benefits of helping	altruism
professional organization representing psychologists in the United States	American Psychological Association (APA)
employers cannot discriminate against any individual based on a disability	Americans with Disabilities Act
loss of long-term memory that occurs as the result of disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma	amnesia
height of a wave	amplitude
structure in the limbic system involved in our experience of emotion and tying emotional meaning to our memories	amygdala
psychosexual stage in which children experience pleasure in their bowel and bladder movements	anal stage
aligned with academic problem solving and computations	analytical intelligence
Jung’s theory focusing on the balance of opposing forces within one’s personality and the significance of the collective unconscious	analytical psychology
faulty heuristic in which you fixate on a single aspect of a problem to find a solution	anchoring bias
eating disorder characterized by an individual maintaining body weight that is well below average through starvation and/or excessive exercise	anorexia nervosa
drug that blocks or impedes the normal activity of a given neurotransmitter	antagonist
loss of memory for events that occur after the brain trauma	anterograde amnesia
characterized by a lack of regard for others’ rights, impulsivity, deceitfulness, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse over misdeeds	antisocial personality disorder
characterized by excessive and persistent fear and anxiety, and by related disturbances in behavior	anxiety disorder
pattern that exists in our collective unconscious across cultures and societies	archetype
method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships	archival research
strong emotions trigger the formation of strong memories and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories	arousal theory
concept that is defined by a very specific set of characteristics	artificial concept
group majority influences an individual’s judgment, even when that judgment is inaccurate	Asch effect
adjustment of a schema by adding information similar to what is already known	assimilation
form of learning that involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur together in the environment (classical and operant conditioning)	associative learning
psychophysiological disorder in which the airways of the respiratory system become obstructed, leading to great difficulty expelling air from the lungs	asthma
institution created for the specific purpose of housing people with psychological disorders	asylum
memory model that states we process information through three systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory	Atkinson-Shiffrin model
long-standing connection or bond with others	attachment
childhood disorder characterized by inattentiveness and/or hyperactive, impulsive behavior	attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
evaluations of or feelings toward a person, idea, or object that are typically positive or negative	attitude
explanation for the behavior of other people	attribution
reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time	attrition
describes behaviors or feelings that deviate from the norm	atypical
strip of cortex in the temporal lobe that is responsible for processing auditory information	auditory cortex
parents place a high value on conformity and obedience, are often rigid, and express little warmth to the child	authoritarian parenting style
parents give children reasonable demands and consistent limits, express warmth and affection, and listen to the child’s point of view	authoritative parenting style
childhood disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication, and repetitive patterns of behavior or interests	autism spectrum disorder
encoding of informational details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words	automatic processing
controls our internal organs and glands	autonomic nervous system
faulty heuristic in which you make a decision based on information readily available to you	availability heuristic
counterconditioning technique that pairs an unpleasant stimulant with an undesirable behavior	aversive conditioning
characterized by child’s unresponsiveness to parent, does not use the parent as a secure base, and does not care if parent leaves	avoidant attachment
major extension of the soma	axon
type of surgery that modifies the gastrointestinal system to reduce the amount of food that can be eaten and/or limiting how much of the digested food can be absorbed	bariatric surgery
thin strip of tissue within the cochlea that contains the hair cells which serve as the sensory receptors for the auditory system	basilar membrane
part of the brain with dense connections with a variety of sensory areas of the brain; it is critical for classical conditioning and attaching emotional value to memory	basolateral complex
therapeutic orientation that employs principles of learning to help clients change undesirable behaviors	behavior therapy
focus on observing and controlling behavior	behaviorism
type of brain wave characteristic during wakefulness, which has a very low amplitude and a frequency of 13–30 Hz	beta wave
how feelings and view of the world distort memory of past events	bias
two-eared cue to localize sound	binaural cue
type of eating disorder characterized by binge eating and associated distress	binge eating disorder
cue that relies on the use of both eyes	binocular cue
slightly different view of the world that each eye receives	binocular disparity
stress-reduction technique using electronic equipment to measure a person’s involuntary (neuromuscular and autonomic) activity and provide feedback to help the person gain a level of voluntary control over these processes	biofeedback
view that psychological disorders like depression and schizophrenia are associated with imbalances in one or more neurotransmitter systems	biological perspective
internal cycle of biological activity	biological rhythm
treatment that involves medication and/or medical procedures to treat psychological disorders	biomedical therapy
study of how biology influences behavior	biopsychology
perspective that asserts that biology, psychology, and social factors interact to determine an individual’s health	biopsychosocial model
group of mood disorders in which mania is the defining feature	bipolar and related disorders
mood disorder characterized by mood states that vacillate between depression and mania	bipolar disorder
emotional, romantic, and/or erotic attraction to those of the same gender or to those of another gender	bisexual
point where we cannot respond to visual information in that portion of the visual field	blind spot
memory error in which you cannot access stored information	blocking
involves excessive preoccupation with an imagined defect in physical appearance	body dysmorphic disorder
emotional expression through body position or movement	body language
requirement of certain occupations for which denying an individual employment would otherwise violate the law, such as requirements concerning religion or sex	bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)
instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and mood, as well as impulsivity; key features include intolerance of being alone and fear of abandonment, unstable relationships, unpredictable behavior and moods, and intense and inappropriate anger	borderline personality disorder
system in which perceptions are built from sensory input	bottom-up processing
region in the left hemisphere that is essential for language production	Broca’s area
type of eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging	bulimia nervosa
a person, often an adolescent, being treated negatively repeatedly and over time	bullying
situation in which a witness or bystander does not volunteer to help a victim or person in distress	bystander effect
physiological arousal and emotional experience occur at the same time	Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
disorders that involve the heart and blood circulation system	cardiovascular disorders
lack of muscle tone or muscle weakness, and in some cases complete paralysis of the voluntary muscles	cataplexy
decreased reactivity to the environment; includes posturing and catatonic stupor	catatonic behavior
changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined only through an experimental research design	cause-and-effect relationship
brain and spinal cord	central nervous system (CNS)
part of the brain involved in attention and has connections with the hypothalamus and various brainstem areas to regulate the autonomic nervous and endocrine systems’ activity	central nucleus
logic-driven arguments using data and facts to convince people of an argument’s worthiness	central route persuasion
sleep disorder with periods of interrupted breathing due to a disruption in signals sent from the brain that regulate breathing	central sleep apnea
hindbrain structure that controls our balance, coordination, movement, and motor skills, and it is thought to be important in processing some types of memory	cerebellum
surface of the brain that is associated with our highest mental capabilities	cerebral cortex
method used to reduce workplace accidents	checklist
long strand of genetic information	chromosome
organizing information into manageable bits or chunks	chunking
biological rhythm that occurs over approximately 24 hours	circadian rhythm
learning in which the stimulus or experience occurs before the behavior and then gets paired or associated with the behavior	classical conditioning
observational research study focusing on one or a few people	clinical or case study
area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior	clinical psychology
organizing our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts	closure
fluid-filled, snail-shaped structure that contains the sensory receptor cells of the auditory system	cochlea
electronic device that consists of a microphone, a speech processor, and an electrode array to directly stimulate the auditory nerve to transmit information to the brain	cochlear implant
opiate with relatively low potency often prescribed for minor pain	codeine
thinking, including perception, learning, problem solving, judgment, and memory	cognition
domain of lifespan development that examines learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity	cognitive development
psychological discomfort that arises from a conflict in a person’s behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs that runs counter to one’s positive self-perception	cognitive dissonance
ability to take the perspective of others and to feel concern for others	cognitive empathy
mental picture of the layout of the environment	cognitive map
study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions	cognitive psychology
field of psychology dedicated to studying every aspect of how people think	cognitive psychology
set of behaviors that are performed the same way each time; also referred to as an event schema	cognitive script
form of psychotherapy that focuses on how a person’s thoughts lead to feelings of distress, with the aim of helping them change these irrational thoughts	cognitive therapy
psychotherapy that focuses on cognitive processes and problem behaviors that is sometimes used to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia	cognitive-behavioral therapy
form of psychotherapy that aims to change cognitive distortions and self-defeating behaviors	cognitive-behavioral therapy
our emotions are determined by our appraisal of the stimulus	cognitive-mediational theory
theoretical repository of information shared by all people across cultures, as described by Carl Jung	collective unconscious
common psychological tendencies that have been passed down from one generation to the next	collective unconscious
culture that focuses on communal relationships with others such as family, friends, and community	collectivist culture
individual who has two or more diagnoses, which often includes a substance abuse diagnosis and another psychiatric diagnosis, such as depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia	comorbid disorder
co-occurrence of two disorders in the same individual	comorbidity
type of love consisting of intimacy and commitment, but not passion; associated with close friendships and family relationships	companionate love
physiological arousal, psychological appraisal, and subjective experience	components of emotion
imaging technique in which a computer coordinates and integrates multiple x-rays of a given area	computerized tomography (CT) scan
category or grouping of linguistic information, objects, ideas, or life experiences	concept
when a sperm fertilizes an egg and forms a zygote	conception
third stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from about 7 to 11 years old, children can think logically about real (concrete) events	concrete operational stage
response caused by the conditioned stimulus	conditioned response (CR)
stimulus that elicits a response due to its being paired with an unconditioned stimulus	conditioned stimulus (CS)
failure in the vibration of the eardrum and/or movement of the ossicles	conductive hearing loss
specialized photoreceptor that works best in bright light conditions and detects color	cone
person who works for a researcher and is aware of the experiment, but who acts as a participant; used to manipulate social situations as part of the research design	confederate
therapist cannot disclose confidential communications to any third party, unless mandated or permitted by law	confidentiality
tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs	confirmation bias
faulty heuristic in which you focus on information that confirms your beliefs	confirmation bias
seeking out information that supports our stereotypes while ignoring information that is inconsistent with our stereotypes	confirmation bias
when individuals change their behavior to go along with the group even if they do not agree with the group	conformity
unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable, when, in actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables	confounding variable
deafness from birth	congenital deafness
genetic disorder that results in the inability to experience pain	congenital insensitivity to pain (congenital analgesia)
state of being in which our thoughts about our real and ideal selves are very similar	congruence
mental activity (thoughts, feelings, and memories) that we can access at any time	conscious
awareness of internal and external stimuli	consciousness
idea that even if you change the appearance of something, it is still equal in size, volume, or number as long as nothing is added or removed	conservation
formulation of new memories	construction
type of love occurring when intimacy, passion, and commitment are all present	consummate love
projective test designed to be culturally relevant to African Americans, using images that relate to African-American culture	Contemporized-Themes Concerning Blacks Test (C-TCB)
view that development is a cumulative process: gradually improving on existing skills	continuous development
device used to treat sleep apnea; includes a mask that fits over the sleeper’s nose and mouth, which is connected to a pump that pumps air into the person’s airways, forcing them to remain open	continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
rewarding a behavior every time it occurs	continuous reinforcement
serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results of the study—by holding such factors constant across groups so that the experimental manipulation is the only difference between groups	control group
providing correct or established answers to problems	convergent thinking
mental or behavioral efforts used to manage problems relating to stress, including its cause and the unpleasant feelings and emotions it produces	coping
transparent covering over the eye	cornea
thick band of neural fibers connecting the brain’s two hemispheres	corpus callosum
relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does	correlation
number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, and usually represented by r	correlation coefficient
stress hormone released by the adrenal glands when encountering a stressor; helps to provide a boost of energy, thereby preparing the individual to take action	cortisol
area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and other aspects of the lives of psychologically healthy individuals	counseling psychology
classical conditioning therapeutic technique in which a client learns a new response to a stimulus that has previously elicited an undesirable behavior	counterconditioning
two people in an intimate relationship, such as husband and wife, who are having difficulties and are trying to resolve them with therapy	couples therapy
ability to produce new products, ideas, or inventing a new, novel solution to a problem	creative intelligence
ability to generate, create, or discover new ideas, solutions, and possibilities	creativity
time during fetal growth when specific parts or organs develop	critical (sensitive) period
compares multiple segments of a population at a single time	cross-sectional research
characterized by acquired knowledge and the ability to retrieve it	crystallized intelligence
therapist’s understanding and attention to issues of race, culture, and ethnicity in providing treatment	cultural competence
one of the culturally specific standards that govern the types and frequencies of emotions that are acceptable	cultural display rule
ability with which people can understand and relate to those in another culture	cultural intelligence
all of the beliefs, customs, art, and traditions of a particular society	culture
repeated behavior that is intended to cause psychological or emotional harm to another person and that takes place online	cyberbullying
minor irritations and annoyances that are part of our everyday lives and are capable of producing stress	daily hassles
partial or complete inability to hear	deafness
when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion	debriefing
purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment	deception
logarithmic unit of sound intensity	decibel (dB)
type of long-term memory of facts and events we personally experience	declarative memory
results are predicted based on a general premise	deductive reasoning
unconscious protective behaviors designed to reduce ego anxiety	defense mechanism
process of closing large asylums and integrating people back into the community where they can be treated locally	deinstitutionalization
type of brain wave characteristic during stage 3 NREM sleep, which has a high amplitude and low frequency of less than 3 Hz	delta wave
belief that is contrary to reality and is firmly held, despite contradictory evidence	delusion
branch-like extension of the soma that receives incoming signals from other neurons	dendrite
helix-shaped molecule made of nucleotide base pairs	deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had	dependent variable
dissociative disorder in which people feel detached from the self (depersonalization), and the world feels artificial and unreal (derealization)	depersonalization/derealization disorder
drug that tends to suppress central nervous system activity	depressant
one of a group of mood disorders in which depression is the defining feature	depressive disorder
ability to perceive depth	depth perception
approximate ages at which children reach specific normative events	developmental milestone
scientific study of development across a lifespan	developmental psychology
disease related to insufficient insulin production	diabetes
determination of which disorder a set of symptoms represents	diagnosis
authoritative index of mental disorders and the criteria for their diagnosis; published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)	Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)
suggests that people with a predisposition for a disorder (a diathesis) are more likely to develop the disorder when faced with stress; model of psychopathology	diathesis-stress model
tendency for no one in a group to help because the responsibility to help is spread throughout the group	diffusion of responsibility
view that development takes place in unique stages, which happen at specific times or ages	discontinuous development
negative actions toward individuals as a result of their membership in a particular group	discrimination
characterized by the child’s odd behavior when faced with the parent; type of attachment seen most often with kids that are abused	disorganized attachment
disjointed and incoherent thought processes, usually detected by what a person says	disorganized thinking
highly unusual behaviors and movements (such as child-like behaviors), repeated and purposeless movements, and displaying odd facial expressions and gestures	disorganized/abnormal motor behavior
ego defense mechanism in which a person transfers inappropriate urges or behaviors toward a more acceptable or less threatening target	displacement
describes a perspective common to personality psychologists, which asserts that our behavior is determined by internal factors, such as personality traits and temperament	dispositionism
long research paper about research that was conducted as a part of the candidate’s doctoral training	dissertation
dissociative disorder characterized by an inability to recall important personal information, usually following an extremely stressful or traumatic experience	dissociative amnesia
group of DSM-5 disorders in which the primary feature is that a person becomes dissociated, or split off, from their core sense of self, resulting in disturbances in identity and memory	dissociative disorders
symptom of dissociative amnesia in which a person suddenly wanders away from one’s home and experiences confusion about their identity	dissociative fugue
dissociative disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder) in which a person exhibits two or more distinct, well-defined personalities or identities and experiences memory gaps for the time during which another identity emerged	dissociative identity disorder
individuals view themselves as overweight even though they are not	distorted body image
bad form of stress; usually high in intensity; often leads to exhaustion, fatigue, feeling burned out; associated with erosions in performance and health	distress
ability to think “outside the box” to arrive at novel solutions to a problem	divergent thinking
training employees about cultural differences with the goal of improving teamwork	diversity training
a legal document stating that if a person stops breathing or their heart stops, medical personnel such as doctors and nurses are not to take steps to revive or resuscitate the patient	do not resuscitate (DNR)
allele whose phenotype will be expressed in an individual that possesses that allele	dominant allele
theory of schizophrenia that proposes that an overabundance of dopamine or dopamine receptors is responsible for the onset and maintenance of schizophrenia	dopamine hypothesis
experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments	double-blind study
process in which an organization tries to achieve greater overall efficiency by reducing the number of employees	downsizing
technique in psychoanalysis in which patients recall their dreams and the psychoanalyst interprets them to reveal unconscious desires or struggles	dream analysis
deviations from homeostasis create physiological needs that result in psychological drive states that direct behavior to meet the need and ultimately bring the system back to homeostasis	drive theory
learning disability that causes difficulty in learning or comprehending mathematics	dyscalculia
learning disability that causes extreme difficulty in writing legibly	dysgraphia
common learning disability in which letters are not processed properly by the brain	dyslexia
encoding of information that takes effort and attention	effortful processing
aspect of personality that represents the self, or the part of one’s personality that is visible to others	ego
preoperational child’s difficulty in taking the perspective of others	egocentrism
thinking about the meaning of new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory	elaborative rehearsal
type of biomedical therapy that involves using an electrical current to induce seizures in a person to help alleviate the effects of severe depression	electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
recording the electrical activity of the brain via electrodes on the scalp	electroencephalography (EEG)
all the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment	electromagnetic spectrum
multi-cellular organism in its early stages of development	embryo
newly defined period of lifespan development from 18 years old to the mid-20s; young people are taking longer to complete college, get a job, get married, and start a family	emerging adulthood
subjective state of being often described as feelings	emotion
ability to understand emotions and motivations in yourself and others	emotional intelligence
capacity to understand another person’s perspective—to feel what they feel	empathy
grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing	empirical
method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities	empirical method
input of information into the memory system	encoding
series of glands that produce chemical substances known as hormones	endocrine system
physical trace of memory	engram
study of gene-environment interactions, such as how the same genotype leads to different phenotypes	epigenetics
type of declarative memory that contains information about events we have personally experienced, also known as autobiographical memory	episodic memory
some parts of the brain can take over for damaged parts in forming and storing memories	equipotentiality hypothesis
cause or causes of a psychological disorder	etiology
feelings of intense elation and pleasure from drug use	euphoric high
good form of stress; low to moderate in intensity; associated with positive feelings, as well as optimal health and performance	eustress
set of behaviors that are performed the same way each time; also referred to as a cognitive script	event schema
discipline that studies how universal patterns of behavior and cognitive processes have evolved over time as a result of natural selection	evolutionary psychology
phase of the sexual response cycle that involves sexual arousal	excitement
group designed to answer the research question; experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, so any differences between the two are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance	experimental group
researcher expectations skew the results of the study	experimenter bias
memories we consciously try to remember and recall	explicit memory
counterconditioning technique in which a therapist seeks to treat a client’s fear or anxiety by presenting the feared object or situation with the idea that the person will eventually get used to it	exposure therapy
decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus	extinction
motivation that arises from external factors or rewards	extrinsic motivation
facial expressions are capable of influencing our emotions	facial feedback hypothesis
objective and verifiable observation, established using evidence collected through empirical research	fact
recall of false autobiographical memories	false memory syndrome
able to be disproven by experimental results	falsifiable
special form of group therapy consisting of one or more families	family therapy
activation of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system, allowing access to energy reserves and heightened sensory capacity so that we might fight off a given threat or run away to safety	fight or flight response
set of physiological reactions (increases in blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and sweat) that occur when an individual encounters a perceived threat; these reactions are produced by activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system	fight-or-flight response
segmenting our visual world into figure and ground	figure-ground relationship
use of muscles in fingers, toes, and eyes to coordinate small actions	fine motor skills
theory that personality is composed of five factors, including openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism	Five Factor Model
behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time	fixed interval reinforcement schedule
set number of responses must occur before a behavior is rewarded	fixed ratio reinforcement schedule
psychological state lasting from a few seconds to several days, during which one relives a traumatic event and behaves as though the event were occurring at that moment	flashback
exceptionally clear recollection of an important event	flashbulb memory
symptom of mania that involves an abruptly switching in conversation from one topic to another	flight of ideas
state involving intense engagement in an activity; usually is experienced when participating in creative, work, and leisure endeavors	flow
ability to see complex relationships and solve problems	fluid intelligence
observation that each generation has a significantly higher IQ than the previous generation	Flynn effect
persuasion of one person by another person, encouraging a person to agree to a small favor, or to buy a small item, only to later request a larger favor or purchase of a larger item	foot-in-the-door technique
largest part of the brain, containing the cerebral cortex, the thalamus, and the limbic system, among other structures	forebrain
area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology to issues within and related to the justice system	forensic psychology
loss of information from long-term memory	forgetting
final stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from age 11 and up, children are able to deal with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations	formal operational stage
small indentation in the retina that contains cones	fovea
twins who develop from two different eggs fertilized by different sperm, so their genetic material varies the same as in non-twin siblings	fraternal twins
technique in psychoanalysis in which the patient says whatever comes to mind at the moment	free association
number of waves that pass a given point in a given time period	frequency
part of the cerebral cortex involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and language; contains motor cortex	frontal lobe
inability to see an object as useful for any other use other than the one for which it was intended	functional fixedness
MRI that shows changes in metabolic activity over time	functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
focused on how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment	functionalism
tendency to overemphasize internal factors as attributions for behavior and underestimate the power of the situation	fundamental attribution error
diagnostic category in DSM-5 for individuals who experience enduring distress as a result of their gender identity not aligning with their sex assigned at birth	gender dysphoria
individual’s sense of being male, female, neither of these, both of these, or another gender	gender identity
sequence of DNA that controls or partially controls physical characteristics	gene
Hans Selye’s three-stage model of the body’s physiological reactions to stress and the process of stress adaptation: alarm reaction, stage of resistance, and stage of exhaustion	general adaptation syndrome
inferring that the results for a sample apply to the larger population	generalize
characterized by a continuous state of excessive, uncontrollable, and pointless worry and apprehension	generalized anxiety disorder
view of gene-environment interaction that asserts our genes affect our environment, and our environment influences the expression of our genes	genetic environmental correlation
psychosexual stage in which the focus is on mature sexual interests	genital stage
genetic makeup of an individual	genotype
field of psychology based on the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts	Gestalt psychology
nervous system cell that provides physical and metabolic support to neurons, including neuronal insulation and communication, and nutrient and waste transport	glial cell
secretes sexual hormones, which are important for successful reproduction, and mediate both sexual motivation and behavior	gonad
maturing of the sex glands	gonadarche
(also, continuity) we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines	good continuation
set of rules that are used to convey meaning through the use of a lexicon	grammar
characterized by beliefs that one holds special power, unique knowledge, or is extremely important	grandiose delusion
use of large muscle groups to control arms and legs for large body movements	gross motor skills
strengthening of the original group attitude after discussing views within the group	group polarization
treatment modality in which 5–10 people with the same issue or concern meet together with a trained clinician	group therapy
group members modify their opinions to match what they believe is the group consensus	groupthink
(plural: gyri) bump or ridge on the cerebral cortex	gyrus
pattern of behavior in which we regularly engage	habit
auditory receptor cell of the inner ear	hair cell
perceptual experience that occurs in the absence of external stimulation, such as the auditory hallucinations (hearing voices) common to schizophrenia	hallucination
one of a class of drugs that results in profound alterations in sensory and perceptual experiences, often with vivid hallucinations	hallucinogen
enduring state of mind consisting of joy, contentment, and other positive emotions; the sense that one’s life has meaning and value	happiness
model of psychological disorders resulting from the inability of an internal mechanism to perform its natural function	harmful dysfunction
increase in performance of individuals who are noticed, watched, and paid attention to by researchers or supervisors	Hawthorne effect
a legal document that appoints a specific person to make medical decisions for a patient if they are unable to speak for themselves	health care proxy
subfield of psychology devoted to studying psychological influences on health, illness, and how people respond when they become ill	health psychology
several types of adverse heart conditions, including those that involve the heart’s arteries or valves or those involving the inability of the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs; can include heart attack and stroke	heart disease
left or right half of the brain	hemisphere
proportion of difference among people that is attributed to genetics	heritability
cycles per second; measure of frequency	hertz (Hz)
emotional, romantic, and/or erotic attractions to opposite-sex individuals	heterosexual
consisting of two different alleles	heterozygous
mental shortcut that saves time when solving a problem	heuristic
spectrum of needs ranging from basic biological needs to social needs to self-actualization	hierarchy of needs
(also, second-order conditioning) using a conditioned stimulus to condition a neutral stimulus	higher-order conditioning
division of the brain containing the medulla, pons, and cerebellum	hindbrain
belief that the event just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t	hindsight bias
structure in the temporal lobe associated with learning and memory	hippocampus
characterized by persistent difficulty in parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value or usefulness	hoarding disorder
state of equilibrium—biological conditions, such as body temperature, are maintained at optimal levels	homeostasis
tendency to maintain a balance, or optimal level, within a biological system	homeostasis
tendency for people to form social networks, including friendships, marriage, business relationships, and many other types of relationships, with others who are similar	homophily
prejudice and discrimination against individuals based solely on their sexual orientation	homophobia
consisting of two identical alleles	homozygous
cognitive theory of depression proposing that a style of thinking that perceives negative life events as having stable and global causes leads to a sense of hopelessness and then to depression	hopelessness theory
chemical messenger released by endocrine glands	hormone
service that provides a death with dignity; pain management in a humane and comfortable environment; usually outside of a hospital setting	hospice
aggression motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain	hostile aggression
branch of psychology that studies how workers interact with the tools of work and how to design those tools to optimize workers’ productivity, safety, and health	human factors psychology
perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans	humanism
therapeutic orientation aimed at helping people become more self-aware and accepting of themselves	humanistic therapy
high blood pressure	hypertension
state of extreme self-focus and attention in which minimal attention is given to external stimuli	hypnosis
set of structures found in both the limbic system (hypothalamus) and the endocrine system (pituitary gland and adrenal glands) that regulate many of the body’s physiological reactions to stress through the release of hormones	hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
forebrain structure that regulates sexual motivation and behavior and a number of homeostatic processes; serves as an interface between the nervous system and the endocrine system	hypothalamus
(plural: hypotheses) a testable prediction about how the world will behave if an idea is correct, often worded as an if-then statement	hypothesis
aspect of personality that consists of our most primitive drives or urges, including impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex	id
person we would like to be	ideal self
twins that develop from the same sperm and egg	identical twins
seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists	illusory correlation
various structures, cells, and mechanisms that protect the body from foreign substances that can damage the body’s tissues and organs	immune system
decreased effectiveness of the immune system	immunosuppression
traits that employers cannot use to discriminate in hiring, benefits, promotions, or termination; these traits are fundamental to one’s personal identity (e.g. skin color and hair texture)	immutable characteristic
memories that are not part of our consciousness	implicit memory
group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to	in-group
preference for our own group over other groups	in-group bias
failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention	inattentional blindness
state of being in which there is a great discrepancy between our real and ideal selves	incongruence
middle ear ossicle; also known as the anvil	incus
variable that is influenced or controlled by the experimenter; in a sound experimental study, the independent variable is the only important difference between the experimental and control group	independent variable
school of psychology proposed by Adler that focuses on our drive to compensate for feelings of inferiority	individual psychology
treatment modality in which the client and clinician meet one-on-one	individual therapy
culture that focuses on individual achievement and autonomy	individualistic culture
conclusions are drawn from observations	inductive reasoning
field in psychology that applies scientific principles to the study of work and the workplace	industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology
branch of psychology that studies job characteristics, applicant characteristics, and how to match them; also studies employee training and performance appraisal	industrial psychology
refers to a person’s feelings that they lack worth and don’t measure up to others’ or to society’s standards	inferiority complex
signal that some type of tissue damage has occurred	inflammatory pain
conformity to a group norm prompted by the belief that the group is competent and has the correct information	informational social influence
process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment, any risks involved, and the implications of the research, and then obtaining the person’s consent to participate	informed consent
consistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep for at least three nights a week over a month’s time	insomnia
unlearned knowledge, involving complex patterns of behavior; instincts are thought to be more prevalent in lower animals than in humans	instinct
species-specific pattern of behavior that is unlearned	instinct
committee of administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving non-human animals	Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving human participants	Institutional Review Board (IRB)
aggression motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain	instrumental aggression
therapist’s first meeting with the client in which the therapist gathers specific information to address the client’s immediate needs	intake
(also, IQ) score on a test designed to measure intelligence	intelligence quotient
measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular event	inter-rater reliability
sound coming from one side of the body is more intense at the closest ear because of the attenuation of the sound wave as it passes through the head	interaural level difference
small difference in the time at which a given sound wave arrives at each ear	interaural timing difference
internal attribute of a person, such as personality traits or temperament	internal factor
authoritative index of mental and physical diseases, including infectious diseases, and the criteria for their diagnosis; published by the World Health Organization (WHO)	International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
motivation based on internal feelings rather than external rewards	intrinsic motivation
process by which someone examines their own conscious experience in an attempt to break it into its component parts	introspection
therapy that is mandated by the courts or other systems	involuntary treatment
colored portion of the eye	iris
emotions arise from physiological arousal	James-Lange theory of emotion
collection of symptoms brought on by travel from one time zone to another that results from the mismatch between our internal circadian cycles and our environment	jet lag
determining and listing tasks associated with a particular job	job analysis
general sense of emotional exhaustion and cynicism in relation to one’s job; consists of three dimensions: exhaustion, depersonalization, and sense of diminished personal accomplishment	job burnout
degree of pleasure that employees derive from their job	job satisfaction
work situation involving the combination of excessive job demands and workload with little decision making latitude or job control	job strain
difference in stimuli required to detect a difference between the stimuli	just noticeable difference
ideology common in the United States that people get the outcomes they deserve	just-world hypothesis
theory that people value goals and achievements more when they have put more effort into them	justification of effort
very high amplitude pattern of brain activity associated with stage 2 sleep that may occur in response to environmental stimuli	K-complex
perception of the body’s movement through space	kinesthesia
communication system that involves using words to transmit information from one individual to another	language
psychosexual stage in which sexual feelings are dormant	latency period
hidden meaning of a dream, per Sigmund Freud’s view of the function of dreams	latent content
learning that occurs, but it may not be evident until there is a reason to demonstrate it	latent learning
concept that each hemisphere of the brain is associated with specialized functions	lateralization
behavior that is followed by consequences satisfying to the organism will be repeated and behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences will be discouraged	law of effect
change in behavior or knowledge that is the result of experience	learning
curved, transparent structure that provides additional focus for light entering the eye	lens
satiety hormone	leptin
information that is thought of more deeply becomes more meaningful and thus better committed to memory	levels of processing
the words of a given language	lexicon
collection of structures involved in processing emotion and memory	limbic system
perceive depth in an image when two parallel lines seem to converge	linear perspective
a written legal document that details specific interventions a person wants; may include health care proxy	living will
area of the brainstem that contains norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response; has been implicated in panic disorder	locus coeruleus
beliefs about the power we have over our lives; an external locus of control is the belief that our outcomes are outside of our control; an internal locus of control is the belief that we control our own outcomes	locus of control
continuous storage of information	long-term memory (LTM)
deep groove in the brain’s cortex	longitudinal fissure
studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time	longitudinal research
people become aware that they are dreaming and can control the dream’s content	lucid dream
white blood cells that circulate in the body’s fluids and are especially important in the body’s immune response	lymphocytes
magnetic fields used to produce a picture of the tissue being imaged	magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
commonly referred to as “depression” or “major depression,” characterized by sadness or loss of pleasure in usual activities, as well other symptoms	major depressive disorder
middle ear ossicle; also known as the hammer	malleus
state of extreme elation and agitation	mania
period in which an individual experiences mania, characterized by extremely cheerful and euphoric mood, excessive talkativeness, irritability, increased activity levels, and other symptoms	manic episode
storyline of events that occur during a dream, per Sigmund Freud’s view of the function of dreams	manifest content
clearing the mind in order to achieve a state of relaxed awareness and focus	meditation
hindbrain structure that controls automated processes like breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate	medulla
touch receptor that responds to pressure and lower frequency vibrations	Meissner’s corpuscle
hormone secreted by the endocrine gland that serves as an important regulator of the sleep-wake cycle	melatonin
difference in charge across the neuronal membrane	membrane potential
set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different periods of time	memory
technique to help make sure information goes from short-term memory to long-term memory	memory-enhancing strategy
beginning of menstrual period; around 12–13 years old	menarche
continually using an old solution to a problem without results	mental set
touch receptor that responds to light touch	Merkel’s disk
study that combines the results of several related studies	meta-analysis
amount of energy that is expended in a given period of time	metabolic rate
synthetic opioid that is less euphorigenic than heroin and similar drugs; used to manage withdrawal symptoms in opiate users	methadone
uses methadone to treat withdrawal symptoms in opiate users	methadone clinic
type of amphetamine that can be made from pseudoephedrine, an over-the-counter drug; widely manufactured and abused	methamphetamine
division of the brain located between the forebrain and the hindbrain; contains the reticular formation	midbrain
personality test composed of a series of true/false questions in order to establish a clinical profile of an individual	Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
memory error in which you confuse the source of your information	misattribution
after exposure to additional and possibly inaccurate information, a person may misremember the original event	misinformation effect paradigm
process of cell division	mitosis
memory aids that help organize information for encoding	mnemonic device
person who performs a behavior that serves as an example (in observational learning)	model
one-eared cue to localize sound	monaural cue
cue that requires only one eye	monocular cue
one of a group of disorders characterized by severe disturbances in mood and emotions; the categories of mood disorders listed in the DSM-5 are bipolar and related disorders and depressive disorders	mood disorder
smallest unit of language that conveys some type of meaning	morpheme
wants or needs that direct behavior toward some goal	motivation
strip of cortex involved in planning and coordinating movement	motor cortex
ability to move our body and manipulate objects	motor skills
Gardner’s theory that each person possesses at least eight types of intelligence	Multiple Intelligences Theory
sudden, permanent change in a gene	mutation
fatty substance that insulates axons	myelin sheath
results in a degeneration of inner ear structures that can lead to hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and an increase in pressure within the inner ear	Ménière's disease
sleep disorder in which the sufferer cannot resist falling to sleep at inopportune times	narcolepsy
mental groupings that are created “naturally” through your experiences	natural concept
observation of behavior in its natural setting	naturalistic observation
genes and biology	nature
tendency to experience distressed emotional states involving anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness	negative affectivity
two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation	negative correlation
taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behavior	negative punishment
taking away an undesirable stimulus to increase a behavior	negative reinforcement
characterized by decreases and absences in certain normal behaviors, emotions, or drives, such as an expressionless face, lack of motivation to engage in activities, reduced speech, lack of social engagement, and inability to experience pleasure	negative symptom
made up of billions of neurons and controls our thoughts, responses, and movements; divided into the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS)	nervous system
one of the disorders that are first diagnosed in childhood and involve developmental problems in academic, intellectual, social functioning	neurodevelopmental disorder
cells in the nervous system that act as interconnected information processors, which are essential for all of the tasks of the nervous system	neuron
pain from damage to neurons of either the peripheral or central nervous system	neuropathic pain
nervous system's ability to change	neuroplasticity
tendency to experience negative emotions	neurosis
chemical messenger of the nervous system	neurotransmitter
stimulus that does not initially elicit a response	neutral stimulus (NS)
inborn automatic response to a particular form of stimulation that all healthy babies are born with	newborn reflexes
sleep disorder in which the sleeper experiences a sense of panic and may scream or attempt to escape from the immediate environment	night terror
sensory signal indicating potential harm and maybe pain	nociception
open spaces that are found in the myelin sheath that encases the axon	Nodes of Ranvier
period of sleep outside periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep	non-REM (NREM)
therapeutic approach in which the therapist does not give advice or provide interpretations but helps the person identify conflicts and understand feelings	nondirective therapy
study of development using norms, or average ages, when most children reach specific developmental milestones	normative approach
conformity to a group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group	normative social influence
administering a test to a large population so data can be collected to reference the normal scores for a population and its groups	norming
environment and culture	nurture
change of behavior to please an authority figure or to avoid aversive consequences	obedience
adult with a BMI of 30 or higher	obese
idea that even if something is out of sight, it still exists	object permanence
type of learning that occurs by watching others	observational learning
when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations	observer bias
group of overlapping disorders listed in the DSM-5 that involves intrusive, unpleasant thoughts and/or repetitive behaviors	obsessive-compulsive and related disorders
characterized by the tendency to experience intrusive and unwanted thoughts and urges (obsession) and/or the need to engage in repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) in response to the unwanted thoughts and urges	obsessive-compulsive disorder
sleep disorder defined by episodes when breathing stops during sleep as a result of blockage of the airway	obstructive sleep apnea
part of the cerebral cortex associated with visual processing; contains the primary visual cortex	occipital lobe
bulb-like structure at the tip of the frontal lobe, where the olfactory nerves begin	olfactory bulb
sensory cell for the olfactory system	olfactory receptor
suffix that denotes “scientific study of”	ology
form of learning in which the stimulus/experience happens after the behavior is demonstrated	operant conditioning
description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables	operational definition
one of a category of drugs that has strong analgesic properties; opiates are produced from the resin of the opium poppy; includes heroin, morphine, methadone, and codeine	opiate/opioid
personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate	opinion
color is coded in opponent pairs: black-white, yellow-blue, and red-green	opponent-process theory of color perception
X-shaped structure that sits just below the brain’s ventral surface; represents the merging of the optic nerves from the two eyes and the separation of information from the two sides of the visual field to the opposite side of the brain	optic chiasm
carries visual information from the retina to the brain	optic nerve
tendency toward a positive outlook and positive expectations	optimism
psychosexual stage in which an infant’s pleasure is focused on the mouth	oral stage
area of the frontal lobe involved in learning and decision-making	orbitofrontal cortex
values, visions, hierarchies, norms and interactions between its employees; how an organization is run, how it operates, and how it makes decisions	organizational culture
branch of psychology that studies the interactions between people working in organizations and the effects of those interactions on productivity	organizational psychology
peak phase of the sexual response cycle associated with rhythmic muscle contractions (and ejaculation)	orgasm
three tiny bones in the middle ear consisting of the malleus, incus, and stapes	ossicles
group that we don’t belong to—one that we view as fundamentally different from us	out-group
extension of a rule that exists in a given language to an exception to the rule	overgeneralization
adult with a BMI between 25 and 29.9	overweight
touch receptor that detects transient pressure and higher frequency vibrations	Pacinian corpuscle
secretes hormones that regulate blood sugar	pancreas
period of extreme fear or discomfort that develops abruptly; symptoms of panic attacks are both physiological and psychological	panic attack
anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected panic attacks, along with at least one month of worry about panic attacks or self-defeating behavior related to the attacks	panic disorder
characterized by beliefs that others are out to harm them	paranoid delusion
one of a group of sleep disorders characterized by unwanted, disruptive motor activity and/or experiences during sleep	parasomnia
associated with routine, day-to-day operations of the body	parasympathetic nervous system
part of the cerebral cortex involved in processing various sensory and perceptual information; contains the primary somatosensory cortex	parietal lobe
rewarding behavior only some of the time	partial reinforcement
subjects of psychological research	participants
ability to discriminate among different figures and shapes	pattern perception
(also, crest) highest point of a wave	peak
article read by several other scientists (usually anonymously) with expertise in the subject matter, who provide feedback regarding the quality of the manuscript before it is accepted for publication	peer-reviewed journal article
peoples’ beliefs concerning their capacity to influence and shape outcomes in their lives	perceived control
way that sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced	perception
educated guess used to interpret sensory information	perceptual hypothesis
evaluation of an employee’s success or lack of success at performing the duties of the job	performance appraisal
subtype of depression that applies to women who experience an episode of major depression either during pregnancy or in the four weeks following childbirth	peripartum onset
connects the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, organs and senses in the periphery of the body	peripheral nervous system (PNS)
one person persuades another person; an indirect route that relies on association of peripheral cues (such as positive emotions and celebrity endorsement) to associate positivity with a message	peripheral route persuasion
parents make few demands and rarely use punishment	permissive parenting style
failure of the memory system that involves the involuntary recall of unwanted memories, particularly unpleasant ones	persistence
depressive disorder characterized by a chronically sad and melancholy mood	persistent depressive disorder
long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways	personality
group of DSM-5 disorders characterized by an inflexible and pervasive personality style that differs markedly from the expectations of one’s culture and causes distress and impairment; people with these disorders have a personality style that frequently brings them into conflict with others and disrupts their ability to develop and maintain social relationships	personality disorder
study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique	personality psychology
consistent pattern of thought and behavior	personality trait
process of changing our attitude toward something based on some form of communication	persuasion
psychosexual stage in which the focus is on the genitals	phallic stage
(doctor of philosophy) doctoral degree conferred in many disciplinary perspectives housed in a traditional college of liberal arts and sciences	PhD
individual’s inheritable physical characteristics	phenotype
chemical message sent by another individual	pheromone
basic sound unit of a given language	phoneme
light-detecting cell	photoreceptor
changes in normal bodily functions that cause a drug user to experience withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of use	physical dependence
domain of lifespan development that examines growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness	physical development
endocrine structure located inside the brain that releases melatonin	pineal gland
visible part of the ear that protrudes from the head	pinna
perception of a sound’s frequency	pitch
secretes a number of key hormones, which regulate fluid levels in the body, and a number of messenger hormones, which direct the activity of other glands in the endocrine system	pituitary gland
different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of different frequencies	place theory of pitch perception
people's expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation	placebo effect
structure connected to the uterus that provides nourishment and oxygen to the developing baby	placenta
phase of the sexual response cycle that falls between excitement and orgasm	plateau
therapeutic process, often used with children, that employs toys to help them resolve psychological problems	play therapy
multiple genes affecting a given trait	polygenic
lie detector test that measures physiological arousal of individuals as they answer a series of questions	polygraph
hindbrain structure that connects the brain and spinal cord; involved in regulating brain activity during sleep	pons
overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in	population
state or a trait that involves pleasurable engagement with the environment, the dimensions of which include happiness, joy, enthusiasm, alertness, and excitement	positive affect
two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller	positive correlation
scientific area of study seeking to identify and promote those qualities that lead to happy, fulfilled, and contented lives	positive psychology
adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior	positive punishment
adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior	positive reinforcement
involves injecting individuals with a mildly radioactive substance and monitoring changes in blood flow to different regions of the brain	positron emission tomography (PET) scan
allows young scientists to further develop their research programs and broaden their research skills under the supervision of other professionals in the field	postdoctoral training program
experiencing a profoundly traumatic event leads to a constellation of symptoms that include intrusive and distressing memories of the event, avoidance of stimuli connected to the event, negative emotional states, feelings of detachment from others, irritability, proneness toward outbursts, hypervigilance, and a tendency to startle easily; these symptoms must occur for at least one month	posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
aka “street smarts”	practical intelligence
area in the frontal lobe responsible for higher-level cognitive functioning	prefrontal cortex
negative attitudes and feelings toward individuals based solely on their membership in a particular group	prejudice
medical care during pregnancy that monitors the health of both the mother and the fetus	prenatal care
second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from ages 2 to 7, children learn to use symbols and language but do not understand mental operations and often think illogically	preoperational stage
judgment about the degree of potential harm or threat to well-being that a stressor might entail	primary appraisal
has innate reinforcing qualities (e.g., food, water, shelter, sex)	primary reinforcer
organs specifically needed for reproduction	primary sexual characteristics
organize perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts	principle of closure
old information hinders the recall of newly learned information	proactive interference
method for solving problems	problem-solving strategy
fairness by which means are used to achieve results in an organization	procedural justice
type of long-term memory for making skilled actions, such as how to brush your teeth, how to drive a car, and how to swim	procedural memory
in schizophrenia, one of the early minor symptoms of psychosis	prodromal symptom
ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety disguises their unacceptable urges or behaviors by attributing them to other people	projection
personality assessment in which a person responds to ambiguous stimuli, revealing hidden feelings, impulses, and desires	Projective test
perception of body position	proprioception
voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people	prosocial behavior
best representation of a concept	prototype
things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together	proximity
therapeutic orientation developed by Sigmund Freud that employs free association, dream analysis, and transference to uncover repressed feelings	psychoanalysis
focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior	psychoanalytic theory
emotional, rather than a physical, need for a drug which may be used to relieve psychological distress	psychological dependence
condition characterized by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors	psychological disorder
scientific study of the mind and behavior	psychology
field that studies how psychological factors (such as stress) influence the immune system and immune functioning	psychoneuroimmunology
study of psychological disorders, including their symptoms, causes, and treatment; manifestation of a psychological disorder	psychopathology
physical disorders or diseases in which symptoms are brought about or worsened by stress and emotional factors	psychophysiological disorders
process proposed by Freud in which pleasure-seeking urges focus on different erogenous zones of the body as humans move through five stages of life	psychosexual development
stages of child development in which a child’s pleasure-seeking urges are focused on specific areas of the body called erogenous zones	psychosexual stages of development
domain of lifespan development that examines emotions, personality, and social relationships	psychosocial development
process proposed by Erikson in which social tasks are mastered as humans move through eight stages of life from infancy to adulthood	psychosocial development
(also, psychodynamic psychotherapy) psychological treatment that employs various methods to help someone overcome personal problems, or to attain personal growth	psychotherapy
drugs that treat psychiatric symptoms by restoring neurotransmitter balance	psychotropic medication
(doctor of psychology) doctoral degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented skills and focuses more on application of psychological principles in the clinical context	PsyD
implementation of a consequence in order to decrease a behavior	punishment
small opening in the eye through which light passes	pupil
prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based solely on their race	racism
staunch form of behaviorism developed by B. F. Skinner that suggested that even complex higher mental functions like human language are nothing more than stimulus-outcome associations	radical behaviorism
method of experimental group assignment in which all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group	random assignment
subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected	random sample
asserts our genes set the boundaries within which we can operate, and our environment interacts with the genes to determine where in that range we will fall	range of reaction
each person’s response to the environment is unique based on their genetic make-up	range of reaction
period of sleep characterized by brain waves very similar to those during wakefulness and by darting movements of the eyes under closed eyelids	rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
form of cognitive-behavioral therapy	rational emotive therapy (RET)
ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety makes excuses to justify behavior	rationalization
ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety swaps unacceptable urges or behaviors for their opposites	reaction formation
person who we actually are	real self
accessing information without cues	recall
protein on the cell surface where neurotransmitters attach	receptor
allele whose phenotype will be expressed only if an individual is homozygous for that allele	recessive allele
belief that one’s environment can determine behavior, but at the same time, people can influence the environment with both their thoughts and behaviors	reciprocal determinism
give and take in relationships	reciprocity
identifying previously learned information after encountering it again, usually in response to a cue	recognition
process of bringing up old memories that might be distorted by new information	reconstruction
unlearned, automatic response by an organism to a stimulus in the environment	reflex
time immediately following an orgasm during which an individual is incapable of experiencing another orgasm	refractory period
ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety returns to a more immature behavioral state	regression
repetition of information to be remembered	rehearsal
implementation of a consequence in order to increase a behavior	reinforcement
repeated drug use and/or alcohol use after a period of improvement from substance abuse	relapse
stress reduction technique combining elements of relaxation and meditation	relaxation response technique
learning information that was previously learned	relearning
consistency and reproducibility of a given result	reliability
sleep disorder in which the muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase does not occur; sleepers have high levels of physical activity during REM sleep, especially during disturbing dreams	REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD)
repeating an experiment using different samples to determine the research’s reliability	replicate
faulty heuristic in which you stereotype someone or something without a valid basis for your judgment	representative bias
subset of the population that accurately represents the general population	representative sample
ego defense mechanism in which anxiety-related thoughts and memories are kept in the unconscious	repression
characterized by the child’s tendency to show clingy behavior and rejection of the parent when they attempt to interact with the child	resistant attachment
phase of the sexual response cycle following orgasm during which the body returns to its unaroused state	resolution
the state of readiness of a neuron membrane’s potential between signals	resting potential
sleep disorder in which the sufferer has uncomfortable sensations in the legs when trying to fall asleep that are relieved by moving the legs	restless leg syndrome
midbrain structure important in regulating the sleep/wake cycle, arousal, alertness, and motor activity	reticular formation
light-sensitive lining of the eye	retina
act of getting information out of long-term memory storage and back into conscious awareness	retrieval
information learned more recently hinders the recall of older information	retroactive interference
loss of memory for events that occurred prior to brain trauma	retrograde amnesia
neurotransmitter is pumped back into the neuron that released it	reuptake
principle that objects can be changed, but then returned back to their original form or condition	reversibility
specialized photoreceptor that works well in low light conditions	rod
non-directive form of humanistic psychotherapy developed by Carl Rogers that emphasizes unconditional positive regard and self-acceptance	Rogerian (client-centered therapy)
set of expectations that define the behaviors of a person occupying a particular role	role schema
type of love consisting of intimacy and passion, but no commitment	romantic love
projective test that employs a series of symmetrical inkblot cards that are presented to a client by a psychologist in an effort to reveal the person’s unconscious desires, fears, and struggles	Rorschach Inkblot Test
work schedule that changes from early to late on a daily or weekly basis	rotating shift work
projective test that is similar to a word association test in which a person completes sentences in order to reveal their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles	Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB)
touch receptor that detects stretch	Ruffini corpuscle
in depression, tendency to repetitively and passively dwell on one’s depressed symptoms, their meanings, and their consequences	rumination
mental and behavior acts designed to reduce anxiety in social situations by reducing the chance of negative social outcomes; common in social anxiety disorder	safety behavior
subset of individuals selected from the larger population	sample
fullness; satisfaction	satiation
act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal	scapegoating
emotions consist of two factors: physiological and cognitive	Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion
(plural = schemata) mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts	schema
(plural = schemata) concept (mental model) that is used to help us categorize and interpret information	schema
severe disorder characterized by major disturbances in thought, perception, emotion, and behavior with symptoms that include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and negative symptoms	schizophrenia
theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows with the main objective of improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity	scientific management
person’s knowledge about the sequence of events in a specific setting	script
subtype of depression in which a person experiences the symptoms of major depressive disorder only during a particular time of year	seasonal pattern
judgment of options available to cope with a stressor and their potential effectiveness	secondary appraisal
has no inherent value unto itself and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with something else (e.g., money, gold stars, poker chips)	secondary reinforcer
physical signs of sexual maturation that do not directly involve sex organs	secondary sexual characteristics
characterized by the child using the parent as a secure base from which to explore	secure attachment
parental presence that gives the infant/toddler a sense of safety as they explore their surroundings	secure base
concept that people choose to move to places that are compatible with their personalities and needs	selective migration
our thoughts and feelings about ourselves	self-concept
sharing personal information in relationships	self-disclosure
individual’s belief in their own capabilities or capacities to complete a task	self-efficacy
someone’s level of confidence in their own abilities	self-efficacy
treating stereotyped group members according to our biased expectations only to have this treatment influence the individual to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs	self-fulfilling prophecy
tendency for an individual to have better memory for information that relates to oneself in comparison to material that has less personal relevance	self-reference effect
tendency for individuals to take credit by making dispositional or internal attributions for positive outcomes and situational or external attributions for negative outcomes	self-serving bias
input of words and their meaning	semantic encoding
type of declarative memory about words, concepts, and language-based knowledge and facts	semantic memory
process by which we derive meaning from morphemes and words	semantics
cell membrane that allows smaller molecules or molecules without an electrical charge to pass through it, while stopping larger or highly charged molecules	semipermeable membrane
what happens when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor	sensation
first stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from birth through age 2, a child learns about the world through senses and motor behavior	sensorimotor stage
failure to transmit neural signals from the cochlea to the brain	sensorineural hearing loss
not perceiving stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time	sensory adaptation
storage of brief sensory events, such as sights, sounds, and tastes	sensory memory
assertion that each individual has an ideal body weight, or set point, that is resistant to change	set point theory
adult with a BMI over 40	severe obesity
prejudice and discrimination toward individuals based on their sex	sexism
sexually-based behavior that is knowingly unwanted and has an adverse effect of a person’s employment status, interferes with a person’s job performance, or creates a hostile or intimidating work environment	sexual harassment
emotional, romantic, and/or erotic attraction to other people or no people	sexual orientation
divided into 4 phases including excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution	sexual response cycle
rewarding successive approximations toward a target behavior	shaping
holds about seven bits of information before it is forgotten or stored, as well as information that has been retrieved and is being used	short-term memory (STM)
change in stimulus detection as a function of current mental state	signal detection theory
things that are alike tend to be grouped together	similarity
experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group	single-blind study
describes a perspective that behavior and actions are determined by the immediate environment and surroundings; a view promoted by social psychologists	situationism
state marked by relatively low levels of physical activity and reduced sensory awareness that is distinct from periods of rest that occur during wakefulness	sleep
sleep disorder defined by episodes during which breathing stops during sleep	sleep apnea
result of insufficient sleep on a chronic basis	sleep debt
sleep-deprived individuals will experience shorter sleep latencies during subsequent opportunities for sleep	sleep rebound
brain’s control of switching between sleep and wakefulness as well as coordinating this cycle with the outside world	sleep regulation
rapid burst of high frequency brain waves during stage 2 sleep that may be important for learning and memory	sleep spindle
(also, somnambulism) sleep disorder in which the sleeper engages in relatively complex behaviors	sleepwalking
characterized by extreme and persistent fear or anxiety and avoidance of social situations in which one could potentially be evaluated negatively by others	social anxiety disorder
humans act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintain a relationship, with the goal to maximize benefits and minimize costs	social exchange theory
exertion of less effort by a person working in a group because individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group, thus causing performance decline on easy tasks	social loafing
group’s expectations regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for the thoughts and behavior of its members	social norm
field of psychology that examines how people impact or affect each other, with particular focus on the power of the situation	social psychology
popular scale designed to measure stress; consists of 43 potentially stressful events, each of which has a numerical value quantifying how much readjustment is associated with the event	Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
socially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of a person in a given setting or group	social role
soothing and often beneficial support of others; can take different forms, such as advice, guidance, encouragement, acceptance, emotional comfort, and tangible assistance	social support
Bandura’s theory of personality that emphasizes both cognition and learning as sources of individual differences in personality	social-cognitive theory
social support/friendships dwindle in number, but remain as close, if not more close than in earlier years	socioemotional selectivity theory
cell body	soma
belief that something highly unusual is happening to one’s body or internal organs	somatic delusion
relays sensory and motor information to and from the CNS	somatic nervous system
essential for processing sensory information from across the body, such as touch, temperature, and pain	somatosensory cortex
anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, distressing, and persistent fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation	specific phobia
first male ejaculation	spermarche
return of a previously extinguished conditioned response	spontaneous recovery
area of psychology that focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other activities	sport and exercise psychology
first stage of sleep; transitional phase that occurs between wakefulness and sleep; the period during which a person drifts off to sleep	stage 1 sleep
second stage of sleep; the body goes into deep relaxation; characterized by the appearance of sleep spindles	stage 2 sleep
third stage of sleep; deep sleep characterized by low frequency, high amplitude delta waves	stage 3 sleep
third stage of the general adaptation syndrome; the body’s ability to resist stress becomes depleted; illness, disease, and even death may occur	stage of exhaustion
process proposed by Kohlberg; humans move through three stages of moral development	stage of moral reasoning
second stage of the general adaptation syndrome; the body adapts to a stressor for a period of time	stage of resistance
measure of variability that describes the difference between a set of scores and their mean	standard deviation
method of testing in which administration, scoring, and interpretation of results are consistent	standardization
Stanford University conducted an experiment in a mock prison that demonstrated the power of social roles, social norms, and scripts	stanford prison experiment
middle ear ossicle; also known as the stirrup	stapes
determines how likely any difference between experimental groups is due to chance	statistical analysis
specific beliefs or assumptions about individuals based solely on their membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics	stereotype
drug that tends to increase overall levels of neural activity; includes caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, and cocaine	stimulant
ability to respond differently to similar stimuli	stimulus discrimination
demonstrating the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus	stimulus generalization
creation of a permanent record of information	storage
therapist guides the therapy sessions and develops treatment plans for each family member for specific problems that can addressed in a short amount of time	strategic family therapy
process whereby an individual perceives and responds to events that one appraises as overwhelming or threatening to one’s well-being	stress
environmental events that may be judged as threatening or demanding; stimuli that initiate the stress process	stressors
therapist examines and discusses with the family the boundaries and structure of the family: who makes the rules, who sleeps in the bed with whom, how decisions are made, and what are the boundaries within the family	structural family therapy
understanding the conscious experience through introspection	structuralism
ego defense mechanism in which unacceptable urges are channeled into more appropriate activities	sublimation
message presented below the threshold of conscious awareness	subliminal message
midbrain structure where dopamine is produced; involved in control of movement	substantia nigra
infant (one year old or younger) with no apparent medical condition suddenly dies during sleep	sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories	suggestibility
thoughts of death by suicide, thinking about or planning suicide, or making a suicide attempt	suicidal ideation
death caused by intentional, self-directed injurious behavior	suicide
(plural: sulci) depressions or grooves in the cerebral cortex	sulcus
aspect of the personality that serves as one’s moral compass, or conscience	superego
describes a force beyond scientific understanding	supernatural
area of the hypothalamus in which the body’s biological clock is located	suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
list of questions to be answered by research participants—given as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally—allowing researchers to collect data from a large number of people	survey
involved in stress-related activities and functions	sympathetic nervous system
small gap between two neurons where communication occurs	synaptic cleft
storage site for neurotransmitters	synaptic vesicle
manner by which words are organized into sentences	syntax
form of exposure therapy used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders by exposing a person to the feared object or situation through a stimulus hierarchy	systematic desensitization
grouping of taste receptor cells with hair-like extensions that protrude into the central pore of the taste bud	taste bud
employees’ ability to set their own hours allowing them to work from home at different parts of the day	telecommuting
projective test designed to be culturally relevant to minority groups, especially Hispanic youths, using images and storytelling that relate to minority culture	TEMAS Multicultural Thematic Apperception Test
innate traits that influence how one thinks, behaves, and reacts with the environment	temperament
how a person reacts to the world, including their activity level, starting when they are very young	temperament
part of cerebral cortex associated with hearing, memory, emotion, and some aspects of language; contains primary auditory cortex	temporal lobe
sound’s frequency is coded by the activity level of a sensory neuron	temporal theory of pitch perception
biological, chemical, or physical environmental agent that causes damage to the developing embryo or fetus	teratogen
axon terminal containing synaptic vesicles	terminal button
sensory relay for the brain	thalamus
projective test in which people are presented with ambiguous images, and they then make up stories to go with the images in an effort to uncover their unconscious desires, fears, and struggles	Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena	theory
states that organisms that are better suited for their environments will survive and reproduce compared to those that are poorly suited for their environments	theory of evolution by natural selection
assumes workers are inherently lazy and unproductive; managers must have control and use punishments	Theory X
assumes workers are people who seek to work hard and productively; managers and workers can find creative solutions to problems; workers do not need to be controlled and punished	Theory Y
temperature perception	thermoception
type of brain wave characteristic of the end of stage 1 NREM sleep, which has a moderately low amplitude and a frequency of 4–7 Hz	theta wave
level of charge in the membrane that causes the neuron to become active	threshold of excitation
secretes hormones that regulate growth, metabolism, and appetite	thyroid
descriptive term which refers to a sound’s quality; impacted by the interplay of frequency, amplitude, and timing of sound waves	timbre
controlled setting where individuals are reinforced for desirable behaviors with tokens (e.g., poker chip) that be exchanged for items or privileges	token economy
state of requiring increasing quantities of the drug to gain the desired effect	tolerance
interpretation of sensations is influenced by available knowledge, experiences, and thoughts	top-down processing
characteristic ways of behaving	traits
characteristic of leaders who focus on supervision and organizational goals achieved through a system of rewards and punishments; maintenance of the organizational status quo	transactional leadership style
conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential	transduction
process in psychoanalysis in which the patient transfers all of the positive or negative emotions associated with the patient’s other relationships to the psychoanalyst	transference
characteristic of leaders who are charismatic role models, inspirational, intellectually stimulating, and individually considerate and who seek to change the organization	transformational leadership style
use of hormones to make one’s body look more like a different sex or gender	transgender hormone therapy
memory error in which unused memories fade with the passage of time	transience
problem-solving strategy in which multiple solutions are attempted until the correct one is found	trial and error
model of love based on three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment; several types of love exist, depending on the presence or absence of each of these components	triangular theory of love
Sternberg’s theory of intelligence; three facets of intelligence: practical, creative, and analytical	triarchic theory of intelligence
color vision is mediated by the activity across the three groups of cones	trichromatic theory of color perception
lowest point of a wave	trough
eardrum	tympanic membrane
psychological and behavior pattern exhibited by individuals who tend to be extremely competitive, impatient, rushed, and hostile toward others	Type A
psychological and behavior pattern exhibited by a person who is relaxed and laid back	Type B
responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information	U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
taste for monosodium glutamate	umami
fundamental acceptance of a person regardless of what they say or do; term associated with humanistic psychology	unconditional positive regard
natural (unlearned) behavior to a given stimulus	unconditioned response (UCR)
stimulus that elicits a reflexive response	unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
mental activity of which we are unaware and unable to access	unconscious
parents are indifferent, uninvolved, and sometimes referred to as neglectful; they don’t respond to the child’s needs and make relatively few demands	uninvolved parenting style
accuracy of a given result in measuring what it is designed to measure	validity
behavior is rewarded after unpredictable amounts of time have passed	variable interval reinforcement schedule
number of responses differ before a behavior is rewarded	variable ratio reinforcement schedule
midbrain structure where dopamine is produced: associated with mood, reward, and addiction	ventral tegmental area (VTA)
one of the fluid-filled cavities within the brain	ventricle
spinning sensation	vertigo
contributes to our ability to maintain balance and body posture	vestibular sense
process where the observer sees the model punished, making the observer less likely to imitate the model’s behavior	vicarious punishment
process where the observer sees the model rewarded, making the observer more likely to imitate the model’s behavior	vicarious reinforcement
uses a simulation rather than the actual feared object or situation to help people conquer their fears	virtual reality exposure therapy
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see	visible spectrum
input of images	visual encoding
therapy that a person chooses to attend in order to obtain relief from her symptoms	voluntary treatment
characterized by high levels of sensory awareness, thought, and behavior	wakefulness
length of a wave from one peak to the next peak	wavelength
important for speech comprehension	Wernicke’s area
variety of negative symptoms experienced when drug use is discontinued	withdrawal
group of people within an organization or company given a specific task to achieve together	work team
heuristic in which you begin to solve a problem by focusing on the end result	working backwards
violence or the threat of violence against workers; can occur inside or outside the workplace	workplace violence
occurs when people juggle the demands of work life with the demands of family life	work–family balance
simple tasks are performed best when arousal levels are relatively high, while complex tasks are best performed when arousal is lower	Yerkes-Dodson law
structure created when a sperm and egg merge at conception; begins as a single cell and rapidly divides to form the embryo and placenta	zygote