| File Name |
Description |
Added |
| Adrenaline | A hormone which is produced by the adrenal glands. Adrenaline increases physiological ... | 23/02/06 |
| Aggression | Aggression can be defined as behaviour with the intent to harm ... | 2/04/07 |
| Altruism | Helping others without expecting a reward. For example, helping a collapsed ... | 18/01/06 |
| Ameslan | This is an abbreviation of American Sign Language which is the sign language Gardner and ... | 24/02/06 |
| Anecdotal evidence | Evidence which is not based on research. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Anthropomorphism | Attributing human characteristics to animals. There is a danger when psychologists ... | 20/01/06 |
| Arousal | This is a physiological state whereby the body is ready for action. The ... | 18/01/06 |
| Arousal: Cost Reward Model | Piliavin et al. developed this model to explain why people do and do not help in ... | 4/04/09 |
| Attachment | An emotional bond between an infant and its primary care giver. Bowlby developed ... | 24/02/06 |
| Attribution | The process of giving reasons for why things happen or why people behave as they ... | 20/01/06 |
| Attrition | The loss of participants from a longitudinal design. Reasons for attrition might ... | 28/02/09 |
| Autism | This syndrome is characterised by a triad of impairments. Difficulties with ... | 20/01/06 |
| Brain | Grey thing at the top of the neck which weighs about 1.4kg (3lbs) and contains about 100 ... | 13/07/09 |
| Brain scan | Taking images of the living brain. Brain scans enable researchers to match regions ... | 23/02/06 |
| Case study | A detailed study of an individual or small group of people. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Classical Conditioning | A form of learning through association.
Ivan Pavlov, whilst experimenting on dogs, ... | 10/04/06 |
| Categorisation | Grouping people into social categories or sets. According to Tajfel (1970) ... | 18/01/06 |
| Cognition | This refers to mental processes such as perception, memory, thinking, reasoning and so ... | 18/01/06 |
| Commisurotomy | A surgical procedure to sever the corpus callosum. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Confounding variable | A confounding variable is a variable which has an unintentional effect on the dependent ... | 13/06/09 |
| Conservation | According to Piaget this is the ability to recognise that volume, number or mass do ... | 18/01/06 |
| Control group | Often used in experiments. This is a group which does not receive the ... | 18/01/06 |
| Corpus callosum | The bundle of nerve fibres that connect the two hemispheres of the cerbral cortex. ... | 22/02/06 |
| Correlation | This refers to a measure of how strongly two or more variables are related to each other. ... | 23/02/06 |
| Cortex | The outer most layer of nerve tissue in the cerebral cortex ... | 18/01/06 |
| Cross-cultural research | Research where more than one culture is studied. Often cross-cultural research ... | 18/01/06 |
| Cultural universal | A cultural universal is a behaviour which is observed to be the same across cultures. ... | 23/02/06 |
| Decentre | Jean Piaget argued that to decentre is to be able to take into account more than one ... | 24/02/06 |
| Defence mechanisms | Originally proposed by Freud, these are strategies that are used to protect the ego from ... | 24/02/06 |
| Demand characteristics | Any aspect of a study which has an influence on participants to do or answer what ... | 18/01/06 |
| Depersonalisation | A dissociative disorder where an individual loses their sense of identity. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Depth Cue | A depth cue is something which gives us an indication of how far away an ... | 18/01/06 |
| Determinism | This is the argument that we do not have much control over our actions but are ... | 18/01/06 |
| Diffusion of responsibility | Diffusion of responsibility is the idea that people are less likely to ... | 18/01/06 |
| Discrimination | The behaviour that results from prejudice. ... | 24/02/06 |
| Ecological Validity | This type of validity refers to how well a study can be related to or reflects ... | 24/02/06 |
| EEG | An EEG is an electroencephalgram which is a method of recording activity in a living ... | 18/01/06 |
| Epilepsy | A neurological disorder which causes occasional storms of electrical activity in the ... | 23/02/06 |
| Epinephrine | See adrenaline ... | 18/01/06 |
| Ethics | These are a set of guidelines which psychologists carrying out research should ... | 24/02/06 |
| Ethnocentric bias | This is the tendency to perceive the world from your own cultural group, such as ... | 18/01/06 |
| Ethnocentric sampling bias | Most of the well known psychological research reported from before the 1980s was ... | 18/01/06 |
| Experiment | An experiment is a research method used by psychologists which involves the manipulation ... | 9/12/09 |
| Experimental Designs | This is the process of organising an experiment so that we can investigate the possible ... | 23/02/06 |
| Extraneous variable | An extraneous variable is a variable which could affect the dependent variable but which ... | 19/11/09 |
| Eye witness testimony | Descriptions of events given by observers of an event. These are generally used ... | 18/01/06 |
| Field Experiment | An experiment which is carried out in ‘the field ’. That is, in ... | 19/11/09 |
| Gender | Your sense of being either male of female. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Gene | A unit of inheritance which forms part of a chromosome. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Generalisation | The extent to which results from one sample of participants can be applied to wider ... | 11/03/06 |
| Hypnosis | A trance like state which is induced by a hypnotist. It may involve ... | 18/01/06 |
| Hypotheses | Plural of hypothesis ... | 18/01/06 |
| Hypothesis | A testable, predictive statement. This statement is tested by researchers ... | 18/01/06 |
| Ingroup | A group to which a person belongs, or thinks he or she belongs. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Intelligence Quotient IQ | This is a measure of intelligence.
An IQ test produces a score which represents a ... | 1/04/06 |
| Inter-rater reliability | This is the extent to which two raters provide consistent or similar ... | 18/01/06 |
| Jigsaw Technique | Work by psychologists such as Tajfel has stimulated work into reducing prejudice. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Laboratory | Any environment where variables can be well controlled. Such environments are ... | 18/01/06 |
| Laboratory experiment | An experiment which is conducted under highly controlled conditions. ... | 24/02/06 |
| Lateralisation of brain function | This refers to the uneven distribution of tasks carried out by the hemispheres. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Leading question | A question that suggests what answer is desired or leads to the desired answer. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Likert Scale | A type of closed question which is often used as a way of measuring ... | 18/01/06 |
| Longitudinal approach | A longitudinal approach is where participants are followed up after a period of ... | 18/01/06 |
| Mann-Whitney U test | A really fun inferential statistical test of the the difference between two independent ... | 16/07/09 |
| Zero correlation | A zero correlation means that there is no consistent relationship between two variables. ... | 25/02/06 |
| Matched pairs design | A matched pairs design is a type of experimental design.
It is sometimes possible ... | 24/02/06 |
| Y-axis | The y-axis is the vertical axis on a scattergram. ... | 18/01/06 |
| X-axis | On a scattergram the x-axis is the one that is horizontal. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Maturation | This is a term used to describe development which occurs as a result of genes, but ... | 18/01/06 |
| Memory | The capacity to encode, store and retrieve information. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Wilcoxon signed rank test | This is an inferential statistical test which can be used if you are carrying out a test ... | 18/01/06 |
| Visual field | If you look straight ahead and stare at an object directly in front of you, everything to ... | 18/01/06 |
| Variables | Variables are things which can vary or change.
Experiments attempt to manipulate one ... | 19/11/09 |
| Multiple Personality Disorder | Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is a dissociative disorder in which two or more ... | 18/01/06 |
| Native intellectual ability | Some psychologists argue that intelligence tests measured native intellectual ability, ... | 1/04/06 |
| Validity | This refers to whether a study measures or examines what it claims to measure or ... | 26/02/06 |
| Nature-nurture debate | This is a long running debate which is interested in whether we are like the way we ... | 18/01/06 |
| Usefulness of psychological research | Whether psychological research is useful or not depends on our definition of ... | 11/03/06 |
| Non-participant observation | A type of observational study whereby the researcher does not join in with the activity ... | 24/02/06 |
| Action research | A method whereby part of the purpose of the researcher is to influence or change the ... | 18/01/06 |
| Unstructured observation | An unstructured observation simply involves the researchers recording the behaviour they ... | 18/01/06 |
| Null Hypothesis | The statement of either no difference between the independent and dependent variable in ... | 18/01/06 |
| Undisclosed observation | A type of observational study whereby the participants are not fully aware that they are ... | 18/01/06 |
| Obligation effect | This is a problem often found with questionnaires. When participants are asked to ... | 18/01/06 |
| Unconscious | According to Freud, this is the part of your mind which contains information that is very ... | 18/01/06 |
| Observational learning | Observational learning is learning through imitation. See also Social Learning ... | 24/02/06 |
| Observation | All types of research involve some element of observation. It is not just ... | 23/02/06 |
| Two-factor theory of emotion | Schachter and Singer developed the two-factor theory of emotion.
The two-factor ... | 23/02/06 |
| Observational study | Observational studies are those where the researcher observes a situation and ... | 27/02/06 |
| Operant conditioning | A form of learning due to the consequences of behaviour, through reinforcement and ... | 26/02/06 |
| Opportunity sampling | Opportunity sampling is the sampling technique most used by psychology students. It ... | 19/11/09 |
| Structured observation | A structured observation is where the researchers design a type of coding scheme to ... | 18/01/06 |
| Participant observation | A type of observational study where the observer is also a participant in the activity ... | 24/02/06 |
| Pathology of power | Zimbardo used this term in his prison study to refer to the oppressive behaviour often ... | 18/01/06 |
| Stratified sampling | Stratified sampling involves classifying the population into categories and then choosing ... | 19/11/09 |
| Pathological prisoner syndrome | This term was used by Zimbardo to explain the social deterioration of the ... | 18/01/06 |
| Perception | The way way we analyse and make sense of the information we receive from ... | 18/01/06 |
| Split-style drawings | Split drawings are drawings that depict the essential characteristics of an object even ... | 18/01/06 |
| Personality | An individuals distinctive and relatively stable pattern of thoughts, behaviours and ... | 18/01/06 |
| Perspective drawings | Perspective drawings are those which give just one perspective of an object, with ... | 18/01/06 |
| PET scan | PET stands for Positron Emission Tomography.
PET scans can be used to examine ... | 18/01/06 |
| Phallus | A penis. Things that are perceived to resemble a penis are said to be phallic ... | 18/01/06 |
| Social learning theory | Social learning theory emphasises the role of observation and imitation of role models ... | 23/02/06 |
| Physiological | Relating to the functioning of the nervous system including the brain. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Population | The population is the group of people from whom the sample is drawn. For example ... | 18/01/06 |
| Powerlessness | A sense of having little control over what happens to you. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Snow ball sampling | Snowball sampling can be used if your population is not easy to contact. For ... | 19/11/09 |
| Projective tests | Tests which involve asking respondents to interpret a neutral stimulus. It is ... | 19/02/09 |
| Snap shot study | A snap shot study is a study carried out over a very short period of time such as hours ... | 28/02/09 |
| Psychiatrist | A person who is medically qualified and then specialises in treating psychological ... | 18/01/06 |
| Psychometrics | These are instruments or test developed for measuring mental characteristics. These ... | 24/02/06 |
| Shaping | In operant conditioning this is where a novel behaviour can be gradually built up through ... | 2/03/06 |
| Qualitative data | Data that describe meaning and experiences are known as qualitative data. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Quantitative data | Data that focus on numbers and frequencies are known as quantitative data. ... | 18/01/06 |
| Self selected sampling | Self selected sampling (or volunteer sampling) consists of participants becoming part of ... | 19/11/09 |
| Quasi experiment |
An experiment where the independent variable is not manipulated by the experimenter ... | 28/02/09 |
| Self report method | Any method which involves asking a participant about their feelings attitudes and so ... | 18/01/06 |
| Random sampling | This is a sampling technique which is defined as a sample in which every member of the ... | 19/11/09 |
| Regression | Returning to an earlier, usually childlike, state. Believed by some psychologists ... | 18/01/06 |
| REM | Rapid eye movements which occur during the stage of sleep when it is thought we are ... | 18/01/06 |
| Repression | When an individual keeps anxiety proving thoughts out of their conscious awareness, ... | 18/01/06 |
| Schizophrenia | A mental disorder where contact with reality and insight are impaired. Other ... | 23/02/06 |
| Sampling technique | A method used to choose a sample of a population. Examples include, random sampling, ... | 19/11/09 |
| Reinforcement | A reinforcement is anything which will increase the probability that a behaviour or ... | 18/01/06 |
| Sally-Anne test | The procedure used by Baron-Cohen to test for theory of mind. The procedure is ... | 18/01/06 |
| Review article | A report which either brings together other researchers evidence or evaluates the ... | 18/01/06 |
| Rorschach test | A type of projective test which consists of asking respondents what they see in ... | 4/04/09 |
| Rennets | Rennets are small hamster like rodents which are intensively factory farmed and ... | 19/01/06 |
| ABBA design | This is an example of counterbalancing.
When counterbalancing experimental ... | 23/02/06 |
| Ablation | This involves the surgical removal or destruction of a part of the brain to either treat ... | 23/02/06 |
| Abnormal behaviour | A controversial term applied to behaviour which has been classed as not normal (such as ... | 23/02/06 |
| Abnormal psychology | This is a branch of psychology concerned with abnormal or atypical behaviour. This ... | 22/02/06 |
| Accommodation | In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, accommodation refers to the process of ... | 23/02/06 |
| Active sleep | This is another term used to refer to REM sleep. ... | 23/02/06 |
| Actor-observer effect | This is the tendency for actors to attribute their own actions to situational factors ... | 23/02/06 |
| Adaptive Behaviour | This is behaviour which is believed to increase the individual’s ability to survive ... | 22/02/06 |
| Aetiology | This refers to the study of the causes of diseases or disorder. ... | 22/02/06 |
| Alpha bias | This is the tendency to exaggerate the differences between the sexes. This ... | 22/02/06 |
| Alpha male | This term is used in ethology (and reality TV programmes such as Big Brother) to describe ... | 22/02/06 |
| Amnesia | This refers to a partial or total loss of long term memory. This may be caused by ... | 23/02/06 |
| Amygdala | A region of the brain found in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex. It is part ... | 24/02/06 |
| Andocentric bias | This is a bias in favour of males. Andocentric theories are those theories which ... | 22/02/06 |
| Androgen | This is a male hormone. The primary and most well-known androgen is ... | 22/02/06 |
| Androgyny | This is a mixture of male and female behaviour in the same individual ... | 22/02/06 |
| Anorexia nervosa | This is an eating disorder in which the individual is believed to have a fear of eating ... | 22/02/06 |
| Anti-social behaviour | This is any behaviour which is harmful to others. ... | 22/02/06 |
| Ambiguous | A term used to describe something that may have more than one meaning. ... | 23/02/06 |
| Ambiguous stimulus | A term used to describe a stimulus that may have more than one interpretation. ... | 9/04/06 |
| Assimilation | In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, assimilation is the process of fitting ... | 22/02/06 |
| Attention | Attention refers to the concentration of mental effort. ... | 22/02/06 |
| Attribution bias | This refers to the systematic mistakes we make when attributing behaviour. This ... | 12/03/06 |
| Authoritarian Personality | A person who tends to hold rigid beliefs and may be hostile to outgroups and be ... | 11/03/06 |
| Autonomic nervous system | This is the part of the nervous system which controls the body’s involuntary ... | 22/02/06 |
| Autonomous morality | This is a later stage of moral development described by Piaget whereby a ... | 22/02/06 |
| Aversion Therapy | This is a form of treatment, based on classical conditioning, in which undesirable ... | 22/02/06 |
| Behaviour Modification | A type of therapy based on the principles of operant conditioning. ... | 22/02/06 |
| Behaviour Therapy | A type of therapy based on the principles of classical conditioning. For example, ... | 22/02/06 |
| Behavioural Therapy | A type of therapy based on the principles of behaviourism. Examples of behavioural ... | 22/02/06 |
| Anal Stage | According to Freud’s theory of psychosexual development this is the second stage ... | 23/02/06 |
| Audience effects | This refers to the positive or negative effects on behaviour produced by the presence of ... | 22/02/06 |
| Authoritative Parenting Style | A parenting style in which children are encouraged to participate in decision making, and ... | 22/02/06 |
| Average | An everyday term used to describe a statistical measure of central tendency such as the ... | 2/03/06 |
| Bem Sex Role Inventory | This is a psychometric test for measuring androgyny. ... | 23/02/06 |
| Biological Determinism | This is the argument that behaviour is determined by biological systems. ... | 22/02/06 |
| Bilateral | This term is used to refer to functions that are equally represented in both cerebral ... | 22/02/06 |
| Binocular Depth Cues | Depth cues which are provided by information from both eyes. ... | 22/02/06 |
| Binocular Disparity | A binocular depth cue which is produced by the differences between the two images on each ... | 22/02/06 |
| Biological Psychology | This is a branch of psychology which studies how biological factors influence ... | 22/02/06 |
| Cerebral Cortex | This is the surface layer of the forebrain (cerebrum). It does not fit into the skull ... | 19/04/06 |
| Cerebrum | This is another name for the forebrain which is the largest part of the human ... | 22/02/06 |
| Freudian Slip | A term, obviously named after Freud, to describe errors which are though to be the result ... | 22/02/06 |
| YAVIS | This is an acronym used to describe the type of people who are most likely to benefit ... | 23/02/06 |
| Yerkes-Dodson Law | When plotted on a graph, the relationship between physiological arousal and performance ... | 17/04/06 |
| Evolutionary Psychology | This psychological approach attempts to explain behaviour in terms of how it enhances ... | 22/02/06 |
| Genetic Determinism | This is the argument that behaviour is caused by genetic influences. This ... | 23/02/06 |
| Central Tendency | This is a type of descriptive statistic which is used to describe the typical value of a ... | 23/02/06 |
| Vicarious Reinforcement | According to Bandura’s social learning theory we are more likely to imitate a ... | 23/02/06 |
| Vicarious Learning | This refers to learning through observing what happens to others. Bandura found ... | 22/02/06 |
| Zygote | A Zygote is a cell - an egg which has been fertilised – and is therefore able to ... | 11/03/06 |
| Kinaesthetic Sense | This is the sensation of movement. The kinaesthetic senses are those which are ... | 13/03/06 |
| Xenophobia | This is a phobia of strangers or other cultures and often materialises as cultural and/or ... | 25/02/06 |
| Fight or Flight Response | This is sometimes called the alarm reaction. It is a state of being ready to fight ... | 23/02/06 |
| Cognitive Dissonance | This is a type of imbalance of beliefs and behaviour. If we hold beliefs which ... | 24/03/06 |
| Anthropology | This is the study of different human cultures. ... | 23/02/06 |
| Stressor | This term refers to an event that forces the body to respond. Stressors may include ... | 13/04/06 |
| Synaesthesia | This is a condition in which sensory input in one modality (sense) is experienced in ... | 28/02/10 |
| Stimulus | This refers to any external event which we respond to. ... | 24/02/06 |
| Stress Response | This term refers to physiological changes (e.g. autonomic arousal) which occur as a ... | 13/04/06 |
| Stress Experience | Stress is not inevitable as we all perceive it differently. The stress experience ... | 23/02/06 |
| Diglossia | This is the ability to speak in more than one type of dialect. In particular it is ... | 23/02/06 |
| Dissonance | According to Festinger dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two ... | 18/02/09 |
| Eidetic Memory | This is commonly referred to as photographic memory. It is a visual or acoustic memory ... | 10/04/06 |
| Flashbulb Memories | A type of memory which is accurate and long lasting. It is argued that such memories seem ... | 10/04/06 |
| Mnemonics | These are strategies used to aid memory. Many mnemonics make use of imagery such as ... | 23/02/06 |
| Dizygotic (fraternal) Twins | These are twins that develop from different zygotes and are no more likely to be similar ... | 23/02/06 |
| Monozygotic (identical) Twins | These are twins that develop from the same zygote and are therefore genetically ... | 23/02/06 |
| Retina | This is the light sensitive part of your eye where light is converted to a neural ... | 23/02/06 |
| Hassles | These are the small events or minor stressors (e.g. misplacing things) which some ... | 24/02/06 |
| Motivated Forgetting | This is a type of forgetting which seems to be motivated by unpleasant events. For ... | 1/04/06 |
| Internal Reliability | This type of reliability refers to the extent to which a measure is consistent within ... | 23/02/06 |
| External Reliabilty | This type of reliability refers to the extent to which a measure varies from one use ... | 23/02/06 |
| Criterion Validity | Criterion validity is a way of assessing validity by comparing the results with another ... | 26/02/06 |
| Construct Validity | Construct validity is a way of assessing validity by investigating if the measure really ... | 23/02/06 |
| Internal Validity | Internal validity is related to what actually happens in a study. In terms of an ... | 23/02/06 |
| External validity | External validity refers to whether the findings of a study really can be generalised ... | 23/02/06 |
| Positive Correlation | A positive correlation means that high values of one variable are associated with high ... | 23/02/06 |
| Negative Correlation | A negative correlation means that high values of one variable are associated with low ... | 23/02/06 |
| Correlation Coefficient | A correlation coefficient refers to a number between -1 and +1 and states how strong a ... | 15/02/09 |
| Independent Measures Design | If two groups in an experiment consist of different individuals then this is an ... | 19/11/09 |
| Repeated Measures Design | A repeated measures design consists of testing the same individuals on two or more ... | 19/11/09 |
| Cognitive Psychology | A branch of psychology which is concerned with the study of cognitions.
Cognitive ... | 10/04/06 |
| Test-retest Reliability | A measure of how reliable a psychometric test or measure is over time. This involves ... | 24/02/06 |
| Therapy | A physical or psychological treatment. ... | 24/02/06 |
| Valid | See Validity ... | 24/02/06 |
| Ego | According to Freud the ego is the part of the personality structure that deals with ... | 24/02/06 |
| Id | According to Freud the id is the primitive part of the personality structure which ... | 24/02/06 |
| Superego | According to Freud, the superego is the part of the personality structure which acts as a ... | 24/02/06 |
| Free Association | Free association is a therapy used by psychoanalysts and consists of the individual ... | 24/02/06 |
| Transference | Transference is a therapy used by psychoanalysts and involves the projection and ... | 24/02/06 |
| Libido | This term was used by Freud to refer to the sexual energy derived from the id. ... | 24/02/06 |
| Projection | This is one if the defence mechanisms proposed by Freud which involves attributing ... | 24/02/06 |
| Halo Effect | This is the tendency to assume someone or something with an attractive quality has other ... | 24/02/06 |
| Monozygotic | These are twins that develop from the same Zygote and are therefore genetically ... | 26/02/06 |
| Behaviourist Approach | See Behaviourism ... | 26/02/06 |
| Token Economy System (Token Economies) | Token economy systems are based on the principle of secondary ... | 26/02/06 |
| Face Validity | Face Validity refers to the extent to which a measure appears on the surface to measure ... | 26/02/06 |
| Conditioning | This term is used by behaviourists to describe the process of learning. Behaviourists ... | 26/02/06 |
| Positive Reinforcement | In operant conditioning this refers to anything which is rewarding to the individual and ... | 28/02/06 |
| Negative Reinforcement | In operant conditioning this refers to the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to encourage ... | 28/02/06 |
| Punishment | In operant conditioning this refers to an unpleasant event which suppresses a behaviour ... | 28/02/06 |
| Secondary Reinforcement | In operant conditioning this refers to something which reinforces a behaviour because it ... | 28/02/06 |
| Discriminatory Stimulus | In operant conditioning this is a stimulus (such as a light in a Skinner box) which ... | 28/02/06 |
| Skinner Box | B F Skinner developed this device for investigating operant conditioning under tightly ... | 12/03/06 |
| Skinner | Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904 – 1990) became a major figure in psychology for his ... | 15/02/09 |
| Conditioned Stimulus | In classical conditioning this is a stimulus which elicits a response as a result of ... | 2/03/06 |
| Unconditioned Stimulus | In classical conditioning this is a stimulus which produces an automatic response which ... | 2/03/06 |
| Conditioned Response | In classical conditioning this is a response which occurs when the conditioned stimulus ... | 2/03/06 |
| Unconditioned Response | In classical conditioning this is a response which occurs automatically to a particular ... | 2/03/06 |
| Reflex | This refers to an innate and automatic response to a stimulus. For example if a ... | 2/03/06 |
| Stroop Effect | This term is used to describe the conflict experienced when attempting to perform two ... | 11/04/06 |
| Survey | A term used to describe a technique of collecting information, attitudes or opinions from ... | 2/03/06 |
| Questionnaires | Questionnaires are a type of self report method which consist of a set of questions ... | 3/03/06 |
| Placebo Effect | The term used when an inactive substance or fake treatment has an effect most likely ... | 2/03/06 |
| Phantom Limbs | This is the name given to the phenomenon whereby amputees may experience the feeling of a ... | 2/03/06 |
| Participant | This term refers to the individual who is studied.
The term participant has ... | 2/03/06 |
| Debrief | In relation to ethics this refers to the explanation of the study to the participant when ... | 2/03/06 |
| Trait Theory | This refers to personality theories which are based on the different traits possessed by ... | 2/03/06 |
| Trait | This refers to a specific facet of personality such as sociability or ... | 2/03/06 |
| Sustained Attention | This term is sometimes referred to as vigilance and is the process of concentrating ... | 2/03/06 |
| Vigilance | This term is more commonly referred to as sustained attention and is the process of ... | 2/03/06 |
| Verbal Deprivation Hypothesis | This term refers to the argument that children who do not experience an extended form of ... | 2/03/06 |
| Locus of Control | This refers to where a person believes the main control over events in their life come ... | 1/04/07 |
| Internal Locus of Control | When an individual believes they can exert personal control over events in their life ... | 2/03/06 |
| External Locus of Control | If an individual believes that they do not feel that they personally can control their ... | 2/03/06 |
| Self-efficacy | This refers to the beliefs of what we are capable of achieving.
Bandura argued ... | 28/12/07 |
| Self-fulfilling prophecy | This term is used to describe the way in which expectations about a person (or a group of ... | 2/03/06 |
| Semantic | This refers to the meaning of something. ... | 2/03/06 |
| Thalamus | This structure is found in the sub-cortical area of the forebrain (therefore one in each ... | 2/03/06 |
| Two-process Theory of Memory | The theories of memory that propose that short term memory and long term memory are two ... | 5/03/06 |
| Mean | This refers to a type of measure of central tendency. The mean is calculated by ... | 19/11/09 |
| Median | This refers to a type of measure of central tendency. The median is calculated by ... | 19/11/09 |
| Mode | This refers to a type of measure of central tendency. The mode is calculated by ... | 19/11/09 |
| Measure of Dispersion | This is a type of descriptive statistic which is used to describe the ... | 3/03/06 |
| Measure of Central Tendency | This is a type of descriptive statistic which is used to describe the typical value of a ... | 19/11/09 |
| Range | This refers to a type of measure of dispersion. The range is a very crude type of ... | 11/03/06 |
| Alternate Hypothesis | This is a testable, predictive statement. This statement is tested by ... | 15/02/09 |
| Between Groups Design | This is another way of saying independent measures design. ... | 3/03/06 |
| Between Subjects/Participants Design | This is another way of saying independent measures design. ... | 3/03/06 |
| Biased Sample | This refers to an error that has been made when selecting a sample which results in the ... | 3/03/06 |
| Ceiling Effect | This occurs when a test is too easy and many of the participants score near the ... | 3/03/06 |
| Consonance | In terms of cognitive dissonance theory this refers to the opposite of dissonance ... | 3/03/06 |
| Content Analysis | This involves a quantitative analysis of information people have produced. This ... | 3/03/06 |
| Counterbalancing | This is a strategy often used when carrying out a repeated measures design to control for ... | 3/03/06 |
| Cross-sectional research | This type of research is often found in developmental psychology and involves comparing ... | 3/03/06 |
| Culture | This term is usually used to refer to the beliefs, practices, ideas, characteristics and ... | 3/03/06 |
| Deception | This refers to the misleading of participants when carrying out research. Deception ... | 18/02/09 |
| Dependent Variable | This is the variable which the researcher measures. ... | 3/03/06 |
| Denial | According to Freud this is a defence mechanism whereby the individual does not ... | 3/03/06 |
| Diary Method | This research method involves asking participants to keep a diary of specific items of ... | 3/03/06 |
| Descriptive Statistics | These types of statistics are methods for numerically summarising raw data. ... | 19/11/09 |
| Deviation | In relation to statistics, a deviation is the difference between an individual score and ... | 3/03/06 |
| Directional Hypothesis | This type of hypothesis is one which predicts the direction of the difference or in terms ... | 3/03/06 |
| Discourse Analysis | This is a type of research method. It consists of analysing the conversations ... | 3/03/06 |
| Double Blind Design | This is a type of control that can be used in experiments. This technique consists ... | 3/03/06 |
| Empirical | In terms of research this refers to data that are collected through observing or ... | 3/03/06 |
| Experimenter Effect | This refers to the unwanted influences in an experiment which can be produced by the ... | 3/03/06 |
| Experimenter Bias | This refers to the way that the experimenter’s expectations can influence the ... | 3/03/06 |
| Fieldwork | This is research which is conducted outside of the laboratory in a natural setting. ... | 3/03/06 |
| Floor Effect | This occurs when a test is too difficult and many of the participants score near the ... | 3/03/06 |
| Disclosure | This refers to revealing personal information about oneself. ... | 3/03/06 |
| Humanistic Psychology | This is an approach in psychology which emphasises the whole person and the ability of ... | 3/03/06 |
| Scattergram | When carrying out a correlational analysis the descriptive statistic used is a ... | 3/03/06 |
| Scattergraph | A scattergram ... | 3/03/06 |
| Within Subjects/Participants Design | This is another name for a repeated measures design. ... | 3/03/06 |
| Type 1 Error | This is a statistical term to refer to the mistake of rejecting the null hypothesis when ... | 3/03/06 |
| Type 2 Error | This is a statistical term to refer to the mistake of retaining the null hypothesis when ... | 3/03/06 |
| T-test | This is the name of an inferential and parametric test of difference.
The ... | 3/03/06 |
| Stimulus-Response Learning | This is the type of learning described by behaviourists as they view learning as simple ... | 3/03/06 |
| Structured Interview | A type of interview in which there is a set of questions that are always asked in the ... | 3/03/06 |
| Standardised Instructions | These are a set of pre-determined instructions which are given in the same way to all of ... | 3/03/06 |
| Standardised Procedure | This occurs when the researcher ensures that all participants have the same ... | 3/03/06 |
| Standardised Tests | This is the term used to describe the process of using psychometric test with large ... | 3/03/06 |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions. ... | 5/03/06 |
| Moral Development | Morality refers to what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Moral ... | 5/03/06 |
| Statistics | These are a method of summarising and analysing data. Statistics are used for the ... | 12/03/06 |
| Inferential Statistics | Inferential statistics allow us to make a conclusion related to our hypothesis. ... | 12/03/06 |
| Pilot Study | This is a smaller version of a study carried out before the main research. ... | 12/03/06 |
| Standard Deviation | This is a measure of dispersion - a type of descriptive statistic which is used to ... | 12/03/06 |
| Goole | This town (in the North(ish) East of England) has become known by many people as the ... | 12/03/06 |
| Ordinal Level of Measurement | This is a level of measurement in which the scores are ranked. For ... | 18/03/06 |
| Nominal Data | This is a level of measurement in which the scores are placed in categories. The ... | 18/03/06 |
| Interval Ratio Data | This is a level of measurement with equal units of intervals throughout the ... | 18/03/06 |
| Levels of Measurement | This refers to the way in which data are measured. The different levels give ... | 18/03/06 |
| Parametric Tests | These are statistical tests which assume that the data are of a particular ... | 19/03/06 |
| Non Parametric Tests | These are statistical tests which can be used with skewed distributions and with data at ... | 18/03/06 |
| Normal Distribution | This is a bell shaped distribution curve where the mean, median and mode are the same and ... | 18/03/06 |
| Data | Data is the term used to describe the scores collected and analysed. ... | 19/03/06 |
| Datum | This is the term used for a single score. The plural of datum is data. ... | 19/03/06 |
| Practice Effect | In experiments this refers to an improvement in performance because the participant has ... | 19/03/06 |
| Zone of Proximal Development | According to Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development this refers to the distance ... | 24/03/06 |
| Zeitgeber | This means ‘time giver’. It refers to an external cue which helps in ... | 24/03/06 |
| Zimbardo | Philip G. Zimbardo is an American psychologist and has been a Stanford University ... | 24/03/06 |
| Stanford Prison Experiment | This study was conducted in 1971 by a team of researchers led by Philip Zimbardo of ... | 24/03/06 |
| Zeitgeist | This means the ‘spirit of the times’.
The term is used to explain how ... | 24/03/06 |
| Visual Cortex | This is the region of the occipital lobe in the cerebral cortex where visual information ... | 24/03/06 |
| Volunteer Sample | This is another way of saying self selected sample.
This sampling technique ... | 24/03/06 |
| Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development | Vygotsky believed that cognitive development was largely influenced by ... | 16/02/09 |
| Vygotsky | Lev Vygotsky (1896 - 1934) was a Russian psychologist who argued that cognitive ... | 19/04/06 |
| Glossary | A glossary is a list of terms and definitions of those terms.
Traditionally a glossary ... | 24/03/06 |
| Obedience | This is a type of social influence which involves following out the order of ... | 26/03/06 |
| Conformity | This is a type of social influence whereby group pressure results in a change in ... | 26/03/06 |
| BPS | This is an abbreviation for the British Psychological Society. Their web site is here. ... | 19/04/06 |
| Applied Psychology | This term refers to areas of psychology where psychological research is applied to real ... | 27/03/06 |
| Clinical Psychology | This is an applied area of psychology which uses psychological insights and techniques ... | 27/03/06 |
| Clinician | This is a term meaning clinical psychologist. A clinical psychologist is a ... | 27/03/06 |
| Educational Psychology | This is an applied area of psychology which uses psychological insights and techniques to ... | 27/03/06 |
| Health Psychology | This is an applied area of psychology which uses psychological insights and techniques to ... | 27/03/06 |
| Sport Psychology | This is an applied area of psychology which uses psychological insights and techniques to ... | 27/03/06 |
| Environmental Psychology | This is an applied area of psychology which uses psychological insights and techniques to ... | 27/03/06 |
| Organisational Psychology | This is an applied area of psychology which uses psychological insights and techniques to ... | 27/03/06 |
| Criminal Psychology | This is an applied area of psychology which uses psychological insights and techniques ... | 27/03/06 |
| EPI | This is an abbreviation of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. The EPI is a ... | 27/03/06 |
| Random | This refers to a process whereby each item has an equal chance of being selected. ... | 27/03/06 |
| Cross-Cultural Psychology | This is an approach which attempts to understand the variability and differences of ... | 9/04/06 |
| Cultural Complexity | According to cross-cultural psychology this term refers to the way that different ... | 9/04/06 |
| Etic | According to cross-cultural psychology this is a term used to refer to an account of ... | 9/04/06 |
| Gender Bias | This refers to representing males and females based on stereotypes rather than real ... | 9/04/06 |
| Social Psychology | This is the study of social behaviour. This is a branch of psychology which studies ... | 9/04/06 |
| Social Needs | According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs this third level is concerned with group ... | 9/04/06 |
| Emic | This is a term used to refer to culturally specific behaviour. Therefore an ... | 9/04/06 |
| Social Interaction | This refers to the process whereby two individuals directly influence each others ... | 9/04/06 |
| Social Identity Theory | This social cognitive theory was developed particularly by Henri Tajfel and is one of the ... | 16/02/09 |
| Self Esteem | This refers to the evaluation an individual makes about one’s own self ... | 9/04/06 |
| Self Image | This refers to the internal picture which an individual holds of themselves ... | 9/04/06 |
| Self Concept | This refers to the set of view and beliefs we have about ourselves. Self ... | 9/04/06 |
| Crowd Psychology | This is the psychological study of the behaviour of masses and crowds and the experience ... | 10/04/06 |
| Variability Hypothesis | This is a sexist argument which suggests that the range of scores for men on ... | 11/04/06 |
| Subliminal Perception | This refers to the processing of information in such a way as not to penetrate conscious ... | 11/04/06 |
| Subliminal Advertising | This involves using messages that are too weak to reach conscious awareness, perhaps ... | 11/04/06 |
| Sociobiology | This is a reductionist approach, which explains social behaviour within an evolutionary ... | 11/04/06 |
| Social Norm | This is behaviour which is believed to be socially or culturally acceptable ... | 11/04/06 |
| Siblings | This term refers to brothers or sisters. ... | 11/04/06 |
| Inter | When used as a prefix this means between. ... | 11/04/06 |
| Intra | When used as a prefix this means within. ... | 11/04/06 |
| Interpersonal | This term is used to refer to communication or behaviour between people. ... | 11/04/06 |
| Intra-group | This term is used to refer to behaviour within a group. ... | 11/04/06 |
| Social Identity | This refers to an individual’s sense of who they are derived from their group ... | 12/04/06 |
| General Adaptation Syndrome | Hans Selye (1949) identified this physiological adaptation to long term stress which ... | 13/04/06 |
| GAS | This is an abbreviation for general adaptation syndrome. ... | 13/04/06 |
| DSM-IV | This is the fourth edition (1994) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental ... | 19/04/06 |
| ICD-10 | This is the most recent version (1992) of the International Classification of Diseases ... | 16/04/06 |
| Categorisation | This is a cognitive process and refers to the tendency to group sets of objects that have ... | 16/04/06 |
| Concrete Operational Stage | According to Piaget this is a stage of cognitive development (approximately 7 – 11 ... | 16/04/06 |
| Frustration Aggression Hypothesis | This argument was proposed by Dollard et al. (1939) to explain that aggression is always ... | 2/04/07 |
| Equity Theory | This is a theory which argues that people choose relationships in which they will benefit ... | 16/04/06 |
| Social Exchange Theory | This is a theory which views relationships in terms of rewards and costs to the ... | 16/04/06 |
| Social Facilitation | This term refers to the occurrence when an individual’s performance increases ... | 16/04/06 |
| Social Inhibition | This term refers to the occurrence when an individual’s performance decreases ... | 16/04/06 |
| Social Loafing | This term is used to describe the occurrence when an individual reduces their effort when ... | 2/04/07 |
| Social Desirability Bias | This bias can occur when researchers use self report methods, such as interviews and ... | 16/04/06 |
| Patient Centred Style | In health psychology this refers to the behavioural style of some health practitioners in ... | 16/04/06 |
| Doctor Centred Style | In health psychology this refers to the behavioural style of some health practitioners ... | 16/04/06 |
| Endogenous Opioides | These are opiate like substances that the body produces naturally which reduce the ... | 16/04/06 |
| Health Behaviour | This refers to any activity a person carries out which is aimed at preventing future ... | 16/04/06 |
| Immune System | This refers to the organs and structures which protect the body against harmful ... | 16/04/06 |
| Learned Helplessness | This term refers to a passive condition in which an individual fails to take action to ... | 16/04/06 |
| Life Events | These are major changes in an individual’s life (e.g. divorce) that require some ... | 16/04/06 |
| Nicotine Regulation Model | This is an explanation for continued cigarette smoking arguing that the body becomes ... | 16/04/06 |
| Spinal Cord | This is the major neural pathway that carries impulses between the brain and the ... | 16/04/06 |
| Type A Behaviour Pattern | This refers to a behavioural style which is characterised by high levels of ... | 16/04/06 |
| Type B Behaviour Pattern | This refers to a behavioural style which is characterised by low levels of ... | 16/04/06 |
| Withdrawal Symptoms | These refer to the symptoms that occur when people stop taking a substance which the body ... | 16/04/06 |
| Biomedical Model of Health | This is a reductionist approach to health which views illness as a result of physical ... | 16/04/06 |
| Biopsychosocial Model of Health | This is an approach to health which argues that health and illness involve an interaction ... | 16/04/06 |
| Catharsis | In psychoanalysis this refers to the release of pent up psychic energy. ... | 16/04/06 |
| Frustration | This refers to an event that interferes with goal directed behaviour. For ... | 16/04/06 |
| Comparative Psychology | This refers to the study of animals and is aimed at identifying similarities and ... | 17/04/06 |
| Necker Cube | The Necker Cube is an ambiguous line drawing. It is a wire-frame drawing of a cube in ... | 17/04/06 |
| Masochism | This refers to the sexual gratification gained from humiliation or pain. ... | 17/04/06 |
| Sadism | This refers to the practice whereby a person obtains sexual arousal by inflicting ... | 17/04/06 |
| Social Role | This refers to the part an individual is expected to play in a social situation. ... | 17/04/06 |
| Comparative Psychology | This refers to the study of animals and is aimed at identifying similarities and ... | 17/04/06 |
| Recency Effect | This term refers to the influence of recent material.
In relation to interpersonal ... | 22/04/06 |
| Primacy Effect | This term refers to the influence of material which comes first.
In relation to ... | 17/04/06 |
| Pre-Menstrual Syndrome | This term refers to a phase in a woman’s menstrual cycle, just prior to ... | 17/04/06 |
| Menstruation | This is a phase of the monthly cycle of a woman who is not pregnant. During this ... | 17/04/06 |
| Y Chromosome | This is a distinctively-shaped chromosome whose presence as one pair indicates that an ... | 17/04/06 |
| X Chromosome | This is a distinctive chromosome named for its appearance under the microscope, which ... | 17/04/06 |
| Juvenile Delinquent | This refers to a young person who has been convicted of a criminal offence. ... | 18/04/06 |
| James-Lange Theory | This is an early theory of emotion proposed by James (1884) and Lange (1887). ... | 18/04/06 |
| Just-World Hypothesis | This refers to the tendency for people to believe that the world is just and predictable ... | 18/04/06 |
| Jungian | This term refers the views that are related to the work of Carl Jung. Jung is ... | 18/04/06 |
| Kin | This term means genetic relatives. ... | 18/04/06 |
| Kin Selection | This is a term used in sociobiology. Kin selection is the idea that an individual ... | 18/04/06 |
| Kibbutz | This is an Israeli community in which property and responsibility are held in common by ... | 18/04/06 |
| K-strategy | This term relates to adaptive reproductive behaviour and can be seen as a ... | 18/04/06 |
| R-strategy | This term relates to adaptive reproductive behaviour and can be seen as a ... | 18/04/06 |
| Adaptive | A term used to describe behaviour which promotes an individual’s survival and ... | 18/04/06 |
| Neuroscience | This is the study of the nervous system. ... | 19/04/06 |
| Nervous System | The nervous system comprises between ten and twelve billion neurons which are the basic ... | 19/04/06 |
| Nerve | A nerve is a bundle of neurons and they spread out to every part of the body with sense ... | 19/04/06 |
| Neuron | This is a cell which receives or relays information in the form of electrochemical ... | 19/04/06 |
| Parasympathetic Nervous System | This is the division of the autonomic nervous system which controls the relaxed state and ... | 19/04/06 |
| Realistic Conflict Theory | Developed by Sherif (1966) this theory argues that intergroup conflict arises as a result ... | 23/04/06 |
| Voluntary Behaviour | This is behaviour that is believed to be a deliberate action on the part of the ... | 23/04/06 |
| Acute pain | One of the distinctions that psychologists make about types of pain is between acute pain ... | 2/04/07 |
| Chronic pain | One of the distinctions that psychologists make about types of pain is between acute pain ... | 2/04/07 |
| McGill Pain Questionnaire | The McGill Pain Questionnaire, developed by Melzack (1975), was one of the first self ... | 2/04/07 |
| Accidents | There are two main types of approaches that are used to investigate the causes and ... | 2/04/07 |
| nicotine regulation model | The physiological or medical approach to defining substance use and abuse is to view ... | 2/04/07 |
| Ethological view of aggression | Ethological (or instinctual) theories of aggression propose that humans possess an innate ... | 2/04/07 |
| Home Advantage | In sport, home advantage refers to the tendency of individuals and teams to perform ... | 18/02/09 |
| Cognitive Interview Technique | A cognitive interview is a procedure designed for use in police interviews
... | 15/02/09 |
| Attribution Theory | Attribution theory is concerned with the ways in which people explain (or attribute) the ... | 18/11/07 |
| Confederate | In psychology experiments a confederate is an individual who is not a real participant ... | 25/12/07 |
| Majority Influence | This is a form of social influence, whereby people adopt the behaviour, attitudes and ... | 25/12/07 |
| Minority Influence | This is a form of social influence, whereby people reject the established norm of the ... | 25/12/07 |
| Social Influence | Social influence is a term which is used generally in psychology to summarise the work of ... | 25/12/07 |
| Acoustic Coding | This involves coding information in terms of the ways it sounds. ... | 26/12/07 |
| Affectionless psychopaths | Individuals who are believed to experience little guilt or emotion, and are unable to ... | 26/12/07 |
| Aims | A statement of what the researchers intend to find out. ... | 26/12/07 |
| Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) | This is a hormone that is released by the pituitary gland and that stimulates the adrenal ... | 26/12/07 |
| Anaclitic depression | A form of depression, which is said to be caused by separation from a caregiver. ... | 26/12/07 |
| Freud Sigmund | Sigmund Freud, born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939), was ... | 28/12/07 |
| Kanner Leo | The term autism was originally introduced by the psychiatrist Leo Kanner (1943) to ... | 15/02/09 |
| Psychology | Psychology gives us explanations for why we think, feel and behave the way we do. ... | 18/02/09 |
| Biosocial Approach (to gender) | An approach suggesting our gender status is a result of interplay between biology & ... | 31/10/09 |
| Working Memory Model | A model of memory processes which proposes that the memory faculty is built up of a ... | 19/11/09 |
| Phonological Loop | The component of the Working Memory Model which deals with the encoding of speech souds ... | 19/11/09 |
| Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad | The component of the Working Memory Model which encodes visual information. ... | 19/11/09 |
| Sexual selection | Sexual selection describes the emergence of traits not instrinsically beneficial to an ... | 7/12/09 |
| Semanticity | The use of symbols to mean or refer to objects or actions. Savage-Rumbaugh et. al. (1986) ... | 2/01/10 |
| Displacement (Language) | Reference to things not present in time or space: Savage-Rumbaugh et. al. (1986) study. ... | 2/01/10 |
| Structure-Dependence | The patterned nature of language and use of 'structured chunks', such as word order. ... | 2/01/10 |
| Creativity (Language) | The ability to produce and understand an infinite number of novel utterances. Brown ... | 2/01/10 |
| Productivity (Language) | The ability to produce and understand an infinite number of novel utterances. AKA ... | 2/01/10 |
| own-age bias |
‘Own-age bias’ describes the superior recognition abilities people have ... | 16/01/10 |
