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A
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-A-
Accommodation
The
creation of new cognitive schemas when objects,
experiences, or other information does not fit with
existing schemas.
Action
Potential
The
firing on a neuron. Occurs when the charge
inside the neuron becomes more positive than the
charge outside.
Altruism
Behavior
that is unselfish and may even be detrimental but
which benefits others.
Amnesia
Loss of memory.
Usually only a partial loss such as for a period of
time or biographical information.
Analysis
See Psychoanalysis.
Anxiety The
physiological and psychological reaction to an
expected danger, whether real or imagined.
Aphasia
The impairment of the ability to communicate either
through oral or written discourse as a result of brain
damage.
Arousal
Theory
The theory stating that we are motivated by our innate
desire to maintain an optimal level of arousal.
Assimilation
Incorporating objects, experiences, or information
into existing schemas.
Associations
The phenomenon in learning that states we are better
able to remember information if it is paired with
something we are familiar with or otherwise stands
out.
Attachment
The strong bond a child forms with his or her primary
caregiver.
Attribution
An idea or belief about the etiology of a certain
behavior.
Authoritarian
[parents]
Parenting style focused on excessive rules, rigid
belief systems, and the expectation of unquestioned
obedience.
Authoritative
[parents]
Parenting style focused on setting reasonable rules
and expectations while encouraging communication and
independence.
Availability
Heuristic
A rule of thumb stating that information more readily
available in our memory is more important than
information not as easily accessible.
Aversion
Therapy
A type of behavioral treatment where an aversive
stimuli is paired with a negative behavior in hopes
that the behavior will change in the future to avoid
the aversive stimuli.
Axon
The tail-like part of the neuron through which
information exits the cell.
-B-
Behavior
Modification
The application of behavioral theory to change a
specific behavior.
Behavior
Therapy
The application of behavioral theory (e.g.
conditioning, reinforcement) in the treatment of
mental illness.
Behaviorism
The
school of psychology founded on the premise that
behavior is measurable and can be changed through the
application of various behavioral principles.
Bisexuality
Being attracted to
or aroused by members of both genders. See
Sexual Orientation.
Blind
Study
As a way to avoid the placebo effect in research, this
type of study is designed without the subject's
knowledge of the anticipated results and sometimes
even the nature of the study. The subjects are
said to be 'blind' to the expected results.
Brocas
Aphasia
An aphasia associated with damage to the Broca's area
of the brain, demonstrated by the impairment in
producing understandable speech.
Burnout
Changes in thoughts, emotions, and behavior as a
result of extended job stress and unrewarded
repetition of duties. Burnout is seen as extreme
dissatisfaction, pessimism, lowered job satisfaction,
and a desire to quit.
-C-
Cell
Body
The main part of a neuron where the information is
processed.
Centration
A young child's tendency to focus only on his or her
own perspective of a specific object and a failure to
understand that others may see things differently.
Chemical Imbalance A
generic term for the idea that chemical in the brain
are either too scarce or too abundant resulting in a
mental disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar
disorder.
Classical
Conditioning
The behavioral technique of pairing a naturally
occurring stimulus and response chain with a different
stimulus in order to produce a response which is not
naturally occurring.
Client Centered Therapy
A humanistic therapy based on Carl Roger's
beliefs that an individual has an unlimited capacity
for psychological growth and will continue to grow
unless barriers are placed in the way.
Coercive
Power
Power derived through the ability to punish.
Cognition
The process of receiving, processing, storing, and
using information.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Treatment involving the combination of behaviorism
(based on the theories of learning) and cognitive
therapy (based on the theory that our cognitions or
thoughts control a large portion of our behaviors).
Cognitive
Dissonance
The realization of contradictions in one's own
attitudes and behaviors.
Cognitive
Therapy
The treatment approach based on the theory that our
cognitions or thoughts control a large part of our
behaviors and emotions. Therefore, changing the
way we think can result in positive changes in the way
we act and feel.
Compulsion
The physical act resulting from an obsession.
Typically a compulsive act is done in an attempt to
alleviate the discomfort created by an obsession.
Conditioned
Response
The response in a stimulus-response chain that is not
naturally occurring, but rather has been learned
through its pairing with a naturally occurring chain.
Conditioned
Stimulus
The stimulus in a stimulus-response chain that is not
naturally occurring, but rather has been learned
through its pairing with a naturally occurring chain.
Conditioning
The process of learning new behaviors or responses as
a result of their consequences.
Conformity
Changing your attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, or
behaviors in order to be more consistent with others.
Consciousness
Awareness of yourself and the world around you.
Conservation
The understanding, typically achieved in later
childhood, that matter remains the same even when the
shape changes (i.e., a pound of clay is still a
pound of clay whether is is rolled in a ball or
pounded flat).
Consolidation
The physiological changes in the brain associated with
memory storage.
Consolidation
Failure
The failure to store information in memory.
Context
Dependent Memory
The theory that
information learned in a particular situation or place
is better remembered when in that same situation or
place.
Continuous
Reinforcement
The
application of reinforcement every time a specific
behavior occurs.
Control
Group
The group of subjects in an experiment that
does not receive the independent variable.
Correlation
Statistical representation of a relationship between
two or more variables which does not determine cause
and effect.
Critical
Period
A time frame deemed highly important in developing in
a healthy manner; can be physically, emotionally,
behaviorally, or cognitively.
Crowding
The psychological and psychological response to the
belief that there are too many people in a specified
area.
Crystallized
Intelligence
The part of intelligence which involves the
acquisition, as opposed to the use, of information.
-D-
Decay
Theory
which states that memory fades and/or disappears over
time if it is not used or accessed.
Declarative
Memory
The
part of long-term memory where factual information is
stored, such as mathematical formulas, vocabulary, and
life events.
Deductive
Reasoning
Decision making process in which ideas are processed
from the general to the specific.
Defenses
(Defense Mechanisms)
Psychological forces which
prevent undesirable or inappropriate impulses from
entering consciousness (e.g., forgetting
responsibilities that we really didn't want to do,
projecting anger onto a spouse as opposed to your
boss). Also called Defense Mechanisms, Defense
System, or Ego Defenses.
Delusion
False belief system (e.g., believing you are
Napoleon, have magical powers, or the false belief
that others are 'out to get you.').
Dependent
Variable
The variable in an experiment that is measured; the
outcome of an experiment.
Developmental
Psychology
The area of psychology focused on how children grow
psychologically to become who they are as adults.
Difference
Threshold
The smallest change in perception which is noticeable
at least 50% of the time.
Discrimination
In behavioral theory, the learned ability to
differentiate between two similar objects or
situations.
Disorientation
Inability to recognize
or be aware of who we are (person), what we are doing
(situation), the time and date (time), or where we are
in relation to our environment (place). To be
considered a problem, it must be consistent, result in
difficulty functioning, and not due to forgetting or
being lost.
Displacement
The pushing out of older information in short term
memory to make room for new information.
Dissociation
A separation from the self, with the most severe
resulting in Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Most of us experience this in very mild forms such as
when we are driving long distance and lose time or
find ourselves day dreaming longer than we thought.
Distinctiveness
The phenomenon in memory that states we are better
able to remember information if it is distinctive or
different from other information.
Divergent
Thinking
The ability to use previously gained information to
debate or discuss issues which have no agreed upon
definitive resolution.
Double
Blind Study
Research method in which both the subjects and the
experimenter are unaware or 'blind' to the anticipated
results.
Drive
An internal motivation to fulfill a need or reduce the
negative aspects of an unpleasant situation.
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