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| The smallest intensity of a stimulus that has to be present for the stimulus to be detected. |
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| The cognitive process of revising existing cognitive schemas, perceptions, and understanding so that new information can be incorporated |
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| A standardized test that is designed to measure an individual's level of knowledge in a particular area. |
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| A memory code based on the sound of the stimulus |
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| One step in the entire sequence of steps that must occur for a neural impulse to occur |
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| The tendency of an individual to regard situations in which he or she is involved as caused by external factors, and to regard situations he or she observes as caused by the actions of those involved. |
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| The adrenal gland, on top of the kidneys, is made up of 2 parts with very distinct functions. The adrenal cortex is the outer part of the gland and produces hormones that help regulate metabolism and immune response. The inner part of the gland called the adrenal medulla, secretes hormones for coping with stress. It is the release of adrenaline (or epinephrine) that triggers "fight or flight" response. |
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| A chemical or drug that binds to receptors in the brain and causes a reaction. |
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| A set of instructions for solving a problem or completing a process, often used in math. These steps are very precise and well defined. |
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| Altered State of Consciousness |
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| Any mental state or condition that varies from a person's normal state of awareness. Things that produce altered states are drugs, alcohol, dreams, hypnosis, sleep deprivation, meditation and hallucinations. |
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| Two areas of the brain containing lots or neurons that influence anger, aggression, fear and rage. |
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| Hormones that control sexual development. They can be naturally produced by the body or synthetic. Among their functions is their contributions to the growth of male sex organs. Testosterone is one of the more recognizable androgens. |
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| A chemical or drug that binds to receptors in the brain and prevents agonist from having a reaction. |
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| A substance, either natural or manmade, that is used to treat certain mental disorders (depression, anxiety, OCD). These substances are used to influence brain chemistry. Most common classes are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's), serotonin-noepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI's), tricyclic antidepressants (TCA's) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI's). Natural ingredients sometimes used for depression are tryptophan and St. John's Wort. |
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| Anti-Social Personality Disorder |
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| A mental condition in which a person has a long-term pattern of manipulating, exploiting, or violating the rights of others. |
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| A chronic condition characterized by an excessive and persistent sense of apprehension, with physical symptoms such as sweating, palpitations, and feelings of stress. |
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| Being alert, physically and mentally. Various body systems and hormones are involved and contribute to alertness and readiness to move. |
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| The cognitive process of fitting new information into existing cognitive schemas, perceptions, and understanding. This means that when you are faced with new information, you make sense of this information by referring to information you already have (information processed and learned previously) and try to fit the new information into the information you already have. |
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| Attachment can pertain to all people, regardless of age, but typically relates to the attachment between children and caregivers (usually the mother). Attachment is an emotional tie or bond between two people. This is a very powerful bond that is important for survival - it keeps infants close to their mothers which is important for getting food, staying away from danger, and getting comfort. |
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| A Social Psychological theory that relates to the way in which people explain their own behavior and that of others. According to this theory, people tend to attribute (or explain) psychological or external causes as the determining factor in behavior. |
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| The section of the brain that processes information received through hearing. Located in the temporal lobe, a part of the cerebral cortex, it receives signals from the ears pertaining to pitch and volume of sound. For example, it registers sirens, door bells, telephone ringers, etc. , any sound that is designed to gain attention. |
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| Also known as the Cochlear or acoustic nerve (part of the vestibulocochlear or 8th cranial nerve), auditory nerve is a sensory nerve, it is found in the head and transmits information from the inner ear (cochlea) to the brain in the form of sound (acoustic) energy that impinges on the ear drum (tympanic membrane). Example: As the auditory nerve reacts to variations in pressure and wave lengths, it transmits the sounds of speech and music, as well as other environmental sounds. |
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| The Autonomic Nervous System is made up of three parts: the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the enteric nervous system. It controls the muscles that move involuntarily, like the eyes, the heart, and the intestines. It contributes to the "fight or flight" response, causing your heart to race and your blood pressure to go up when you face danger. This is the system affected by caffeine, which is why caffeine can cause increased heart rate and alertness beyond your control. |
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| Availability Heuristic refers to how easily something that you've seen or heard can be accessed in your memory. This phenomenon is what makes the marketing process of "branding" work. A company makes a slogan or logo and shows it to you over and over again, until that company comes to your mind easily. You may not have any particular preference for the brand, but the marketing people count on your familiarity with the name alone to sell the product. People tend to think of things they remember as more important than things they don't remember as easily. A romantic relationship may grow because a person you've seen comes to mind after you've left them, leading you to assume this person must be important. In the same way, new friendship possibilities might have been overlooked because a person you've met several times has never seemed familiar, or they didn't make an impression on you. |
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| Aversive Conditioning is the use of something unpleasant, or a punishment, to stop an unwanted behavior. If a dog is learning to walk on a leash alongside his owner, an undesired behavior would be when the dog pulls on the leash. The owner may use a collar that delivers a shock when dog pulls - eventually the dog associates pulling on the leash with getting a painful shock and stops pulling. As with all forms of punishment, it may work but is generally less effective than the use of reinforcement. |
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The long, spider-thin, tail-like structures found on neurons (nerve cells). Each neuron has a nerve body, dendrites, and axons, all of which are used to send information throughout your body. The axon carries signals (electric voltages) between the dendrites (the neuron's input sites) and the terminal buttons (the neuron's output sites that are at the very end of the axon).
The signal always travels in the same direction - the signal comes into the neuron through the dendrites, through the cell body (soma), to the axon, and then out the terminal buttons to the dendrites of the next neuron. In this way information travels all around your body by going from neuron to neuron. |
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| A type of treatment that focuses on changing or reducing the occurrence of some maladaptive behavior as opposed to simply examining the unconscious conflicts or aspects associated with the maladaptive behavior. So instead of trying to "get to the root of a problem", behavior therapy aims to get rid of the problem regardless of the feelings about the behavior, the underlying causes, etc. In addition, behavior therapy is based on the premise that maladaptive behavior, like adaptive behaviors, are learned, and therefore can be unlearned. Thus, behavior therapies (like systematic desensitization, aversion therapy, and behavior modification) are based on the principles of learning. |
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| Behavioral Approach to Psychology |
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| The behavioral approach was founded by John B. Watson and originally rejected the study of mental processes in favor of the study of overt behavior (observable behavior) and external factors - study of observable events. The behaviorists believed all behavior was determined by stimuli in the environment. Today, this approach still stresses the importance of the environment on behavior, but also allows for inclusion of cognitive processes and feelings (early behaviorists rejected cognition in the study of behavior). |
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| An area of psychological study that looks at the genetic component that underlies human behavior. For instance, some people are born with a nervous disposition, or an easy-going personality, and this basic in-born personality style influences their style of reaction to stress and challenges. |
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| Sampling Bias refers to errors that can occur in research studies by not properly selecting participants for the study. Study participants should be chosen completely randomly within the criteria of the study but without factors that might influence the results. It risks the internal validity of a study if any bias exists in the choosing of participants. |
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| The Big Five are personality dimensions which are differing facets that comprise a person's personality. They are different factors of a person's personality that everyone has to varying levels. The big five are openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. You can remember these easier by using the word OCEAN, which uses the first letter of each one. These traits exist on a spectrum. So when personality measures are given to measure the big five traits people are scored on a range. |
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| The biological approach believes us to be as a consequence of our genetics and physiology. It is the only approach in psychology that examines thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from a biological and thus physical point of view. Therefore, all that is psychological is first physiological. All thoughts, feeling & behaviour ultimately have a biological cause. |
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| A type of psychologist who explores the application of the principles of biology to the study of mental processes and behaviors. |
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| A medical model that attempts to demonstrate links between multiple body systems and human environment that create risks for illness. For instance, in recent decades many links have been made between smoking, smog and chemicals and risk of contracting various kinds of cancers. |
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| The Blood Brain Barrier separates blood that circulates throughout the body from brain fluid in the central nervous system. Its most important function is to prevent such things as infections and toxins from entering the brain via the bloodstream. It is formed by blood capillaries (the smallest blood vessels) in the brain that very tightly packed together (and thus, have tighter junctions) than other capillaries in the body which strictly control what can pass through into the brain fluid. |
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Bottom-up processing is also known as "small chunk" processing and suggests that we attend to or perceive elements by starting with the smaller, more fine details of that element and then building upward until we have a solid representation of it in our minds.
If you're the type of person who understands concepts and ideas by starting with the details and then working your way up to the main idea of overall concept, then you're a bottom-up processor. The opposite of this is Top-Down Processing. |
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| Named for the French surgeon and anthropologist, Paul Broca, who found this area of the brain, Broca's Area is located in the frontal lobe of the brain and acts as the speech center. Although there are other areas of the brain that also influence speech (Wernicke's Area and the motor cortex), Broca's Area is considered the central component. |
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| The Bystander Effect is a social phenomenon in which a person (or persons) are less likely to offer help to another person (or persons) when there are more people around who can also provide assistance. Many people believe that, when there is an emergency and lots of people are present, the people in need are more likely to get assistance. However, this is not the case. Rather, the more people there are who can help, the less likely each person is to offer help. Thus, when in a group, people are less likely to offer help than when they are alone. |
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| A case study is one type of observational data collection technique in which one individual is studied in-depth in order to identify behavioral, emotional, and/or cognitive qualities that are universally true, on average, of others. Case studies often include face-to-face interviews, paper and pencil tests, and more. |
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| CNS is a term that describes the brain and the spinal cord. This is a term you are probably familiar with, since it is one of the most commonly used scientific terms around. Despite this, there is some small debate about the CNS - some claim that the retina is also part of the CNS. However, the most accepted view is that the CNS contains only the brain and spinal cord, and that the retina is part of peripheral nervous system. |
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| The cerebellum is a structure often referred to as the "little brain" that is located in the rear of the brainstem. The cerebellum helps control voluntary movements such as eye movement and tracking of moving objects, as well as coordination and balance in behaviors that are very fast (for example, running or sprinting). |
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| The thin outer layer of the brain's (approximately 2 mm) cerebral hemispheres that acts as the main control center and information processing center. The cerebral cortex is not required for performing many simple actions, but is crucial for creating new episodic memories, the fancier associations, and many new movement programs. The cerebral cortex is made up of two different sub-components: the motor cortex and the sensory cortex. |
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| The threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes. A human cell has twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, one member of each pair coming from each parent. It is these cells that are so important in determining who we are from a genetic standpoint. But don't forget, our genetic makeup is only one part of the equation. Who we are is a combination of our genetic makeup and our experiences (our environment). |
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| First proposed and studied by Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning is one form of learning in which an organism "learns" through establishing associations between different events and stimuli. For example, when a neutral stimulus (such as a bell) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (such as food) which produces some involuntary bodily response all on its own (such as salivating), the neutral stimulus begins to trigger a response by the organism similar (some salivation) to that produced by the unconditioned stimulus. In this way, the organism has "learned" that the neutral stimulus equals something good (just like the unconditioned stimulus). |
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| Client-Centered Therapy refers to a school of psychological therapy that uses a humanistic approach focusing on the human need for self-actualization and emphasizes healthy psychological growth. For instance, this can be where a person who doesn't appear to have any specific emotional or behavioral problem seeks help to "get more out of life" such as enhancing relationships or getting ahead at work. |
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| A clinical psychologist is a mental health professional with highly specialized training in the diagnosis and psychological treatment of mental illness, including obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Clinical psychologists do not prescribe medications to treat mental illness; rather, they use psychological techniques, such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy. Clinical psychologists must usually complete a Ph.D. in clinical psychology before being able to practice; however, in some states and provinces, a Master’s degree is sufficient. In most states and provinces, the professional activities of clinical psychologists are regulated by a licensing board and/or professional college. In addition to delivery of psychotherapy, psychologists undertake a variety of activities, including psychological testing, research and teaching. |
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| The cochlea (from the Greek word meaning "snail") is a bony, spiral-shaped, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves travel and trigger nerve impulses. The cochlea looks very much like a snail and is a vital component in hearing. Nerve impulses that send auditory signals to the brain for interpretation are sent from it. |
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| The Cognitive Approach in psychology is a relatively modern approach to human behaviour that focuses on how we think, with the belief that such thought processes affect the way in which we behave (other approaches take other factors into account, such as the biological approach, which acknowledges the influences of genetics and chemical imbalances on our behaviour). |
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Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on the way people process information. It looks at how we process information we receive and how the treatment of this information leads to our responses. In other words, cognitive psychology is interested in what is happening within our minds that links stimulus (input) and response (output).
Cognitive psychologists study internal processes that include perception, attention, language, memory and thinking. |
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| Cognitive therapy is a form of therapy developed by Aaron Beck who suggested that our beliefs and perceptions influence our emotional responses to the world around us. According to cognitive therapy, our negative thought patterns (not unconscious conflicts or early life traumas as psychoanalysis suggests) cause depression, anxiety and some other mental disorders. Cogitive Therapy helps patients by making them aware of these beliefs, how they produce so many problems, and then working to change these dysfunctional beliefs. |
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| Cognitive Dissonance Theory |
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| The cognitive dissonance theory asserts that people often have two conflicting or inconsistent cognitions which produce a state of tension or discomfort (also known as "dissonance"). People are then motivated to reduce the dissonance, often in the easiest manner possible. |
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| Cognitive-Behavior Therapy |
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| Cognitive Behavioral therapy refers to a classification of psychotherapeutic techniques that emphasize the important role that thinking (cognitive) plays in how we feel and act (behavioral). In other words, what we think of an event determines how we feel, which in turn influences how we behave. Our feelings are not dictated by the event, but are rather determined by the way we think about our situation. |
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| According to Carl Jung, each person not only has their own unique unconscious mind, but also shares some elements of unconsciousness with all other people. He called this shared unconscious, the collective unconscious. Jung suggested that there are archetypes (images and memories of important human experiences) that are passed down from generation to generation. These archetypes can be common designs, shapes, colors, and figures seen over and over again throughout time. |
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| This is a branch of applied psychology that deals with mental health and social welfare issues within the community setting. In addition, community psychologists try to involve the community members in proposed solutions to those problems. According to Orford (1992), community psychology is about understanding people within their social worlds and using this understanding to improve people's well-being. Some of the topics addressed include substance abuse and prevention, addressing poverty issues, school failure, community development, risk and protective factors, empowerment, diversity, delinquency, and many more. |
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| Compliance is the tendency to agree to do what is requested especially if there are certain factors present: a feeling that there is give and take, believability, likeability, limited supply and positive feedback from others. Robert Cialdini studied how successful marketing results in consumer Compliance. |
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| In classical conditioning, the conditioned response (CR) is the learned response (reflexive behavior) to a conditioned stimulus (CS). This response is almost identical to the Unconditioned Stimulus except that now the reflexive behavior occurs in response to a conditioned stimulus as opposed to an unconditioned stimulus. |
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| In classical conditioning, a formerly neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to produce a conditioned response. For example, a dog salivates (UR) from the smell of a bone (US) naturally, without any conditioning. Once some neutral stimulus (for example, a "beep" that the dog would not naturally or normally cause the dog to salivate) has been paired with the bone for some time, the dog will salivate (conditioned response or CR) when the "beep" occurs. Once the beep has the capacity to elicit the salivation, it is now considered a conditioned stimulus (CS). |
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| Conformity can be defined as adjusting one's behavior or thinking to match those of other people or a group standard. There are lots of reasons why people conform, including the desire/need to fit in or be accepted by others and maintaining order in ones life. |
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| An extraneous variable whose presence affects the variables being studied so that the results you get do not reflect the actual relationship between the variables under investigation. When conducting an experiment, the basic question that any experimenter is asking is: "How does A affect B?" where A is the probable cause, and B is the effect. Any manipulation of A is expected to result in a change in the effect. |
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| A degree of cognitive function involving arousal mechanisms of the reticular formation of the brain. The stages of response of the mind to stimuli vary from unconsciousness through vague awareness to full attention. The usual standard levels include coma, in which the patient does not appear to be aware of the environment; stupor, in which the patient is vaguely aware of the environment; drowsiness, in which the patient responds to stimuli but may be slow to react; and alert wakefulness. Impaired LOC may be expressed in obtundation or reduced alertness, stupor, syncope, or unresponsiveness. |
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| Consciousness, many have argued, is what separates humans from other animals. Consciousness refers to our awareness of our own mental processes, such as our thoughts, feelings, and sensations. It is possible that we are the only beings on this planet that have this type of self awareness or level of consciousness and the ability to introspect, or look inward and examine these processes. For example, if you are angry, you can try to understand your anger, why you are angry, what that anger feels like, etc. |
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| Contact hypothesis refers to the belief that prejudices can be lessened or eliminated by direct contact between groups. In the modern world there are many organizations that exist to create forums for different religions and ethnic groups to learn about each other and discuss their differences. |
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| In an experiment or clinical trial, a group of subjects closely resembling the treatment group in many demographic variables but not receiving the active medication or factor under study and thereby serving as a comparison group when treatment results are evaluated. |
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| A cognitive process (a mode of critical thinking) in which a person attempts to find a single, correct answer to a problem. This is opposite from divergent thinking in which a person generates many unique, creative responses to a single question or problem. |
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| The transparent, dome-shaped tissue covering the iris and the pupil. The cornea shields the eye from germs, dust, and other harmful matter. It also acts as the eye's outer lens. Much like a window, the cornea controls light entering the eye. It also contributes to the eye's focusing ability. |
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| An immense pathway of nerve fibers traveling over the longitudinal fissure of the brain and linking the cerebral hemispheres. It also serves as the primary linkage for the two opposing sides of the brain. |
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| The measurement of the relationship between variables. These variables can occur in a variety of settings and are not controlled by the researcher. |
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| Counseling Psychology is a specialty within professional psychology that maintains a focus on facilitating personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span. The specialty pays particular attention to emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns. |
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| A critical period is a specific time during which an organism has to experience stimuli in order to progress through developmental stages properly. A specified time span, also referred to as the optimal or sensitive period, during which certain events or experiences must occur in order for the development of an organism to proceed normally. |
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| Critical thinking is the ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons. It is the ability to look for flaws in arguments and resist claims that have no supporting evidence. Critical thinking, however, is not merely negative thinking. It also fosters the ability to be creative and constructive to generate possible explanations for findings, think of implications, and apply new knowledge to a broad range of social and personal problems. |
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| Culture is the set of ideas, behaviors, attitudes, and traditions that exist within large groups of people (usually of a common religion, family, or something similar). These ideas, behaviors, traditions, etc. are passed on from one generation to the next and are typically resistant to change over time. Cultures vary widely not only across the world, but even right next door. |
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| Data are sets of numbers or pieces of information obtained during research studies. Data may be either qualitative (categorical and usually non-numerical) or quantitative (numerical) in nature, but in general, data are numerical pieces of information. |
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A defense mechanism is a way for the mind to protect us from being consciously aware of thoughts or feelings that are too difficult to tolerate. Since the thought or feeling is too difficult to tolerate the defense mechanism only allows the unconscious thought or feeling to be expressed indirectly in some type of disguised form. Doing this allows us to reduce anxiety that is caused by the unconscious thought or feeling.
The concept of the defense mechanism was popularized by Freud and the psychoanalytic perspective. There are several different types of defense mechanisms including repression, regression, denial (my personal favorite), projection, compensation, sublimation, reaction formation, rationalization, and hallucination. |
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| The loss of one's individuality. Instead of acting as individuals, people experiencing deindividuation become lost in a group. This often means that they will go along with whatever the group is doing, whether that is a riot, looting, lynching, or engaging in cyberbullying. |
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| Dendrites are the branch-like structures of neurons that extend from the cell body (Soma). The dendrites receive neural impulses (electrical and chemical signals) from the axons of other neurons. The signal always travels in the same direction - the signal comes into the neuron through the dendrites, through the cell body (soma), to the axon, and then out the terminal buttons to the dendrites of the next neuron. In this way information travels all around your body by going from neuron to neuron. |
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The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured in an experiment. For example, in a study looking at how tutoring impacts test scores, the dependent variable would be the participants' test scores.
In a psychology experiment, researchers are looking at how changes in the independent variable cause changes in the dependent variable. One way to help identify the dependent variable is to remember that it depends on the independent variable. |
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| Developmental Psychologist |
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| A psychologist in a branch of psychology that studies changes in human behavior from early life to death. |
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| A cognitive process (a mode of critical thinking) in which a person generates many unique, creative responses to a single question or problem. This is different from convergent thinking which attempts to find a single, correct answer to a problem. |
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| To arrange an experimental set-up in which the experimenter does not know which subjects are receiving which treatment. |
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| An aroused state of psychological tension that typically arises from a need. A drive, such as hunger or thirst, motivates the organism to act in ways that will reduce the tension. So, for example, when you become hungry (tension caused by need for food) you are motivated to eat (method of reducing the tension). |
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| The Eardrum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin flap of skin at the end of the ear canal. When sound waves hit the eardrum it creates vibrations that travel through the middle ear to the inner ear. The inner ear then sends a message to our brain about what we are hearing. The eardrum also protects the inside of the ear from water, bacteria, and other foreign objects. |
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| Educational psychologists mainly study educational institutions such as schools and how students learn within these institutions. In addition, an educational psychologist will research and study topics such as, how people learn, how to motivate students as well as the use of memorization. Educational psychologists can also focus on certain segments of the population, such as adult learners, preschoolers, as well as elementary and high school aged children. They may also focus on studying gifted students as well as students with learning disabilities and even how learning takes place within groups. |
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| Electroconvulsive Therapy |
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| ECT (also known as shock therapy) is a type of biomedical therapy in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of a patient in order to produce a chemical change. This treatment, although not practiced commonly, is most often used to treat severely depressed people, and has been shown to work quite effectively. ECT fell out of favor and was perceived as cruel and inhuman, but in recent years has regained some popularity. |
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| An emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response. |
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| The Philosophical school of thought that real knowledge comes from the senses. This formed the basis for the foundation of modern science - the reliance on empirical evidence, or evidence that is observable. You have probably heard the expression, "empirical data" before...it is referring to any data that are observable through the senses. |
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| Any information which we sense and subsequently attempt to process, store, and later retrieve must be brought in through one of the senses and then transformed into some form that our bodies and minds understand. The process of breaking the information down into a form we understand is the process of encoding (and we later "decode" the information to recall it). But the process of getting into the memory system for storage and later retrieval is encoding. |
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| Information travels through our bodies in two forms; as electrical signals, or as chemical signals. The chemical signals are created and carried throughout the body using the endocrine system. This system works more slowly than the electrical signals, and is made up of glands that secret hormones (the carriers of the information) in the bloodstream. |
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| A field of psychology that focuses on the relationship between humans and the products that we use everyday. Specialists in this field concentrate on exploring the relationships between man and machine, so to speak. |
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| Environmental Psychologist |
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| An interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between individuals and their surroundings. The field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments. |
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| Estrogen is one of the sex hormones that is necessary for proper female reproductive functioning as well as the development of secondary female characteristics like breasts, less facial hair than men, etc. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, which produces increased sexual receptivity (i.e., female mammals are more receptive to sex during this phase). |
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| Typically, ethnic identity is an affiliative construct, where an individual is viewed by themselves and by others as belonging to a particular ethnic or cultural group. An individual can choose to associate with a group especially if other choices are available (i.e., the person is of mixed ethnic or racial heritage). |
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| Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach to psychology that attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traits—such as memory, perception, or language—as adaptations, i.e., as the functional products of natural selection. |
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Definition
| One type of research method in which the investigator manipulates one or more independent variables (IV) to determine the effect(s) on some behavior (the dependent variable) while controlling other relevant factors. There are two types of experiments, the true experiment and the quasi experiment. A true experiment occurs when the investigator does two things: 1) randomly assigns participants to groups (e.g., experimental and control); and 2) manipulates at least one IV. A quasi experiment is almost the same, except now there is no random assignment of participants to groups; only manipulation of the IV. In order to reach "cause and effect" conclusions about the effect of the IV on the DV, you must use a true experiment. |
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| An experimental group is the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested. One variable is tested at a time. The experimental group is compared to a control group, which does not receive the test variable. |
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| n research, an experimenter bias, also known as research bias, occurs when a researcher unconsciously affects results, data, or a participant in an experiment due to subjective influence. It is difficult for humans to be entirely objective which is not being influenced by personal emotions, desires, or biases. Experimenter bias can occur at any phase of the research process from the initial background research to the final write-up of results. It is very important to consider experimenter bias as a possible issue in any research setting. Steps can be taken to reduce the likelihood of its occurrence such as conducting blind studies and finding non-biased data collectors. |
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The brain is made up of a system of axons, or nerve fibers, through which brain cells communicate with each other. Axons link together to form cable-like structures, called tracts.
Tracts contain millions of nerve connections and make up the white matter of the brain.
Individual tracts of the brain are responsible for such functions as speech, memory, and left- and right-sided movement. |
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When you are in a stressful or dangerous situation and experience fear and anxiety, your body goes through a number of changes:
* Your heart rate may increase.
* Your vision may narrow (sometimes called "tunnel vision"
* You may notice that your muscles become tense.
* You may begin to sweat.
* Your hearing may become more sensitive.
All of these changes are part of the fight or flight syndrome. As the name implies, these changes are preparing you for immediate action. They are preparing you to flee, freeze (kind of like a deer does when caught in someone's headlights), or to fight. |
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The Fight or Flight response is a physiological response triggered when we feel a strong emotion like fear. Fear is the normal emotion to feel in response to a danger or threat.
Fear also has a close relative we call anxiety. The Fight or Flight response evolved to enable us to react with appropriate actions: to run away, to fight, or sometimes freeze to be a less visible target. The fight-or-flight response (also called the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response [in PTSD], hyperarousal, or the acute stress response) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. |
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| The section of a brian that develops from the anterior section of the neural tube in an embryo and contains the hemispheres, basal ganglia, amygdala and hippocampus. |
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| A forensic psychologist is a psychologist who works within the legal profession or court system providing a variety of services. A forensic psychologist can work in either the criminal or civil law system or both. |
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| The fovea is the central focal point on the retina in the eye around which the cones cluster. In fact, the fovea has only cones around it, which are better for detecting fine detail. So, when trying to really see some fine detail or focus something, people tend to move the image onto the fovea (although they may be unaware that this is what they are doing...they just think they are trying to see something better). |
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| A region of the cerebral cortex at the front of the brain (lying just behind the forehead) that is necessary for motor control and more complex, high-end functioning like speech, decision making, and judgments. |
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The inability to utilize an object for something other than what it was originally intended for. People become fixed, or locked, in their way of thinking and cannot adapt to demands or opportunities presented in a situation.
Functional fixedness is a result of mental set. This is when a person is unable to think in a different or adaptive way; they are 'set in their ideas.' |
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| Fundamental Attribution Error |
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Definition
| In social psychology, the fundamental attribution error, also known as the correspondence bias or attribution effect, is the tendency for people to place an undue emphasis on internal characteristics (personality) to explain someone else's behavior in a given situation rather than considering the situation's external factors. It does not explain interpretations of one's own behavior, where situational factors are more easily recognized and can thus be taken into consideration. Conversely, from the other perspective, this error is known as the actor–observer bias, in which people tend to overemphasize the role of a situation in their behaviors and underemphasize the role of their own personalities. |
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| Developed by Fritz Perls, Gestalt Therapy combines the psychoanalytic perspective of bringing unconscious feelings to awareness with the humanistic emphasis of "getting in touch with oneself" in order to help people become more aware of and able to express their feelings. In addition, it is not enough to just become aware of these feelings, Gestalt Therapy also helps people realize the importance of taking responsibility for their feelings and actions. |
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| the name that describes the organ that secretes a substance needed for some bodily function or for discharge from the body. Some glands release the substance through ducts, into an organ or tract, outside the body or into the bloodstream. |
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| Glial cells are non-neural cells that perform "housekeeper" functions such as clearing out debris and excess materials. Glial cells support neurons by providing support and nutrition. There are several different types of glial cells: astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, ependymal cells, radial glial, satellite cells and schwann cells. It is estimated that there are 10 to 50 times more glial cells than there are neurons in the brain. |
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| Group therapy is a form of psychosocial treatment where a small group of patients meet regularly to talk, interact, and discuss problems with each other and the group leader (therapist). |
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A health psychologist is concerned with the way that psychology can affect a person's health. Some of the things that a health psychologist will look at include biological, social, psychological and cultural aspects of a person's life. The work done in this area has shown that the body can affect and be affected by a person's psychological well-being.
A health psychologist will be concerned with lifestyle choices and how they can affect a person's health as well as how people deal with illness and disease. Health psychologists also help with the implementation of treatment and advise how treatment issues are best approached with a patient. A health psychologist will also help the patient deal with the effects of the treatment. |
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Definition
1. encouraging or promoting investigation; conducive to discovery.
2. denoting a strategy for learning in which the student uses a tool or device for finding a way to achieve a goal or solve a problem. |
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Definition
| The Hindbrain, also formally known as the rhombencephalon, is the portion of the brain that contains the pons, cerebellum and medulla, and is responsible for regulating basic human functions. |
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| The hippocampus is a part of your brain, specifically a part of the limbic system that is vital for the formation of memories. Without the hippocampus, you would not be able to remember anything that you are reading hear or anywhere else. |
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| A state of psychological equilibrium obtained when tension or a drive has been reduced or eliminated. |
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| Chemical compounds secreted by the endocrine glands that are important in lots of different bodily functions, including the transmission of information throughout the body. Here are some of the glands responsible for the production of different hormones: hypothalamus (releasing hormones), pituitary gland (e.g., growth hormone), adrenal gland (e.g., epinephrin - associated with sympathetic nervous system functioning), gonads (e.g., testosterone, estrogen, etc., necessary for development of sex specific characteristics like body hair, reproductive organs, etc.), kidneys (e.g., renin, involved in regulation of blood pressure), pancreas, thyroid, and pineal gland. |
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| Humanistic psychology views humans as holistic individuals capable of determining their own behaviors and goals. Read on to find out about the development of this perspective and about the work of key humanist psychologists. |
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Definition
| A part of the brain that sits below (hypo) the thalamus and is responsible for orchestrating several behaviors that are considered "maintenance" behaviors (such as eating, drinking, body temperature). In addition, the hypothalamus helps govern the endocrine system (glands that produce hormones) using the pituitary gland, and is also involved in feeling emotions and perceiving things are rewarding (for example, being in love is perceived as a good and rewarding feeling/emotion and something worth trying to obtain more of). |
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| A tentative and testable explanation of the relationship between two (or more) events or variables; often stated as a prediction that a certain outcome will result from specific conditions. |
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Definition
In an experiment there are two variables; the Independent Variable (IV) and the Dependent Variable (DV).
Therefore, we can define the independent variable as the experimental variable or variable that is manipulated by the research and has some effect on the DV. If there is a change or effect, we may conclude that the IV affected the DV. The ultimate here is to establish that the IV caused the change in the DV (this is the magical "cause-effect"). |
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| Industrial/Organizational Psychologists |
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Definition
| Industrial organizational psychology is the branch of psychology that applies psychological theories and principles to organizations. Often referred to as I-O psychology, this field focuses on increasing workplace productivity and related issues such as the physical and mental well being of employees. Industrial organizational psychologists perform a wide variety of tasks, including studying worker attitudes and behavior, evaluating companies, and conducting leadership training. |
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| The sciences concerned with gathering, manipulating, storing, retrieving, and classifying recorded information |
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| A behavior that is genetically programmed into an entire species. Thus, the behavior is not the result of learning, and can be seen across members of a species. |
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| The capacity for goal-directed, adaptive behavior. This type of behavior is that which helps us achieve the goals we set and the challenges we face. |
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Definition
| An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a score derived from one of several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation "IQ" was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term Intelligenz-quotient, his term for a scoring method for intelligence tests he advocated in a 1912 book. |
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Definition
| The circular, colored curtain of the eye. The opening of the iris forms the pupil. The iris helps regulate the amount of light that enters the eye. |
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Definition
| The sense that detects bodily position, weight, or movement of the muscles, tendons, and joints. |
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| The Matching Phenomenon or Matching Hypothesis was first proposed by social psychology researcher Elaine Hatfield et. al. in 1966. This hypothesis puts forward the idea that people are attracted to people who are equally socially desirable. This desirability, however, is not limited to physical measures of desirability; some women are attracted to wealth and success rather than physical appearance, while men may be more attracted to youth and physical beauty. |
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Definition
| The medulla oblongata is a section of the brain located in the brainstem which is responsible for automatic functions like breathing, blood pressure, circulation and heart functions, and digestion. It is also the area responsible for many reflexes like swallowing, vomiting, coughing, and sneezing. The medulla oblongata also helps transfer information from the body to different areas of the brain. |
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| The midbrain is a portion of the brain located just above the medulla and pons and contains basic vision and hearing functions; it also is the input center for muscle movement. |
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| A process that acts, guides, and maintains behaviors. |
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Definition
| The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior |
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Definition
| Motor Cortex refers to that part of the brain where nerve cells are engaged in planning and directing the actions of muscles and glands that are under conscious control. |
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Definition
Myelin is a fatty substance that covers neurons. Around your neurons is a myelin sheath (a layer of myelin) that helps increase the speed at which information can travel on the neurons. If you could look at a neuron you would see the sheath covering the axon of the neuron in a way that looks like a row of sausage links.
A wrapping of myelin around certain nerve axons, serving as an electrical insulator that speeds nerve impulses to muscles and other effectors. |
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Definition
| Naturalistic observation is a research method commonly used by psychologists and other social scientists. This technique involves observing subjects in their natural environment. This type of research is often utilized in situations where conducting lab research is unrealistic, cost prohibitive, or would unduly affect the subject's behavior. Naturalistic observation differs from structured observation in that it involves looking at a behavior as it occurs in its natural setting with no attempts at intervention on the part of the researcher. |
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Definition
| The nervous system is a complex system of nerves which allows you to register touch, move, breathe, feel and think. The nervous system includes your brain, spinal cord, and the nerves that travel throughout your body. |
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Definition
| Neurons are nerve cells and the basic building blocks of our entire nervous systems. The neurons act as sensors for all types of stimuli and communicate the stimuli throughout the body. For example, neurons communicate to the brain that you should not leave your hand on a hot stove. In addition, the neurons are composed of 3 main components, the axon (the tail), the soma (the body), and the dendrites (the branch-like arms that stem from the soma). |
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Definition
| Chemicals released by neurons which carry information from one neuron to another. These chemicals are then read or received by a neuron's synapses. |
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Relating to the lack of consciousness of inanimate things
Concerning mental functioning that is not represented in consciousness; "nonconscious psychic processes" |
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| The unwritten but understood rules of a society or culture for the behaviors that are considered acceptable and expected. |
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| Plural form of nucleus; Nucleus - a big membrane-bound space, observed in the cells of nonacterial living beings, which consists of the bulk of the cell. |
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| A developmental term that refers to a child's ability to understand that objects still exist after they are no longer in sight. Infants eight-months old or younger tend not to have this ability. It is not until they become more cognitively developed that they understand to search for an object even though it has been hidden from view. |
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| The brain can be divided into four main areas, one of which is the occipital lobe, which is the area of the brain located at the rear of the head. The occipital lobe is responsible for sight. |
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Definition
| The Olfactory Bulb is a brain structure responsible for our sense of smell (known as Olfaction). Located at the tip of the olfactory lobe, the bulb processes information about odors after receiving sensory input from the nose. |
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Definition
| Operant Conditioning is a type of learning in which a behavior is strengthened (meaning, it will occur more frequently) when it's followed by reinforcement, and weakened (will happen less frequently) when followed by punishment. Operant conditioning is based on a simple premise - that behavior is influenced by the consequences that follow. When you are reinforced for doing something, you're more likely to do it again. When you are punished for doing something, you are less likely to do it again. |
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Definition
| A statement of the procedures or ways in which a researcher is going to measure behaviors or qualities. For example, let's say you wanted measure and define "life change". You could do this by giving people the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and then operationally define "life change" as the score on the social readjustment rating scale. |
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Definition
| The optic nerve is one of the twelve cranial nerves. The optic nerve is behind the eyeball and transmits visual information to the brain. |
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Definition
| Any of the four forms of inflammations upon the tongue. With regard to human beings, around 200 fungitype papillae are near the anterior portion of the tongue, 10-14 foliate papillae are along the sides, 7-11 circumvallate papillae are on the posterior region, and filitype papillae, with no taste operation, cover the majority of the tongue |
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Term
| Parasympathetic Nervous System |
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Definition
| The parasympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system. Its main function is to conserve/restore your body's energy. For example, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for sending signals to slow your heart rate and breathing, and speed up your digestive tract in order to digest calories and save energy. |
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Definition
| Personality is a person's unique behavioral and cognitive patterns; OR, a person's unique consistent pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. For example, some peoples' personality tends to be shy and introspective while others tend to be outgoing and extroverted. Because personalities, by definition, are stable patterns which cannot be changed easily, there has been great debate between personality theorists and social psychologists about the actual impact of personality on behavior, thought, and emotion. |
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Definition
Personality psychologists examine individual traits and behavior and determine how they influence the outcome of specific individual and group situations. The career requires a substantial education culminating in a doctorate and a great deal of research experience.
Personality psychologists observe social situations and how they are influenced by individual emotion and conduct. They explain behavior in areas such as aggression, persuasion, attraction, conformity and group interaction. Many specialize in a niche such as leadership, attitude, group behavior and conflict resolution. |
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Definition
| Photoreceptors are light-sensitive cells, (rods and cones) that are found in the retina of the eye. They are responsible for transmitting sensations of light and color to form, and transmit to the brain, images of what the eye is seeing. |
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Definition
| The portion of the exterior ear which projects past the head. Commonly referred to as auricle. |
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| The pituitary gland, which is part of the endocrine system, is a small structure located just below the hypothalamus. This is a very influential gland releases hormones that affect your growth as well as influencing the activities of other glands. For this reason the pituitary gland is often referred to as the master gland. |
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Definition
| 1. A pharmacologically inert compound which is frequently delivered as a control in testing new drugs. Placebos utilized in double-blind trials might be active or dummies. Previously, placebos were utilized from time to time as psychotherapeutic or diagnostic agents. 2. any psychological or medical remediation or intervention which is thought to be inert, thereby rendering it valuable as a control condition against which to compare the remediation or intervention of interest. |
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Definition
| In psychology, when we talk about plasticity we're referring to "brain plasticity", which refers to the ability for nerve cells to change through new experiences. The process of changing nerve cells is learning, and it was once believed that the only kind of change that could take place after childhood was related to strength in nerve cell connection, not the ability for the cells to actually change. Most psychologists now believe that nerve cells actually can continue to change and function well into adulthood. |
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Definition
| A stimulus which increases the frequency of a particular behavior using pleasant rewards. |
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Definition
| The preconscious, according to Freud, is the area that lies between conscious awareness and the unconscious. When thoughts are in the preconscious they are not at the conscious level nor are they buried in the unconscious but they are in between and can be retrieved or called into consciousness. According to Freud, this is an area where thoughts stay temporarily, not permanently. |
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Definition
| Difficulty in learning new information because of already existing information. For example, an English speaking person may have greater difficulty learning Spanish because of his or her tendency to want to apply English grammar to the new language. |
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Definition
| An approach to treatment that features psychological and psychiatric factors when examining unconscious motives in the molding of personality, attitudes and emotional disorder. This approach puts more emphasis on affect than cognition and favors clinical treatments that can be used to infer solutions. The approach attempts to trace behavior to its origin(s) in contrast the a systematic approach. |
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Definition
| A theory in psychology to predict outcomes and explain specific psychological processes. 2. Used to evaluate the performance of an individual utilizing a representation of cognitive and response characteristics. |
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Definition
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context.
The mental characteristics or attitude of a person or group.
The mental and emotional factors governing a situation or activity. |
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Definition
Psychoactive Drugs are chemical substances that act on the central nervous system to alter mood, perception, behavior, and/or consciousness. These drugs include sedatives, stimulants, hallucinogens, opiates, and psychiatric medications.
Alcohol, caffeine, LSD, heroin, and Xanax are all examples of psychoactive drugs, and each drug has different effects on mental and physical functioning. |
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Definition
| Punishment is defined as the administration of aversive stimulus to reduce or eliminate unwanted behavior. It can be either physical or nonphysical. |
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| Quantitative Psychologists |
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Definition
| Quantitative psychology is the study of methods and techniques for the measurement of human attributes, the statistical and mathematical modeling of psychological processes, the design of research studies and the analysis of psychological data. Quantitative psychology includes research and development in a number of broad areas: measurement, research design and statistical analysis as well as mathematical and statistical modeling of psychological processes. |
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Term
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Definition
| Random assignment of participants to experimental conditions is a commonly used experimental technique to help ensure that the treatment group and the control group are the same before treatment. |
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Definition
| A random sample is one in which every member of the population has the same chance of being included in the sample. |
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Definition
| Using chance to assign value to a variable. |
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Definition
| Rationalization is a defense mechanism identified by Freud. According to Freud when people are not able to deal with the reasons they behave in particular ways, they protect themselves by creating self-justifying explanations for their behaviors. |
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Definition
| A cell in a system responsible for stimulus transfer. These types of cells are specialists in detecting and responding to stimuli from external elements. 2. Any sense organ like the eye or the ear. |
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Definition
Any response you have to a stimulus that is inherent (you are born with it), it is a reflex.
Involuntary response, usually immutable within its circumstance. Reaction to stimuli, independent of conscious thought or effort. |
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Definition
| The term psychological refractory period (PRP) refers to the period of time during which the response to a second stimulus is significantly slowed because a first stimulus is still being processed. |
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Definition
| The term reliability in psychological research refers to the consistency of a research study or measuring test. Reliability is the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results. |
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Definition
| When conducting a study, a researcher selects a relatively small group of participants (a sample) from an entire population of all possible participants (for example, selecting college students at a couple of colleges from all college students in the world). Ideally, the researcher would have participants with characteristics that closely match the characteristics of the whole population - this is called having a Representative Sample. |
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Definition
| The reticular formation is a portion of the brain that is located in the central core of the brain stem. It passes through the medulla, pons, and stops in the midbrain. Its functions can be classified into 4 categories: motor control, sensory control, visceral control, and control of consciousness. |
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Definition
| The retina is the area in back of the eye that contains your rods and cones. Rods help you detect movement while cones help you see color. Both of these receptors transfer light into electrical impulses so that your brain can interpret them. |
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Definition
| Retroactive interference is when a person has difficulty recalling old information because of newly learned information. For example, you may have difficulty skiing because of recently learning how to snowboard. |
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Definition
| Retrograde amnesia (RA) is a loss of memory-access to events that occurred, or information that was learned, before an injury or the onset of a disease. |
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Definition
| There are two types of receptor cells in the human eye; the cones and the rods. The rods are the receptors in the eye which detect movement. Rods are also used in night vision. |
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Definition
| Sampling is that part of statistical practice concerned with the selection of individual observations intended to yield some knowledge about a population of concern, especially for the purposes of statistical inference. Each observation measures one or more properties (weight, location, etc.) of an observable entity enumerated to distinguish objects or individuals. Survey weights often need to be applied to the data to adjust for the sample design. Results from probability theory and statistical theory are employed to guide practice. |
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Definition
Satiety (suh-TIE-ity) is the condition of being full.
The condition of being full or gratified beyond the point of satisfaction; |
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Definition
| A Schema (or Cognitive Schema) is a cognitive system which helps us organize and make sense of information. |
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Definition
| School psychologists are uniquely qualified members of school teams that support students’ ability to learn and teachers’ ability to teach. They apply expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior, to help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. School psychologists partner with families, teachers, school administrators, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the community. |
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Definition
| In summary, a self-fulfilling prophecy is when a person unknowingly causes a prediction to come true, due to the simple fact that he or she expects it to come true. In other words, an expectation about a subject can affect our behavior toward that subject, which causes the expectation to be realized. |
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Definition
| The self-serving bias is people's tendency to attribute positive events to their own character but attribute negative events to external factors. |
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Definition
| The sensory cortex is an umbrella term that encompasses all the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Although many different sections in the brain are responsible for each particular sense, such as the occipital lobe for visual acuity, the sensory cortex is a blanket term used to refer to all of the senses. |
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Definition
| The study of the manner in which the personality, attitudes, motivations, and behavior of the individual influence and are influenced by social groups |
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| Social-Cognitive Approach |
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Definition
| Social cognition is a sub-topic of social psychology that focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. It focuses on the role that cognitive processes play in our social interactions. |
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Definition
| Socialization is the process of learning social norms in a given culture. This can be gender roles, or rules of what is expected in society whether they are moral or not. Socialization is not the actual acquisition of rules and roles of a culture, rather is the process in which a person accepts and implements those expectations. Socialization is not solely determined by the environment, but results from the interaction of an individual's genetic make-up, personality, educational experience, and environmental influences. |
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Definition
| The socio-cultural approach is based on the idea that society and culture shape cognition. Social customs, beliefs, values, and language are all part of what shapes a person's identity and reality. According to this approach, what a person thinks is based on his or her socio-cultural background. A socio-cultural approach takes into account more than the individual in attempting to understand cognitive processes. |
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Definition
| The part of the nervous system which connects the brain and spinal cord to the voluntary muscle system. The somatic nervous system is part of the peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system is also made up of the autonomic nervous system, which connects the brain and spinal cord to involuntary muscles and glands. |
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Definition
| The faculty of bodily perception; sensory systems associated with the body; includes skin senses and proprioception and the internal organs |
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Definition
| The Somatosensory Cortex is an area of the brain, located in the parietal lobe, that processes sensory input from the skin, muscles, and joints. This area detects and interprets information on touch, temperature, pain, and pressure and allows us to perceive the size, shape, and texture of an object via touch. In addition, the somatosensory cortex is responsible for helping us monitor the position of our own body in space. Specific areas of the somatosensory cortex correspond to specific parts of the body. |
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Definition
| The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about, evaluates or perceives themselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself. |
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Definition
| Self-esteem is the understanding a person creates of his or her worth, based on emotions and beliefs about how he or she fits into or performs in any given situation in life. |
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Term
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Definition
| The part of the nervous system which connects the brain and spinal cord to the voluntary muscle system. The somatic nervous system is part of the peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system is also made up of the autonomic nervous system, which connects the brain and spinal cord to involuntary muscles and glands. |
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Term
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Definition
| The faculty of bodily perception; sensory systems associated with the body; includes skin senses and proprioception and the internal organs |
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Term
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Definition
| The Somatosensory Cortex is an area of the brain, located in the parietal lobe, that processes sensory input from the skin, muscles, and joints. This area detects and interprets information on touch, temperature, pain, and pressure and allows us to perceive the size, shape, and texture of an object via touch. In addition, the somatosensory cortex is responsible for helping us monitor the position of our own body in space. Specific areas of the somatosensory cortex correspond to specific parts of the body. |
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Term
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Definition
| The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about, evaluates or perceives themselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself. |
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Definition
| Self-esteem is the understanding a person creates of his or her worth, based on emotions and beliefs about how he or she fits into or performs in any given situation in life. |
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| This theory addresses the ways in which people perceive and categorize themselves. According to social identity theory, individuals form self-conceptions that are based on two parts: 1) personal or self identity, and 2) collective identity. Personal or self identity refers to our unique, personal qualities such as our beliefs, our abilities and skills, etc. The collective self includes all the qualities that arise from being part of a society, culture, family, groups, clubs, etc. |
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| The Spinal Cord is a long, tubular bundle of nerve fibers that extends from the brain through the spinal column. These nerve fibers. along with the brain form the central nervous system (CNS) and transmits information to and from the body and brain. It also contains neural circuits that independently control numerous reflexes and central pattern generators. |
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| A branch of psychology that researches mental factors in attainment of athletic skills and performance; also called sport psychology |
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| The somewhat loosely defined states of awareness of and response to stimuli, generally considered an integral component of the assessment of an individual's neurologic status. Levels of consciousness range from full consciousness (behavioral wakefulness, orientation as to time, place, and person, and a capacity to respond appropriately to stimuli) to deep coma (complete absence of response). |
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| Statistically Significant |
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Definition
| the probability of some result from a statistical test occurring by chance. The point of doing research and running statistical analyses on data is to find truth. In order to do this, you have to take lots of steps to make sure you set up good experiments, use good measures, measure the correct variables, etc...and you have to determine if the findings you get occurred because you ran a good study or by some fluke. |
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| Subconscious feelings, desires etc are hidden in your mind and affect your behavior, but you do not know that you have them: |
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| A survey is a method for collecting information or data as reported by individuals. This is a type of data collection known as self-report data, which means that individuals complete the survey (or provide the information) themselves. |
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| Sympathetic Nervous System |
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Definition
| "Arousal" responses which get you ready to fight or flee in times of danger. It is the sympathetic nervous system that is responsible for these responses that get your body aroused to respond. This system works with the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for then calming your body after the arousal (to get you back to normal). Both of these are actually part (subparts) of the autonomic nervous system. |
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| A synapse is a small gap at the end of a neuron that allows information to pass from one neuron to the next. Synapses are found where nerve cells connects with other nerve cells as well as where nerve cells connect with muscles and glands. |
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| The area in the brain involved with hearing. The temporal lobes are part of the cerebral cortex and are located above the ears. Interestingly, each lobe is responsible for hearing in the opposite ear -- so the lobe on the left side of your brain is responsible for hearing from the right ear. |
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| Mental behavior wherein ideas, pictures, cognitive symbolizations, or other hypothetical components of thought are experienced or manipulated. In this sense, thinking is inclusive of imagining, recalling, solving problems, free association, daydreaming, concept formation, and a variety of other procedures. |
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| Also known as "large chunk" processing, and states that we form perceptions (or focus our attention) by starting with the larger concept or idea (it can even be the concept or idea of an object) and then working our way down to the finer details of that concept or idea. |
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| In classical conditioning, there are stimuli that can produce responses all by themselves and without any prior learning. These types of stimuli are called unconditioned stimuli (US or UCS) and they evoke unconditioned responses (UR or UCR), or responses that are completely natural and occur without an organism going through any prior learning. |
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| In classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus is something that elicits a natural and automatic reaction. Pavlov first explained unconditioned stimuli after he experimented on dogs, but there are numerous examples of human conditioning in everyday life. |
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| The part of the psyche lying far below consciousness and not easily raised into consciousness. In Freudian psychology, the unconscious cannot be directly observed with the conscious mind, but it has its own processes and deeply affects conscious thought. |
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| The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure. There are three types of validity. Construct validity, is the degree to which a test measures the construct that it is supposed to measure. |
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| A variable is something that can be changed, such as a characteristic or value. Variables are generally used in psychology experiments to determine if changes to one thing result in changes to another. |
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| The Vestibular Sense refers to the body's set of mechanisms that monitor and adjusts the body's sense of balance and orientation to the world. This sense is what keeps the body upright while standing, sitting or walking and is primarily located in the inner ear. This is why inner ear infections can result in problems with balance. |
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| The portion of the cerebral cortex of the brain that receives and processes impulses from the optic nerves. |
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| An area of the brain that is very important in the development of language. The area is located on the left side of the brain, specifically on the left temporal lobe. Damage to this area can result in problems with language development and even an inability to develop language skills. |
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| A system for temporarily storing and managing the information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. |
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