A's

Question 0

Absolute threshold

Answer 0

Point on the continuum of a physical dimension where an increase in physical stimulation results in the initial perception of a stimulus

Question 1

Ablation

Answer 1

Method of studying the brain, pioneered by Flourens, in which the function of some brain area is assessed after the portion of the brain had been destroyed.

Question 2

Accommodation

Answer 2

Visual phenomenon described by Berkeley; the tendency of the lens of the eye to change shape as objects move toward and away from the person

Question 3

Act Psychology

Answer 3

Brentano’s position that psychology should be the study of mental acts, not mental contents; with the perception of some event, for example, one should not analyze it into its elements, but examine the act of perception (how the individual perceives the event and what the event means to the individual)

Question 4

Algorithm

Answer 4

In math and computer science, a set of rules guaranteed to produce an eventual solution to a problem by exhaustively working through all possible solitons

Question 5

Analytical psychology

Answer 5

Jung’s theory of psychology, which differed from Freud’s in a number of ways, including a decreased emphasis on sex

Question 6

Anecdotal evidence

Answer 6

Research method in which evidence takes the form of an accumulation of examples supporting some principle or theory; associated with Romanes and the origins of comparative psychology; also used by phrenologists; heavy reliance on such evidence leads one to ignore counterinstances that might disprove a hypothesis

Question 7

Animal magnetism

Answer 7

Belief held by Mesmer and contemporaries that living organisms were influences by magnetic forces and that cures for illness could result from the proper use of magnets

Question 8

Animal spirits

Answer 8

Hypothetical essence once believed to inhabit the nervous system and to be the driving force behind muscle movement

Question 9

Anna O. Case

Answer 9

Famous case of hysteria treated by Breuer and reported by Breuer and Freud in Studies on Hysteria; gave Freud the insight that hysterics suffer from their memories of traumatic events; details distorted over the years.

Question 10

Anthropomorphism

Answer 10

Tendency to attribute human characteristics to nonhuman entitles; associated with Romanes and the origins of comparative psychology

Question 11

Antithesis

Answer 11

Darwin’s principle of emotions that were the opposite of each other were reflected in expression that were likewise opposed

Question 12

Apparent Motion

Answer 12

Phenomenon studied by Wertheimer in which stationary stimuli appear to move under certain circumstances

Question 13

Apperception

Answer 13

A high level of awareness, which we focus our full attention on some object and apprehend is fully; associated with Leibniz originally; central concept for Wundt’s psychology

Question 14

Approach-approach conflict

Answer 14

For Lewin, a situation in which a conflict exists within a person, resulting from having to make a choice between two goals with a positive valence

Question 15

Approach-avoidance conflict p

Answer 15

For Lewin, a situation in which a conflict exists within a person, occurring when a goal elicits both approach and avoidance tendencies

Question 16

Archive

Answer 16

A repository of unpublished data of use to historians

Question 17

Argument from design

Answer 17

Explained the great complexity in nature by arguing that it requires a super being to produce it; associated with Reverend Paley

Question 18

Army Alpha

Answer 18

Group intelligence test developed by Yerkes for testing the abilities of literate soldiers in WWI

Question 19

Army Beta

Answer 19

Group intelligence test developed by Yerkes for testing the abilities of literate soldiers in WWI

Question 20

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Answer 20

The study of whether nonhuman technological systems can be said to act with some degree of human-like intelligence

Question 21

Association

Answer 21

For Locke, analogous to Newtonian gravity; a force that attracts ideas

Question 22

Associationism

Answer 22

Philosophical school of thought, related to empiricism, that emphasizes the rules by which relationships between ideas and experiences are formed

Question 23

Atomism

Answer 23

Belief that nature can be understood best by reducing complexity to its smallest, most fundamental elements

Question 24

Attributes

Answer 24

In Titchener’s system, these were the ways of classifying the various elements of conscious experience; for example, the element of sensation had the attributes of quality, intensity, duration, and clarity

Question 25

Attrition

Answer 25

Methodological problem in longitudinal research, when participants drop out of the study; notably low in Terman’s longitudinal study of giftedness

Question 26

Avoidance-avoidance conflict

Answer 26

For Lewin, a situation in which a conflict exists within a person, resulting from having to make a choice between two goals with a negative valence