26 of the Psychology glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
The public image and social dignity a person claims in interaction with others, which can be lost, protected or given; people try to maintain both their own face and that of others.
The extent to which a measure or model appears to show what it claims to, for example how closely an animal's behaviour resembles the human symptom it stands for.
A theory proposing that people in all cultures manage face during conflict, and that values such as individualism–collectivism shape conflict styles through concern for one’s own or others’ face.
A belief that does not match reality; understanding that someone can hold a false belief and will act on it is the standard test of theory of mind in children.
A memory of an event, or a detail of an event, that did not happen or happened differently, which the person nonetheless experiences as genuine.
Improvement in an ability or setting different from the one trained, such as better reasoning after working memory training; near transfer is improvement on closely similar tasks.
A persuasive message that tries to change behaviour by arousing fear of the harmful consequences of not following its recommendation, such as graphic warnings on cigarette packets.
A list of feared situations, ranked by the person from least to most anxiety-provoking, which is worked through step by step in systematic desensitisation or graded exposure.
The tendency for perception of an object to be influenced by its surrounding context, measured for example by the rod and frame test.
An experiment carried out in a real-world setting, such as a school, street or workplace, in which the researcher still manipulates the independent variable.
Written qualitative records made during or soon after an observation, describing what happened, in what context, and the observer’s reflections.
The rapid set of physiological changes, such as increased heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and blood glucose, that prepares an organism to confront or escape an immediate threat.
Broadbent’s (1958) model of attention in which a filter selects one input on the basis of physical features, such as the ear or voice, and blocks the others before their meaning is processed.
A payment, voucher or other reward made conditional on a health-related behaviour or outcome, such as biochemically verified abstinence from smoking.
A vivid, detailed and confidently held memory of the circumstances in which a person learned of a surprising, emotional and important event.
The large rise in average scores on intelligence tests across the twentieth century in many countries, too fast to be genetic and so attributed to environmental change.
A group interview in which a small group of participants, usually about four to ten, discuss a topic together, guided by a moderator.
A compliance technique in which a person is first asked to agree to a small request, which makes them more likely to agree to a larger, related request later.
Gottman's term for four negative communication behaviours during conflict, criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling, which predict relationship breakdown.
The tendency for choices between options with identical outcomes to change depending on how the options are described, for example as gains or as losses.
The capacity of a person to choose how to act, rather than having behaviour fully determined by biological or environmental causes; closely linked to agency, the ability to act intentionally and influence one’s own life.
A table that shows how many times each value or category occurs in a set of data, often with the percentage of the total for each.
The lobe at the front of each cerebral hemisphere, involved in voluntary movement, speech production, planning, decision-making and self-control.
A functional brain imaging technique that tracks changes in blood oxygenation (the BOLD signal) to show which brain areas are more active during a task.
A form of neuroplasticity in which undamaged brain areas take over functions that were carried out by a damaged area, as in recovery after a stroke.
The tendency to overestimate personal or dispositional causes and underestimate situational causes when explaining other people's behaviour.