Amygdala
A part of the limbic system involved in regulating aggression and emotions, particularly fear.
Psychology Glossary
Essential concepts to understand yourself better.
Psychology terms explained clearly. A tool for naming what we feel and what we live through.
165 terms
A
Anorexia nervosa
A disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a body weight in the normal range, intense fear about gaining weight, and a highly distorted body image.
Anterograde amnesia
An inability to remember events that occurred after a brain injury or traumatic event.
Antisocial personality disorder
A disorder characterized by a lack of conscience and lack of respect for other people's rights and feelings, beginning by age fifteen.
Appraisal
The process of evaluating an environmental challenge to determine whether resources are available for dealing with it.
Archetypes
Images or thoughts that have the same meaning for all human beings.
Assimilation
The broadening of an existing schema to include new information.
Attachment
The close bond between babies and their caregivers.
Attachment styles
Types of attachment, which include secure attachment, anxious-ambivalent attachment, and avoidant attachment.
Attitudes
Evaluations people make about objects, ideas, events, or other people.
Attributions
Inferences people make about the causes of events and behavior.
Automatic thoughts
Self-defeating judgments people make about themselves.
Autonomic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system connected to the heart, blood vessels, glands, and smooth muscles.
Availability heuristic
A rule-of-thumb strategy in which people estimate probability based on how quickly they remember relevant instances of an event.
Aversion therapy
A therapy in which a stimulus that evokes an unpleasant response is paired with a stimulus that evokes a maladaptive behavior.
Avoidant personality disorder
A disorder involving social withdrawal, low self-esteem, and extreme sensitivity to being evaluated negatively.
Axon
A fiber that extends from a neuron and sends signals to other neurons.
B
Behavior therapies
Treatments aimed at directly influencing maladaptive behaviors through the use of learning principles.
Belief perseverance
The process of rejecting evidence that refutes one's beliefs.
Big Five
Five basic personality traits from which other traits are derived: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
Biopsychosocial model of illness
The idea that physical illness is the result of a complicated interaction among biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.
Bipolar disorders
Disorders in which people alternate between periods of depression and mania.
Borderline personality disorder
A disorder characterized by impulsive behavior and unstable relationships, emotions, and self-image.
Bulimia nervosa
A disorder involving binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as vomiting, fasting, or excessive exercise.
Bystander effect
The tendency of people to be less likely to offer help if other people are also present.
C
Catharsis
The release of tension that results when repressed thoughts or memories move into a person's conscious mind.
Central nervous system
The part of the nervous system that includes the brain and the spinal cord.
Classical conditioning
A type of learning in which a subject comes to respond to a neutral stimulus as they would to another stimulus, by learning to associate the two stimuli.
Client-centered therapy
A humanistic therapy that aims to help clients increase self-acceptance and personal growth by providing a supportive emotional environment.
Cognition
Thinking. It involves mental activities such as understanding, problem solving, decision making, and creativity.
Cognitive appraisal
The idea that people's experience of emotion depends on the way they appraise or evaluate events around them.
Cognitive development
The development of thinking capacity.
Cognitive dissonance
An unpleasant state of tension that arises when a person has related cognitions that conflict with one another.
Cognitive schema
A mental model of some aspect of the world.
Cognitive therapies
Therapies aimed at identifying and changing maladaptive thinking patterns that can result in negative emotions and dysfunctional behavior.
Collective unconscious
The part of the mind, according to Jung, that contains universal memories of our common human past.
Compulsions
Repetitive behaviors that help to prevent or relieve anxiety.
Confirmation bias
The tendency to look for and accept evidence that supports what one wants to believe and to ignore evidence that refutes those beliefs.
Conformity
The process of giving in to real or imagined pressure from a group.
Conscious
The part of the mind that contains all the information that a person is paying attention to at a particular time.
Coping
Efforts to manage stress.
D
Defense mechanisms
Behaviors that protect people from anxiety.
Deindividuation
The tendency of people in a large, arousing, anonymous group to lose inhibitions, sense of responsibility, and self-consciousness.
Delusions
False beliefs that are held strongly despite contradictory evidence.
Dendrite
A fiber that extends from a neuron, receives signals from other neurons, and sends them toward the cell body.
Denial
A defense mechanism that involves refusing to acknowledge something that is obvious to others.
Dependent variable
The variable that is observed in an experiment and that may be affected by manipulations of the independent variable.
Diagnosis
The process of distinguishing among disorders.
Dialectical reasoning
A process of going back and forth between opposing points of view in order to reach a satisfactory solution.
Displacement
A defense mechanism that involves transferring feelings about a person or event to someone or something else.
Dissociative amnesia
A disorder characterized by an inability to remember extensive personal information, usually about something traumatic.
Dissociative disorders
Disorders characterized by disturbances in consciousness, memory, identity, and perception.
Dissociative identity disorder
A disorder in which a person has two or more distinct identities or personality states. Also called multiple personality disorder.
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter involved in voluntary movement, learning, memory, and emotion.
Drive reduction theories
Ideas suggesting people act in order to reduce needs and maintain a constant physiological state.
Dysthymic disorder
A disorder involving depressed mood on a majority of days for at least two years.
E
Eating disorders
Disorders characterized by problematic eating patterns and extreme concerns about body weight.
Ego
The component of personality that manages the conflict among the id, the superego, and the constraints of the real world.
Egocentrism
The inability to take someone else's point of view.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
A biomedical treatment that uses electrical shocks to treat severe depression.
Emotion
A complex, subjective experience accompanied by biological and behavioral changes.
Emotional intelligence
An ability that helps people perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions.
Endorphins
A group of neurotransmitters involved in pain relief, pleasure, and modulating the action of other neurotransmitters.
Episodic memory
The remembering of personal facts and autobiographical events.
Existential therapies
Therapies aimed at helping clients find meaning in their lives.
Explicit memory
Conscious, intentional remembering of information.
Exposure therapies
Therapies that aim to eliminate anxiety responses by having clients face real or imagined feared stimuli.
Extinction
The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response when it is no longer reinforced.
Extrinsic motivation
The motivation to act for external rewards.
F
Facial-feedback hypothesis
The idea that the brain uses feedback from facial muscles to recognize emotions being experienced.
Falsifiability
The ability of a theory or hypothesis to be rejected through evidence.
Family therapy
A type of therapy in which a therapist sees two or more members of a family at the same time.
Flashbulb memories
Vivid, detailed memories of important or emotionally significant events.
Flooding
A type of exposure therapy in which the client is exposed to a feared stimulus suddenly rather than gradually.
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
The tendency to agree to a difficult request if one has first agreed to an easy request.
Free association
A psychoanalytic technique involving having the client verbalize all thoughts that come to mind.
Fundamental attribution error
The tendency to attribute other people's behavior to internal factors such as personality traits rather than situational factors.
G
Generalized anxiety disorder
A disorder involving persistent and excessive anxiety or worry lasting at least six months.
Group polarization
The tendency for a dominant point of view in a group to become more extreme after group discussion.
Groupthink
The tendency of a close-knit group to emphasize consensus at the expense of critical thinking.
H
Hallucinations
Sensory or perceptual experiences that happen without any external stimulus.
Health psychology
A branch of psychology focused on the relationship between psychosocial factors and the emergence, progression, and treatment of illness.
Heuristic
A general rule of thumb that may lead to, but doesn't guarantee, a correct solution to a problem.
Hierarchy of needs theory
The idea, proposed by Maslow, that people are motivated by needs on multiple levels, attending to higher needs only when lower ones are satisfied.
Hippocampus
A part of the limbic system involved in memory formation.
I
Id
The component of personality that contains instinctual energy.
Implicit memory
Unconscious retention of information that affects thoughts and behavior.
Independent variable
The variable that is manipulated in an experiment.
Insomnia
A chronic problem with falling or staying asleep.
Intrinsic motivation
The motivation to act for the sake of the activity itself.
J
James-Lange theory
The idea that people experience emotion because they perceive their bodies' physiological responses to external events.
L
Learned helplessness
A tendency to give up passively in the face of unavoidable stressors.
Learning
A change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience.
Limbic system
A part of the forebrain involved in emotional experience and memory.
Locus of control
People's perception of whether or not they have control over circumstances in their lives.
Long-term memory
A memory system that stores an unlimited amount of information over a prolonged period.
M
Major depressive disorder
A disorder diagnosed after at least one major depressive episode marked by sadness, loss of interest, and other significant symptoms.
Major depressive episode
A period of at least two weeks marked by sadness or irritability and loss of interest in activities.
Meditation
The practice of focusing attention as a means of achieving mental calm.
Memory
The capacity for storing and retrieving information.
Mental set
A tendency to use only solutions that have worked in the past.
Mood disorders
Disorders characterized by marked disturbances in emotional state affecting thinking, physical symptoms, and behavior.
Motivation
An internal process that makes a person move toward a goal.
N
Narcissistic personality disorder
A disorder involving an exaggerated sense of importance, a strong desire to be admired, and a lack of empathy.
Narcolepsy
A tendency to fall asleep periodically during the day.
Negative reinforcement
In operant conditioning, the removal of a stimulus after a response so that the response will be more likely to occur.
Neurons
Nervous system cells that communicate via electrochemical signals.
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that are released from a neuron and activate another neuron.
Norepinephrine
A neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory, dreaming, awakening, emotion, and stress responses.
O
Obsessions
Persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses, or images that cause anxiety or distress.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
A disorder involving obsessions, compulsions, or both.
Operant conditioning
A type of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their consequences.
Overconfidence effect
The tendency for people to be too certain about the accuracy of their beliefs and decisions.
P
Panic attack
A period characterized by uncomfortable and frightening physical and psychological symptoms including heart palpitations, trembling, and fear of losing control.
Panic disorder
A disorder characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks.
Perception
The organization and interpretation of sensory information.
Person-centered theory
A theory stating that the self-concept is the most important feature of personality.
Personality
The collection of characteristic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make up a person.
Personality disorders
Disorders characterized by stable patterns of experience and behavior that differ noticeably from cultural norms.
Phobia
An irrational and intense fear of a specific object or situation that leads to avoidance.
Placebo effect
The effect on a subject of receiving a fake treatment, driven by expectations of improvement.
Positive punishment
In operant conditioning, the presentation of a stimulus after a response to decrease the likelihood of that response occurring again.
Positive reinforcement
In operant conditioning, the presentation of a stimulus after a response to increase the likelihood of that response occurring again.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
A disorder in which a person constantly re-experiences a traumatic event, avoids associated stimuli, and shows symptoms of increased arousal.
Prejudice
A negative belief or feeling about a particular group of individuals.
Priming
The retrieval of a particular memory by activating information associated with it.
Projection
A defense mechanism involving attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else.
Psychotherapy
The treatment of psychological problems through confidential verbal communications with a mental health professional.
Punishment
The delivery of a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a response will occur.
R
Rationalization
A defense mechanism involving using self-serving explanations to justify unacceptable behavior, thoughts, or feelings.
Reaction formation
A defense mechanism involving behaving in a way opposite to thoughts or feelings considered unacceptable.
Reinforcement
The delivery of a consequence that increases the likelihood that a response will occur.
Repression
A defense mechanism involving keeping unpleasant thoughts, memories, and feelings in the unconscious.
Resilience
The ability to adapt and recover from adversity, trauma, or significant stress.
Retrograde amnesia
An inability to remember events that occurred before a brain injury or traumatic event.
S
Schema
A mental model of an object or event that includes knowledge, beliefs, and expectations.
Schizophrenia
A disorder involving a loss of contact with reality, including hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and emotional flatness.
Self-actualization
The need to realize one's full potential, considered by Maslow to be the highest human need.
Self-concept
All the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs people have about themselves.
Self-efficacy
Confidence in one's ability to meet challenges effectively.
Self-serving bias
The tendency to attribute successes to internal factors and failures to situational factors.
Semantic memory
The remembering of general facts and knowledge.
Sensation
Occurs when physical energy from objects in the world stimulates the sense organs.
Sensory adaptation
The decrease in sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus over time.
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter involved in sleep, wakefulness, appetite, aggression, sensory perception, and mood.
Short-term memory
A memory system that stores a limited amount of information for a brief period.
Social phobia
A disorder characterized by intense anxiety when exposed to certain social or performance situations.
Social roles
Patterns of behavior considered appropriate for a person in a particular context.
Social schemas
Mental models that represent and categorize social events and people.
Specific phobia
A disorder in which a person feels intense anxiety when exposed to a particular object or situation.
Stereotypes
Beliefs about people based on their membership in a particular group.
Stress
The experience of being threatened by taxing circumstances, involving physiological and psychological responses.
Sublimation
A defense mechanism involving channeling unacceptable thoughts and feelings into socially acceptable behavior.
Superego
The moral component of the personality.
Systematic desensitization
A behavioral treatment that uses counterconditioning to gradually decrease anxiety.
T
Transference
The process by which clients relate to their therapist as they would to important figures in their past.
Type A personality
A personality type characterized by competitiveness, impatience, time pressure, anger, and hostility.
Type B personality
A personality type characterized by relaxed, patient, easygoing, and amiable behavior.
U
Unconditional positive regard
A therapist quality involving nonjudgmental acceptance of the client, considered crucial in client-centered therapy.
Unconditioned response
A naturally occurring response that happens without previous conditioning.
Unconditioned stimulus
A stimulus that evokes an innate response.
Unconscious
The part of the mind containing thoughts, feelings, and memories of which people have no awareness but that can influence behavior.
V
Validity
The ability of a test to measure the characteristic it is supposed to measure.
Vulnerability-stress model
The idea that individuals with a biological vulnerability to a disorder will develop it only if certain environmental stressors are present.
W
Working memory
An active memory system that holds information while it is being processed or examined.