Glossary
A
abnormal behaviour behaviour that is personally distressful, personally dysfunctional
and/or so culturally deviant that other people
judge it to be inappropriate or maladaptive
absolute refractory period the brief time interval following an action potential when a
neuron is incapable of being stimulated to
fire another impulse
absolute threshold the lowest intensity at
which a stimulus can be detected 50 per cent
of the time
abstinence violation effect a response to
a lapse in which a person blames himself
or herself and concludes that he or she is
incapable of resisting high-risk situations
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
a recently developed ‘third wave’ behaviour
therapy that focuses on mindfulness, accepting negative feelings and identifying core
values
accommodation in cognitive development,
the process by which new experiences cause
existing schemas to change
acculturation the process of adapting to a new
culture
acetylcholine (ACh) an excitatory neurotransmitter that operates at synapses with
muscles and is also the transmitter in some
neural networks involved in memory
achievement goal theory a theory of achievement motivation that stresses the goals (ego
versus mastery) and motivational climates
that influence achievement strivings
achievement test a measure of an individual’s
degree of accomplishment in a particular
subject or task based on a relatively standardised set of experiences
action potential a nerve impulse resulting from
the depolarisation of an axon’s cell membrane
adolescence the period of development
that involves a gradual transition between
childhood and adulthood
adolescent egocentrism highly self-focused
thinking, particularly in the early teenage
years
adoption study a research method in behaviour genetics in which adopted people are
compared on some characteristic with both
their biological and adoptive parents in an
attempt to determine the strength of the
characteristic’s genetic component
adrenal glands endocrine glands that release
stress hormones, including catecholamines
and corticosteroids
aerobic exercise sustained activity that
elevates the heart rate and increases the
body’s need for oxygen
agonist a drug that increases or mimics the
activity of a neurotransmitter
agoraphobia a fear of being in places or situations (e.g. on a bridge or a bus, in crowds
or wide open spaces) from which escape
might be difficult in the event of sudden
incapacitation
alcohol myopia when intoxicated, a ‘shortsightedness’ in thinking (a failure to consider
consequences) caused by an inability to pay
attention to as much information as when
sober
algorithms procedures, such as mathematical
formulas, that automatically generate correct
solutions to problems
alleles alternate forms of a gene that produce
different characteristics
all-or-none law states that an action potential
is not proportional to the intensity of stimulation; either a neuron fires with maximum
intensity or it does not fire (compare with
graded potential)
activation-synthesis theory maintains that
dreams represent the brain’s attempt to interpret random patterns of neural activation
triggered by the brain stem during sleep
alpha waves a brain-wave pattern of 8 to 12
cycles per second that is characteristic of
humans in a relaxed, drowsy state
adaptations biological and behavioural changes
that allow organisms to meet recurring environmental challenges to their survival, thereby
increasing their reproductive ability
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) a brain disorder,
typically but not always occurring in old age,
whose prominent features are memory loss
and confused thinking
adaptive significance the manner in which a
particular behaviour enhances an organism’s
chances of survival and reproduction in its
natural environment
amplitude the vertical size of the sound
wave, which gives rise to the perception
of loudness and is measured in terms of
decibels
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 729
amygdala a limbic system structure that helps
organise emotional response patterns
anorexia nervosa an eating disorder involving
a severe and sometimes fatal restriction of
food intake
antagonist a drug that inhibits or decreases
the action of a neurotransmitter
anterograde amnesia memory loss for
events that occur after the initial onset of
amnesia
anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV)
classically conditioned nausea and vomiting
that occur when cancer patients are exposed
to stimuli associated with their treatment
antigens literally, antibody generators, or foreign substances that activate the cells of the
immune system
antisocial personality disorder (APD) a longterm stable disorder characterised by a lack
of conscience, defects in empathy and a tendency to act out in an impulsive manner that
disregards future consequences
anxiety an emotional state characterised by
apprehension accompanied by physiological
arousal and fearful behaviour
anxiety disorders a group of behaviour
disorders in which anxiety and associated
maladaptive behaviours are the core of the
disturbance
aphasia the partial or total loss of ability to
understand speech (receptive aphasia) or to
produce it (productive aphasia)
applied behaviour analysis a process in
which operant conditioning is combined
with scientific data collection to solve individual and societal problems
applied research research that is designed
to solve or examine specific, practical
problems
approach-approach conflict a conflict in
which an individual is simultaneously attracted to two incompatible positive goals
approach-avoidance conflict a conflict in
which an individual is simultaneously attracted to and repelled by the same goal
aptitude test a measure of a person’s ability
to profit from further training or experience
in an occupation or skill; usually based on
a measure of skills gained over a person’s
lifetime rather than during a specific course
of study
4/12/12 11:18 PM
730
GLOSSARY
archetypes in Jung’s theory, innate concepts
and memories (e.g. God, the hero, the good
mother); memories that reside in the collective unconscious
archival measures records or past documents
that contain information about some type of
behaviour
assimilation in cognitive development, the
process by which new experiences are incorporated into existing schemas
association cortex the areas of the cerebral
cortex that do not have sensory or motor
functions but are involved in the integration
of neural activity that underlies perception,
language and other higher-order mental
processes
associative network the view that long-term
memory is organised as a massive network
of associated ideas and concepts
positive but maladaptive response is paired
with a noxious, unpleasant unconditioned
stimulus, in an attempt to condition a repulsion toward the conditioned stimulus
aversive punishment (positive punishment,
punishment by application) a type of
punishment in which an operant response is
weakened by the subsequent presentation of
a noxious stimulus
avoidance-avoidance conflict a conflict in
which an individual must choose between
two undesirable alternatives
avoidance conditioning a form of learning
in which an organism learns a response to
avoid an undesirable consequence
axon an extension from one side of the neuron
cell body that conducts nerve impulses to
other neurons, muscles or glands
attachment the strong emotional bond that
develops between two people; developmentally, the bond between children and their
primary caregivers
B
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) a disorder, usually originating in
childhood, that may take the form of attentional difficulties, hyperactivity/ impulsivity
or a combination of the two that results in
impaired functioning
basilar membrane a membrane that runs the
length of the cochlea and contains the organ
of Corti and its sound receptor hair cells
attitude a positive or negative evaluative reaction toward a stimulus (e.g. toward a person,
action, object or concept)
attribution a judgment about the causes of our
own and other people’s behaviour
authoritarian parents caregivers who exert
control over their children within a cold,
unresponsive or rejecting relationship
authoritative parents caregivers who are
controlling but warm; they establish and enforce clear rules within a caring, supportive
atmosphere
autistic disorder a severe developmental
disorder characterised by extreme unresponsiveness to others, poor communication
skills, and highly repetitive and rigid behaviour patterns
autobiographical memories recollections of
personally experienced events that make up
the ‘story of our life’
automatic (unconscious) processing mental
activities that occur with minimal or no
conscious control or awareness
autonomic nervous system the branch of the
peripheral nervous system that activates the
body’s involuntary muscles (e.g. heart) and
internal organs
availability heuristic a rule of thumb used to
make likelihood judgments based on how
easily examples of that category of events
come to mind or are ‘available’ in memory
aversion therapy a form of therapy in which a
conditioned stimulus that currently evokes a
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 730
basic research research designed to obtain
knowledge for its own sake
behavioural activation a treatment for depression that engages clients in life activities
designed to increase positive reinforcement
in their lives
behavioural activation system (BAS) a neural
system that is activated by cues indicating
potential reward and positive need gratification. Activity in this neural system causes
the person to begin or to increase movement
toward positive goals in anticipation of
pleasure
behavioural assessment the measurement of
behaviour through direct observation and
application of a coding system
behavioural inhibition system (BIS) a neural
system that is activated by cues indicating
potential pain, non-reinforcement and punishment. Activity in this neural system produces fear, inhibition of behaviour as well as
escape and avoidance behaviours
behavioural neuroscience a subfield of psychology that examines brain processes and
other physiological functions that underlie
our behaviour, sensory experiences, emotions and thoughts
behavioural perspective a view that emphasises how the environment and learning
experiences shape and control behaviour
behavioural signatures individually consistent ways of responding in particular classes
of situations
behaviour genetics the scientific study of the
role of genetic inheritance in behaviour
behaviourism a school of psychology that emphasises the effects of learning and environmental control on behaviour and maintains
that the proper subject matter of psychology
is observable behaviour
behaviour modification therapeutic procedures based on operant conditioning principles, such as positive reinforcement, operant
extinction and punishment
behaviour-outcome expectancy the subjective likelihood that a particular consequence
will follow a particular behaviour in a given
situation
belief bias the tendency to abandon logical
rules and to form a conclusion based on
one’s existing beliefs
beta waves a brain-wave pattern of 15 to 30
cycles per second that is characteristic of
humans who are in an alert waking state
bilingualism
life
the use of two languages in daily
binocular depth cues depth cues that require
the use of both eyes
binocular disparity the binocular depth
cue produced by the projection of slightly
different images of an object on the retinas
of the two eyes
biologically based mechanisms evolved biological structures that receive input from the
environment, process the information and
respond to it
biological perspective a view that focuses on
the role of biological factors in behaviour,
including biochemical and brain processes,
as well as genetic and evolutionary factors
biopsychology or behavioural neuroscience
a subfield of psychology that focuses on
the biological underpinnings of behaviour,
thought and emotion
bipolar disorder a mood disorder in which
intermittent mania appears against a background of depression
blindsight a disorder in which people are blind
in part of their visual field yet, in special tests,
respond to stimuli in that field despite reporting that they cannot see those stimuli
blood-brain barrier a specialised lining of
cells in the brain’s blood vessels that screens
out foreign substances while letting nutrients
pass through to neurons
borderline personality disorder (BPD)
a serious personality disorder characterised by severe instability in behaviour,
emotion, identity and interpersonal
relationships
bottom-up processing perceptual processes
that begin with the analysis of individual
elements of the stimulus and work up to the
brain’s integration of them into a unified
perception
brain stem the portion of the brain formed by
the swelling of the spinal cord as it enters the
skull; its structures regulate basic survival
functions of the body, such as heart rate and
respiration
4/12/12 11:18 PM
GLOSSARY
British empiricism a 17th-century school of
philosophy championed by Locke, according to which all the contents of the mind are
gained experientially through the senses
Broca’s area a region of the left frontal lobe
involved in speech production
bulimia nervosa an eating disorder that
involves a repeated cycle of binge eating
followed by purging of the food
bystander effect the principle that the presence of multiple bystanders inhibits each person’s tendency to help, largely due to social
comparison or diffusion of responsibility
C
Cannon-Bard theory a theory of emotion that
proposed that the thalamus sends simultaneous messages to the cortex (producing our
experience of emotion) and to the viscera
and skeletal muscles, producing actions and
physiological responses
case study an in-depth analysis of an
individual, group or event
catatonic schizophrenia a schizophrenic reaction characterised by alternating stuporous
states and agitated excitement, during which
the person can be quite dangerous
catharsis the idea that performing an act of
aggression discharges aggressive energy and
temporarily reduces our impulse to aggress
central nervous system the portion of the nervous system that includes the brain and the
spinal cord
central route to persuasion occurs when
people think carefully about a message
and are influenced because they find the
arguments compelling
cephalocaudal principle the tendency for
physical development to proceed in a
head-to-foot direction
cerebellum a convoluted hindbrain structure
involved in motor coordination and some
aspects of learning and memory
cerebral cortex the gray, convoluted outer covering of the brain that is the seat of higherorder sensory, motor, perceptual and mental
processes
cerebrum the most advanced portion of the
brain, containing the cerebral cortex and underlying structures
chunking combining individual items into
larger units of meaning
circadian rhythms biological cycles within
the body that occur on an approximately
24-hour cycle
classical conditioning a procedure in which a
formerly neutral stimulus (the conditioned
stimulus) comes to elicit a conditioned
response by virtue of being paired with
an unconditioned stimulus that naturally
elicits a similar response (the unconditioned
response)
clinical psychology a subfield of psychology
that focuses on the study and treatment of
mental disorders
cochlea a small coil-shaped structure of the
inner ear that contains the receptors for sound
731
common factors therapeutic elements that are
possessed by virtually any type of therapy
and that may contribute to the similar
positive effects shown by many different
treatment approaches
communicator credibility the degree to which
an audience views a communicator as believable, largely based on the communicator’s
expertise and trustworthiness
companionate love an affectionate relationship characterised by commitment and
caring about the partner’s well-being; sometimes contrasted with passionate love, which
is more intensely emotional
compensatory response a bodily response that
opposes a drug’s effects and occurs in an attempt to restore homeostasis
cognitive-affective personality system
(CAPS) a model that organises five ‘person
variables’ that account for how a person
might respond to a particular situation; the
dynamic interplay among these five factors, together with the characteristics of
the situation, accounts for individual differences between people, as well as differences in people’s behaviour across different
situations
competency a legal decision that a defendant
is mentally capable of understanding the
nature of the charges, participating meaningfully in the trial and consulting with his or
her attorney
cognitive appraisal the process of making
judgments about situations, personal capabilities, likely consequences and personal
meaning of consequences
compulsion a repetitive act that the person
feels compelled to carry out, often in response to an obsessive thought or image
competency-focused intervention prevention programs that are designed to enhance
personal resources needed to cope with
situations that might otherwise cause
psychological disorders
cognitive behaviourism a behavioural approach that incorporates cognitive concepts,
suggesting that the environment influences
our behaviour by affecting our thoughts and
giving us information
computerised axial tomography (CT, or CAT)
scan a method of scanning the brain with
narrow beams of X rays that are then analysed and combined by a computer to provide pictures of brain structures from many
different angles
cognitive map a mental representation of the
spatial layout of an area
concept a mental category containing similiar
objects, people and events
cognitive neuroscience an area of psychology that intersects the subfields of cognitive
psychology and physiological psychology
and examines brain processes that underlie
mental activity
concordance the likelihood that two people
share a particular characteristic
cognitive perspective a view that emphasises
humans as information processors and problem solvers, and that focuses on the mental
processes that influence behaviour
cognitive-process dream theories approaches
that focus on how (rather than why) we
dream, and propose that dreaming and waking thought are produced by the same mental systems in the brain
concrete operational stage in Piaget’s theory,
the stage of cognitive development during
which children can perform basic mental
operations concerning problems that involve
tangible (i.e. ‘concrete’) objects and situations
conditioned response (CR) in classical conditioning, a response to a conditioned stimulus; the conditioned response is established
by pairing a conditioned stimulus with an
unconditioned stimulus that evokes a similar
response
cognitive process theories approaches to intelligence that analyse the mental processes
that underlie intelligent thinking
conditioned stimulus (CS) a stimulus that
comes to evoke a conditioned response
after being paired with an unconditioned
stimulus
cholecystokinin (CCK) a peptide (hormone)
that helps produce satiety and cessation of
eating
cognitive psychology an area of psychology
that specialises in studying mental processes
such as thinking, memory, planning, reasoning, attention and perception
conditioned taste aversion a learned repulsion to a food that formerly was neutral or
desired, by virtue of pairing the food with an
aversive unconditioned stimulus
chromosomes tightly coiled strands of
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and protein
that contain the genes
collective unconscious Jung’s notion of an
unconscious that consists of innate ancestral
memories
conditions of worth internalised standards for
self-worth fostered by conditional positive
regard from others
chaining an operant conditioning procedure used to develop a sequence (chain) of
responses by reinforcing each response with
the opportunity to perform the next response
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 731
4/12/12 11:18 PM
732
GLOSSARY
conduction deafness hearing loss caused
by damage to the mechanical system that
conducts sound waves to the cochlea
coping self-efficacy beliefs relating to our
ability to deal effectively with a stressful
stimulus or situation, including pain
cones photoreceptors in the retina that function best in bright light and are differentially
sensitive to red, green or blue wavelengths
corpus callosum a broad band of white, myelinated fibres that connects the left and
right cerebral hemispheres and allows the
two hemispheres to communicate with one
another
confirmation bias the tendency to seek and
favour information that reinforces our beliefs rather than to be open to disconfirming
information
confounding of variables in an experiment, a
situation in which the independent variable
is intertwined or mixed up with another,
uncontrolled variable; thus we cannot tell
which variable is responsible for changes in
the behaviour of interest (i.e. in the dependent variable)
congruence consistency between selfperceptions and experience
consciousness our moment-to-moment awareness of ourselves and our environment;
consciousness involves selective attention to
ongoing thoughts, perceptions and feelings
conservation the principle that basic properties of objects, such as their mass or quantity,
stay the same (are ‘conserved’) even though
their outward appearance may change
construct validity the extent to which a test
measures the psychological construct (e.g.
intelligence, anxiety) that it is purported to
measure
content validity the extent to which test items
adequately sample the domain that the test
is supposed to measure (e.g. intelligence,
mathematical reasoning)
context-dependent memory the phenomenon
that it is typically easier to remember something in the same environment in which it
was originally learned or experienced
correlational research research that measures
two or more naturally occurring variables
and examines whether they are statistically
related
correlation coefficient a statistic that indicates
the direction and strength of a relation between two variables; values can range from
11.00 to 21.00
counterbalancing in experiments, a procedure
in which each participant engages in all of
the conditions. The order of the conditions
is altered for different participants so that,
overall, no condition has an order advantage
relative to the other conditions
counterconditioning the process of conditioning an incompatible response to a
particular stimulus to eliminate a maladaptive response (e.g. anxiety), as occurs in
systematic desensitisation
creativity the ability to produce something
that is both new and valuable
criterion-related validity the ability of psychological test scores to correlate with some
present or future behaviour assumed to be influenced by the construct measured by the test
critical periods limited time periods during
which plasticity can occur as a result of
experience or in response to injury; in development, a time period in which exposure to
particular kinds of stimulation is required
for normal growth to occur
continuous reinforcement a reinforcement
schedule in which each response of a
particular type is followed by reinforcement
cross-cultural psychology the study of behaviour and mental processes across cultures.
It tends to involve comparisons between
people of different cultures
control group in an experiment, the group
that either is not exposed to the treatment
or receives a zero level of the independent
variable
cross-sectional design a research design that
simultaneously compares people of different
ages at a particular point in time
controlled (conscious) processing mental
processing that requires volitional control
and attentiveness
conventional moral reasoning according to
Kohlberg, the stage at which moral judgments are based on conformity to social
expectations, laws and duties
convergence a binocular depth cue produced
by the muscles that rotate the eyes as they
focus on nearby objects
conversion disorder a disorder in which
serious neurological symptoms, such as
paralysis, loss of sensation or blindness,
suddenly occur without physical cause
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 732
crystallised intelligence ( gc ) intellectual
abilities that depend on a store of information and the acquisition of particular skills
(compare with fluid intelligence)
cultural competence the ability to understand
people’s behaviour and thinking in their own
cultural terms; based on the ability to recognise one’s own cultures and biases, and to
work with people from other cultures without the intrusion of these cultural aspects
cultural congruence the extent to which a
form of treatment is consistent with the
culture of a particular ethnic group
cultural display rules cultural norms that regulate when and how emotions are expressed
culturally competent therapists practitioners
who have a set of therapeutic skills, including scientific mindedness, the ability to
consider both cultural and individual factors
and the capacity to introduce culture-specific
elements into therapy with people from
minority cultures
cultural psychology (cross-cultural psychology)
A subfield of psychology that explores how
culture is transmitted to its members and
examines psychological similarities and differences that occur between people from
diverse cultures
culture-bound disorders behaviour disorders
whose specific forms are restricted to one
particular cultural context
D
dark adaptation the progressive increase in
brightness sensitivity that occurs over time
as photopigments regenerate themselves
during exposure to low levels of illumination
decay theory maintains that with time and
disuse, the physical memory trace in the
nervous system fades away
decibel a logarithmic measure of sound
intensity
decision criterion in signal detection theory,
the potentially changing standard of how
certain a person must be that a stimulus is
present in order to report its presence
declarative memory our memory for factual
knowledge, which comprises two subcategories: knowledge pertaining to personal
experiences (episodic memory) and knowledge of general facts and language (semantic
memory)
deductive reasoning reasoning from a general
principle to a specific case
deep structure a linguistic term that refers
to the underlying meaning of a spoken or
written sentence; the meanings that make
up deep structure are stored as concepts and
rules in long-term memory
defence mechanisms unconscious processes
that help us cope with anxiety and the pain
of traumatic experiences. Defence mechanisms prevent the expression of anxietyarousing impulses or allow them to appear
in disguised forms
deindividuation a state of increased
anonymity in which a person, often as part
of a group or crowd, engages in disinhibited
behaviour
deinstitutionalisation movement the attempt
to move the primary locus of treatment from
mental hospitals to the community
delta waves low-frequency, high-amplitude
brain waves that occur in stage 3 sleep and
predominate in stage 4 sleep
4/12/12 11:18 PM
GLOSSARY
delusions false beliefs, often involving themes
of persecution or grandeur, that are sustained in the face of evidence that normally
would be sufficient to destroy them
dementia the gradual loss of cognitive abilities
that accompanies brain deterioration and
interferes with normal functioning
dendrites small branching fibres that extend
from the soma of a neuron and receive
messages from adjacent neurons
dependent variable in an experiment, the
factor measured by the researcher that
presumably is influenced by the independent variable
depressants drugs—including alcohol,
barbiturates and tranquilisers—that reduce
neural activity and can decrease feelings of
tension and anxiety
depressive attributional pattern the tendency
of depressed people to attribute negative
outcomes to their own inadequacies and
positive outcomes to factors outside of
themselves
depressive cognitive triad negative thoughts
concerning (1) the world, (2) oneself and
(3) the future
descriptive research research in which the
main goal is to carefully describe how organisms behave, particularly in natural settings
descriptive statistics statistics that summarise
and describe the characteristics of a set of
scores
developmental psychology a subfield of
psychology that examines human physical,
psychological and social development across
the life span
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) a
recently developed cognitive-behavioural
treatment for borderline personality disorder
difference threshold the smallest difference
between two similar stimuli that people
can detect; also called the just noticeable difference (jnd)
discourse the combining of sentences into
larger language units, such as paragraphs,
articles, novels and so on
dissociative disorders disorders that involve
a major dissociation of personal identity or
memory
dissociative identity disorder (DID) a
dissociative disorder in which two or more
separate identities or personalities coexist
within an individual
divergent thinking a creative form of thinking that involves generating novel ideas that
diverge from the normal ways of thinking
about something
divided attention the ability to perform more
than one activity at the same time
dodo bird verdict the conclusion reached by
some psychotherapy researchers that virtually all treatment approaches have similar
success rates
dysthymia a depressive mood disorder of
moderate intensity that occurs over a long
period of time but does not disrupt functioning, as a major depression does
E
effect size in meta-analysis, a measure of
treatment effectiveness that indicates what
percentage of treated clients improve more
than the average untreated client
ego the ‘executive’ of the personality that is
partly conscious and that mediates between
the impulses of the id, the prohibitions of the
superego and the dictates of reality
ego-approach goals an achievement orientation that focuses on being judged successful
as a result of outperforming others
ego-avoidance goals an achievement orientation that focuses on avoiding negative
judgments by self or others due to failing to
outperform others
door-in-the-face technique a manipulation
technique in which a persuader makes a
large request, expecting you to reject it and
then presents a smaller request
egocentrism difficulty in viewing the world
from someone else’s perspective
dopamine hypothesis states that the
symptoms of schizophrenia are produced
by overactivity of the dopamine system in
areas of the brain that regulate emotional
expression, motivated behaviour and
cognitive functioning
double-blind procedure a procedure in
which both the participant and the experimenter are kept unaware of the research
condition to which the participant has been
assigned
discrimination (classical conditioning) the
occurrence of a conditioned response to one
stimulus but not to another stimulus
discrimination (social behaviour) treating
people unfairly based on the group to which
they belong
drive a state of internal tension that motivates
an organism to behave in ways that reduce
this tension
discriminative stimulus an antecedent
stimulus that signals the likelihood of certain
consequences if a response is made
dual coding theory maintains that if we
encode information using both verbal and
imagery codes, the chances improve that at
least one of the two codes will be available
later to support recall
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 733
dynamic testing a procedure in which static
(standardised testing) is followed up with an
interaction in which the examiner gives the
subject guided feedback on how to improve
performance and observes how the subject
utilises the information
dominant gene a gene that will produce
a particular effect by overriding the influence of a recessive gene for the same
characteristic
downward comparison seeing oneself or one’s
situation as more positive than a standard of
comparison, thereby increasing one’s sense
of well-being
disorganised schizophrenia a schizophrenic
disorder marked by verbal incoherence,
disordered thought processes, disorganised
behaviour and inappropriate emotional
responses
are coded by red-, blue- and green-sensitive
cones in the retina and by opponent processes thereafter in the visual system
displacement the capacity of language to
represent objects and conditions that are not
physically present
dissociation theories (of hypnosis) views
that focus on hypnosis as an altered state
involving a division (‘dissociation’) of consciousness; one theory proposes that the
hypnotised person simultaneously experiences two streams of consciousness that are
cut off from one another
733
dual-process theory a modern theory of colour vision that combines the trichromatic
and opponent-process theories. Light waves
ego orientation an achievement goal orientation in which success is defined in terms
of how well one compares with others and
‘wins out’
elaborative rehearsal focusing on the meaning
of information or relating it to other things
we already know
Electra complex the female version of the
Oedipus complex in which the female child
experiences erotic feelings toward her father,
desires to possess him sexually and views
her mother as a rival
electroencephalograph (EEG) a device used
to record the simultaneous activity of many
thousands of neurons through electrodes
attached to the scalp
eliciting stimuli internal or external cues that
evoke an emotional response
embryo a scientific term for the prenatal
organism during the 2nd week through the
8th week after conception
emic a cross-cultural perspective that focuses
on specific psychological aspects of culture
emotion a pattern of cognitive, physiological and behavioural responses to situations
and events that have relevance to important
goals or motives
4/12/12 11:18 PM
734
GLOSSARY
emotional intelligence the ability to respond
adaptively in the emotional realm by reading and responding appropriately to others’
emotions and to be aware of and have the
ability to control one’s own emotions
emotion-focused coping coping strategies
directed at minimising or reducing
emotional responses to a stressor
emotion regulation the processes by which we
evaluate and modify our emotional reactions
empathy the capacity for experiencing the same
emotional response being exhibited by another
person; in therapy, the ability of a therapist to
view the world through the client’s eyes and
to understand the client’s emotions
empathy-altruism hypothesis the view that
pure altruism does exist and that it is produced by the capacity to empathise with the
person in need of aid
empirical approach an approach to test
construction in which items (regardless of
their content) are chosen that differentiate
between two groups that are known to differ
on a particular personality variable
empirically supported therapies (ESTs)
psychotherapy and behaviour-change
techniques that have been shown to be
efficacious in controlled clinical trials
encoding getting information into the memory
system by translating it into a neural code
that the brain processes and stores
encoding specificity principle states that
memory is enhanced when conditions
present during retrieval match those that
were present during encoding
enculturation the implicit or tacit learning of
cultural beliefs, values and traditions
endocrine system the body’s system of glands
that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
and thereby affect many bodily functions
endorphins natural opiate-like substances that
are involved in pain reduction
epigenetics changes in gene expression that
are independent of the DNA itself and
are caused instead by environmental factors
episodic memory our store of factual knowledge concerning personal experiences—
when, where and what happened in the
episodes of our lives
equal status contact the principle that
prejudice between people is most likely to
be reduced when they engage in sustained
close contact, have equal status within the
context of their interaction, work to achieve a
common goal that requires cooperation and
are supported by broader social norms that
encourage prejudice reduction
bias or prejudice where we use our own culture as a ‘measuring stick’ for other cultures
etic a cross-cultural perspective concerned
with commonalities and differences across
cultures
eugenics the idea that children with lower IQs
are genetically inferior
evocative influence the tendency of a genetically influenced characteristic (e.g. agreeableness) to evoke a particular response from
others
evoked culture the notion that cultures may
themselves be the product of biological
mechanisms that evolved to meet specific
adaptational challenges
evolution a change over time in the frequency
with which particular genes, and the characteristics they produce, occur within an interbreeding population
evolutionary/circadian sleep models the view
that in the course of evolution, each species
developed an adaptive circadian sleep-wake
pattern that increased its chances of survival
in relation to its environmental demands
evolutionary psychology a field of study that
focuses on the role of evolutionary processes
(especially natural selection) in the development of adaptive psychological mechanisms
and social behaviour in humans
expectancy 3 value theory a cognitive theory
stating that goal-directed behaviour is jointly
influenced by (1) the person’s expectancy
that a particular behaviour will contribute to
reaching the goal and (2) how positively or
negatively the person values the goal
experiment a research method in which the
researcher manipulates an independent
variable under controlled conditions and
measures whether this produces changes in
a dependent variable
experimental group in an experiment,
the group that receives a treatment or is
exposed to an active level of the independent
variable
experimental psychology a subfield of
psychology that focuses on basic processes such as learning, sensory systems
(e.g. vision), perception and motivational
states (e.g. hunger)
experimenter expectancy effects subtle and
unintentional ways in which an experimenter influences participants to behave in
a way that will confirm the experimenter’s
hypothesis
explicit memory conscious or intentional
memory retrieval
escape conditioning a form of learning in
which the organism learns to perform a
behaviour to terminate an aversive stimulus
explicit prejudice prejudice that is expressed
publicly, as when talking with someone or
responding to a questionnaire
ethnocentrism the tendency to view the world
through a culturally learned perspective; a
exposure a behaviour therapy treatment in
which clients are presented, either in vivo
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 734
or in their imagination, with fear-inducing
stimuli, thus allowing extinction to occur
exposure therapies therapeutic techniques
designed to extinguish anxiety responses by
exposing clients to anxiety-arousing stimuli
or situations while preventing escape or
avoidance
expressive behaviour observable behaviour
that accompanies subjectively experienced
emotions
external validity the degree to which the
results of a study can be generalised to other
people, settings and conditions
extinction (classical conditioning) occurs
when a conditioned stimulus is presented
without the unconditioned stimulus, causing the conditioned response to weaken and
eventually stop occurring
extinction (operant conditioning) see operant
extinction
extrinsic motivation motivation to perform
a behaviour to obtain external rewards and
reinforcers, such as money, status, attention
and praise
F
facial feedback hypothesis states that somatic
feedback from facial muscles to the brain
influences emotional experience
factor analysis a statistical technique that
permits a researcher to reduce a large
number of measures to a small number of
clusters or factors; it identifies the clusters
of behaviour or test scores that are highly
correlated with one another
family study the study of people who are
related to one another to determine whether
degree of genetic similarity is related to
similarity on a particular trait
feminist therapy an orientation that focuses
on women’s issues and strives to help female
clients achieve greater self-determination
figure-ground relations perceptual organisation
in which a focal stimulus is perceived as a
figure against a background of other stimuli
fixation a state of arrested development due
to unresolved conflicts at a particular earlier
psychosexual stage
fixed action pattern an unlearned response
that is automatically triggered by a simple
(releaser) stimulus
fixed-interval (FI) schedule a reinforcement
schedule in which the first response of a
particular type is reinforced after a constant
time interval
fixed-ratio (FR) schedule a reinforcement
schedule in which reinforcement is given
after a constant number of responses of a
particular type
4/12/12 11:18 PM
GLOSSARY
fluid intelligence ( gf ) the ability to deal with
novel problem-solving situations for which
personal experience does not supply a solution (compare with crystallised intelligence)
foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) a
range of mild to severe developmental
abnormalities produced by prenatal exposure to alcohol
foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) a severe group
of abnormalities resulting from prenatal
exposure to alcohol
foetus a scientific term for the prenatal organism from the 9th week after conception until
birth
foot-in-the-door technique a manipulation
technique in which the persuader gets you
to comply with a small request first and later
presents a larger request
forebrain brain structures above the midbrain,
including the thalamus, hypothalamus,
limbic system and the cerebral hemispheres;
involved in higher-order sensory, motor and
cognitive functions
formal operational stage in Piaget’s theory,
the period in which individuals are able to
think logically and systematically about both
concrete and abstract problems, form hypotheses and test them in a thoughtful way
functionalism an early school of American
psychology that focused on the functions
of consciousness and behaviour in helping
organisms adapt to their environment and
satisfy their needs
functional MRI (fMRI) a brain-scanning
procedure that produces pictures of blood
flow in the brain taken less than a second
apart
fundamental attribution error the tendency
to underestimate the impact of the situation
and overestimate the role of personal factors
when explaining other people’s behaviour
G
gate control theory a theory of pain
that postulates the existence of gating
mechanisms in the spinal cord and brain
that can increase or decrease the experience of pain by regulating the flow of pain
impulses to the brain
gender constancy the understanding that
being male or female is a permanent part of
a person
gender schemas organised mental structures
that contain our understanding of the attributes and behaviours that are appropriate
and expected for males and females
free association in psychoanalysis, the procedure of verbalising all thoughts that enter
consciousness without censorship
general adaptation syndrome (GAS) Selye’s
description of the body’s responses to a
stressor, which includes successive phases of
alarm, resistance and exhaustion
fully functioning persons Rogers’s term for
self-actualised people who are free from unrealistic conditions of worth and who exhibit
congruence, spontaneity, creativity and a
desire to develop still further
functional fixedness a phenomenon often
found in problem-solving tasks in which the
customary use of an object interferes with its
use in a novel situation
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 735
grammar in any given language, the set of
rules that dictates how symbols can be
combined to create meaningful units of
communication
groupthink the tendency of group members
to suspend critical thinking because they are
motivated to seek agreement
framing the idea that the same information,
problem or choice options can be structured,
presented and thought about in different
ways
frequency theory of pitch perception maintains that the number of nerve impulses
sent to the brain by the hair cells of the
cochlea corresponds to the frequency of the
sound wave; this theory is accurate at low
frequencies
graded potential a change in the electrical
potential of a neuron that is proportional
to the intensity of the incoming stimulation but not sufficient to produce an action
potential
group polarisation when a group of likeminded people discusses an issue, the
‘average’ opinion of group members tends to
become more extreme
gender identity the sense of ‘femaleness’ or
‘maleness’ that is an integral part of our
identity
frequency distribution for a set of data, a
table that shows how frequently each score
value has occurred for a particular variable
glucose a simple sugar that is the body’s (and
especially the brain’s) major source of immediately usable fuel
fundamental emotional patterns basic
emotional response patterns that are
believed to be innate
fovea a small area in the centre of the retina
that contains only cones and where visual
acuity is greatest
frequency in audition, the number of cycles
per second in a sound wave that is responsible for the pitch of the sound; the measure
of frequency is the hertz (Hz), which equals
one cycle per second
735
generalised anxiety disorder a chronic
state of diffuse, or ‘free-floating’, anxiety
that is not attached to specific situations or
objects
generativity the principle that, in any given
language, symbols can be combined to
generate an infinite number of messages that
have novel meaning
genes the biological units of heredity, located
on the chromosomes
genotype the specific genetic makeup of
the individual, which may or may not be
expressed in the observable phenotype
genuineness the ability of a therapist to honestly express her or his feelings to a client
Gestalt laws of perceptual organisation the
notion that people group and interpret stimuli in accordance with similarity, proximity,
closure and continuity
g factor a general intellectual capacity that underlies more specific intellectual abilities
gustation
the sense of taste
H
habituation a decrease in the strength of a response to a repeated stimulus
hallucinations false perceptions that have a
compelling sense of reality
hallucinogens drugs, such as LSD and PCP,
that distort or intensify sensory experiences
and evoke hallucinations and disordered
thought processes
harm reduction a prevention strategy that
is designed not to eliminate a problem
behaviour but to reduce its harmful
consequences
health psychology the study of psychological
and behavioural factors in the prevention
and treatment of illness and the enhancement of health
hedonic treadmill the tendency of people
to return to a less extreme level of pleasure or pain with the passage of time
following a very positive or very negative
life change
Hering’s opponent-process theory the colour vision theory stating that the retina
contains three sets of colour receptors
that respond differentially to red-green,
blue-yellow and black-white; the opponent processes that result can produce a
perception of any hue
heritability coefficient a numerical estimate
of the percentage of group variability in a
particular characteristic that can be attributed to genetic factors
hertz (Hz) the measure of sound-wave
frequency as cycles per second
heuristics a method of problem-solving
characterised by quick and easy search
procedures similar to rules of thumb
4/12/12 11:18 PM
736
GLOSSARY
higher-order conditioning in classical
conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes a
conditioned stimulus after it is paired with
another conditioned stimulus (rather than
with the original unconditioned stimulus)
hindbrain the part of the brain situated
immediately above the spinal cord that
contains the brain stem and cerebellum
hippocampus a structure of the limbic system
that plays a key role in the formation and
storage of memories
histogram a graph of a frequency distribution
homeostasis the maintenance of biological
equilibrium, or balance, within the body
hormones chemical substances secreted by the
glands of the endocrine system that travel
in the bloodstream and affect bodily organs,
psychological functions and development
humanistic perspective (humanism) a psychological view that emphasises personal
freedom, choice and self-actualisation
hypnosis a condition of enhanced suggestibility in which some people are able to experience imagined situations as if they were real
hypnotic susceptibility scale a set of induction procedures and test questions that
enable researchers to measure a person’s
responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions
hypochondriasis a somatoform disorder
characterised by an overreaction to physical
symptoms and a conviction that one has or is
on the verge of a serious illness
hypothalamus a forebrain structure located
below the thalamus and above the pituitary
gland that controls autonomic and hormonal processes and plays a major role in
many aspects of motivation and emotional
behaviour
hypothesis a tentative explanation or a prediction about some phenomenon
I
id
the primitive and unconscious part of the
personality that contains the instincts
illusions incorrect perceptions based on false
perceptual hypotheses that often result from
constancies that do not apply to the stimuli
in question
imaginal thought a form of thinking that uses
images that can be from any sense modality
implicit memory occurs when memory influences our behaviour without conscious
awareness
implicit prejudice prejudice that is hidden
from public view, either intentionally or because the person is not aware that he or she
is prejudiced
imprinting in some species, a sudden, biologically primed form of attachment
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 736
inattentional blindness the failure
of unattended stimuli to register in
consciousness
inspection time the minimum amount of time
needed to a make near error-free decision
about a simple sensory stimulus
incentive an environmental stimulus or condition that motivates behaviour
instinct an inherited characteristic, common
to all members of a species, that automatically produces a particular response when
the organism is exposed to a particular
stimulus
incubation a phenomenon in which the solution to a problem suddenly appears in
consciousness after a problem solver has
stopped thinking about it for a while
independent variable in an experiment, the
factor that is manipulated by the researcher
Indigenous people an umbrella term that has
been used to refer to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia
Indigenous psychology whereas cross-cultural
psychology is about contrasts between people
of differing cultures, Indigenous psychology
is about understanding culture from within.
It is not about comparison, but about understanding culture in its own terms
inductive reasoning reasoning that proceeds
from a set of specific facts to a general conclusion or principle
indulgent parents caregivers who have warm
and caring relationships with their children but do not provide much guidance or
discipline
industrial-organisational (I/O) psychology
a subfield of psychology that focuses on
people’s behaviour in the workplace
infantile amnesia an inability to remember
personal experiences from the first few years
of our lives
inferential statistics statistics that tell us how
confident we can be in drawing conclusions
or inferences about a population based on
findings obtained from a sample
informational social influence following
the opinions or behaviour of other people
because we believe that they have accurate
knowledge and that what they are doing is
‘right’
informed consent the principle that prior to
agreeing to participate in research, a person
should be fully informed about the procedures, the benefits, the risks involved, the
right to withdraw at any time without penalty
and matters of confidentiality and privacy
insanity a legal decision that a defendant was
so severely impaired at the time a crime was
committed that he or she was incapable of
appreciating the wrongfulness of the act or
controlling his or her behaviour
insight in Gestalt psychology, the sudden
perception of a useful relation or solution to
a problem; in psychoanalysis, the conscious
awareness of unconscious dynamics that
underlie psychological problems
insomnia a sleep disorder involving chronic
difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep or
experiencing restful sleep
instinctive drift the tendency for instinctive
behaviours to override a conditioning procedure, thus making it difficult to create or
maintain a conditioned response
instrumental behaviours in emotion, coping
behaviours that are directed at achieving the
goal or performing the task that is relevant
to the emotion
intelligence the ability to acquire knowledge,
to think and reason effectively, and to deal
adaptively with the environment
intelligence quotient (IQ) originally defined
as mental age (MA) divided by chronological
age (CA) multiplied by 100 (IQ 5 [MA/CA]
3 100); an IQ of 100 indicates that an individual is average for his or her age group.
IQ scores today are based on norms derived
from people of various ages
interaction an interaction occurs (i.e. two factors ‘interact’) when the way in which one
factor influences behaviour depends on the
presence of the other factor
interjudge reliability the extent to which
different observers or scorers agree in their
scoring of a particular test or observed
behaviour
internal consistency the extent to which items
within a psychological test correlate with one
another, indicating that they are measuring a
common characteristic
internal-external locus of control in Rotter’s
theory, a generalised expectancy that one’s
outcomes are under personal versus external
control
internal validity the degree to which an
experiment produces clear causal conclusions; internal validity is high when there is
no confounding of variables
interneurons neurons that are neither sensory
nor motor neurons but that perform associative or integrative functions within the
nervous system
interpersonal therapy a form of brief therapy
that focuses on the client’s interpersonal
problems and seeks to develop new
interpersonal skills
interpretation in psychoanalysis, a statement
made by the analyst that is intended to
promote insight in the client
intrinsic motivation the motivation to
perform a task simply because one finds it
interesting or enjoyable for its own sake
4/12/12 11:18 PM
GLOSSARY
J
James-Lange theory a theory of emotion that
proposed that emotional experience is based
on a person’s perception of her or his bodily
responses
K
kin selection the view that organisms are
most likely to help others with whom
they share the most genes—namely, their
offspring and genetic relatives
kinaesthesis the body sense that provides
feedback on the position and movements of
our body parts
knock-in procedure a genetic manipulation
procedure in which the function of a gene is
disabled so that the effects on behaviour or
physical functions can be studied
knockout procedure a genetic manipulation
procedure in which a new gene is inserted
into an organism so that its effect on behaviour or physical functions can be studied
knowledge-acquisition components in
Sternberg’s triarchic model of intelligence,
the mental capabilities that allow us to learn
from our experiences, store information in
memory and combine new insights with previously acquired information
levels of processing the concept that the more
deeply we process information, the better it
will be remembered
matching effect in romantic relationships, the
tendency for partners to have a similar level
of physical attractiveness
life event scale a measure in which
respondents select from a list those life
changes they have experienced over a specific period of time. Such measures are used
to assess life stressors as well as positive
events
maturation a genetically programmed
biological process that governs our growth
latent learning learning that occurs in the
absence of reinforcement but is not displayed until reinforcement is later introduced into the situation
lateralisation the degree of localisation of a
function in either the right or the left cerebral
hemisphere
law of effect Thorndike’s concept that a response followed by satisfying consequences
will become more likely to occur, whereas
a response followed by unsatisfying consequences will become less likely to occur
learned helplessness theory a theory of
depression maintaining that if people are
unable to control life events, they develop a
state of helplessness that leads to depressive
symptoms
learning a relatively enduring change in an organism’s behaviour or performance capabilities that occurs as a result of experience
lens the transparent structure behind the pupil
that changes its shape to focus images on the
retina
leptin a hormone secreted by fat cells that
decreases general appetite
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 737
mean a statistic that represents the arithmetic
average of a set of scores
limbic system a group of subcortical
structures, including the hippocampus and
amygdala, that are involved in organising
many goal-directed and emotional
behaviours
means-ends analysis a heuristic problemsolving device in which people first define a
subgoal that they hope to achieve (an ‘end’),
compare that subgoal with their present
state of knowledge and, if there is a discrepancy between them, try to find the means to
reduce the difference
linguistic relativity hypothesis the idea, suggested by Whorf, that people’s language
determines the ways in which they perceive
and think about their world
measures of central tendency statistics that
describe a distribution (a set of data) in
terms of a single number that is in some way
‘typical’ of the distribution as a whole
longitudinal design a research approach in
which the same people are repeatedly tested
as they grow older
measures of variability statistics that provide
information about the spread of scores in a
distribution
long-term memory our vast library of more
durable stored memories
median in a set of data, the point that divides
the distribution in half when the individual
scores are arranged in order from lowest to
highest
long-term potentiation an enduring increase
in synaptic strength that occurs after a neural
circuit is rapidly stimulated
lowballing a manipulation technique in which
a persuader gets you to commit to some action and then—before you actually perform
the behaviour—she or he increases the ‘cost’
of that same behaviour
L
language a system of symbols and rules for
combining them that can produce an infinite
number of possible messages and meanings
737
M
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) a brainscanning procedure that produces a highly
detailed image of living tissue based on the
tissue’s response to a magnetic field; can be
used to study both structure and, in the case
of functional MRI (fMRI), brain functions as
they occur
maintenance rehearsal the simple rote
repetition of information
major depression a mood disorder characterised by intense depression that interferes
markedly with functioning
mania a state of intense emotional and behavioural excitement in which a person feels
very optimistic and energised
mastery-approach goals goals related to the
desire to master a task and learn new knowledge and skills
mastery-avoidance goals goals that reflect
a fear of not performing up to one’s own
standards
mastery orientation an achievement goal
orientation in which success is defined in
terms of personal improvement and enjoyment rather than in terms of comparisons
with the performance of others
medulla a brain stem structure that controls
vital functions, including heartbeat and
respiration
melatonin a hormone, secreted by the pineal
gland, that has a relaxing effect on the body
and promotes a readiness for sleep
memory the processes that allow us to record,
store and later retrieve experiences and
information
memory codes mental representations of some
type of information or stimulus
memory consolidation the creation and
binding together of neural codes that allow
information to be transferred from working
memory into long-term memory
menstrual synchrony the tendency for some
women who live together or are close friends
to become more similar to one another in the
timing of their menstrual cycles over time
mental image a representation of a stimulus
that originates inside your brain, rather than
from external sensory input
mental representations cognitive representations of the world, including images, ideas,
concepts and principles, that are the foundations of thinking and problem-solving
mental set the tendency to stick to problemsolving strategies or solutions that have
worked in the past
mere exposure effect the tendency to evaluate
a stimulus more favourably after repeated
exposure to it
meta-analysis a statistical procedure for
combining the results of different studies
that examine the same topic
4/12/12 11:18 PM
738
GLOSSARY
metabolism the rate of energy expenditure by
the body
metacognition your awareness and understanding of your own cognitive abilities
metacomponents in Sternberg’s triarchic
model of intelligence, the higher-level
intellectual abilities used to plan and
regulate task performance
method of loci a memory aid in which pieces
of information (e.g. items in a list) are each
associated with a mental image of a different
physical location
midbrain brain structures above the hindbrain that are involved in sensory and motor
functions and in attention and states of
consciousness
mindfulness a mental state of awareness,
focus, openness and acceptance of immediate
experience
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) a widely used
personality test whose items were developed
using the empirical approach of comparing
various kinds of psychiatric patients with a
non-psychiatric sample
misinformation effect the distortion of a memory by misleading postevent information
mnemonic device a strategy or technique that
aids memory
mnemonist (memorist) a person who displays
extraordinary memory skills
mode a statistic that represents the most
frequently occurring score in a distribution
of data
monocular depth cues depth cues that require
only one eye; include linear perspective,
decreasing size, height in the horizontal
plane, texture, clarity, light and shadow,
motion parallax and interposition
mood-congruent recall the tendency to recall
information or events that are congruent
with our current mood
mood disorders psychological disorders
whose core conditions involve maladaptive
mood states, such as depression or mania
morpheme the smallest unit of meaning in a
given language; English morphemes include
whole words, prefixes and suffixes. There
are over 100 000 English morphemes
motivation a process that influences the
direction, persistence and vigour of
goal-directed behaviour
motivational climate the achievement context
created by adults. In an ego-involving
climate, performers are compared with one
another and urged to compete to be the best;
those who perform best get special attention. In a mastery-involving climate, effort,
enjoyment of the activity and personal improvement are emphasised and rewarded
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 738
motivational interviewing a treatment
approach that avoids confrontation and leads
clients to their own realisation of a problem
and increases their motivation to change
motor cortex the cortical area in the rear portion
of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary
movements on the opposite sides of the body
motoric thought mental representations of
motor movements, such as throwing an object
motor neurons specialised neurons that carry
neural messages from the brain and spinal
cord to the muscles and glands
multiculturalism a policy that recognises
where a country has many ethnic groups
and recognises, accepts and embraces these
cultural differences; policy is based on the
assumption that ethnic groups are different
but should be treated equally
multimodal treatments substance-abuse
interventions that combine a number of
treatments, such as aversion therapy and
coping skills training
negative symptoms schizophrenic symptoms
that reflect a lack of normal reactions, such
as emotions, speech or social behaviours
neglectful parents caregivers who provide
neither warmth nor rules or guidance
neoanalytic theorists former followers of
Freud, such as Adler and Jung, who developed their own psychodynamic theories
that generally de-emphasised psychosexual
factors in favour of social ones and gave
increased emphasis to ego functioning
NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) an
objective personality test that measures the
Big Five personality factors of extraversion,
agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness and openness to experience
nerve deafness hearing loss caused by
damage to the cochlear receptor cells or
to the auditory nerve
mutation random errors occurring during
gene replication that can result in a new
phenotypic effect
neural network (connectionist) model states
that each concept stored in memory is
represented by a unique pattern of distributed and simultaneously activated nodes that
process information in parallel; also known
as a parallel distributed processing model
myelin sheath a fatty insulating substance on
the axon of some neurons that increases the
speed of neural transmission
neural plasticity the ability of neurons to
modify their structure and function in
response to experiential factors or injury
N
neural stem cells immature ‘uncommitted’
cells that can mature into any type of neuron
or glial cell needed by the brain
narcolepsy a sleep disorder that involves extreme daytime sleepiness and sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks during waking hours
neurogenesis the production of new neurons
in the nervous system, sometimes to replace
neurons that have died or been damaged
naturalistic observation a method in which
the researcher observes behaviour in a natural setting and tries to avoid influencing the
participants being observed
neuromodulators neurotransmitter substances
that are released by neurons and circulate
within the nervous system to affect the
sensitivity of many neurons to their natural
transmitter substances
natural selection the evolutionary process
through which characteristics that increase
the likelihood of survival and reproduction
are preserved in the gene pool and thereby
become more common in a species over time
need for achievement the desire to accomplish
tasks and attain standards of excellence
need for positive regard in Rogers’s
personality theory, an innate need to be
positively evaluated by significant others,
which enhances survival potential and need
satisfaction
need for positive self-regard in Rogers’s personality theory, the psychological need to
feel positively about oneself that underlies
self-enhancement behaviours
negative correlation a relation between two
variables in which higher scores on one
variable are associated with lower scores on
the other variable
negative reinforcement a response is strengthened by the subsequent removal of an aversive stimulus
neurons nerve cells that constitute the basic
building blocks of the nervous system
neurotic anxiety in psychoanalytic theory, a
state of anxiety that arises when impulses
from the id threaten to break through into
awareness or behaviour
neurotransmitters chemical substances that
are released from the axons of one neuron,
travel across the synaptic space and bind to
specially keyed receptors in another neuron,
where they produce a chemical reaction that
is either excitatory or inhibitory
night terrors a disorder in which a sleeper—
often feeling a strong sense of dread or
danger—becomes aroused to a near panic state
noble savage the term arose in the 18th
century and refers to the assumption that
people are basically good, especially when
they have not been affected by the Western
cultures; a romantic idea that Indigenous
people were ‘natives’ or ‘savages’ that were
by nature honorable and good
4/12/12 11:18 PM
GLOSSARY
normal curve a symmetrical bell-shaped curve
that represents a theoretical distribution of
scores in the population
operant generalisation an operant response
occurs to a new antecedent stimulus that is
similar to the original antecedent stimulus
normal distribution a frequency distribution
in the shape of a symmetrical or bell-shaped
curve that satisfies certain mathematical conditions deduced from the theory of probability
operational definition defining a concept or
variable in terms of the specific procedures
used to produce or measure it
normative social influence conformity
motivated by gaining social acceptance
and avoiding social rejection
norm of reciprocity the tendency to respond in
kind when other people treat us well or poorly
norms (cultural or group) rules (often unwritten) that specify what behaviour is
acceptable and expected for members of a
particular culture or group
null hypothesis the hypothesis that any
observed differences between samples on
the variable(s) of interest are due to chance
(i.e. in an experiment, the hypothesis that the
independent variable had no effect on the
dependent variable)
O
object permanence the recognition that an object continues to exist even when it no longer
can be seen
object relations theories the view that people
form images or mental representations of
themselves and other people as a result of
early experiences with caregivers
observational learning learning through
observing the behaviour of a model
obsession an unwanted and disturbing
thought or image that invades consciousness
and is very difficult to control
optic nerve the bundle of ganglion cell axons
that carries information from the visual receptors to the visual area of the thalamus
perceptual schemas internal representations
that contain the essential features of an object
of perception
organ of Corti structures embedded in the
basilar membrane that contain the hair cell
receptors for sound
perceptual set a readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way based on expectations, motives, emotions or beliefs
outcome bias occurs when an intelligence test
score underestimates a person’s true intellectual ability
performance components in Sternberg’s triarchic model of intelligence, the specific mental processes used to perform a task
overconfidence the pervasive tendency to
overestimate one’s degree of knowledge and
predictive ability
peripheral nervous system all of the neurons
that connect the central nervous system with
the sensory receptors, the muscles and the
glands
overlearning continued rehearsal past the
point of initial learning that significantly
improves performance on memory tasks
P
pain disorder a somatoform disorder in which
the person’s complaints of pain cannot be
accounted for in terms of degree of physical
damage
panic disorder an anxiety disorder characterised by unpredictable panic attacks and a
pervasive fear that another will occur; may
also result in agoraphobia
olfactory bulb a forebrain structure that receives input from the receptors for the sense
of smell
paranoid schizophrenia a schizophrenic disorder marked by delusional thinking and
suspiciousness
openness the client’s willingness to become
personally invested in the process of therapy
that predicts favourable therapeutic outcomes
parasympathetic nervous system the branch
of the autonomic nervous system that slows
down bodily processes to conserve energy
and reduce arousal
operant discrimination an operant response
occurs when a particular antecedent stimulus is present but not when another antecedent stimulus is present
operant extinction occurs when the absence
of reinforcement for a previously reinforced
response causes that response to weaken and
eventually stop
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 739
perception the process of organising stimulus
input and giving it meaning
perceptual constancies the ability to recognise
stimulus characteristics—size, colour and so
on—under varying conditions
olfaction the sense of smell
operant conditioning a type of learning in
which behaviour is modified by its consequences, such as by reinforcement and
punishment
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient
a statistic that reflects the direction and
strength of the relation between two variables;
can range in magnitude from 21.00 to 11.00
opiates a category of drugs consisting of
opium and drugs derived from it, such as
morphine, codeine and heroin
parallel distributed processing (PDP) model
a computer model in which each item in
memory is represented by a particular
pattern of distributed yet interconnected
nodes that are activated simultaneously (i.e.
that operate in parallel); also known as a
neural network model
Oedipus complex the male child experiences
erotic feelings toward his mother, desires to
possess her sexually and views his father as
a rival
739
paraventricular nucleus (PVN) a cluster of
neurons in the hypothalamus packed with
receptor sites for transmitters that stimulate
or reduce appetite
partial (intermittent) reinforcement a reinforcement schedule in which only a portion
of the responses of a particular type are followed by a reinforcer
passionate love a form of love that involves
intense emotional arousal and yearning for
one’s partner
peripheral route to persuasion occurs when
people do not scrutinise a message but are
influenced mostly by other factors such as a
speaker’s attractiveness or a message’s emotional appeal
personal constructs in George Kelly’s personality theory, the cognitive categories used to
sort events and make comparisons among
people and events
personal intelligence a proposed form of
intelligence involving the degree of insight
into oneself and one’s behaviours and their
consequences
personality those biologically and environmentally determined characteristics within
the person that account for distinctive and
relatively enduring patterns of thinking,
feeling and acting
personality disorders stable, inflexible and
maladaptive ways of thinking, feeling and
acting
personality psychology a subfield of psychology that focuses on the nature of human
personality
personality traits relatively stable cognitive,
emotional and behavioural characteristics
that help establish people’s individual
identities
personal unconscious according to Jung,
those aspects of the unconscious that arise
from the individual’s life experiences
phenomenology a philosophical approach
that focuses on immediate subjective
experience
phenotype the observable characteristics
produced by one’s genetic endowment
pheromones chemical signals found in natural
body scents
4/12/12 11:18 PM
740
GLOSSARY
phobias strong and irrational fears of particular objects or circumstances
by some individuals following a major life
crisis or traumatic event
phoneme the smallest unit of speech sound
in a language that can signal a difference in
meaning. English has 40 phonemes
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
a pattern of distressing symptoms, such
as flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance and
anxiety responses that recur after a traumatic
experience
phonological awareness a person’s overall
awareness of the sound structure of one’s
language
photopigments protein molecules within the
rods and cones whose chemical reactions
when absorbing light result in the generation
of nerve impulses
placebo an inactive or inert substance
placebo control group a control group that
receives an intervention that is assumed to
have no therapeutic value
placebo effect a change in behaviour that occurs because of the expectation or belief that
one is receiving a treatment
place theory of pitch perception states that
sound frequencies are coded in terms of the
portion of the basilar membrane where the
fluid wave in the cochlea peaks; this theory
accounts for perception of frequencies above
4000 hertz
pleasure principle the drive for instant need
gratification that is characteristic of the id
polygenic transmission a number of genes
working together to create a particular
phenotypic characteristic
pons a brain stem structure having sensory
and motor tracts whose functions are involved in sleep and dreaming
population in a survey, the entire set of individuals about whom we wish to draw a
conclusion
positive correlation a relation between two
variables in which higher scores on one variable are associated with higher scores on the
other variable
positive psychology movement a view that
emphasises the study of human strengths,
fulfilment and optimal living
positive reinforcement a response is
strengthened by the subsequent presentation of a stimulus
positive symptoms schizophrenic symptoms
such as delusions, hallucinations and disordered speech and thinking
positron-emission tomography (PET) scan
a procedure that provides a visual display
of the absorption of a radioactive substance
by neurons, indicating how actively they are
involved as the brain performs a task
postconventional moral reasoning according
to Kohlberg, the stage at which moral judgments are based on a system of internalised,
well-thought-out moral principles
post-traumatic growth (PTG) the experience
of positive psychological changes reported
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 740
pragmatics a knowledge of the practical
aspects of using language, such as how
our choice of words depends on the social
context
preconventional moral reasoning according
to Kohlberg, the stage at which moral judgments are based on anticipated punishments
or rewards
predictive bias occurs when an intelligence
test successfully predicts criterion measures,
such as school or job performance, for some
groups but not for others
prefrontal cortex the area of the frontal
lobe just behind the eyes and forehead
that is involved in the executive functions
of planning, self-awareness and
responsibility
prejudice a negative attitude toward people
based on their membership in a group
preoperational stage in Piaget’s theory, the
stage of cognitive development in which
children represent the world symbolically
through words and mental images but do
not yet understand basic mental operations
or rules
preparedness the notion that, through evolution, animals have become biologically
predisposed to learn some associations more
readily than other associations
primacy effect in impression formation, our
tendency to attach more importance to the
initial information that we learn about a
person
primary reinforcer a positive reinforcer that
satisfies a biological need, such as food or
water
priming occurs when exposure to a stimulus
influences how you subsequently respond to
that same or another stimulus; in long-term
memory, refers to the activation of one concept by another
proactive interference occurs when material
learned in the past interferes with the recall
of newer material
problem-focused coping coping strategies
that involve direct attempts to confront and
master a stressful situation
problem-solving dream models the view that
dreams can help us find creative solutions to
our problems and conflicts because they are
not constrained by reality
procedural (non-declarative) memory memory that is reflected in learned skills and
actions
projective tests tests, such as the Rorschach
and the Thematic Apperception Test, that
present ambiguous stimuli to the subject;
the responses are assumed to be based on a
projection of internal characteristics of the
person onto the stimuli
proposition a statement that expresses an idea
propositional thought a thought that expresses
an idea in linguistic form, as when we seem to
hear or say a sentence in our mind
prospective memory remembering to perform
an activity in the future
protective factors environmental or personal
resources that help people fare better in the
face of stress
prototype the most typical and familiar member of a class that defines a concept
proximodistal principle the tendency for
physical development to begin along the
innermost parts of the body and continue
toward the outermost parts
psychoactive drugs chemicals that produce
alterations in consciousness, emotion and
behaviour
psychoanalysis a psychological theory, developed by Freud, that emphasises internal and
primarily unconscious causes of behaviour
psychodynamic perspective a psychological
perspective that focuses on how personality
processes—including unconscious impulses,
defences and conflicts—influence behaviour
psychogenic amnesia an extensive but
selective memory loss that occurs after a
traumatic event
psychogenic fugue a dissociative phenomenon in which a person loses all sense of
personal identity and wanders to another
place and establishes a new identity
psycholinguistics the scientific field that studies psychological aspects of language
psychological test a method for measuring individual differences related to some
psychological construct, based on a sample
of relevant behaviour obtained under standardised conditions
psychology the scientific study of behaviour
and the mind
psychometrics the statistical study of psychological tests; the psychometric approach to
intelligence focuses on the number and nature of abilities that define intelligence
psychophysics the study of relations between
the physical characteristics of stimuli and the
sensory experiences they evoke
psychosexual stages stages of development in
which psychic energy is focused on certain
body parts. The major childhood stages are
the oral, anal and phallic stages; experiences
during these stages are assumed to shape
personality development
4/12/12 11:18 PM
GLOSSARY
psychosocial stages a sequence of eight
developmental stages proposed by Erikson,
each of which involves a different ‘crisis’
(i.e. conflict) over how we view ourselves in
relation to other people and the world
psychosurgery surgical procedures, such as
lobotomy or cingulotomy, in which brain
tissue involved in a behaviour disorder is
removed or destroyed
puberty a period of rapid biological maturation in which the person becomes capable of
sexual reproduction
punishment a response is weakened by an
outcome that follows it
R
random assignment a procedure in which
each participant has an equal likelihood of
being assigned to any one group within an
experiment
randomised clinical trial (RCT) a treatment
research design that involves the random
assignment of clients having specific problems to an experimental (therapy) group or
to a control condition so as to draw sound
causal conclusions about the therapy’s
efficacy
random sampling in survey research, a
method of choosing a sample in which each
member of the population has an equal probability of being included in the sample
range a statistic that represents the difference
between the highest and the lowest scores in
a distribution
rational-theoretical approach an approach
to test construction in which test items are
made up on the basis of a theorist’s conception of a construct
reaction range the genetically influenced limits within which environmental factors can
exert their effects on an organism
realistic conflict theory maintains that competition for limited resources fosters prejudice
reality principle the ego’s tendency to take
reality factors into account and to act in a
rational fashion in need satisfaction
receptor sites protein molecules on neurons’
dendrites or soma that are specially shaped
to accommodate a specific neurotransmitter
molecule
recessive gene a gene whose influence on the
phenotypic expression of a characteristic is
masked by a dominant gene
reciprocal determinism Bandura’s model of
two-way causal relations between the person, behaviour and the environment
earlier stage of development in response to
stress
reliability in psychological testing, the consistency with which a measure assesses a given
characteristic or different observers agree on
a given score. Diagnostic reliability refers to
agreement among clinicians making diagnostic judgments
remote behaviour sampling a method of collecting samples of behaviour from respondents as they live their daily lives
REM sleep a recurring sleep stage
characterised by rapid eye movements,
increased physiological arousal, paralysis
of the voluntary muscles and a high rate of
dreaming
REM-sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) a sleep
disorder in which the loss of muscle tone
that causes normal REM-sleep paralysis is
absent, thereby enabling sleepers to move
about—sometimes violently—and seemingly
act out their dreams
replication the process of repeating a study to
determine whether the original findings can
be duplicated
representativeness heuristic a rule of thumb
in estimating the probability that an object or
event belongs to a certain category based on
the extent to which it represents a prototype
of that category
representative sample a sample that accurately reflects the important characteristics of
the population
repression the basic defence mechanism that
actively keeps anxiety-arousing material in
the unconscious
resilience the ability to withstand psychological stress
resistance largely unconscious maneuvers
that protect clients from dealing with
anxiety-arousing material in therapy
response cost (negative punishment, punishment by removal) a type of punishment in
which an operant response is weakened by
the subsequent removal of a stimulus that
was not the cause of the original response
(e.g. TV privileges are taken away from a
child who is misbehaving in order to gain
attention)
reflexes automatic, inborn behaviours triggered by specific stimuli
response prevention the prevention of escape
or avoidance responses during exposure to
an anxiety-arousing conditioned stimulus so
that extinction can occur
regression a psychoanalytic defence
mechanism in which a person retreats to an
resting potential the voltage differential between the inside and outside of a neuron
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 741
(about −70 mv) caused by the unequal distribution of ions inside the neuron’s membrane
and outside in the fluid surrounding the
neuron when the neuron is at rest
reinforcement a response is strengthened by
an outcome that follows it
relapse prevention a treatment approach
designed to teach coping skills, increase selfefficacy and counter the abstinence violation
effect, thus reducing the likelihood of relapse
741
restoration model the theory that sleep recharges our run-down bodies and allows us
to recover from physical and mental fatigue
reticular formation a structure extending from
the hindbrain into the lower forebrain that
plays a central role in consciousness, sleep and
attention, in part by alerting and activating
higher brain centres (ascending portion) and
by selectively blocking some inputs to higher
regions in the brain (descending portion)
retina the light-sensitive tissue at the back of
the eye that contains the visual receptors
retrieval the process of accessing information
in long-term memory
retrieval cue any stimulus, whether internal
or external, that triggers the activation of
information stored in long-term memory
retroactive interference occurs when newly
acquired information interferes with the
ability to recall information learned at an
earlier time
retrograde amnesia memory loss for events
that occurred prior to the onset of amnesia
reuptake the process whereby transmitter
substances are taken back into the presynaptic neuron so that they do not continue to
stimulate postsynaptic neurons
rods photoreceptors in the retina that function
under low levels of illumination and do not
give rise to colour sensations
Role Construct Repertory (Rep) Test the technique developed by personality psychologist
Kelly to assess people’s personal constructs
by asking them to describe the ways in
which people resemble and differ from one
another
Rorschach test a projective technique involving the interpretation of inkblots that is used
by psychodynamic psychologists to assess
perceptual and psychodynamic aspects of
personality
S
sample in a survey, a subset of individuals
drawn from the population
scatterplot a graph commonly used to examine correlational data; each pair of scores
on variable X and variable Y is plotted as a
single point
schema a mental framework; an organised
pattern of thought about some aspect of the
world, such as a class of people, events, situations or objects
schizophrenia a psychotic disorder involving
serious impairments of attention, thought,
language, emotion and behaviour
4/12/12 11:18 PM
742
GLOSSARY
script a specialised schema that represents
a sequence of events (e.g. ‘going to the
movies’) that unfolds in a regular, almost
standardised order
seasonal affective disorder (SAD) a disorder
in which depressive symptoms appear or
worsen during certain seasons of the year
(most typically, fall and winter) and then
improve during the other seasons
secondary (conditioned) reinforcer a stimulus
that acquires reinforcing qualities by being
associated with a primary reinforcer
seeking social support turning to others for assistance or emotional support in times of stress
selective attention a cognitive process that
focuses awareness on some stimuli to the
exclusion of others
self in Rogers’s theory, an organised, consistent
set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself
self-actualisation in humanistic theories, an
inborn tendency to strive toward the realisation of one’s full potential
self-consistency an absence of conflict among
self-perceptions
self-determination theory a humanistic theory
formulated by Deci and Ryan that focuses on
three fundamental psychological needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness
self-efficacy the conviction that we can perform the behaviours necessary to produce a
desired outcome
self-enhancement processes whereby one enhances positive self-regard
self-esteem how positively or negatively we
feel about ourselves
self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when people’s
erroneous expectations lead them to act toward others in a way that brings about the
expected behaviours, thereby confirming the
original impression
self-monitoring a personality trait that reflects
people’s tendencies to regulate their social behaviour in accord with situational cues, as opposed to internal values, attitudes and needs
self-perception theory maintains that we
make inferences about our own attitudes by
observing how we behave
self-regulation processes in social-cognitive
theory, skills that allow for personal control
over one’s thoughts, feelings or behaviours
self-relatedness a client’s ability to be flexible
to change, to listen carefully to the therapist
and to constructively use what is learned in
therapy
semantic memory general factual knowledge
about the world and language, including
memory for words and concepts
reflect inherited biological predispositions
that have been shaped in women and men
over the course of evolution
semantics the linguistic rules for connecting
symbols in language to what they represent
shaping an operant conditioning procedure
in which reinforcement begins with a behaviour that the organism can already perform
and then is made contingent on behaviours
that increasingly approximate the final desired behaviour
senile dementia dementia (a gradual loss of
cognitive abilities due to normal brain deterioration) that begins after age 65
sensation the process by which stimuli are detected, transduced into nerve impulses and
sent to the brain
sensitive period an optimal age range for
certain experiences, but if those experiences
occur at another time, normal development
will still be possible
sensorimotor stage in Piaget’s theory, the
stage of cognitive development in which
children understand their world primarily
through sensory experiences and physical
(motor) interactions with objects
sensory adaptation diminishing sensitivity to
an unchanging stimulus with the passage
of time as sensory neurons habituate to the
stimulation
sensory memory memory processes that retain incoming sensory information just long
enough for it to be recognised
sensory neurons specialised neurons that
carry messages from the sense organs to the
spinal cord and brain
sensory prosthetic device a device for providing sensory input that can, to some extent,
substitute for what cannot be supplied by
the person’s own sensory receptors
separation anxiety distress experienced by
infants when they are separated from a primary caregiver, peaking between ages 12
and 16 months and disappearing between
ages 2 and 3 years
sequential design a research approach that involves repeatedly testing several age cohorts
as they grow older
serial position effect the finding that recall is
influenced by an item’s position in a series
set point a biologically determined standard
around which body weight (or, more specifically, our fat mass) is regulated
sex-typing treating other people differently
based on whether they are female or male
sexual dysfunction chronic, impaired sexual
functioning that distresses a person
sexual orientation a person’s emotional and
erotic preference for partners of a particular sex
shared environment the environmental conditions shared by a family or other social
group over a period of time
short-term memory a memory store that
temporarily holds a limited amount of
information
signal detection theory a theory that
assumes that stimulus detection is not
based on a fixed absolute threshold but
rather is affected by rewards, punishments,
expectations and motivational factors
situation-focused prevention prevention efforts that focus on altering environmental
conditions that are known to promote the
development of psychological disorders
Skinner box an experimental chamber in
which animals learn to perform operant
responses, such as pressing a bar or pecking, so that the learning process can be
studied
sleep apnoea a disorder characterised by a
repeated cycle in which the sleeper stops
breathing, momentarily awakens gasping
for air and then returns to sleep
slow-wave sleep stages 3 and 4 of sleep, in
which the EEG pattern shows large, slow
brain waves called delta waves
social and emotion well-being the term
introduced in place of ‘mental well-being’
in some Indigenous documents to remove any negative connotations and to
acknowledge both mental health and the
social contribution to how Indigenous
people feel
social causation hypothesis the proposition
that attributes the higher prevalence of
schizophrenia in low-income people to the
greater stress they experience
social-cognitive theories (of hypnosis) the
view that hypnotic experiences occur because people are highly motivated to assume
the role of being hypnotised; the person
develops a readiness to perceive hypnotic
experiences as real and involuntary
self-serving bias the tendency to make relatively more personal attributions for success
and situational attributions for failures
sexual response cycle a physiological response to sexual stimulation that involves
stages of excitement, plateau, orgasm and
resolution
social-cognitive theory (social-learning
theory) a cognitive behavioural approach
to personality developed by Bandura
and Mischel that emphasises the role of
social learning, cognitive processes and
self-regulation
self-verification the tendency to try to verify
or validate one’s existing self-concept (i.e. to
satisfy congruence needs)
sexual strategies (parental investment)
theory maintains that sex differences in
mating strategies and mating preferences
social comparison the act of comparing one’s
personal attributes, abilities and opinions
with those of other people
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 742
4/12/12 11:18 PM
GLOSSARY
social compensation working harder when in
a group than when alone to compensate for
other members’ lower output
social desirability bias a tendency to selfreport or behave in a way that presents
oneself in a favourable light, rather than
respond as one truly feels
social drift hypothesis the notion that as people develop schizophrenia, their personal and
occupational functioning deteriorates, so that
they drift down the socioeconomic ladder
social exchange theory a theory proposing
that a social relationship can best be described in terms of exchanges of rewards and
costs between the two partners
social identity theory maintains that prejudice stems from a need to enhance our
self-esteem
social learning theory Bandura’s former name
for social-cognitive theory
social loafing the tendency for people to expend less individual effort when working collectively in a group than when working alone
social norms shared expectations about how
people should think, feel and behave
social phobia an excessive and inappropriate fear of social situations in which a
person might be evaluated and possibly
embarrassed
social psychology a subfield of psychology
that examines people’s thoughts, feelings
and behaviour in relation to the social
world
social role a set of norms that characterises
how people in a given social position (e.g.
‘the university student,’ ‘the police officer’)
ought to behave
social skills training a technique in which a
client learns more effective social behaviours
by observing and imitating a skillful model
social structure theory maintains that men
and women behave differently, such as expressing different mate preferences, because
society directs them into different social and
economic roles
sociocultural perspective a view that emphasises the role of culture and the social
environment in influencing our behaviour,
thoughts and emotions
somatic nervous system the branch of the peripheral nervous system that provides input
from the sensory receptors and output to the
voluntary muscles of the body
somatic sensory cortex cortical strips in the
front portions of the parietal lobes that receive sensory input from the opposite side of
the body
somatoform disorder a disorder in which a
person complains of bodily symptoms that
cannot be accounted for in terms of actual
physical damage or dysfunction
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 743
743
source confusion the tendency to recall something or recognise it as familiar but to forget
where it was encountered. Also called source
monitoring error
stimulus generalisation a conditioned response
occurs to stimuli other than the original conditioned stimulus, based on the similarity of
these stimuli to the conditioned stimulus
specificity question the ultimate question
of psychotherapy research: ‘Which types
of therapy administered by which kinds of
therapists to which kinds of clients having
which kinds of problems produce which
kinds of effects?’
stimulus hierarchy in systematic desensitisation, the creation of a series of anxietyarousing stimuli that are ranked in terms of
the amount of anxiety they evoke
specific phobia an irrational and excessive
fear of specific objects or situations that pose
little or no actual threat
speech segmentation the task of perceiving
where each word within a spoken sentence
begins and ends
splitting a tendency, often found in people
with borderline personality disorder, to not
integrate the positive and negative aspects
of another’s behaviour into a coherent cognitive representation of the person
spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning, the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period
of time has passed following extinction
standard deviation (SD) a measure of variability that takes into account how much
each score in a distribution deviates from the
average score. Statistically, the square root of
the variance of a set of scores
storage the retention of information in memory over time
stranger anxiety distress over contact with
strangers that typically develops in the first
year of infancy and dissipates in the second
year
strange situation a standardised procedure
used to determine the type of emotional
attachment between an infant and a
caregiver
strategic pluralism the notion that multiple—
even contradictory—behavioural strategies
(e.g. introversion and extraversion) might be
adaptive in certain environments and would
therefore be maintained through natural
selection
stress a term variously used to refer to (1) situations that place strong demands on an organism, (2) the cognitive, physiological and
behavioural responses to such situations and
(3) the ongoing transaction between individuals and demanding situations
standardisation in psychological testing,
refers to (1) creating a standard set of procedures for administering a test or making
observations and (2) deriving norms with
which an individual’s performance can be
compared
stressors situations that place demands on organisms that tax or exceed their resources
state-dependent memory the enhanced ability
to retrieve information when our internal
state at the time of retrieval matches our
original state during learning
stroboscopic movement the illusory movement produced when adjacent lights are
illuminated and extinguished at specific time
intervals
static testing the traditional approach to testing, in which the test is administered under
highly standardised conditions
structuralism an early German school of
psychology established by Wundt that attempted to study the structure of the mind
by breaking it down into its basic components, which were believed to be sensations
statistical significance in research, a term that
means it is unlikely that a particular finding occurred by chance alone. Psychologists
typically consider a result to be statistically
significant only if it could have occurred by
chance less than 5 times in 100
stereotype a generalised belief about a group
or category of people
stereotype threat the anxiety created by the
perceived possibility that one’s behaviour or
performance will confirm a negative stereotype about one’s group
stress response the pattern of cognitive, physiological and behavioural reactions to demands that exceed a person’s resources
structured interview a standardised interview
protocol in which specific questions are
asked
subgoal analysis a problem-solving heuristic
in which people attack a large problem by
formulating subgoals, or intermediate steps
toward a solution
subjective well-being (SWB) happiness; the
overall degree of satisfaction with one’s life
stimulants drugs that stimulate neural activity, resulting in a state of excitement or
aroused euphoria
sublimation the channeling of unacceptable
impulses into socially accepted behaviours,
as when aggressive drives are expressed in
violent sports
stimulus control the occurrence of an operant
behaviour in response to a discriminative
stimulus
subliminal stimuli weak stimuli below the
perceptual threshold that are not consciously
perceived
4/12/12 11:18 PM
744
GLOSSARY
substance dependence a maladaptive pattern of substance use that causes a person
significant distress or substantially impairs
that person’s life; substance dependence is
diagnosed as occurring ‘with physiological
dependence’ if drug tolerance or withdrawal
symptoms have developed
test-retest reliability the extent to which
scores on a presumably stable characteristic
are consistent over time
thalamus a major sensory integration and
relay centre in the forebrain, sometimes referred to as the brain’s sensory switchboard
suicide the willful taking of one’s own life
THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) the major active
ingredient in marijuana
superego in psychonalysis, the moral arm of
the personality that internalises the standards and values of society and serves as the
person’s conscience
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) a projective personality test in which people make
up stories in response to pictures
suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) the brain’s
master ‘biological clock,’ located in the hypothalamus, that regulates most circadian
rhythms
surface structure a linguistic term for the
words and organisation of a spoken or written sentence. Two sentences may have quite
different surface structure but still mean the
same thing
survey research a method using questionnaires or interviews to obtain information
about many people
sympathetic nervous system the branch of
the autonomic nervous system that has
an arousal function on the body’s internal
organs, speeding up bodily processes and
mobilising the body
synaptic space the microscopic space between
the axons of one neuron and the dendrites
or cell body of another over which the nerve
impulse is transmitted
synaptic vesicles chambers within the axon
that contain the neurotransmitter substance
synaesthesia a condition in which stimuli are
experienced not only in the normal sensory
modality but in others as well
syntax the rules for the combination of
symbols within a given language
systematic desensitisation a procedure
used to eliminate anxiety using counterconditioning, in which a new response that is
incompatible with anxiety is conditioned to
the anxiety-arousing conditioned stimulus
theory a set of formal statements that explains
how and why certain events or phenomena
are related to one another
theory of cognitive dissonance states that
people strive to maintain consistency in their
beliefs and actions and that inconsistency
creates dissonance (i.e. unpleasant arousal)
that motivates people to restore balance by
changing their cognitions or behaviour
theory of mind a person’s beliefs about the
‘mind’ and the ability to understand other
people’s mental states
theory of planned behaviour maintains that our
intention to engage in a behaviour is strongest
when we have a positive attitude toward that
behaviour, when subjective norms (our perceptions of what other people think we should
do) support our attitudes, and when we believe that the behaviour is under our control
threat in Rogers’s theory, any experience
we have that is inconsistent with our selfconcept, including our perceptions of our
own behaviour. Threat evokes anxiety
three-stratum theory of cognitive abilities a
model of intelligence based on factor analysis that contains three hierarchical levels of
ability, from specific skills to a general intellectual ( g) factor
tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state the experience of
being unable to recall something but feeling
that you are on the verge of remembering it
token economy a procedure in which desirable behaviours are reinforced with tokens
or points that can later be redeemed for other
reinforcers
the analyst as if the latter were an important
person from the client’s past who plays a significant role in the client’s dynamics
transtheoretical model a model of behaviour
change that includes the phases of precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination
trauma-dissociation theory accounts for the
development of dissociative identity disorder as a defence against severe childhood
abuse or trauma
triangular theory of love maintains that
various types of love result from different
combinations of three core factors: intimacy,
commitment and passion
triarchic theory of intelligence Sternberg’s
theory of intelligence that distinguishes
between analytical, practical and creative
forms of mental ability
triple vulnerability model of emotional
disorders a theoretical model of psychopathology that there are common biological,
psychological and environmental vulnerability factors that foster the development of
anxiety and depressive disorders
twin study a research method in behaviour
genetics in which identical (monozygotic)
and fraternal (dizygotic) twins are compared
on some characteristic; this method is particularly informative if the twins have been
raised in different environments
2 3 2 achievement goal theory a model of
motivation in which each person can be
described in terms of an achievement motivation profile involving four types of goals:
mastery-approach, ego-approach, masteryavoidance and ego-avoidance goals
two-factor theory of avoidance learning maintains that avoidance learning first involves
the classical conditioning of fear, followed
by learning operant responses that avoid an
anticipated aversive stimulus and thus are
reinforced by anxiety reduction
two-factor theory of emotion Schachter’s
theory stating that intensity of physiological arousal determines perceived intensity
of emotion, whereas appraisal of environmental cues tells us which emotion we are
experiencing
tardive dyskinesia an irreversible motor disorder that can occur as a side effect of certain
antipsychotic drugs
tolerance a condition in which increasingly
larger doses of a drug are required to produce
the same level of bodily responses; caused by
the body’s compensatory responses, which
counter the effects of the drug
taste buds chemical receptors for taste in
the tongue and in the roof and back of the
mouth that are sensitive to the qualities of
sweet, sour, salty and bitter
top-down processing perceptual processing
in which existing knowledge, concepts, ideas
or expectations are applied in order to make
sense of incoming stimulation
U
temperament a biologically based general
style of reacting emotionally and behaviourally to the environment
transduction the conversion of one form of
energy into another; in sensation, the process
whereby physical stimuli are translated into
nerve impulses
unconditional positive regard a communicated attitude of total and unconditional
acceptance of another person that conveys
the person’s intrinsic worth
transference the psychoanalytic phenomenon
in which a client responds irrationally to
unconditioned response (UCR) a response
(usually reflexive or innate) that is elicited
T
teratogens environmental (non-genetic)
agents that cause abnormal prenatal
development
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 744
Type A behaviour pattern a sense of time
urgency, pressured behaviour and hostility
that appears to be a risk factor in coronary
heart disease
4/12/12 11:18 PM
GLOSSARY
by a specific stimulus (the unconditioned
stimulus) without prior learning
unconditioned stimulus (UCS) a stimulus
that elicits a particular reflexive or innate
response (the unconditioned response)
without prior learning
undifferentiated schizophrenia a residual
category of schizophrenia for people who
show some of the symptoms of paranoid,
disorganised and catatonic types but
not enough to be placed in one of those
diagnostic categories
universalism the assumption that characteristics of culture and people occur across
the world; that we are all human and share
many common characteristics
unobtrusive measures techniques for measuring behaviour in which participants are
kept unaware that their behaviour is being
recorded or observed
unshared environment the unique experiences of each individual within a family—as
opposed to the common experiences of the
whole family
upward comparison seeing oneself or one’s
situation as worse off than the standard for
comparison
V
validity the extent to which a test actually
measures what it is supposed to measure;
the degree to which a diagnostic system’s
categories contain the core features of the
behaviour disorders and permit differentiation among the disorders
variable any characteristic of an organism or
situation that can vary
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 745
variable-interval (VI) schedule a reinforcement schedule in which reinforcement follows the first response of a particular type
that occurs after an average but variable
time interval following the last reinforced
response
variable-ratio (VR) schedule a reinforcement
schedule in which reinforcement is based on
an average but variable number of responses
of a particular type
variance a statistic that measures the average
of the squared deviation scores about the
mean of a distribution
745
wish fulfilment in Freudian theory,
the partial or complete satisfaction of a
psychological need through dreaming or
waking fantasy
withdrawal the occurrence of compensatory
responses after drug use is discontinued,
causing the person to experience physiological reactions opposite to those that had been
produced by the drug
working memory a mental workspace that
temporarily stores information, actively
processes it and supports other cognitive
functions
vestibular sense the sense of body orientation,
or equilibrium
virtual reality (VR) computer-produced
virtual environments that immerse an
individual and produce experiences similar
to those of a corresponding real environment
visual acuity the ability to see fine detail
visual agnosia a disorder in which an individual is unable to visually recognise objects
Y
yarning the process through which
Indigenous people are able to talk freely
about their experiences, letting researchers
explore a topic in depth and find information that may not emerge in more formal
environments
W
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory
The colour vision theory stating that there
are three types of colour receptors in the
retina—one for red, one for blue and one for
green—and that combinations of activation
of these receptors can produce perception of
any hue in the visible spectrum
Weber’s law states that to perceive a difference between two stimuli, the stimuli must
differ by a constant percentage or ratio
Z
vulnerability-stress model explains behaviour
disorders as resulting from predisposing
biological or psychological vulnerability
factors that are triggered by a stressor
Wernicke’s area an area of the left temporal lobe that is involved in speech
comprehension
wisdom a system of knowledge about the
meaning and conduct of life
zone of proximal development the difference
between what a child can do independently
and what the child can do with assistance
from adults or more advanced peers
zygote
the fertilised egg.
4/12/12 11:18 PM
746
GLOSSARY
pas16597_glo_729-745.indd 746
4/12/12 11:18 PM