Psychology Fourth Edition Glossary

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Absolute Threshold

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The minimum value of a stimulus that can be detected.

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Accommodation

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1) Changes in the thickness of the lens of the eye that focus images of near or distant objects on the retina.

2) In developmental psychology, the process by which existing schemata are modified or changed by new experiences.

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Achromatopsia

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A form of colour blindness in which the world is seen in shades of grey.

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Acquired Dyslexia

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Reading impairment which results from brain injury.

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Acquisition

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In classical conditioning, the time during which a conditioned stimulus first appears and increases in frequency.

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Action Potential

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A brief electrochemical event that is carried by an axon from the soma of the neurone to its terminal buttons; causes the release of a transmitter substance.

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Activational Effect

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The effect of a hormone on a physiological system that has already developed. If the effect involves the brain, it can influence behaviour. An example is facilitation of sexual arousal and performance.

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Actor-Observer Effect

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The tendency to attribute one's own behaviour to situational factors buy others' behaviour to dispositional factors.

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Adaptation

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The ability of generations of species to adapt effectively to changes in the environment.

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Adaptive significance

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The effectiveness of behaviour in aiding organisms to adjust to changing environmental conditions.

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Adjacency / Proximity Principle

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A Gestalt principe of organisation; elements located closest to each other are perceived as belonging to the same figure.

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Aerobic Exercise

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Physical activity that expends considerable energy, increases blood flow and respiration and thereby stimulates and strengthens the heart and lungs and increases the body's efficient use of oxygen.

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Affect

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In emotion research, the term given to a prolonged, general mood state (e.g. positive affect).

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Affix

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A sound or group of letters added to the beginning of a word (prefix) or its end (suffix).

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Affordances

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Features of the perceptual environment which give it its meaning or signify its use.

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Aggression

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The intent to inflict harm on others.

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Agoraphobia

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A mental disorder characterised by fear of and avoidance of being alone in public places; this disorder is often accompanied by panic attacks.

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Agrammatism

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A language disturbance; difficulty in the production and comprehension of grammatical features, such as proper use of function words, word endings and word order. Often seen in cases of Broca's aphasia.

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Alcoholism

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An addiction to ethanol, the psychoactive agent in alcoholic beverages.

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Algorith

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A procedure that consists of a series of steps that will solve a specific type of problem.

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Alien Hand

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After split-brain operation, the feeling that patients report of one hand not belonging to them.

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Alleles

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Alternative forms of the same gene.

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Allesthesia

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In spatial neglect, where patients transfer features of the right-hand side of an object/environment to the left when drawing. Also called allochiria.

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Alpha Activity

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Rhythmical, medium-frequency activity of the electroencephalogram, usually indicating a state of quiet relaxation.

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Altruism

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The unselfish concern of one individual for the welfare of another.

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Alzheimer's Disease

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A degenerative brain disorder characterised by neuronal abnormalities which leads to confusional states and cognitive impairments.

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Amygdala

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A part of the limbic system of the brain located deep in the temporal lobe; damage causes changes in emotional and aggressive behaviour.

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Anal Stage

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The second of Freud's psychosexual stages, during which the primary erogenous zone is the anal region. Freud argued that during this time, children take pleasure in retaining or expelling faeces.

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Anatomical Coding

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A means by which the nervous system represents information; different features are coded by the activity of different neurones.

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Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome

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An inherited condition caused by a lack of functioning androgen receptors. Because androgens cannot exert their effects, a person with XY sex chromosomes develops as a female, with female external genitalia.

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Androgens

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The primary class of sex hormones in males. The most important androgen is testosterone.

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Animism

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A belief that all animals and all moving objects possess spirits providing their motive force.

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Anomalous Trichromacy

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A deficit in colour vision in which a photopigment is altered.

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Anorexia Nervosa

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An eating disorder characterised by attempts to lose weight, sometimes to the point of starvation.

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Anterior

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Towards the front.

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Anterograde Amnesia

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A disorder caused by brain damage that disrupts a person's ability to form new long-term memories of events that occur after the time of the brain damage.

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Anti-Anxiety (Anxiolytic) Drug

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A 'tranquilliser', which reduced anxiety. The most common include chlorodiazepoxide (Librium) and diazepam (Valium).

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Antibodies

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Proteins in the immune system that recognise antigens and help kill invading micro-organisms.

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Anticipatory Anxiety

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A fear of having a panic attack; may lead to the development of agoraphobia.

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Antidepressant Drugs

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Drugs used to treat depression.

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Antigen

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The unique proteins found on the surface of bacteria; these proteins are what enable the immune system to recognise the bacteria as foreign substances.

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Antimanic Drugs

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Drugs used to treat bipolar disorder and mania.

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Antipsychotic Drugs

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The pharmacological agents used to treat severe mental illness such as schizophrenia.

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Antisocial Personality Disorder

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A disorder characterised by a failure to conform to standards of decency; repeated lying and stealing; a failure to sustain lasting, loving relationships; low tolerance of boredom; and a complete lack of guilt.

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Anxiety

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A sense of apprehension or doom that is accompanied by many physiological reactions, such as accelerated heart rate, sweaty palms and tightness in the stomach.

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Aphasia

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Language impairment seen after brain damage and usually involves an inability to produce or comprehend speech.

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Appeasement Gesture

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A stereotyped gesture made by a submissive animal in response to a threat gesture by a dominant animal; tends to inhibit an attack.

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Apperceptive Agnosia

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An inability to recognise objects visually.

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Archetypes

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Universal thought forms and patterns that Jung believed resided in the collective unconscious.

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Articulatory Loop

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The component of working memory which stores verbal/auditory information. Also called the phonological loop.

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Artificial Intelligence

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The construction of computer programs that simulate mental function.

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Asperger's Syndrome

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A disorder similar to autism but characterised by a narrow and obsessional range of interests.

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Assertiveness Training

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A technique which trains an individual to be more direct about his/her feelings.

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Assimilation

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The process by which new information about the world is modified to fit existing schemata.

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Associative Agnosia

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An inability to make meaningful associations to visually presented objects.

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Attachment

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A social and emotional bond between infant and carer that spans both time and space.

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Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

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A conduct disorder characterised by poor sustained attention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity in children.

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Attentional Bias

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A tendency to attend to certain stimuli more that others.

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Attitude

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A relatively enduring set of beliefs, feelings and intentions towards an object, person, event or symbol.

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Attribution

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The process by which people infer the causes of other people's behaviour.

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Attribution Theory

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Group of theories about how people assign causes to their own or others' behaviour.

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Attributional Ambiguity

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Tendency of members of stigmatised groups continually to read prejudice and discrimination into innocuous behaviours and even into behaviours favouring them.

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Attributional Style

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An individual (personality) predisposition to make a certain type of causal attribution for behaviour.

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Auditory Hair Cell

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The sensory neurone of the auditory system; located on the basilar membrane.

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Authoritarian Personality

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Personality syndrome originating in childhood that predisposes individuals to be prejudiced.

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Autism

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Developmental disorder characterised by abnormal social behaviour, language abnormalities and stereotypical and repetitive patterns of behaviour.

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Autokinetic Effect

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Optical illusion in which a point of light shining in complete darkness appears to move about.

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Automatic Processing

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The formation of memories of events and experiences with little or no attention or effort.

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Automaticity

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Tendency for categories and associated stereotypes to be activated on the basis of cues, very rapidly and without conscious awareness.

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Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

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The portion of the peripheral nervous system that controls the functions of the glands and internal organs.

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Autotopagnosia

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An inability to name body parts following damage to the left parietal association cortex.

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Availability Heuristic

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A general rule for social judgement by which a person judges the likelihood or importance of an event by the ease with which examples of that event come to mind.

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Aversion Therapy

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A form of treatment in which the client is trained to respond negatively to a neutral stimulus that has been paired with an aversive stimulus.

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Avoidance Response

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An operant response acquired through negative reinforcement that prevents an aversive stimulus from occurring.

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Avoidant Attachment

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A kind of attachment in which infants avoid or ignore their mothers and often do not cuddle when held.

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Axes

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The criteria used in DSM-IV for classifying mental disorder.

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Axon

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A long, thin part of a neurone attached to the soma; divides into a few or many branches, ending in terminal buttons.