GRE Psychology Subject Test
GRE Psychology Subject Test-2025
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_6u32g
1. Ablation A surgically induced brain lesion.
2. Absolute refractory pe- The period that follows the onset of an action potential. During this
riod period, a nerve impulse cannot be initiated
3. Absolute threshold The minimum of stimulus energy needed to activate a sensory system.
4. Accommodation A principle of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It occurs when
cognitive structures are modified because new information or new ex-
periences do not fit into existing cognitive structures.
5. Acetylcholine A neurotransmitter found in both central and peripheral nervous systems
linked to Alzheimer's disease and used to transmit nerve impulses to the
muscles, respectively.
6. Acrophobia A specific phobia that is an irrational fear of heights.
7. ACT model (Adaptive A model that describes memory in terms of procedural and declarative
Control of Thought) memory.
8. Actor-observer effect The tendency of actors to see observer behavior as due to external factors
(situational factors) and the tendency of observers to attribute actors'
behaviors to internal characteristics (dispositional characteristics).
9. Adrenaline A hormone that increases energy available for "fight or flight" reactions
(also known as epinephrine).
10. Afterimages A visual sensation that appears after prolonged or intense exposure to a
stimulus.
11. Agnosia Impairments in perceptual recognition.
12. Agoraphobia An irrational fear of being in places or situations where escape might be
difficult.
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, GRE Psychology Subject Test
GRE Psychology Subject Test-2025
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_6u32g
13. All-or-none law A law about nerve impulses stating that when depolarization reaches the
critical threshold (-50 millivolts) the neuron is going to fire, each time,
every time.
14. Alternate-form In psychometrics, it is the method of using two or more different forms
method of a test to determine the reliability of a particular test.
15. Altruism A form of helping behavior where the person's intent is to benefit some-
one else at some cost to him- or herself.
16. Amnesia A dissociative disorder where individuals are unable to recall past expe-
rience, but this inability is not due to a neurological disorder.
17. Analogy of inoculation McGuire's analogy that people can be psychologically inoculated against
the "attack" of persuasive communications by first exposing them to a
weakened attack.
18. Analyses of Variance A statistical method to compare the means of more than two groups by
(anovas) comparing the between-group variance to the within-group variance.
19. Anchoring A cognitive term (a heuristic) that refers to the tendency of people to
make decisions based on reference points, or standards used to make
judgements.
20. Anima (animus) An archetype from Jung's theory referring to the feminine behaviors in
males, and the masculine behaviors in females.
21. Anorexia nervosa An eating disorder characterized by a refusal to maintain a minimal
normal body weight.
22. Anterograde amnesia Memory loss for new information following brain injury.
23. Anti-social personality A personality disorder characterized by a pattern of disregard for, and
disorder violation of, the rights of others.
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, GRE Psychology Subject Test
GRE Psychology Subject Test-2025
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_6u32g
24. Aphagia. An impairment in the ability to eat.
25. Aphasias Language disorders, which are associated with Broca's and Wernicke's
areas in the brain.
26. Apparent motion An illusion that occurs when two dots flashed in different locations on a
screen seconds apart are perceived as one moving dot.
27. Apraxia An impairment in the organization of voluntary action.
28. Archetypes The building blocks for the collective unconscious referred to in Jung's
theory of personality.
29. Assimilation A principle of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It is the process
of understanding new information in relation to prior knowledge, or
existing schemata.
30. Association area Areas in the brain that integrate information from different cortical re-
gions
31. Atkinson-Shiffin model A model of memory that involves three memory structures (sensory,
short-term and long-term), and the processes that operate these mem-
ory structures.
32. Attachment bond Evidence of a preference for the primary caregiver and a wariness of
strangers.
33. Attention-deficit/hyper- A disorder characterized by developmentally atypical inattention and/or
activity disorder impulsivity-hyperactivity.
(ADD/HD)
34. Attribution theory Fritz Heider's theory that people tend to infer the causes of other people's
behavior as either dispositional (related to the individual) or situational
(related to the environment).
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, GRE Psychology Subject Test
GRE Psychology Subject Test-2025
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_6u32g
35. Authoritarian parent- A parenting style tending to use punitive control methods and lacking
ing style emotional warmth.
36. Authoritative parent- A parenting style tending to have reasonably high demands for child
ing style compliance coupled with emotional warmth.
37. Autism A disorder whose essential features are lack of responsiveness to other
people, gross impairment in communication skills, and behaviors and
interests that are repetitive, inflexibly routined and stereotyped.
38. Autokinetic effect An illusion that occurs when a spot of light appears to move erratically in
a dark room, simply because there is no frame of reference.
39. Availability heuristic A decision-making short-cut that people tend to use when trying to
decide how likely something is based upon how easily similar instances
can be imagined .
40. Aversion therapy A behavioral therapy of pairing unpleasant stimuli with undesirable be-
havior.
41. Balance theory Fritz Heider's consistency theory that is concerned with balance and
imbalance in the ways in which three elements are related
42. Behavioral contracts A therapeutic technique that is a negotiated agreement between two
parties that explicitly stipulates the behavioral change that is desired and
indicates consequences of certain acts.
43. Behavioral-stimulants A class of drugs that increase behavioral activity by increasing motor
activity or by counteracting fatigue, and which are thought to stimulate
receptors for dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin.
44. Békésy's traveling Proposed by Von Békésy, the theory holds that high frequency sounds
wave theory maximally vibrate the basilar membrane near the beginning of the
www.stuvia.com
GRE Psychology Subject Test-2025
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_6u32g
1. Ablation A surgically induced brain lesion.
2. Absolute refractory pe- The period that follows the onset of an action potential. During this
riod period, a nerve impulse cannot be initiated
3. Absolute threshold The minimum of stimulus energy needed to activate a sensory system.
4. Accommodation A principle of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It occurs when
cognitive structures are modified because new information or new ex-
periences do not fit into existing cognitive structures.
5. Acetylcholine A neurotransmitter found in both central and peripheral nervous systems
linked to Alzheimer's disease and used to transmit nerve impulses to the
muscles, respectively.
6. Acrophobia A specific phobia that is an irrational fear of heights.
7. ACT model (Adaptive A model that describes memory in terms of procedural and declarative
Control of Thought) memory.
8. Actor-observer effect The tendency of actors to see observer behavior as due to external factors
(situational factors) and the tendency of observers to attribute actors'
behaviors to internal characteristics (dispositional characteristics).
9. Adrenaline A hormone that increases energy available for "fight or flight" reactions
(also known as epinephrine).
10. Afterimages A visual sensation that appears after prolonged or intense exposure to a
stimulus.
11. Agnosia Impairments in perceptual recognition.
12. Agoraphobia An irrational fear of being in places or situations where escape might be
difficult.
www.stuvia.com
, GRE Psychology Subject Test
GRE Psychology Subject Test-2025
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_6u32g
13. All-or-none law A law about nerve impulses stating that when depolarization reaches the
critical threshold (-50 millivolts) the neuron is going to fire, each time,
every time.
14. Alternate-form In psychometrics, it is the method of using two or more different forms
method of a test to determine the reliability of a particular test.
15. Altruism A form of helping behavior where the person's intent is to benefit some-
one else at some cost to him- or herself.
16. Amnesia A dissociative disorder where individuals are unable to recall past expe-
rience, but this inability is not due to a neurological disorder.
17. Analogy of inoculation McGuire's analogy that people can be psychologically inoculated against
the "attack" of persuasive communications by first exposing them to a
weakened attack.
18. Analyses of Variance A statistical method to compare the means of more than two groups by
(anovas) comparing the between-group variance to the within-group variance.
19. Anchoring A cognitive term (a heuristic) that refers to the tendency of people to
make decisions based on reference points, or standards used to make
judgements.
20. Anima (animus) An archetype from Jung's theory referring to the feminine behaviors in
males, and the masculine behaviors in females.
21. Anorexia nervosa An eating disorder characterized by a refusal to maintain a minimal
normal body weight.
22. Anterograde amnesia Memory loss for new information following brain injury.
23. Anti-social personality A personality disorder characterized by a pattern of disregard for, and
disorder violation of, the rights of others.
www.stuvia.com
, GRE Psychology Subject Test
GRE Psychology Subject Test-2025
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_6u32g
24. Aphagia. An impairment in the ability to eat.
25. Aphasias Language disorders, which are associated with Broca's and Wernicke's
areas in the brain.
26. Apparent motion An illusion that occurs when two dots flashed in different locations on a
screen seconds apart are perceived as one moving dot.
27. Apraxia An impairment in the organization of voluntary action.
28. Archetypes The building blocks for the collective unconscious referred to in Jung's
theory of personality.
29. Assimilation A principle of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It is the process
of understanding new information in relation to prior knowledge, or
existing schemata.
30. Association area Areas in the brain that integrate information from different cortical re-
gions
31. Atkinson-Shiffin model A model of memory that involves three memory structures (sensory,
short-term and long-term), and the processes that operate these mem-
ory structures.
32. Attachment bond Evidence of a preference for the primary caregiver and a wariness of
strangers.
33. Attention-deficit/hyper- A disorder characterized by developmentally atypical inattention and/or
activity disorder impulsivity-hyperactivity.
(ADD/HD)
34. Attribution theory Fritz Heider's theory that people tend to infer the causes of other people's
behavior as either dispositional (related to the individual) or situational
(related to the environment).
www.stuvia.com
, GRE Psychology Subject Test
GRE Psychology Subject Test-2025
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_6u32g
35. Authoritarian parent- A parenting style tending to use punitive control methods and lacking
ing style emotional warmth.
36. Authoritative parent- A parenting style tending to have reasonably high demands for child
ing style compliance coupled with emotional warmth.
37. Autism A disorder whose essential features are lack of responsiveness to other
people, gross impairment in communication skills, and behaviors and
interests that are repetitive, inflexibly routined and stereotyped.
38. Autokinetic effect An illusion that occurs when a spot of light appears to move erratically in
a dark room, simply because there is no frame of reference.
39. Availability heuristic A decision-making short-cut that people tend to use when trying to
decide how likely something is based upon how easily similar instances
can be imagined .
40. Aversion therapy A behavioral therapy of pairing unpleasant stimuli with undesirable be-
havior.
41. Balance theory Fritz Heider's consistency theory that is concerned with balance and
imbalance in the ways in which three elements are related
42. Behavioral contracts A therapeutic technique that is a negotiated agreement between two
parties that explicitly stipulates the behavioral change that is desired and
indicates consequences of certain acts.
43. Behavioral-stimulants A class of drugs that increase behavioral activity by increasing motor
activity or by counteracting fatigue, and which are thought to stimulate
receptors for dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin.
44. Békésy's traveling Proposed by Von Békésy, the theory holds that high frequency sounds
wave theory maximally vibrate the basilar membrane near the beginning of the
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