The Psychology Book

by DK

  Cognitive style The habitual way in which an individual processes information.

  Collective unconscious In Carl Jung’s theory, the deepest level of the psyche, which contains inherited psychic dispositions through the archetypes.

  Conditioned response (CR) A particular response elicited by an initially neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus, which naturally provokes that response.

  Conditioned stimulus (CS) In classical conditioning, a stimulus that comes to elicit a particular (conditioned) response by virtue of having been paired with an unconditional stimulus.

  Contiguity The close occurrence of two ideas or events. This is thought to be necessary for association.

  Control group Participants in an experiment who are not exposed to the manipulation of the researchers during an experiment.

  Correlation A statistical term for the tendency of two data sets or variables to vary in a similar way in a certain set of circumstances. It is often mistaken for causation.

  Crystallized intelligence The collected skills, cognitive abilities, and strategies acquired through the use of fluid intelligence. It is said to increase with age.

  Defense mechanisms In psychoanalytic theory, mental reactions that occur to ward off anxiety by unconscious means.

  Desensitize A process of weakening a strong response to an event or thing by repeated exposure to that stimulus.

  Depression A mood disorder characterized by feelings of hopelessness and low self worth, accompanied by apathy and loss of pleasure. In extreme cases, depression may impair normal functioning and can lead to thoughts of suicide.

  Determinism The doctrine that all events, acts, and choices are determined by past events or previously existing causes.

  Dichotic listening Listening to two different messages that are presented simultaneously, one to each ear.

  Ego A psychoanalytic term for one of three elements of the human persona (see also id, superego); the ego is the rational aspect of personality that is in touch with the outer world and its requirements, and is responsible for controlling the instincts.

  Empiricism A philosophical and psychological approach that assigns the attribution of all knowledge to experience.

  Encoding The processing of sensory information into memory.

  Ethology The scientific study of animal behavior under natural conditions.

  Extraversion A personality type that focuses energy primarily toward the external world and other people (see also introversion).

  Extinction i) The elimination of something, especially a species. ii) The weakening of a strength of response in conditioned learning, due to a lack of reinforcement.

  False memory A recovered memory or pseudomemory of an event that did not take place. It is thought to arise through suggestion.

  Family therapy A general term denoting therapies that treat a whole family, rather than one person, on the assumption that problems lie in the interrelationships within the family system.

  Field theory Kurt Lewin’s model of human behavior, which uses the concept of force fields to explain the “life space” or field of social influences around an individual.

  Fluid intelligence The ability to deal with totally new problems. It is said to decrease with age.

  Free association A technique used in psychotherapy, in which the patient says the first thing that comes to mind after any given word.

  Freudian slip An act or word that is close but different to the one consciously intended, and reflects unconscious motives or anxieties.

  Functionalism A psychological approach that is concerned with investigating the adaptive functions of the mind in relation to its environment.

  Fundamental attribution error The tendency to explain other people’s behavior by reference to personality traits rather than external situational factors.

  General intelligence (“g”) As defined by Charles Spearman, a general factor of intelligence or ability determined through the correlation of scores on various mental tests; Spearman saw it as a measurement of mental energy, but others view it as an individual’s abstract reasoning ability.

  Gestalt psychology A holistic psychological approach that emphasizes the role of the organized “whole,” as opposed to its parts, in mental processes such as perception.

  Humanistic psychology A psychological approach that emphasizes the importance of free will and self-actualization in determining good mental health.

  Hypnosis The induction of a temporary, trancelike state of heightened suggestibility.

  Hypothesis A prediction or statement tested for verification or refutation by experimentation.

  Id A psychoanalytic term for one of three elements of the human persona (see also ego, superego); the id is the source of psychic energy and is allied with the instincts.

  Individual differences All the psychological characteristics that are susceptible to variation between individuals, such as personality or intelligence.

  Inferiority complex A condition, suggested by Adlerian (after founder Alfred Adler) psychoanalysis that is said to develop when a person is unable to deal with real or imagined feelings of inferiority and becomes either belligerent or withdrawn.

  Imprinting In ethology, an innate system of rapid learning that takes place in animals immediately subsequent to birth; it commonly involves developing an attachment to a specific individual or object.

  Innate Inborn or present in an organism from birth; it may or may not be genetically inherited.

  Instincts Natural drives or propensities. In psychoanalysis, these are the dynamic forces that motivate personality and behavior.

  Instrumental conditioning A form of conditioning in which the animal is instrumental in the outcome of events; an example of this type of conditioning would be an animal’s negotiation of a maze.

  Intelligence quotient (IQ) An index of intelligence that allows individuals to be allocated comparative levels of intelligence. First suggested by William Stern, it is calculated by dividing an individual’s mental age by their chronological age, and then multiplying by 100.

  Introspection The oldest psychological method; it consists of self-observation: “looking (spection) within (intro)” one’s own mind to examine and report on one’s own inner state.

  Introversion A personality type that focuses energy primarily toward its own internal thoughts and feelings (see also extraversion).

  Just noticeable difference The smallest difference that can be detected by an individual between two physical stimuli.

  Law of Effect Proposed by Edward Thorndike, this is the principle that, where several responses to an event are possible, those that lead to reward tend to become more strongly associated with the event, while those that lead to punishment become more weakly associated.

  Materialism The doctrine that views only the physical realm as real, and sees mental phenomena as explicable through physical terms.

  Mental age The age at which children of average ability can perform particular tasks, as indicated by levels of performances in standardized tests.

  Mind-body problem The problem of defining the interaction of mental and physical events, first raised by René Descartes.

  Negative reinforcement In instrumental or operant conditioning, the strengthening of a response through the removal of a negative stimulus.

  Neuron A type of nerve cell involved in transmitting messages (as nerve impulses) between different parts of the brain.

  Neuropsychology A subdiscipline of psychology and neurology that is concerned with the structure and function of the brain, and studies the effects of brain disorders on behavior and cognition.

  Nonsense syllables Syllables of t
hree letters that do not form recognized words. They were first used experimentally by Hermann Ebbinghaus in a study of learning and memory.

  Oedipus complex According to psychoanalytic theory, a developmental state that arises around the age of five, during which a boy experiences unconscious desire for his mother and the wish to replace or destroy his father.

  Operant conditioning A form of conditioning in which the outcome depends upon an animal operating upon its environment, such as pressing a lever to obtain food.

  Personality A person’s stable and enduring mental and behavioral traits and characteristics, which incline him or her to behave in a relatively consistent way over time.

  Phenomenology An approach to knowledge based on immediate experience as it occurs, without any attempt to categorize it through preconceptions, assumptions, or interpretations.

  Phobia An anxiety disorder, characterized by intense and usually irrational fear.

  Positive reinforcement A key concept in behaviorism, this is the process of increasing the probability of a response by immediately following the required response with a reward or positive stimulus.

  Pragmatism The doctrine that sees ideas as rules for action; the idea’s validity is measured by its practical consequences.

  Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud’s set of theories and therapeutic methods, which explore the unconscious processes that influence human behavior.

  Psychophysics The scientific study of the relations between mental and physical processes.

  Psychosexual stages In psychoanalytic theory, the developmental stages of childhood, centering on zones of the body through which pleasure is derived.

  Psychotherapy A collective term for all therapeutic treatments that use psychological rather than physical or physiological means.

  Purposive behaviorism Edward Tolman’s theory, which says all behavior is directed toward some ultimate goal.

  Reality principle The set of rules, in psychoanalysis, which govern the ego and take account of the real world and its demands.

  Reflex An automatic reaction to a stimulus.

  Reinforcement In classical conditioning, the procedure that increases the likelihood of a response.

  Replication Repetitions of research or an experiment in all details that lead to the same results. Replication is essential to establish validity of findings.

  Repression In psychoanalytic theory, an ego-defense mechanism that pushes unacceptable thoughts, memories, impulses, or desires beyond conscious awareness. Anna Freud also called it “motivated forgetting.”

  Retrieval Recovering information stored in the memory through a process of search and find.

  Schizophrenia A group of severe mental disorders (originally known as dementia praecox) that cause impairment in multiple areas of functioning. It is characterized by marked disturbance of thought, flat or inappropriate emotions, and distorted visions of reality.

  Self-actualization The full development of one’s potentialities and realization of one’s potential. According to Abraham Maslow, this is the most advanced human need.

  Shaping In behaviorism, the shaping of behavior is the procedure of providing positive reinforcement for successive approximations of a desired response or standard.

  Social learning A theory of learning based on observing the behavior of others and the consequences of those behaviors. Albert Bandura was the foremost proponent of this theory.

  Stimulus Any object, event, situation, or factor in the environment that an individual can detect and respond to.

  Stream of consciousness William James’s description of consciousness as a continuous flowing process of thoughts.

  Structuralism A psychological approach that investigates the structure of the mind.

  Superego In psychoanalysis, the term for the portion of the psyche that is derived from internalizing parental and societal values and standards. It is governed by moral restraints.

  Trait theory The view that individual differences depend largely on underlying character attributes (traits) that remain essentially consistent across time and context.

  Transference In psychoanalysis, the tendency for a patient to transfer emotional reactions from past relationships (particularly parental) onto the therapist.

  Trial and error learning A theory of learning initially proposed by Edward Thorndike that claims learning occurs through the performance of several responses, with the repetition of those that produce desirable results.

  Unconditional positive regard In Carl Rogers’ client-centered therapy, the absolute acceptance of someone purely because he or she is a human being.

  Unconditioned response In classical conditioning, a reflexive (unconditioned, natural) response produced in response to a particular stimulus (e.g. moving a limb away from a painful stimulus).

  Unconditioned stimulus In classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a reflexive (unconditioned, natural) response.

  Unconscious In psychoanalysis, the part of the psyche that cannot be accessed by the conscious mind.

  Validity The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.

  Zeigarnik effect The tendency to recall incomplete or unfinished tasks more easily than completed ones.

  CONTRIBUTORS

  CATHERINE COLLIN

  A clinical psychologist, our consultant Catherine Collin is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer in Psychological Therapies) at the University of Plymouth in England. Catherine’s interests lie in primary care mental health and cognitive behavior therapy.

  NIGEL BENSON

  A lecturer in philosophy and psychology, Nigel Benson has written several bestselling books on the subject of psychology, including Psychology for Beginners and Introducing Psychiatry.

  JOANNAH GINSBURG

  A clinical psychologist and journalist, Joannah Ginsburg works in community treatment centers in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Dallas, and regularly contributes to psychology publications. She is joint author of This Book has Issues: Adventures in Popular Psychology.

  VOULA GRAND

  As a business psychologist, Voula Grand consults for international corporations on leadership and executive performance. Her first novel is Honor’s Shadow. She is currently writing the sequel, Honor’s Ghost.

  MERRIN LAZYAN

  A writer, editor, and classical singer, Merrin Lazyan studied psychology at Harvard University and has worked on several fiction and nonfiction books, spanning a broad range of topics.

  MARCUS WEEKS

  A writer and musician, Marcus Weeks studied philosophy and worked as a teacher before embarking on a career as an author. He has contributed to many books on the arts and popular sciences.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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  First American Edition 2012

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