26 of the Psychology glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
Gamma-aminobutyric acid: the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, which makes neurons less likely to fire and is the target of alcohol and anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines.
The use of game design elements such as points, badges, levels, leaderboards and streaks in non-game settings, such as learning, to motivate behaviour.
A systematic distortion in how people of different genders are studied, described, diagnosed or treated, either by exaggerating differences between them or by ignoring real differences.
A set of behaviours, attitudes and activities that a culture considers appropriate for males or for females, learned through socialisation from early childhood.
A cognitive theory that children build mental frameworks of what their culture links with each gender and then use them to guide attention, memory and their own behaviour.
A section of DNA on a chromosome that carries the code for making a protein, and that is passed from parents to their children.
A situation in which the effect of an environmental factor on a behaviour or disorder depends on a person’s genotype, or the effect of a genotype depends on the environment.
The tendency for people’s genes and environments to be related, because parents pass on both, because traits evoke reactions, and because people choose environments that suit them.
Selye’s model of the body’s non-specific response to any prolonged stressor, in three stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion, in which illness becomes more likely.
The extent to which the findings of a study can be applied to people, settings and times beyond the sample studied; also called external validity.
The transmission of traits from parents to their children through the genes they pass on.
A research method that scans hundreds of thousands of genetic variants across the genome in very large samples to find variants statistically associated with a trait or disorder.
The particular set of alleles that a person carries, either for one gene or across their whole genome.
The working memory resources a learner devotes to processing the material and constructing schemas; the revised theory treats it as part of the capacity used for intrinsic load.
The increasing economic, social and cultural interconnection of societies across the world, driven by trade, migration, travel and communication technologies, which speeds up cultural diffusion.
The main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, involved in almost all fast signalling between neurons and in strengthening synapses during learning and memory.
A theory proposing that specific, challenging goals lead to higher performance than vague or easy goals, provided people are committed to them, receive feedback and have the ability to reach them.
A classroom management method in which teams win privileges if members break class rules fewer than a set number of times, so each pupil’s behaviour affects the whole team.
The tendency to remember less of information that one expects to be able to find again online, while remembering better where it can be found.
Brain tissue made up mainly of neuron cell bodies, dendrites and synapses, which forms the cerebral cortex; its volume is measured in structural brain scans.
The ways people think, feel and act as members of groups, including conformity, compliance, intergroup relations and how individuals become part of a group.
The tendency for a group's attitudes or decisions after discussion to be more extreme, in the direction members already leaned, than the average of their individual views before discussion.
A mode of thinking in a cohesive group in which the wish for agreement overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives, leading to poor decisions.
The belief that intellectual abilities can be developed through effort, effective strategies and help from others, as opposed to a fixed mindset, the belief that ability cannot change.
A process of enculturation in which children learn by taking part in real community activities alongside more experienced people, who adjust their support as the child’s skill grows.