A biologically based drive linked to survival, such as hunger, thirst or the need for sleep, that arises from a physiological state of the body.
68 of the Psychology glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
Analysing data in many different ways, such as adding participants, dropping outliers or testing subgroups, and reporting only the analyses that reach statistical significance, which inflates the rate of false positives.
The probability of obtaining a result at least as extreme as the one observed if the null hypothesis were true; a small p-value means the data would be surprising if there were no real effect.
The formation of a lasting, selective relationship between two mating partners, shown by a preference for the partner over others and by shared care of offspring.
A parent’s general pattern of child-rearing, usually described by warmth and control; for example authoritative, authoritarian, permissive or uninvolved.
The lobe at the top and back of each cerebral hemisphere, involved in processing touch, body position and spatial information.
Reinforcing a behaviour only some of the times it occurs, which slows learning but makes the behaviour much more resistant to extinction than continuous reinforcement.
A distortion of findings caused by participants changing their behaviour or answers because they know they are being studied, for example to help the researcher or to look good.
An observation in which the researcher joins the group being studied and takes part in its activities while recording behaviour.
Characteristics of individual participants, such as age, ability, personality or mood, that could affect the dependent variable if they are not equal across conditions.
A laboratory measure of pair bonding in animals in which an animal chooses between its familiar mate and an unfamiliar one; spending more time with the mate shows a preference.
A group of people of roughly the same age and social status who interact regularly and influence one another, such as classmates or friends.
The effect that people of similar age and status have on an individual’s attitudes, values and behaviour, through direct pressure, example or the wish to fit in.
A form of modelling in which the model is a peer similar to the observer in age or status, used in interventions to change behaviours such as eating, smoking or studying.
A teaching arrangement in which learners of similar age or ability teach one another, so that the tutor acts as a similar model and both tutor and tutee can benefit.
A cognitive process that organises and interprets information from the senses, so that sensations are experienced as meaningful objects and events.
The developmental process in which infants lose the ability to tell apart sounds or faces they do not experience, while becoming better at those they do, mainly between 6 and 12 months.
Reflection on how a researcher's own values, experiences, culture, gender and relationship with participants may have shaped the research.
The standpoint from which behaviour is explained and studied, including the approach used, its assumptions, and whose viewpoint (researcher, participant or culture) shapes the questions and interpretation.
A person’s understanding of how others try to influence them, which can make compliance techniques less effective once the person recognises that a technique is being used.
The observable or measurable characteristics of a person, such as height or anxiety level, which result from the interaction of their genotype and environment.
An anxiety disorder involving an intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation, such as heights or spiders, which the person avoids or endures with great distress.
The component of the working memory model that holds speech-based information, made up of a phonological store (inner ear) and an articulatory rehearsal process (inner voice).
A discredited 19th-century theory that personality traits are located in specific brain areas whose size can be read from bumps on the skull.
A stage theory proposing that children construct knowledge through assimilation and accommodation, passing through sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational stages in a fixed order.
A circular graph divided into slices whose sizes show each category’s share of a whole; useful for a few categories that add up to 100%.
A small trial run of a study’s procedure or data collection tool with a few people before the main study, used to find and fix problems such as unclear questions or timing.
A small endocrine gland below the hypothalamus that releases hormones controlling most other glands, and releases oxytocin and vasopressin into the blood.
An inactive treatment, such as a sugar pill or a sham procedure, given to a control group so that the effect of a real treatment can be separated from the effect of expecting to be treated.
A situation in which most members of a group privately reject a norm but wrongly believe that most others accept it, so they go along with it.
A single number that adds up the effects of many genetic variants a person carries, each weighted by its association with a trait in a genome-wide association study, to estimate genetic tendency towards that trait.
A group of people who share common characteristics and about whom a researcher wants to study and draw conclusions, such as final-year students at schools in one city.
The motivation to see one's in-group as different from and better than relevant out-groups, which social identity theory proposes maintains a positive social identity.
Idealised perceptions of a romantic partner that are more favourable than the partner's own self-view, linked to greater relationship satisfaction and stability.
Strengthening a behaviour by following it with a desirable stimulus, such as food, praise or money.
A way of testing a hypothesis by examining cases that the hypothesis predicts should have the property in question, rather than cases it predicts should not.
The view that knowledge should be based on observable and measurable evidence, collected and tested through the scientific method, with the aim of discovering general laws of behaviour.
A functional brain imaging technique that detects a radioactive tracer injected into the blood, showing how much glucose or another substance different brain areas use.
Dissonance that follows a choice between similarly attractive options, usually reduced by rating the chosen option more positively and the rejected option more negatively (the spreading of alternatives).
A mental health disorder that can follow a traumatic event, involving intrusive memories, avoidance of reminders, negative changes in mood and thinking, and heightened arousal.
A cultural dimension describing how far the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally, for example between parents and children or managers and employees.
The extent to which an effect is large enough to matter in real life, for example to change behaviour or justify an intervention; it is judged from the effect size and context, not from the p-value.
Publicly recording a study’s hypotheses, procedure and planned analysis before the data are collected, so that confirmatory tests can be told apart from analyses chosen after seeing the results.
The extent to which a measure or model correctly predicts later outcomes, for example whether drugs that work in an animal model also work in humans.
The front part of the frontal lobe, involved in executive functions such as planning, working memory, decision-making, impulse control and social behaviour; it is the last brain region to mature.
A negative attitude towards members of a group based on their group membership, made up of beliefs (stereotypes), feelings and readiness to act.
The principle that a more frequent, preferred activity can reinforce a less frequent one when access to the preferred activity depends on doing the other first.
The proportion of a population that has a condition at a particular time (point prevalence) or at any time in their life (lifetime prevalence), usually given as a percentage.
Any strategy that aims to stop a health problem developing (primary prevention), to detect and act on it early (secondary) or to reduce its harm once established (tertiary).
A biologically based drive linked to survival, such as hunger, thirst or the need for sleep, that arises from a physiological state of the body.
A reinforcer that satisfies a biological need and works without learning, such as food, water, warmth or relief from pain.
Cialdini’s six general rules that make people more likely to agree to requests: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity.
The knowledge a learner already holds in long-term memory before meeting new material, organised in schemas to which the new material can be linked.
The lack of any attachment bond, because a child never had the opportunity to form one, for example in an institution with many changing carers.
A planned follow-up question in an interview that asks the participant for more detail, such as an example, what happened next or how something felt.
A type of long-term memory for skills and how to do things, such as riding a bicycle, which is expressed in performance rather than consciously recalled.
Research that records exposures or experiences as they happen and then follows participants forward in time to measure later outcomes, avoiding reliance on memory.
The principle that participants should face no greater risk of physical or psychological harm than in everyday life, and that researchers must stop and support them if harm occurs.
A characteristic of a person, family or community that reduces the likelihood of a negative outcome in the presence of risk or adversity, such as a caring adult.
A descriptive norm that refers to people in the same specific setting as the target, such as previous guests in the same hotel room, rather than people in general.
The emotional side of adapting to a new culture: a person’s well-being, self-esteem and mental health, including the absence of depression and anxiety, during acculturation.
The ability to apply psychological knowledge to personal, social and real-world problems in a critical, ethical and culturally aware way, including understanding how psychological research is carried out.
An unpleasant motivational state that arises when a person feels their freedom to choose is threatened, leading them to resist the pressure or do the opposite of what is asked.
A treatment of a mental health disorder that works by changing a person’s thoughts, emotions, behaviour or relationships through structured contact with a trained practitioner, rather than by acting directly on the body.
The study of the interactions between psychological processes, the nervous and endocrine systems and the immune system, including how stress can suppress immune function.
The tendency for studies with positive or statistically significant results to be published more often than studies with null or negative results, so that the published research overstates an effect.
Any consequence that makes a behaviour less likely, either by adding an unpleasant stimulus (positive punishment) or removing a desirable one (negative punishment).
A sampling technique in which the researcher deliberately chooses participants who have the characteristics or experiences the study needs, common in qualitative research.