Leya Coutain

100 terms and definitions used in the Introduction to Psychology Course

1. Acetylcholine- A neurotransmitter used by somatic neurons that contract the body’s

large muscles. Acetylcholine also plays a role in memory and is thought to help regulate
dreaming.
2. Action potential- Brief electrical signal that travels the length of the axon.
3. All-or-none principle Law- that states that once a neural action potential is produced, its
magnitude is always the same.
4. Applied psychologists- psychologists who use knowledge of psychology to solve and to
prevent human problems.
5. Awareness- relates to how conscious or aware you are of internal (within your body)
and/or external (within your environment) events.
6. Axons are branches at the other end of the neuron that mostly carry neural messages
away from the cell body and transmit them to the next neuron

7. Blind experiment Formal experiment in which the researcher who measures the
dependent variable does not know which participants are in the experimental group or the
control group.

8. Cell body The central part of the neuron that includes the nucleus
9. Cell membrane the covering of a neuron or another cell.
10. Cerebral cortex- The largest structure in the forebrain, controlling conscious experience
and intelligence and being involved with the somatic nervous system
11. Classical conditioning- Form of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus (CS) is
paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to elicit a conditioned response (CR) that is
identical to or very similar to the unconditioned response (UCR).
12. Clinical method, which simply involves observing people with psychological problems
while they receive help from a mental health profession
13. Cognition is a broad term that refers to all intellectual processes—perceiving, believing,
thinking, remembering, knowing, deciding,
14. Cognitive psychology Viewpoint in psychology that emphasizes the importance of
cognitive processes, such as perception, memory, and thinking
15. Conditioned response- is a response that is similar or identical to the unconditioned response
that comes to be elicited by a conditioned stimulus.
16. Conditioned stimulus (CS) - Stimulus that comes to elicit responses as a result of being
paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
17. Control group- is a group in simple experiments that is not exposed to any level of the
independent variable and is used for comparisons with the treatment group
18. Correlation coefficient to measure the strength of the correlation between two
quantitative variables in statistical terms
19. Correlational Research method that measures the strength of the relation between
variables.
20. Counter conditioning- Process of eliminating a classically conditioned response by
pairing the conditioned stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) for a
response that is stronger than the conditioned response (CR) and that cannot occur at the
same time as the CR.
21. Cultural relativity- Perspective that promotes thinking of different cultures in relative
terms rather than judgmental terms.
22. Culture- The term refers to all the patterns of behavior, beliefs, and values that are
shared by a group of people.

23. Dendrites are branches that extend out from the cell body and receive messages from
other neurons
24. Dependent variable is the measure of the specific behavior of interest that may (or may
not) be related to the independent variable
25. Depolarization- Process during which positively charged ions flow into the axon, making
it less negatively charged inside.
26. Descriptive studies. These involve studying people as they live their lives, so that we can
describe their behavior and mental processes
27. Disinhibition- is a temporary increase in the strength of an extinguished response caused by
an unrelated stimulus event.
28. Dopamine- A neurotransmitter substance used by neurons in the brain that control large
muscle movements and by neurons in pleasure and reward systems in the brain.

29. Empirical evidence- evidence based on observations of publicly observable phenomena,

such as behavior, that can be confirmed by other observers.
30. Encode- To represent information in some form in the memory system.
31. Episodic memory- memory is memory for specific experiences that can be defined in terms
of time and space
32. Escape conditioning- Operant conditioning in which the behavior is reinforced, because
it causes a negative event to cease (a form of negative reinforcement).
33. Ethnic identity- The term refers to each person’s sense of belonging to a particular
group and sharing that group’s beliefs, attitudes, skills, music, and ceremonies.
34. Evolutionary psychology- The perspective in psychology that the psychological
characteristics of human and nonhuman animals arose through natural selection.
35. Extinction- The process of unlearning a learned response because of a change in the aspect
of the environment that originally caused the learning

36. Formal experiment Research method that allows the researcher to manipulate the
independent variable to study its effect on the dependent variable
37. Frontal lobes- The part of the cerebral cortex in the front of the skull involved in
planning, organization, thinking, decision making, memory, voluntary motor movements,
and speech.

38. Ganglia- Clusters of cell bodies of neurons outside the central nervous system
39. Glutamate- The most widespread excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.

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40. Humanistic psychology Psychological view that human beings possess an innate
tendency to improve and determine their lives by the decisions they make.
41. Hypothesis Prediction based on a theory that is tested in a study.

42. Independent variable is what the researcher arranges to allow a comparison of the
participants’ behavior under different conditions
43. Insomnia -the inability to fall or stay asleep, can have detrimental health effects.
44. Interneuron- Neurons in the central nervous system that connect other neurons.
45. Introspection a method of looking inwardly at one’s own conscious experiences.

46. Learning- Any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about through
experience.
47. Long-term memory (LTM)- The third stage of memory, involving the storage of
information that is kept for long periods of time.

48. Meditation- induces an altered state of consciousness in which a person uses mental
exercises to become highly focused on a single thought to the exclusion of others.
49. Medulla- The swelling just above the spinal cord within the hindbrain responsible for
controlling breathing and a variety of reflexes
50. mental processes refers to the private thoughts, emotions, feelings, and motives that
other people cannot directly observe
51. Motives Internal states or conditions that activate behavior and give it direction.
52. Myelin sheath- Insulating fatty covering wrapped around the axon that speeds the
transmission of neural messages.

53. Naturalistic observation Research method based on recording behavior as it occurs in

natural life setting
54. Nerve Bundle of long neurons outside the brain and spinal cord
55. Neuron (nuron) Individual nerve cell The most important unit of the nervous system is
the individual nerve cell, or neuron
56. Neuropeptides- Large group of neurotransmitters sometimes referred to as
neuromodulators, because they appear to broadly infl uence the action of the other
neurotransmitters.
57. Neuroscience perspective Viewpoint in psychology that focuses on the nervous system
in explaining behavior and mental processes
58. Neurotransmitters- Chemical substances, produced by axons, that transmit messages
across the synapse.

59. Operant conditioning- Learning in which the consequences of behavior lead to changes
in the probability of its occurrence
60. Operational definition is a definition used in science that is explicitly based on the
procedures, or operations, used to measure a scientific phenomenon, including behavior.

61. Parasympathetic nervous system- The part of the autonomic nervous system that
promotes bodily maintenance and energy conservation and storage under non-stressful
conditions
62. Perception- is the process of organising sensory input and giving it meaning.
63. Peripheral nervous system- The network of nerves that branches from the brain and the
spinal cord to all parts of the body.
64. Phi phenomenon Perception of apparent movement between two stationary stimuli.
65. Pituitary gland- The body’s master gland, located near the bottom of the brain, whose
secretions help regulate the activity of the other glands in the endocrine system
66. Placebo effect Changes in behavior produced by a condition in a formal experiment
thought to be inert or inactive, such as an inactive pill.
67. Polarized Resting state of a neuron, when more negative ions are inside and more
positive ions are outside the cell membrane
68. Psychoanalysis Technique of helping persons with emotional problems based on
Sigmund Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind.
69. psychology is defined as the science of behavior and mental processes.
70. Psychophysics- Specialty area of psychology that studies sensory limits, sensory
adaptation, and related topics.
71. Punishment- A negative consequence of a behavior, which leads to a decrease in the
frequency of the behavior that produces it

72. Random assignment Requirement that participants be assigned randomly to

experimental conditions in formal experiments rather than in a systematic way.
73. Reality- What we believe to be real and happening at this moment
74. Receptor sites- Sites on the neuron that receive the neurotransmitter substance
75. Rehearsal- Mental repetition of information to retain it longer in short-term memory.
76. Replication Repeating studies based on the scientific principle that the results of studies
should be doubted until the same results have been found in similar studies by other
researchers.

77. Scientific method- method of studying nature based on systematic observation and rules
of evidence.
78. Semipermeable- Surface that allows some, but not all, particles to pass through.
79. Sensory register- The first stage of memory, in which an exact image of each sensory
experience is held briefly until it can be processed.
80. Short-term memory (STM)- The second stage of memory, in which fi ve to nine bits of
information can be stored for brief periods of time.
81. Sleep apnoea- is another disorder that impacts our quality of sleep and people randomly stop
breathing while they are asleep and are frequently awakened throughout the night.  
82. Social anthropology Field of social science that studies the ways in which cultures are
both similar and different from one another and how cultures influence human behavior.
83. Social learning theory Viewpoint states that the most important aspects of our behavior
are learned from other persons in society—family, friends, and culture.
84. Social psychology the applied area of psychology that provides help for people with
emotion and behavior problem
85. Sociocultural perspective in psychology emphasizes the importance of understanding
people in the context of their ethnicity and culture.
86. Somatosensory area- The strip of parietal cortex running parallel to the motor area of
the frontal lobes that plays a role in body senses.
87. Stimulus generalization- The more similar two stimuli are, the more likely the individual is
to respond to them as if they were the same stimulus.
88. Stimulus- is anything that can directly influence behavior or conscious experience.
89. Survey method Research method that uses interviews and questionnaires with
individuals.
90. Sympathetic nervous- The part of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body
to respond to psychological or physical stress.
91. Synapse- Space between the axon of one neuron and another neuron.
92. Synaptic gap- The small space between two neurons at a synapse.
93. Synaptic terminals- which are the knoblike ends of the axons.
94. Synaptic vesicles- Tiny vessels containing stored quantities of the neurotransmitter
substance held in the synaptic terminals of the axon.

95. Theories Tentative explanations of facts and relationships in sciences.

96. Unconditioned response (UCR)- Unlearned, inborn reaction to an unconditioned

stimulus.
97. Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)- Stimulus that can elicit a response without any learning
98. Unconscious mind- all mental activity of which we are unaware.

99. Variable is anything that can be assigned a numerical value

100. Vicarious punishment- Observed punishment of the behavior of a model, which also
decreases the probability of the same behavior in the observer.