Glossary
α-level: the probability of making a Type I error (usually this value is 0.05)
Aδ fibres: fibres which send fast pain messages
abnormal conditions focus model: Hilton and Slugoski model of when people are most likely to make attributions. People make attributions when something abnormal or unexpected is perceived
absolute refractory period: the interval during which a second action potential absolutely cannot be initiated, no matter how large a stimulus is applied
accessible memories: memories which can be accessed and reported, as opposed to memories which may be available but not accessible on a given occasion
accommodation: a term used by Piaget to describe the way that cognitive structures or representations (schema) are changed as the result of new experiences and information
achievement motivation: envisages that a person has needs for three things, achievement, power and affiliation, but that people differ in the degree to which the various needs influence their behaviour
acquiescence: acceptance without protest
acquired dyslexia: an impairment in the ability to read caused by brain damage. Different from developmental dyslexia because the person was once able to read
acquired phonological dyslexia: an impairment in the ability to read because of an impairment in the ability to convert regularly spelt words to their appropriate pronunciations. The person was once able to read
acquired surface dyslexia: an impairment in the ability to read because of an impairment in the ability to access the meanings of irregularly spelt words in the mental lexicon. The person was once able to read
action potential: the neural impulses that are involved in communication (sometimes called spikes or when a cell fires)
activational effects: when changes in hormone levels influence behaviour
active failures: human errors which have their origins in faulty systems of practices
actor-observer differences: tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external causes and other people’s behaviour to internal causes
adaptation: a term used by Piaget to describe the way that behaviour or thinking becomes better suited to a child’s environment
ADHD: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or Hyperkinetic Disorder as it is officially known in the UK (though ADHD is more commonly used), is generally considered to be a developmental disorder, largely neurological in nature, affecting about 5% of the world's population
adipsia: cessation of drinking
adolescent invulnerability: a belief held by many adolescents that bad things will not happen to them, which prevents them from adopting healthy behaviours
adoption studies: a method for studying the relationship of personality traits and intelligence between biological and non-biological parents to investigate the heritability of these characteristics
adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH): a hormone released from the anterior pituitary, which activates the adrenal gland into releasing corticotrophin-releasing hormone
adult attachment anterview (AAI): an interview developed by Main et al. (1985) to classify adults’ relationships with their own parents
aetiology: a term mainly used in medical settings to refer to the causes of diseases or pathologies, but also widely used in psychopathology to describe the causes or origins of psychological symptoms
afferent nerves: nerves that carry sensory information (see also efferent nerves) aggression: any form of behaviour that is intended to harm oneself, another person or an object
agonists: a chemical or a drug that facilitates synaptic activity (see also
antagonists,inverse agonist andpartial agonist)
aldosterone: a hormone that retains salt and water and constricts the blood vessels
alexithymia: inability to read one's own emotional state
algorithm: in the context of problem solving, a set of rules which, if followed precisely, lead to the correct solution
alleles: two genes that control the same characteristic
alpha activity: the activity of the brain when inactive and at rest as measured by an EEG
alternative (experimental) hypothesis: the prediction that your experimental manipulation will have some effect or that certain variables will relate to each other
altruism: a type of pro-social and helping behaviour in which help is given with no expectation of reward in returnamacrine cells: retinal cells that communicate across the retina (see also horizontal cells)
amine hormones: a type of hormone (see also protein hormones and steroid hormones)
amnesia: a general term denoting temporary or permanent abnormal memory loss
amygdale: the part of the limbic system that controls emotion, aggression and the formation of emotional memory. An almond-shaped groups of neurons located deep within the medial temporal lobes
analogy: in the context of problem-solving, a strategy which uses the known solution to a similar problem to solve the problem in hand
analysis of variance (ANOVA): a statistical procedure that uses the F-ratio to test the overall fit of a linear model. In experimental research, this linear model tends to be defined in terms of group means and the resulting ANOVA is therefore an overall test of whether group means differ. In correlational research, the linear model can consist of one or more predictors and the resulting ANOVA is therefore a test of whether the one or more predictors explain a significant proportion of the variance in the outcome variable
analytic intelligence: the ability to see relations between numbers
androcentrism: the view that male behaviour is normal, and that female behaviour compares unfavourably to this norm
angiotensin: a hormone, an oligopptide in the blood that causes vasoconstriction, increased blood pressure and release of aldosterone from the adrenal cortex. Increases thirst and drinking
anorexia nervosa (AN): an eating disorder characterised by a refusal to maintain a minimally reasonable body weight
ANOVA approach: another name for Kelley’s covariation model and covariation principle
antagonists: chemicals or drugs that inhibit neural communication (see also agonist)
anterior nucleus of the thalamus: part of the thalamus
anterograde amnesia: memory loss for events or information that postdate the event that precipitated the memory loss. See retrograde amnesia for a contrast
antidepressants: drugs used to treat the symptoms of depression, such as tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
antipsychotic drugs: drugs used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia, e.g. chlorpromazine and haloperidol
anti-social personality disorder: a psychopathology characterised by a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others. Impulsive, irresponsible and dishonest behaviour
anxiety disorder: when anxiety becomes intense or attached to inappropriate events or situations, it may manifest in symptoms of a diagnosable anxiety disorder (see Chapter 33)
anxiety: a feeling of apprehension or fear, usually resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation. It is often accompanied by various physiological symptoms that may include muscle tension, dry mouth, perspiring, trembling and difficulty swallowing
anxiolytic drugs: drugs used to treat symptoms of anxiety, e.g. the benzodiazepines (which include the well-known tranquilliser, Valium)
aphagia: cessation of eating (see also hyperphagia)
apperceptive agnosia: a failure to recognise objects, hypothesised to be due to an impairment in perceptual processes
arbitrariness: in the context of the design characteristics of language, the symbols used to communicate (words, written symbols) are arbitrary in that they have no meaningful connection to the meanings they represent. Onomatopoeic words such as ‘bang’ are the exception
arcuate nucleus: region of the hypothalamus
aromatisation: conversion of testosterone into estradiol
arousal theory: in relation to motivation, that all organisms are motivated to seek to maintain an optimal level of arousal and this optimal level varies from organism to organism
artefacts: artefacts are unexpected results arising in an experimental situation as a result of the behaviour of the participant or experimenter, or an interaction between the two
articulation: the process of producing a speech sound
assimilation: a term used by Piaget to describe the taking in of information by a child
associative agnosia: a failure to recognise objects, hypothesised to be due to an impairment in memory for those objects
associative learning: a process of learning by which concepts are acquired and which involves the observation and learning of associations between the characteristics of the concept and between the concept and its name
associative network model of semantic memory: a model of memory in which concepts, ideas or categories are linked semantically by associations forming a network of concepts. Activating one category will spread to other linked categories
associative stage of skill acquisition: the stage in which declarative knowledge becomes procedural by being instantiated as a set of production rules
assumptions: the conditions under which a test statistic can be assumed to be accurate
attachment relationship: the way a young child feels about important people in his or her life, and the security he or she derives from this relationship
attention: the means of focusing limited mental resources on the information and cognitive processes that are most salient at a given moment (Sternberg)
attentional filter: a hypothetical device that filters out unwanted stimulation, thereby permitting a focus on the task in hand
attenuation: a hypothetical process in auditory selective attention by which non-target information is still processed but is ‘softened’ to reduce the resources it requires
attitude: a general feeling or evaluation, in a positive (favour) or a negative (disfavour) direction, about a person, object or issue attraction: positive feelings towards another person which may include actively seeking out their presence
attribute model of semantic memory: a model in which concepts are defined by their attributes
attribution theory of depression: this theory argues that the way in which we attribute causes to our losses and failures could be an important determinant of whether those events will make us depressed
attribution theory: a social-cognitive approach to describing the ways the social perceiver uses information to generate causal explanations. Focussed on common sense explanations of behaviour
attribution: the process of assigning a cause to one’s own or another’s behaviour
augmentation principle: states that the role of a cause in producing an effect is increased if the effect happens in the presence of an inhibitory cause
autism: a learning disability first identified by Kanner that involves a triad of impairments (impaired communication, social relations and restricted stereotyped behaviours)
autobiographical episodes: (memory for) events which have personal significance for a person
autobiographical knowledge: (memory for) one’s personal history autocratic leadership: a type of leadership characterised by the persistent giving of orders to other group members
automatic actions in skill acquisition: the final stage of skill acquisition, in which a sequence of production rules becomes integrated to form a smooth sequence of actions
automatic processes: processes which require little or no attention, are largely non-conscious and can’t be stopped
automatic processing: processing which requires no attention, is not in conscious awareness and cannot be interrupted
automatic stage of skills acquisition: the final stage of skill acquisition, in which the task no longer requires attention, does not require conscious awareness and cannot normally be interrupted
autonomic nervous system: the subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's involuntary motor responses by connecting the sensory receptors to the central nervous system (CNS) and the CNS to the smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands. Maintains homeostasis in the body
autonomous stage of skill acquisition: the stage at which a skill develops to the point where it doesn’t need thought or even attention
autoreceptors: presynaptic receptors that regulate synaptic activity autosomes: a non-sex pair chromosome. Humans have 22 (see also chromosome)
availability heuristic: a cognitive tool or rule of thumb used to judge how often an event occurs on the basis of how easy it is to bring examples of that event to mind
availability of memories: memories which are in the memory store and thus available but which may not necessarily be accessible on a given occasion
axes I-V: DSM-IV-TR encourages clinicians to rate individuals on five separate dimensions, or axes. Axes I and II cover the classification of psychopathology. Axes III, IV and V are not usually required to make a psychopathology diagnosis, but are included so that a fuller appreciation of an individual’s life situation can be made
axon: also called nerve fibre. A long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts action potentials away from the neuron's soma
axon hillock: the part of a neuron that connects the soma to the axon. It is the place where Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials (IPSPs) and Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials (EPSPs) from numerous synaptic inputs on the dendrites or cell body summate