- Axon – The part of a neuron that transmits information to other neurons, muscles or glands
- Behavior – Observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals
- Behavioral Neuroscience – An approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes
- Behaviorism – An approach that advocates that psychologists restrict themselves to the scientific study of objectively observable behavior
- Case Method – A method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual
- Cell Body – The part of neuron that coordinates information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive
- Cognitive Neuroscience – A field that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity
- Cognitive Psychology – A field of psychology that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity; Remembering, attending, thinking, believing, evaluating, feeling and assessing; Perception, thought, memory and reasoning
- Consciousness – A person’s subjective experiences of the world and the mind
- Control Group – One of the two groups of participants created by the manipulation of an independent variable in an experiment that is not exposed to the stimulus being studied
- Correlation – The “co-relationship” or pattern of covariation between two variables, each of which has been measured several times
- Debriefing – A verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study that psychologists provide to people after they have participated in a study
- Demand Characteristics – Those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think an observer wants or expects them to behave
- Dendrites – The part of a neuron that receives information from other neurons and relays it to the cell body
- Dependent Variable – The variable that is measured in a study
- Double Blind Observation – An observation whose true purpose is hidden from the researcher as well as from the participant
- Evolutionary Psychology – A psychological approach that explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection
- Cultural Psychology – The study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members
- Electromyograph (EMG) – A device that measures muscle contractions under the surface of a person’s skin
- Empiricism – Originally a Greek school of medicine that stressed the importance of observation, and is now generally used to describe any attempt to acquire knowledge by observing objects or events
- Experiment – A technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables
- Experiment Group – One of the two groups of participants created by the manipulation of an independent variable in an experiment; the experimental group is exposed to the stimulus and the control group is not
- External Validity – A characteristic of an experiment in which the independent and dependent variables are operationally defined in a normal, typical or realistic way
- Functionalism – The study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment
- Gestalt Psychology – A psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts
- Glial Cells – Support cells found in the nervous system
- Humanistic Psychology – An approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings
- Hypothesis – A specific and testable prediction that is usually derived from a theory
- Hysteria – A temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiences
- Independent Variable – The variable that is manipulated in an experiment
- Informed Consent – A written agreement to participate in a study made by a person who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail.
- Internal Validity – The characteristic of an experiment that allows one to draw accurate inferences about the causal relationship between an independent and dependent variable.
- Interneurons – Neurons that connect sensory neurons, motor neurons and other interneurons.
- Introspection – The subjective observation of one’s own experiences.
- Measure – A device that can detect the measurable events to which an operational definition refers.
- Method – A set of rules and techniques for observation that allow researchers to avoid the illusions, mistakes and erroneous conclusions that simple observation can produce.
- Mind – Our private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories and feelings.
- Motor Neurons – Neurons that carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement.
- Myelin Sheath – An insulating layer of fatty material in the brain that surrounds the axons of neurons.
- Nativism – The philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn (nature); stemmed from Plato.
- Natural Selection – Charles Darwin’s theory that the features of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely than other features to be passed to subsequent generations.
- Naturalistic Observation – A method of gathering scientific knowledge by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environment.
- Neurons – Cells in the nervous system that communicate with one another to perform information-processing tasks.
- Operational Definition – A description of an abstract property in terms of a concrete condition that can be measured.
- Philosophical Empiricism – The philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired (nurture); stemmed from Aristotle
- Physiology – The study of biological processes, especially in the human body.
- Phrenology – A now defunct theory that specific mental abilities and characteristics ranging from memory to the capacity for happiness are localized in specific regions of the brain.
- Population – The complete collection of participants who might possibly be studied.
- Power – The tendency for a measure to produce different results when it is used to measure different things.
- Psychoanalysis – A therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders.
- Psychoanalytic Theory – Sigmund Freud’s approach to understanding human behavior that emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts and behaviors.
- Psychology – The scientific study of the mind and behavior; from Greek psyche (mind) and logos (behavior).
- Random Sampling – A technique for choosing participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in a sample.
- Reaction Time – The amount of time taken to respond to a specific stimulus.
- Reliability – The tendency for a measure to produce the same result whenever it is used to to measure the same thing.
- Resting Potential – The difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron’s cell membrane.
- Sample – The partial collection of people who actually were measured in a study.
- Sensory Neurons – Neurons that receive information from the external world and convey this information to the brain via the spinal cord.
- Social Psychology – A subfield of psychology that studies the causes and consequences of interpersonal behavior.
- Stimulus – Sensory input from the environment.
- Structuralism – The analysis of basic elements that constitute the mind; involves breaking down consciousness into elemental sensations and feelings.
- Synapse – The junction or region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another.
- Theory – A hypothetical account of how and why a phenomenon occurs, usually in the form of a statement about the causal relationship between two or more properties; lead to hypotheses.
- Validity – The characteristic of an observation that allows one to draw accurate inferences from it.
- Variable – A property whose value can vary of change.
- Unconscious – The part of the mind that operates outside of conscious awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings and actions.