MYERS' PSYCHOLOGY FOR AP: UNITS 1-14 Entire Book Vocab

Absolute threshold - answer-the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time. Accommodation - answer-adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information. Accomodation - answer-the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina. Achievement test - answer-a test designed to assess what a person has learned. Acquisition - answer-in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response. Action potential - answer-a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down a neuron. Active listening - answer-empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers' client-centered therapy. Addiction - answer-compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences. Adolescence - answer-the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence. Adrenal glands - answer-a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress. Aggression - answer-any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy. Agonist - answer-a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response. Agoraphobia - answer-fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide-open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic. AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) - answer-a life-threatening, sexually transmitted infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS depletes the immune system, leaving the person vulnerable to infections. Alcohol use disorder - answer-(popularly known as alcoholism). Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use. Algorithm - answer-a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. All-or-none response - answer-a neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing. Alpha waves - answer-the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state. Altruism - answer-unselfish regard for the welfare of others. Amphetamines - answer-drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes. Amygdala - answer-two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion. Anorexia nervosa - answer-an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintain a starvation diet despite being significantly (15 percent or more) underweight. Antagonist - answer-a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response. Anterograde amnesia - answer-an inability to form new memories. Antianxiety drugs - answer-drugs used to control anxiety and agitation. Antidepressant drugs - answer-drugs used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. (Several widely used antidepressant drugs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors—ssris.) Antipsychotic drugs - answer-drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder. Antisocial personality disorder - answer-a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist. Anxiety disorders - answer-psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety. Aphasia - answer-impairment of language, usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding). Applied research - answer-scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. Aptitude test - answer-a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn. Assimilation - answer-interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas. Association areas - answer-areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking. Associative learning - answer-learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning). Attachment - answer-an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - answer-a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Attitude - answer-feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events. Attribution theory - answer-the theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition. Audition - answer-the sense or act of hearing. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) - answer-a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors. Automatic processing - answer-unconscious encoding of the incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information. Autonomic nervous system (ANS) - answer-the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms. Availability heuristic - answer-estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory. Aversive conditioning - answer-a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol). Axon - answer-the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands. Babbling stage - answer-beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language. Barbiturates - answer-drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment. Basal metabolic rate - answer-the body's resting rate of energy expenditure. Basic research - answer-pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base. Basic trust - answer-according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers. Behavior genetics - answer-the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. Behavior therapy - answer-therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors. Behavioral approach - answer-in personality theory, this perspective focuses on the effects of learning on our development. Behavioral psychology - answer-the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning. Behaviorism - answer-the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). Belief perseverance - answer-clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited. Binge-eating disorder - answer-significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging or fasting that marks bulimia nervosa. Binocular cues - answer-depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes. Biofeedback - answer-a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension. Biological psychology - answer-the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. (Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists.) Biomedical therapy - answer-prescribed medications or procedures that act directly on the person's physiology. Biopsychosocial approach - answer-an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis. Bipolar disorder - answer-a mood disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the over-excited state of mania. (Formerly called manic-depressive disorder.) Blind spot - answer-the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there. Bottom-up processing - answer-Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. Brainstem - answer-the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions. Broca's area - answer-controls language expression—an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech. Bulimia nervosa - answer-an eating disorder in which a person alternates binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) with purging (by vomit ing or laxative use) or fasting. Bystander effect - answer-the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present. Cannon-Bard theory - answer-the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion. Case study - answer-an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. Central nervous system (CNS) - answer-the brain and spinal cord. Central route persuasion - answer-occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. Cerebellum - answer-the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory. Cerebral cortex - answer-the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center. Change blindness - answer-failing to notice changes in the environment. Chromosomes - answer-threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes. Chunking - answer-organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically. Circadian rhythm - answer-the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle. Classical conditioning - answer-a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events. Client-centered therapy - answer-a humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate clients' growth. (Also called person-centered therapy.) Clinical psychology - answer-a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders. Cocaine - answer-a powerful and addictive stimulant, derived from the coca plant, producing temporarily increased alertness and euphoria. Cochlea - answer-a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses. Cochlear implant - answer-a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea. Cognition - answer-all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. Cognitive dissonance theory - answer-the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when we become aware that our attitudes and our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes. Cognitive learning - answer-the acquisition of mental information whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language. Cognitive map - answer-a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it. Cognitive neuroscience - answer-the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language). Cognitive psychology - answer-the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. Cognitive therapy - answer-therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) - answer-a popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior). Cohort - answer-a group of people from a given time period. Collective unconsciousness - answer-Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history. Collectivism - answer-giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly. Color constancy - answer-perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object. Community psychology - answer-a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups. Companionate love - answer-the deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. Concept - answer-a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. Concrete operational stage - answer-in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events. Conditioned reinforcer - answer-a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer. Conditioned response (CR) - answer-in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS). Cond