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Glossary 1Glossary Of Terms A-L For Introduction to Psychology |
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Abnormal - Term used to describe behavior that is rare or dysfunctional, causes personal distress, or deviates from social norms absolute threshold - Minimum amount of energy required for conscious detection of a stimulus 50 percent of the time by the individuals tested acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) - Viral disease transmitted via bodily fluids such as blood and semen usually during sexual relations or by sharing needles used by a person infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); the virus attacks the body's immune system, resulting in vulnerability to infections and diseases, which eventually cause death action potential - Reversal in electrical charge of a neuron that occurs when the neuron fires activation-synthesis hypothesis - Explanation of dreams that suggests that they result when the cortex seeks to explain the high level of neuronal activity occurring during REM sleep adaptation - Loss of sensitivity to a stimulus by the receptors as a result of continued presentation of that stimulus adolescence - The years between approximately age 12 and age 20 adrenogenital syndrome - Condition caused by exposure to excessive amounts of androgens during the fetal period; can result in a genetic female with genitals resembling those of males afferent (sensory) nerves - Nerves that carry information from the receptors to the brain and spinalcord ageism - Viewing elderly people in a negative manner aggression - Physical or psychological behavior that is performed with the intent of doing harm Agonist - Drug that enhances the operation of a neurotransmitter Agoraphobia - Avoidance of public places or situations in which escape may be difficult should the individual develop incapacitating or embarrassing symptoms of panic Alcohol - Depressant psychoactive substance, also known as ethyl alcohol or ethanol Algorithm - Systematic procedure for solving a problem by evaluating all possible solutions until the correct one is found altered state of consciousness - State of consciousness that is different than normal waking consciousness altruism - Helping behavior performed voluntarily with no anticipation of reward Alzheimer's disease - Degenerative brain disorder that results in progressive loss of intelligence and awareness American Sign Language (ASL) - manual language used for communication by the deaf Amnesia - Loss of memory that occurs as a result of physical or psychological trauma Amniocentesis - Withdrawal and analysis of amniotic fluid to detect genetic abnormalities in the fetus Amphetamines - Stimulants that have been used to reduce appetite and treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy Amplitude - Strength or intensity of a stimulus anal stage - Second stage of psychosexual development, during which the focus of pleasure is the anus and conflict often occurs as efforts are made to toilet-train the child androgen insensitivity syndrome - Failure by a male embryo to respond to male hormones androgens - General name given to the sex hormones that predominate in males anomalous trichromat - Person with a form of colorblindness in which one of the three primary colors (red, blue, or green) is processed incorrectly anorexia nervosa - A potentially life-threatening eating disorder occurring primarily in adolescent and young adult females; an intense fear of becoming fat leads to self-starvation and weight loss; accompanied by a strong belief that one is fat despite objective evidence to the contrary anoxia - Reduction or lack of oxygen antagonist - Drug that blocks the operation of a neurotransmitter anterograde amnesia - Inability to store new memories following a traumatic event antianxiety drugs - Minor tranquilizers used to reduce anxiety antigens - Foreign substances such as bacteria that trigger an immune response antipsychotic drugs - Drugs that reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain antisocial personality disorder - Personality disorder characterized by deceitful, impulsive, reckless actions for which the individual feels no remorse anxiety - General feeling of apprehension characterized by behavioral, cognitive, or physiological symptoms aphasia - Loss of the ablity to speak or understand written or spoken language apparent motion - Illusion of movement in a stationary object apraxia - Inability to perform previously learned skilled movements arbitrary inference - Conclusion drawn in the absence of supporting information assertiveness training - The use of a variety of behavioral techniques, such as modeling and behavioral rehearsal, to help clients develop assertive responses assimilation - Piaget's term for the process of incorporating information into existing schemas ataxia - Loss of motor control attachment - Intense, reciprocal relationship formed by two people, usually a child and an adult attitudes - Evaluative judgments about objects, people, and thoughts, including affective, knowledge, and behavioral components attraction - The extent to which we like other people attribution - The process of assigning causes to events and behaviors audition - The sense of hearing autonomic division - Division of the peripheral nervous system involved in the control of bodily functioning autonomous moral principles - Kohlberg's third stage of moral development (age 13 or later, if at all), in which control over moral conduct is completely internalized autonomy versus shame and doubt - Erikson's second psychosocial crisis (1 1/2 to 3 years), in which children develop a sense of whether their behavior is under their own control or under the control of external forces autonomy - The feeling of being able to act independently and having personal control over one's actions availability heuristic - Heuristic in which the probability of an event is determined by how readily it comes to mind aversion therapy - Classical conditioning technique for reducing or eliminating behavior by pairing the behavior with an unpleasant (aversive) stimulus axon - Part of a neuron that
transmits information to other neurons and to muscles and glands -B-Babinski reflex - Reflex in which the infant's toes fan upward when the bottom of the foot is stroked backward conditioning - Form of classical conditioning in which the CS comes on after the US has been presented barbiturates - Depressant drugs that are used to induce sleep but can be deadly when combined with alcohol Barnum effect - The tendency to accept generalized personality descriptions as accurate descriptions of oneself basic trust versus basic mistrust - Erikson's first psychosocial crisis (birth to 1 1/2 years), in which children learn through contact with their primary caregiver whether their environment can be trusted basilar membrane - Membrane located in the cochlea of the inner ear; movement of cochlear fluid causes it to vibrate behavior genetics - A new field, combining psychology and biology, that studies the influences of heredity and environment on behavior behavior modification - Using the fundamental principles of learning to change inappropriate behaviors behavioral model - The view that psychological disorders are learned behaviors that follow the principles of classical and operant conditioning or modeling behavioral perspective - Perspective that focuses on observable behavior and emphasizes the learned nature of behavior bereavement - Emotional and role changes that follow death bias - Beliefs that interfere with objectivity binocular cues - Cues for depth perception that involve the use of both eyes binocular disparity - The difference between the images seen by the two eyes biofeedback - Providing information about some ongoing biological process such as muscle tension in the hope that a person will learn to adjust the process biomedical therapies - A set of treatments for mental illness that include drugs, psychosurgery, and electroconvulsive therapy bipolar cells - Cells in the retina that connect the receptors to ganglion cells bipolar disorder - Mood disorder in which the individual experiences episodes of mania and depression, which usually alternate blind spot - Location at which the optic nerve leaves the eyeball; contains no receptors blocking - Situation in which the conditionability of a CS is weakened when it is paired with a US that has previously been paired with another CS brain asymmetries - Differences between the two hemispheres of the brain brainstorming - Free expression of ideas by members of a group to solve a problem bulimia nervosa - Eating disorder in which a victim alternately consumes large amounts of food (gorging) and then empties the stomach (purging), usually by inducing vomiting burnout - Emotional and physical exhaustion that interferes with job performance bystander effect - The tendency for a
group of bystanders to be less likely than an individual to provide assistance to a person
in trouble -C-Cannon-Bard theory - Theory that the thalamus relays information simultaneously to the cortex and to the sympathetic nervous system, causing emotional feelings and physiological changes to occur at the same time Case study - In-depth study of a single individual that can often provide suggestions for further research Cataracts - Clouding of the lens of the eye central deafness -Deafness resulting from damage to the auditory pathways or auditory cortex of the brain. central nervous system (CNS) - Division of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord cerebellum - Structure of the hindbrain that coordinates muscular movements cesarean section - Procedure in which a baby is surgically removed from the uterus chromosomes - Segments of genetic material located in the nucleus of each cell; human cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes, one of each pair being inherited from each parent circadian rhythm -Internal biological changes that occur on a daily schedule classical conditioning - Learning that occurs when two stimuli, a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus, are paired and become associated with each other client-centered therapy - Therapy designed to create an environment in which the client is able to find solutions to his or her problems clinical psychology - Specialty of psychology that involves the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders closure - Gestalt principle stating that organizing perceptions into whole objects is easier than perceiving separate parts independently coactors - Other people who are present and are engaging in the same behaviors as an individual at the same time cognitive development - Changes that occur in our thought processes throughout life cognitive developmental theory - Explanation for the learning of gender roles that holds that cognitive factors give rise to gender identity, gender stability, and gender constancy cognitive dissonance - Aversive state produced when an individual has two incompatible thoughts or cognitions simultaneously cognitive model - A view that emphasizes thinking as the key element in causing psychological disorders cognitive perspective - View that focuses on the study of how thought occurs, memory processes, and how information is organized and stored cognitive psychology - Study of higher mental processes, such as thinking, knowing, and deciding cognitive therapies - Therapies designed to change cognitions in order to eliminate maladaptive behaviors cohort - Group of individuals born in the same period collectivism - Placing group goals above individual goals color afterimage - Perception of a color that is not really present; occurs after viewing the opposite or complementary color commonsense view of emotions - View that emotions precede and cause bodily changes companionate love - Long-lasting form of love that involves commitment comparison level - General outcome expected from a particular relationship compliance - Initiating or changing a behavior in response to a request computerized axial tomography (CT or CAT) - Imaging technique that involves the production of a large number of X-rays interpreted by a computer concepts - Mental categories that share common characteristics concordance rate - Percentage of twin pairs in which both twins have a disorder that is of interest to an investigator concrete operational stage - Piaget's third stage of cognitive development, in which the child is able to use mental representations to think about current objects and events but is not yet capable of abstract thought conditioned response (CR) - Response elicited by a conditioned stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus. It is similar to the unconditioned response conditioned stimulus (CS) - Neutral stimulus that acquires the ability to elicit a conditioned response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus conduction deafness - Deafness due to problems associated with transmitting sounds through the outer and middle ear cones - Visual receptors that are less prevalent than rods, have a higher threshold and higher acuity, and are able to detect color confirmation bias - Committing to one hypothesis without adequately testing other possibilities conflict - A state that occurs when an individual must chose between two or more competing goals conformity - Initiating or changing a behavior in response to indirect social pressures conjunctive eye movements - Movements of the eyes in the same direction consciousness - A person's awareness of feelings, sensations, and thoughts at a given moment conservation - Recognition that a physical change in a substance does not change the amount of that substance consolidation hypothesis - Hypothesis that memories must be consolidated or "set" before they can be stored in LTM consumer psychology - Specialty of psychology that studies consumers and the choices they make continuous reinforcement - Reinforcement that follows every target response control group - A comparison group in an experiment that does not receive the effect of the independent variable being manipulated conventional role conformity - Kohlberg's second stage of moral development (ages 10 to 13), in which rules and standards are internalized and behaviors are performed in order to please others conversion disorder - Somatoform disorder in which an individual presents sensory or motor symptoms that do not have a medical explanation coping - Cognitive and behavioral efforts that are used to reduce the effects of stress corpus callosum - Wide band of neural fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain correlation coefficient - Number ranging between +1.00 and -1.00 that represents the degree of relationship between two variables counseling psychology - Specialty of psychology that deals with less serious problems than those treated by clinical psychologists creativity - The ability to produce work that is both novel and appropriate critical period - A specific time during development when damage may occur or certain processes should take place cross-sectional study -Research technique in which participants, often of different ages, are tested or observed during a limited time span or only once crystallized intelligence - Intelligence that involves the ability to retrieve and use information that has been learned and stored cumulative record - Results of a series of operant conditioning trials, shown as rate of responding -D-daydreaming - A form of consciousness that involves fantasies, usually spontaneous, that occur while a person is awake debriefing - Providing a complete explanation of research that has involved deception decibel (db) - Unit of measure of the amount of energy producing the vibrations we perceive as sound defense mechanism - Psychodynamic term used to describe primarily unconscious methods of reducing anxiety or guilt that results from conflicts among the id, ego, and superego deindividuation - Phenomenon in which the presence of a group results in a loss of personal identity and a decrease in responsibility deinstitutionalization - The policy of discharging mentally ill patients from institutions on the assumption that they can be cared for in their communities delayed conditioning - Form of classical conditioning in which the CS comes on and stays on for a period of time before the US is presented delusion - An obviously false belief that is difficult to change dementia - General intellectual decline associated with old age; may be reversible when caused by medication or blood clots dendrite - Part of a neuron that receives information from receptors and other neurons deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) - Chemical name for the genetic material located in the nucleus of each cell dependent variable - Variable that shows the outcome of an experiment by revealing the effects of an independent variable depolarization - Process in which the electrical charge of the neuron becomes less negative depressants - Drugs that slow the activity of the central nervous system depression - Mood disorder characterized by sadness; feelings of guilt; changes in sleep, appetite, and motor behavior; and sometimes thoughts of suicide depth perception - The ability to perceive our world three dimensionally developmental psychology - Study of physical and cognitive changes throughout the life span, from conception until death diagnosis - The process of deciding whether a person has symptoms that meet established criteria of an existing classification system dichromat - Individual who has trouble seeing one of the primary colors (red, blue, or green) due to a form of colorblindness differential threshold - Smallest amount of stimulation that must be added to or subtracted from an existing stimulus for a person to be able to detect a change 50 percent of the time discrimination - Behaviors that adversely affect members of a particular group discriminative stimulus - Stimulus or signal telling the participant that responding will be reinforced display rules - Culturally specific rules for which emotions to display, to whom, and when they can be displayed dissociation - Splitting of conscious awareness that is believed to play a role in hypnotic pain reduction dissociative amnesia - Dissociative disorder that involves a sudden inability to recall important personal information; often occurs in response to trauma or extreme stress dissociative disorders - Disorders affecting a function of the mind, such as memory for events, knowledge of one's identity, or consciousness dissociative fugue - Dissociative disorder involving amnesia and flight from the workplace or home; may involve establishing a new identity in a new location dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality) - Dissociative disorder in which a person has two or more separate personalities, which usually alternate divided attention - The ability to process more than one source of stimulation at the same time dream - A succession of visual images experienced during sleep dysfunctional - Term used to
describe behaviors that adversely affect an individual's functioning -E-early adulthood - Period from approximately age 20 to age 40 eclectic approach - View of psychology that combines several different approaches efferent (motor) nerves - Nerves that carry information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles ego - In psychodynamic theory, the element of the mind that operates according to the reality principle and serves to satisfy the id and the superego egocentrism - Inability to see a situation or event from another person's point of view elaborative rehearsal - Rehearsal in which meaning is added to the material to be remembered Electra complex - Process that occurs during the phallic stage in which a girl wishes to possess her father sexually electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - A biomedical treatment in which an electric current is passed through the brain to induce a seizure; most often used to treat severe depression electroencephalograph (EEG) - Device that monitors and records electrical activity of the brain embryo - A developing organism during the
stage when the major organ systems are formed empty nest syndrome - Period of adjustment for parents after all children have left home encoding specificity - Theory stating that the effectiveness of memory retrieval is directly related to the similarity of the cues present when the memory was encoded and when the memory is retrieved encoding - First stage of the memory process, in which information is transformed or coded (a transduction process) into a form that can be processed further and stored endocrine system - System of glands that produce and secrete chemicals endorphins - Opiatelike substances produced by the body that block pain by inhibiting the release of substance P enuresis - Bedwetting, a sleep disorder that occurs primarily in children epidemiologist - Scientist who studies the distribution and causes of accidents, diseases, and psychological disorders in a given population episodic memory - Memory of one's own personal experiences estrogens - General name given to the sex hormones that predominate in females ethnocentrism - Belief that one's own country or culture is superior to all other countries and cultures evolutionary perspective - Interest in the role a physiological structure or behavior plays in helping the organism adapt to the environment experimental group - The group in an experiment that receives the effect of the independent variable being manipulated experimental method - Research method that involves manipulating independent variables to determine how they affect dependent variables extinction - The process of removing reinforcers, which leads to a decrease in the strength of a CR extracellular fluids - Fluids such as blood, water, and cerebrospinal fluid that are found outside the cells of the body extraneous variables - Variables, other that the independent variable, that can influence the outcome of an experiment extrasensory perception (ESP) - Occurrence of behaviors or experiences that cannot be explained by information received by the senses -F-facial feedback hypothesis - Hypothesis that making a certain facial expression will produce the corresponding emotion feature analysis theory - Theory of pattern perception stating that we perceive basic elements of an object and assemble them mentally to create the complete object fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) - Condition found in some children born to alcoholic mothers, characterized by lower birth weight, small head circumference, and mental retardation fetishism - Paraphilia involving sexual arousal by unusual objects or body parts fetus - The developing baby from about the ninth week after conception until birth figure-ground relationship - Organization of perceptual elements into a figure (the focus of attention) and a background fixation - Cessation of further development, resulting in behaviors that are characteristic of the stage of development in which the fixation occurred flashbulb memory - Very detailed memory of an arousing, surprising, or emotional situation fluid intelligence - Intelligence involving the ability to see new relationships, solve new problems, form new concepts, and use new information foot-in-the-door effect - Phenomenon in which a person who has agreed to a small request is more likely to comply with a subsequent larger request forebrain - Major division of the brain that consists of subcortical structures and the cerebral cortex foreclosure - Uncritical acceptance of parental values and desires; hampers the development of a unique identity forensic psychology - Application of psychology to law and legal proceedings formal operational stage - Final stage of intellectual development, characterized by abstract thinking; achieved during adolescence or adulthood fovea - Indented spot in the center of the retina that contains only cones fraternal twins - Twins who develop from two ova fertilized by two different sperm; genetically related as siblings free association - A psychoanalytic technique in which the patient is asked to say whatever comes to mind without censoring anything free recall - Learning procedure in which material that has been learned may be repeated in any order frequency theory - Theory stating that the basilar membrane vibrates at different rates to create the perception of different pitches friendship - Form of interpersonal attraction that is governed by an implicit set of rules frustration-aggression hypothesis - The hypothesis that aggression is likely to occur when a person is frustrated functional fixedness - Inability to see new uses for familiar objects functionalism - Approach to psychology that focused on the functions of consciousness fundamental attribution error - The tendency to attribute behaviors to internal causes ganglion cells - Cells in the retina whose axons form the optic nerve gate control theory - Theory of pain stating that the release of substance P in the spinal cord produces the sensation of pain gender identity disorder - Sexual disorder characterized by a person's belief that he or she was born with the wrong biological sex organs gender roles - Behaviors considered appropriate for males and females in a given culture gender-schema theory - Explanation for the learning of gender roles that suggests that children form schemas of masculine and feminine attributes, which influence memory, perception, and behaviors gender - Social and psychological phenomena associated with being "feminine" or "masculine" as these concepts are defined in a given culture general adaptation syndrome (GAS) - Typical series of responses to stressful situations that includes the alarm, resistance, and exhaustion stages generalization - Occurrence of responses to stimuli that are similar to a CS generalized anxiety disorder - Chronically high level of anxiety that is not attached to a specific stimulus generativity versus stagnation - Erikson's seventh psychosocial crisis, which occurs during middle adulthood and reflects concern, or lack of concern, for the next generation genes - Units of hereditary material that line the chromosomes and provide information concerning the form and function of each cell genital stage - Stage of psychosexual development that begins at puberty and usually leads to normal adult sexual development Gestalt psychology - Approach to psychology most noted for emphasizing that our perception of a whole is different from our perception of the individual stimuli Gestalt therapy - A humanistic form of therapy developed by Fritz Perls in which therapists may frustrate and challenge clients to help them toward self-acceptance glia cell - Type of cell found in the nervous system that forms the myelin sheath glucostatic theory - Theory of short-term hunger regulation that stresses the importance of the level of usable blood sugar (glucose) good continuation and direction - Gestalt principle stating that smooth, flowing figures are more readily perceived than choppy, broken figures grasp reflex - Reflex consisting of a very strong hold on any object placed in the palm group polarization - Phenomenon in which group decision making enhances or amplifies the original opinions of the group's members group therapy - Therapy in which clients discuss problems in groups that may include individuals with similar problems groupthink - The tendency to make decisions intended primarily to promote the harmony of the group gustation - The sense of taste -H-habituation - Decrease in response strength that occurs as a function of repeated stimulation hallucinations - Sensory experiences that are not caused by stimulation of the relevant sensory organ hallucinogen - Drugs that can cause changes in perceptions such as hallucinations hardiness - A psychological characteristic that can reduce the impact of stressors, consisting of commitment, belief in a sense of control, and viewing change as a challenge health psychology - Subfield of psychology that is concerned with how psychological and social variables affect health and illness heritability - Percentage of differences among a group of people in a characteristic, such as intelligence, that is believed to be due to inherited factors hermaphrodite - Individual who has both ovarian and testicular tissue hertz (Hz) - Unit of measure (in cycles per second) of the frequency of a sound wave heuristics - Educational guesses or rules of thumb for solving problems hindbrain - Oldest of the three main divisions of the brain; its major structures are the medulla, pons, and cerebellum homeostasis - Tendency of the body to maintain an optimum range of physiological processes hormones - Chemicals produced by the glands of the endocrine system that are carried by the bloodstream to other organs hospice - Institution where terminally ill patients and their families are given warm, friendly, personalized care hostile aggression - Aggressive behavior that is performed with the specific intent of harming another person human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - A virus that is usually contracted through the transfer of semen, blood, or vaginal secretions and is the cause of AIDS humanistic perspective - Approach to psychology associated with Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers; emphasizes free will and individuals' control of their behavior humanistic psychology - General approach to psychology, associated with Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, that emphasizes individuals' control of their own behavior humanistic therapies - Therapies that emphasize the present and the ability of clients to solve their own problems when they are able to accept themselves hyperpolarization - Process in which the electrical charge of the neuron becomes more negative hypersomnias - Sleep disorders characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness despite a normal amount of sleep at night hypnosis - State of heightened susceptibility to suggestions hypochondriasis - Somatoform disorder in which a person believes that he or she has a serious disease despite repeated medical findings to the contrary hypothesis - Prediction about future behaviors that is derived from observation and theories id - In psychodynamic theory, the most basic element of the personality; it is the source of the instincts and operates on the pleasure principle identical twins - Twins who develop from one ovum fertilized by one sperm; genetically identical to each other identity diffusion - Failure to develop an identity because of lack of goals and general apathy identity versus identity confusion - Erikson's fifth psychosocial crisis, in which the adolescent faces the task of determining his or her identity and role in society imagery - Process of visualizing items as they are being learned imaginary audience - Adolescent's assumption that everyone else is concerned with his or her appearance and behavior immune system - System that protects the body against foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria impression formation - The process of forming an opinion about another person incidence - Number or percentage of newly diagnosed cases of a particular disorder in a given population inclusiveness - Gestalt principle stating that the identity of a smaller figure may be lost within a larger, more complex figure independent variable - Variable manipulated by a researcher to determine its effects on a dependent variable individualism - Placing one’s own goals above those of the group industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology - Application of psychology to problems of businesses and other organizations industry versus inferiority - Erikson's fourth psychosocial crisis, in which children begin to acquire the knowledge and skills that will enable them to become productive members of society informed consent - Written document in which a potential subject agrees to participate in a research study after receiving information about the researcher's specific procedures initiative versus guilt - Erikson's third psychosocial crisis, in which children begin to evaluate the consequences of their behavior insanity - Legal ruling that a person accused of a crime is not held legally responsible for that act; defined in most states as the inability to tell the difference between right and wrong at the time the crime is committed insight learning - Sudden grasp of a concept or the solution to a problem; typically characterized by an immediate change in behavior insomnia - Complaints of difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, frequent awakenings, or poor-quality sleep instrumental aggression - Aggression that causes harm in the process of achieving another goal integrity versus despair - Erikson's eighth psychosocial crisis, which occurs during late adulthood; integrity reflects a feeling that one's life has been worthwhile; despair reflects a desire to relive one's life intelligence quotient (IQ) - Score that indicates how an individual compares to others on an intelligence test intelligence - The ability to excel at a variety of tasks, especially those related to academic success interdependence theory - Theory of interpersonal relationships that stresses the costs and rewards involved intermittent, or partial, reinforcement - Reinforcement that does not follow every target response interval schedule - Reinforcement schedule that is based on the passage of time and in which a single response at the end of the designated interval is reinforced; intervals may be set (fixed interval, or FI, schedule) or may vary from one reinforcement to the next (variable-interval, or VI, schedule). intimacy versus isolation - Erikson's sixth psychosocial crisis, in which the young adult faces the task of establishing a strong commitment to others (intimacy) or having to deal with isolation intracellular fluids - Fluids located inside the cells of the body introspection - Structural psychologists' major method, in which participants reported the contents of their conscious experience ions - Electrically charged particles James-Lange theory - Theory that physiological changes precede and cause emotions jet lag - Temporary maladjustment that occurs when a change of time zones causes biological rhythms to be out of step with local time just noticeable difference (jnd) - The smallest difference between two stimuli that is noticeable 50 percent of the time to the individuals tested kinesthetic sense - System of receptors located in the muscles and joints that provides information about the location of the extremities latchkey child - Child who is unsupervised after school late adulthood - Period from approximately age 65 until death latency stage - Stage of psychosexual development that extends from about age 6 until the onset of puberty and is characterized by low levels of sexual interest latent content - According to Freud, the real meaning of a dream, connected by symbols to the manifest content latent learning - Learning that has occurred but is not demonstrated law of effect - Thorndike's view that reinforcers promote learning, whereas punishers lead to the unlearning of responses law of parsimony - Principle that simple explanations of phenomena are preferred to complex explanations learned goals (learned incentives) - Goals or incentives that are learned through the process of classical conditioning learned helplessness - Belief that one cannot control outcomes through one's actions; usually leads to passivity and reduced motivation and may cause depression learned motives - Motives that are learned or acquired through the process of classical conditioning learning - A relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience levels-of-processing theory - Theory stating that deeper processing of information increases the likelihood that the information will be placed in LTM Likert scale - Questionnaire that requires individuals to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with a set of statements limbic system - System of interconnected subcortical structures that regulate a variety of motivated behaviors linguistic relativity hypothesis - Hypothesis that language directs and determines what we think lipostatic theory - Theory of long-term hunger regulation that stresses the importance of the level of stored body fat longitudinal study - Research technique in which the same partcipants are tested or observed repeatedly over a period of time long-term memory (LTM) - Memory stage that has a very large capacity and the capability to store information relatively permanently long-term potentiation - Condition in which stimulation of the hippocampus results in long-lasting neural activity lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) - Powerful hallucinogen derived from the ergot fungus found on rye
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