B

Question 1

Any of a family of drugs derived from barbituric acid that depress activity of the central nervous system
- They typically induce profound tolerance and withdrawal symptoms and depress respiration
- Use of these became common in the 1930s, but they were rapidly supplanted in the 1970s by the benzodiazepines, which lack the lethality associated with overdose
- The prototype of the group, barbital, was introduced into medical practice in 1903

Answer 1

Barbiturate

Question 2

A group of nuclei (neuron cell bodies) deep within the cerebral hemispheres of the brain that includes the caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, and subthalamic nucleus
- The putamen and globus pallidus are together known as the lenticular nucleus and caudate nucleus are together known as the corpus striatum, and the caudate nucleus and putamen are together called the striatum
- They are involved in the generation of goal directed voluntary movement

Answer 2

Basal Ganglia

Question 3

The naturally occurring frequency of a phenomenon in a population
- This rate is often contrasted with the rate of the phenomenon under the influence of some changed condition in order to determine the degree to which the change influences the phenomenon

Answer 3

Base Rate

Question 4

A decision making error in which information about rate of occurrence of some trait in a population (the base rate information) is ignored or not given appropriate weight
- For example, people might categorize a man as an engineer, rather than a lawyer, if they heard that he enjoyed physics at school, even if they knew that he was drawn from a population consisting of 90% lawyers and 10% engineers

Answer 4

Base Rate Fallacy

Question 5

In ego psychology, a feeling of being helpless, abandoned, and endangered in a hostile world
- According to German born U.S. Psychoanalyst Karen D. Horney ( 1885 - 1952), it arises from the infant’s helplessness and dependence on his or her parents or from parental indifference
- Defenses against this and hostility may produce neurotic needs

Answer 5

Basic Anxiety

Question 6

A category formed at the level that people find most natural and appropriate in their normal, everyday experience of the things so categorized
- One of these ( eg, bird, table) will be broader than the more subordinate categories into which it can be divided ( eg, hawk, dining table) but less abstract than the superordinates category into which it can be subsumed eg, animals, furniture)

Answer 6

Basic Level Category

Question 7

Research conducted in order to obtain knowledge or to develop or advance a theory

Answer 7

Basic Research

Question 8

The first of Erikson’s eight stages of development, between birth and 18 months of age
- During this stage, the infant either comes to view other people and himself or herself as trustworthy or comes to develop fundamental distrust of his or her environment
- The growth of basic trust, considered essential for the later development of self esteem and positive interpersonal relationships, is attributed to a primary caregiver who is responsively attuned to the baby’s individual needs while conveying the quality of trustworthiness, while the growth of basic distrust is attributed to neglect, lack of love, or nonconsistent treatment

Answer 8

Basic Trust vs Mistrust

Question 9

The effects on a child of intentional and repeated physical abuse by parents or other caregivers
- In addition to sustaining physical injuries, the child is at increased risk of experiencing longer term problems, such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, decreased self esteem, and sexual and other behavioral difficulties

Answer 9

Battered Child Syndrome

Question 10

The psychological effects of being physically abused by a spouse or domestic partner
- The syndrome includes learned helplessness in relation to the abusive spouse, as well as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder

Answer 10

Battered Woman Syndrome

Question 11

A formula derived from probability theory that relates to conditional probabilities; the probability of event A, given that event B has occurred, p(A|B), and the probability of event B, given that event A has occurred, p(A|B)
- It is expressed as p(A|B)p(B) = p(B|A)p(A)
[Thomas Bayes (1702 - 1761), British mathematician and theologian]

Answer 11

Bayes Theorem

Question 12

Scales of assessing the developmental status of infants and young children aged 1 month to 42 months
- Test stimuli such as foam boards, blocks, shapes, household objects (eg, utensils), and other common items, are used to engage the child in specific tasks of increasing difficulty and elicit particular responses
- These scales were originally published in 1969 and subsequently revised in 1993; the most recent version is the Bayley III, published in 2005
[Developed by U.S. Psychologist Nancy Bayley ( 1899 - 1994)]

Answer 12

Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development

Question 13

The popular name for the hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London, founded as a monastery in 1247 and converted into a mental institution in 1547
- Many of the patients were in a state of frenzy as they were shackled, starved, beaten and exhibited to the public for a penny a look, general turmoil prevailed
-The word thus became synonymous with wild confusion or frenzy

Answer 13

Bedlam

Question 14

An experimental design in which one or more groups of participants are measured both prior to and following administration of the treatment or manipulation

Answer 14

Before After Design

Question 15

1. An organism’s activities in response to external or internal stimuli, including objectively observable activities, introspectively observable activities, and unconscious processes
2. More restrictively, any action or function that can be objectively observed or measured in response to controlled stimuli
   - Historically, objective behavior was contrasted by behaviorists with mental activities, which were considered subjective and thus unsuitable for scientific study

Answer 15

Behavior

Question 16

The decomposition of behavior into its component parts or processes
- This approach to psychology emphasizes interactions between behavior and the environment

Answer 16

Behavior Analysis

Question 17

Any persistent and repetitive pattern of behavior that violates societal norms or rules or that seriously impairs a person’s functioning
- The term is used in a very general sense to cover a wide range of disorders or other syndromes

Answer 17

Behavior Disorder

Question 18

The use of operant conditioning, biofeedback, modeling, aversive conditioning, reciprocal inhibition or other learning techniques as a means of changing human behavior
- For example, it is used in clinical contexts to improve adaptation and alleviate symptoms and in industrial and organizational contexts to encourage employees to adopt safe work practices
- The term is often used synonymously with behavior therapy

Answer 18

Behavior Modification

Question 19

A recording or evaluation (or both) of the ongoing behavior of one or more research participants by one or more observers
- Observations may be made using charts, checklists, rating scales, ect…) either directly as the behavior occurs or from such media as film, videotape, or audiotape

Answer 19

Behavior Observation

Question 20

The assumption that behavior, including it’s acquisition, development, and maintenance can be adequately explained by principles of learning
- Attempts to describe environmental influences on behavior, often using controlled studies of animals

Answer 20

Behavior Theory

Question 21

A form of psychotherapy that applies the principles of learning, operant conditioning, and Pavlovian conditioning to eliminate symptoms and ineffective or maladaptive patterns of behavior
- The focus of this therapy is upon the behavior itself and the contingencies and environmental factors that reinforce it, rather than exploration of the underlying psychological causes of the behavior
- A wide variety of techniques are used such as biofeedback, modeling, and systematic desensitization

Answer 21

Behavior Therapy

Question 22

A brain system theorized to underlie incentive motivation by activating approach behaviors in response to stimuli related to positive reinforcement
- It has been suggested that the system is associated as well with the generation of positive affective responses, and that a strong or chronically active one tends to result in extroversion

Answer 22

Behavioral Approach System

Question 23

The systematic study and evaluation of an individual’s behavior using a wide variety of techniques, including direct observation, interviews, and self monitoring
- When used to identify patterns indicative of disorder, the procedure is called behavioral diagnosis and is essential in deciding upon the use of specific behavioral or cognitive behavioral interventions

Answer 23

Behavioral Assessment

Question 24

An agreement between therapist and client in which the client agrees to carry out certain behaviors, usually between sessions but sentences during the session as well

Answer 24

Behavioral Contract

Question 25

A couples therapy that focuses on interrupting negative interaction patterns through instruction, modeling, rehearsal, feedback, positive behavior exchange, and structured problem solving
- When practiced with legally married patients, it is called behavioral marital therapy

Answer 25

Behavioral Couples Therapy

Question 26

The study of the relationships between behavior and the functioning of the endocrine glands and neuroendocrine glands
- For example gonadal secretion of sex hormones affects sexual behavior and secretion of corticosteroids by the adrenal glands affects physiological and behavioral responses to stress

Answer 26

Behavioral Endocrinology

Question 27

The study of familial or hereditary behavior patterns and of the genetic mechanisms of behavior traits

Answer 27

Behavioral Genetics

Question 28

A temperamental predisposition characterized by restraint in engaging with the world combined with a tendency to scrutinize the environment for potential threats and to avoid or withdraw from unfamiliar situations or people

Answer 28

Behavioral Inhibition

Question 29

A brain system theorized to underlie behavioral inhibition by activating avoidance behaviors in response to perceived threats
- It has been suggested that the system is associated as well with the generation of negative affective responses, and that a strong or chronically active system tends to result in introversion

Answer 29

Behavioral Inhibition System

Question 30

A multidisciplinary field that applies behavioral theories and methods to prevention and treatment of medical and psychologically disorders
- Areas of application include chronic illness, lifestyle issues (eg, tobacco, drugs, alcohol, obesity), somatoform disorders, and the like

Answer 30

Behavioral Medicine

Question 31

A conceptualization of psychological disorders in terms of overt behavior patterns produced by learning and the influence of reinforcement contingencies
- Treatment techniques, including systematic desensitization and modeling, focus on modifying ineffective or maladaptive patterns

Answer 31

Behavioral Model

Question 32

A branch of neuroscience and biological psychology that seeks to understand and characterize the specific neural circuitry and mechanisms underlying behavioral propensities or capacities

Answer 32

Behavioral Neuroscience

Question 33

Any of a number of disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and anthropology that study the behavior of humans and nonhuman animals from a scientific and research perspective

Answer 33

Behavioral Science

Question 34

The experimental analysis, especially as carried out by U.S. Social psychologist Stanley Milgram (1933- 1984) in the 1960s, of individuals willingness to obey the orders of an authority
- In Milgram’s experiment, each participant played the role of a teacher who was instructed to deliver painful electric shocks to another “participant” for each failure to answer a question correctly
- The latter were in fact confederates who did not actually receive shocks for their many deliberate errors
-Milgram found that a substantial number of participants (65%) were completely obedient, delivering what they believed were shocks of increasing intensity despite the protestations and apparent suffering of the victim

Answer 34

Behavioral Study of Obedience

Question 35

An approach to psychology, formulated in 1913 by U.S. Psychologist John B. Watson (1878 - 1959), based on the study of objective, observable facts rather then subjective, qualitative processes such as feelings, motives, and consciousness
- To make psychology a naturalistic science, Watson proposed to limit it to quantitative events, such as stimulus response relationships, effects of conditioning, physiological processes, and a study of human and animal behavior
- All of which can be best investigated through laboratory experiments that yield objective measures under controlled conditions
- Historically, behaviorists held that mind was not a proper topic for scientific study since mental events are subjective and not independently verifiable

Answer 35

Behaviorism

Question 36

1. Acceptance of the truth, reality, or validity of something (eg, a phenomenon, a person’s veracity), particularly in the absence of substantiation
2. An association of some characteristic or attribute, usually evaluative in nature, with an attitude object (eg, this car is reliable)

Answer 36

Belief

Question 37

The tendency to be influenced by one’s knowledge about the world in evaluating conclusions and to accept them as true because they are believable rather than because they are logically valid
- Most often assessed with syllogistic reasoning tasks in which the believability of the conclusion conflicts with logical validity

Answer 37

Belief Bias

Question 38

The idea that people get what they deserve, and that the world is orderly and fair
- In other words, bad things happen to bad people, and good things happen to good people
- There is large body of evidence that this belief affects people’s behaviors and attitudes, often through secondary victimization of innocent victims or the promotion of helping behavior

Answer 38

Belief in a Just World

Question 39

The tendency to maintain a belief even after the information that originally gave rise to it has been refuted, otherwise shown to be inaccurate

Answer 39

Belief Perseverance

Question 40

A set of two or more beliefs, attitudes, or both that are associated with one another in memory

Answer 40

Belief System

Question 41

The characteristic curve obtained by plotting a graph of a normal distribution
- With a large rounded peak tapering off on either side, it resembles a cross section representational of a bell

Answer 41

Bell Curve

Question 42

The principle that the ventral roots of the spinal cord are motor in function and dorsal roots are sensory
- Charles Bell ( 1774 - 1842), British surgeon and anatomist
- François Magendie (1783 - 1855), French physiologist

Answer 42

Bell Magendie Law

Question 43

The tendency of a person to underestimate his or her intellectual and social abilities relative to others
- It is common when the skill in question is relatively hard (eg, sculpting human figures from clay) whereas the opposite generally occurs when the skill in question is relatively easy (eg, operating a computer mouse)

Answer 43

Below Average Effect

Question 44

A visuoconstructive test used to assess visual motor functioning and perceptual ability as well as to diagnose neurological impairment
- The participant copies line drawings of geometric figures onto blank pieces of paper, and these reproductions are scored on a 5 point scale, ranging from 0 (no resemblance) to 4 (nearly perfect)
- Originally developed in 1938, the test is now in its 2nd edition (published in 2003)
[Lauretta Bender (1897 - 1987), U.S. Psychologist ]

Answer 44

Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test

Question 45

1.In mental health, denoting a disorder or illness that is not serious and has a favorable prognosis
2. Denoting a condition that is relatively mild, transient, or not associated with serious pathology

Answer 45

Benign

Question 46

Any of a family of drugs that depress central nervous system activity and also produce sedation and relaxation of skeletal muscles
- Commonly used in the treatment or generalized anxiety and insomnia and are useful in the management of acute withdrawal from alcohol and in seizure disorders
- Clinically introduced in the 1960s, they rapidly supplanted the barbiturates, largely due to their significantly lower toxicity in overdose
- Prolonged use can lead to tolerance and psychological and physical dependence

Answer 46

Benzodiazepine

Question 47

A feeling of loss, especially over the death of a friend or loved one
- The person may experience emotional pain and distress and may or may not express this distress to others

Answer 47

Bereavement

Question 48

The probability of a type II error

Answer 48

Beta

Question 49

An electroencephalograpy, the type of brain wavee (frequency 13- 30 Hz) associated with alert wakefulness and intense mental activity

Answer 49

Beta Wave

Question 50

In regression analysis, the multiplicative constant that reflects a variable’s contribution to the prediction of a criterion, given the other variables in the prediction equation (eg; b in y = a +bx)

Answer 50

Beta Weight

Question 51

The variation in experimental scores that is attributable only to membership in different groups and exposure to different experimental conditions
- it is reflected in the analysis of variance by the degree to which the several group means differ from one another and is compared with within group variance to obtain an F ratio

Answer 51

Between Group Variance

Question 52

Any of a large number of experimental designs in which each participant experiences only one experimental condition (treatment)

Answer 52

Between Subjects Design

Question 53

1. Partiality; an inclination or predisposition for or against something
2. A tendency or preference, such as response type
3. In research, systematic and directional error arising during sampling, data collection, data analysis, or data interpretation
4. In statistics, the difference between the expected value of a statistic and the actual value that is obtained

Answer 53

Bias

Question 54

A model of the primary dimensions of individual differences in personality
- The dimensions are usually labeled extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness (denoting the tendency to act in a cooperative, unselfish manner), conscientiousness (denoting the tendency to be responsible and hard working), and openness to experience (denoting a willingness to participate in new aesthetic, cultural, or intellectual experiences) though the labels vary somewhat among researchers

Answer 54

Big Five Personality Model

Question 55

Any two letter combination
- In psycholinguistic research, the term typically refers to a within word consecutive character sequence (eg; paper contains the bigrams pa, ap, pe, and er ), whereas in learning and memory research it generally refers to a freestanding non word (eg;TL,KE)

Answer 55

Bigram

Question 56

Denoting or relating to both sides of the body or an organ
- For example, this type of symmetry is the symmetrical arrangement of an organism’s body such that the right and left halves are approximately mirror images of one another; this type of transfer is the transfer of training or patterns of performance for a skill from one side of the body, where the skill (eg, handwriting) was originally learned and primarily used to the other side of the body

Answer 56

Bilateral

Question 57

Instruction in two languages, typically in one’s native language and in the dominant language of the country in which one is educated
- In the 1970s, the United States adopted this type of educational program to help immigrant children learn English
- By providing the ability to perform equivalent academic work in two languages, this kind of education enables children to do regular school work with their English speaking classmates, thus receiving an equal educational opportunity

Answer 57

Bilingual Education

Question 58

The regular use of two or more languages by a person or within a group of people

Answer 58

Bilingualism

Question 59

A set of scores that has two modes (represented by two peaks in their graphical distribution), reflecting a tendency for scores to cluster around two separate values

Answer 59

Bimodal Distribution

Question 60

Any difference in the sound arriving at the two ears from a given sound source (interaural difference) that acts as a cue to permit auditory localization
- The conmen cues are interaural level differences, interaural time differences, and interaural phase differences

Answer 60

Binaural Cue

Question 61

The difficulty of perceiving and representing different features, or conjunctions of properties, as one object or event
- This problem arises because different attributes of a stimulus (eg; hue, form, spatial location, motion) are analyzed by different areas of the cerebral cortex; it is relevant in all areas of knowledge representation, including such complex cognitive representations as theory of mind

Answer 61

Binding Problem

Question 62

A disorder marked by recurring episodes of binge eating (ie; discrete periods of uncontrolled consumption of abnormally large quantities of food) and distress associated with this behavior
- There is an absence of inappropriate compensatory behavior (eg; vomiting, laxative misuse, excess vs exercising, fasting)

Answer 62

Binge Eating Disorder

Question 63

Any cue to the perception of distance or depth that requires the use of both eyes, such as binocular disparity, and convergence

Answer 63

Binocular Cue

Question 64

The slight difference between the right and left retinal images
- When both eyes focus on an object, the different position of the eyes produces a disparity of visual angle, and a slightly different image is received by each retina
- The two images are automatically compared and fused, providing an important cue to depth perception

Answer 64

Binocular Disparity

Question 65

The failure of the eyes to fuse stimuli
- For example, if horizontal bars are viewed through the left eye and vertical bars through the right eye, the perception is a patchy and fluctuating alternation of the two patterns, rather than a superimposition of the patterns to form a stable checkerboard

Answer 65

Binocular Rivalry

Question 66

The distribution of the outcomes in a sequence of Bernoulli trials, experiments of chance that are independent of one another and each have one of two possible outcomes: (0 or 1; success or failure), with a fixed probability of each outcome on each trial

Answer 66

Binomial Distribution

Question 67

A paradigm that treats human development as a process that continues both through the lifespan and across successive generations, thus affording important to historical continuity and change as forces indirectly affecting human development through their impact on proximal processes

Answer 67

Bioecological Model

Question 68

The use of an external monitoring device to provide an individual with information regarding his or her physiological state
- When used to help a person obtain voluntary control over autonomic body functions, such as heart rate or blood pressure, the technique is called biofeedback training
- It may be applied therapeutically to treat various conditions, including chronic pain and hypertension

Answer 68

Biofeedback

Question 69

1. Produced by living organisms or biological processes
2. Necessary for the maintenance of life

Answer 69

Biogenic

Question 70

Any of a group of amines (chemical compounds that contain one or more amino groups [-NH2]) that affect bodily processes and nervous system functioning
- Divided into subgroups (eg; catecholamines, indoleamines) and inside the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and seratonin

Answer 70

Biogenic Amine

Question 71

The concept that psychological and behavioral characteristics are entirely the result of constitutional and biological factors
- Environmental conditions serve only as occasions for the manifestations of such characteristics

Answer 71

Biological Determinism

Question 72

A variation in the physiological processes of an organism that accompanies a disorder, irrespective of whether it directly causes the disorder

Answer 72

Biological Marker

Question 73

An approach to abnormal psychology that emphasizes physiologically based causative factors, such as the senile plaques in Alzheimer’s disease, and consequently tends to focus primarily upon biological therapies

Answer 73

Biological Perspective

Question 74

The science that deals with the area of overlap between psychology and biology and with the reciprocal relations between biological and psychological processes
- It includes such fields as behavioral neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral endocrinology, and psychoneuroimmunology

Answer 74

Biological Psychology

Question 75

Any periodic variation in a living organism’s physiological or psychological function, such as energy level, sexual desire, or menstruation
- Such rhythms are usually linked to cyclic changes in environmental cues, such as day length or passing of the seasons, and tend to be daily (circadian) or annual ( circannual)

Answer 75

Biological Rhythm

Question 76

Any form of treatment for mental disorders that attempts to alter physiological functioning, including various drug therapies, electroconvulsive therapy, and therapy psychosurgery

Answer 76

Biological Therapy

Question 77

1. A synonym of biological rhythm
2. According to pseudoscientific belief, any one of three basic cycles (physical, emotional, and intellectual) with which every individual is programmed at birth
   - It is maintained that these rhythms continue unaltered until death and that good and bad days for various activities can be calculated accordingly

Answer 77

Biorhythm

Question 78

Pertaining to the interplay or mingling of biological and social factors, as with human behavior or that is influenced simultaneously by complex neurophysiological processes and social interactions

Answer 78

Biosocial

Question 79

Denoting something with two opposites or extremities, such as neurons or disorders

Answer 79

Bipolar

Question 80

Any of a group of mood disorders in which symptoms of mania and depression alternate
- A distinction is made between Bipolar I disorder, involving one or more manic episodes and one or more major depressive episodes and Bipolar II disorder, characterized by one or more major depressive episodes and at least one hypomanic episode
- In certain diagnostic classifications, cyclothymic disorder is also categorized

Answer 80

Bipolar Disorder

Question 81

A neuron with only two processes - an axon and a dendrite - that extend from opposite sides of the cell body

Answer 81

Bipolar Neuron

Question 82

The ordinal position of a child in the family ( first born, second born, youngest, ect)
- There has been much psychological research into how birth order affects personal adjustment and family status, but the notice that it has strong and consistent effects on psychological outcomes is not supported
- Current family structure research sees birth order not so much as a causal factor but rather as an indirect variable that follows more process oriented variables (eg; parental discipline, sibling interaction, and genetic and hormonal makeup) in importance

Answer 82

Birth Order

Question 83

The psychological shock of being born, due to the sudden change from the security of the womb to being bombarded with stimuli from the external world
- Though first proposed by Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Rank (1884 - 1939), the concept of this incorporates many of the ideas of Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856 -1939), who viewed birth as the child’s first anxiety experience and the prototype of separation anxiety

Answer 83

Birth Trauma

Question 84

The act of splitting something into two equal parts
- In psychophysics it refers to a scaling method in which a participant adjusts a stimulus until it is perceived as halfway between two other stimuli with respect to a particular dimension

Answer 84

Bisection

Question 85

A measure of the association between a continuous variable and a dichotomous variable

Answer 85

Biserial Correlation

Question 86

1. Sexual attraction to or sexual behavior with both men and women
2. The existence of both male and female genitals in the same organism
   - Such anatomical (structural) bisexuality is more properly termed hermaphroditism

Answer 86

Bisexuality

Question 87

In information theory, the quantity of information that decreases uncertainty or the germane alternatives of a problem by one half
- For example, if a dollar bill has been placed in one of 16 identical books standing side by side on a shelf, and one were to ask if the book is to the right ( or to the left) of center, the answer would provide one bit of information [ bi(nary) + (digi)t]

Answer 87

Bit

Question 88

Characterized by two variables or attributes

Answer 88

Bivariate

Question 89

A model for a device, system, or other complex entity - humans and nonhuman animals included - whose internal properties and processes must be hypothesized on the basis of observed empirical relationships between external factors (input) and the resulting effects (output)

Answer 89

Black Box

Question 90

The tendency of an individual to evaluate a poorly performing in group member less positively than an equally poor or deviant out group member
- Although an apparent contradiction of in group bias, this effect is explained by social identity theory as an individual protection strategy; people favor their in group because of the importance of group membership for self identity

Answer 90

Black Sheep Effect

Question 91

1. Total but temporary loss of consciousness
2. Amnesia produced by alcoholic intoxication

Answer 91

Blackout

Question 92

A social psychological phenomenon in which individuals or groups attempt to cope with the bad things that have happened to others by holding the victim responsible for the trauma or tragedy

Answer 92

Blaming the Victim

Question 93

The mammalian embryo at a very early stage of development
- It consists of a tiny hollow sphere containing an inner cell mass, enclosed in a thin layer of cells that help implant it in the uterine lining

Answer 93

Blastocyst

Question 94

1. Denoting a lack of sight
2. Denoting a lack of awareness
   - In research, this type of procedure may be deployed deliberately to enhance experimental control: a single blind is a procedure in which participants are unaware of the experimental conditions under which they are operating; a double blind is a procedure in which both the participants and the experimenters interactive with them are unaware of the particular experimental conditions and a triple blind is a procedure in which the participants, experimenters and data analysts are all unaware of the particular experimental conditions

Answer 94

Blind

Question 95

The area of the monocular visual field in which stimulation cannot be perceived because the image falls on the site of the optic disk in the eye

Answer 95

Blind Spot

Question 96

Profound, near total, or total impairment of the ability to perceive visual stimuli, defined in the United States as acuity of 20/200 or worse in the better eye with best correction or a visual field of 20 degrees or less in the widest meridian of the better eye
- Major causes include cataract, glaucoma, age related macular degeneration and diabetes

Answer 96

Blindness

Question 97

The capacity of some individuals with blindness in parts or all of the visual field to detect and localize visual stimuli presented within the blind field region
- Discrimination of movement, flicker, wavelength, and orientation may also be present
- However, these visual capacities are not accompanied by awareness
- They have been demonstrated only in experimental conditions, when participants are forced to guess

Answer 97

Blindsight

Question 98

An experimental design that divides participants into relatively homogenous subsets or blocks
- The greater the homogeneity of each of the blocks, the greater the statistical power of the analysis

Answer 98

Block Design

Question 99

1. A process in which one’s flow of thought or speech is suddenly interrupted
   - The individual is suddenly aware of not being able to perform a particular mental act, such as finding the words to express something he or she wishes to say
   - Also called thought deprivation; thought obstruction
2. A phenomenon of stimulus control in which previous learning restricts or prevents conditioning of a response to a new stimulus
   - For example, a light paired with an unconditioned stimulus for several trials results in some conditioning for the light
   - Adding a tone at this point would result in the tone being less effective as an elicitor than it would if it had been present from the beginning

Answer 99

Blocking

Question 100

A semipermeable barrier formed by cells lining the blood capillaries that supply the brain and that helps maintain a constant environment in which the brain can function
- It prevents large molecules, including many drugs, passing from the blood to the fluid surrounding brain cells and to the cerebrospinal fluid, and thus protects the brain from potentially harmful substances, ions and small molecules, such as water, oxygen, carbon dioxide and alcohol, can pass freely

Answer 100

Blood Brain Barrier

Question 101

A persistent and irrational fear of blood, specifically of seeing blood
- An individual confronting blood experiences a subjective feeling of disgust and fears the consequences of the situation, such as fainting
- In certain diagnostic classifications, such as DSM IV TR, the broader term blood injection injury phobia is used instead

Answer 101

Blood Phobia

Question 102

The pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels, especially the arteries
- It varies with the strength of the heartbeat, the elasticity of the artery walls and resistance of the arterioles, and the person’s health, age, and state of activity

Answer 102

Blood Pressure

Question 103

In the multiple intelligences theory, the skills involved in forming and coordinating bodily movements, such as dancing, playing a violin, playing basketball

Answer 103

Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence

Question 104

1. The entire physical structure of an organism such as the human body
2. The main part of a structure or organ, such as the body of the penis
3. A discrete anatomical or cytological structure, such as the mammillary body

Answer 104

Body

Question 105

A somatoform disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with an imagined defect in physical appearance or markedly excessive concern with a slight physical anomaly

Answer 105

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Question 106

The mental picture one forms of one’s body as a whole, including both its physical and functional characteristics (body perception) and one’s attitudes towards these characteristics (body concept)

Answer 106

Body Image

Question 107

The expression of feelings and thoughts, which may or may not be verbalized, through posture, gesture, facial expression, or other movements
- Although it is often called nonverbal communication, such movements may be unintentional, and many investigators therefore believe the term ‘‘communication” is often inappropriate in this context

Answer 107

Body Language

Question 108

A widely used measure of adiposity or obesity based on the following formula: weight (kg) divided by height squared (m2)

Answer 108

Body Mass Index

Question 109

The process in which attachments or other close relationships are formed between individuals, especially between mother and infant
- An early, positive relationship between a mother and a newborn child is considered to be essential in establishing unconditional love on the part of the parent, as well as security and trust on the part of the child
- In subsequent development, it establishes friendship and trust

Answer 109

Bonding

Question 110

A procedure for adjusting the p-value of individual related T tests
- It involves dividing the usual significance level value by the number of comparisons being made, so as to avoid the increased rise of Type I error that comes with multiple comparisons

Answer 110

Bonferroni Correction

Question 111

A situation in which a persuasive message produces attitude change in the direction opposite to that intended
- Occurs when recipients generate counter arguments substantially stronger then the arguments contained in the original message

Answer 111

Boomerang Effect

Question 112

Any process or operation in which a system uses its initial resources to develop more powerful and complex processing routines, which are then used in the same fashion and so on cumulatively
- In language acquisition, the term is used of children’s ability to learn complex linguistic rules, which can be endlessly reapplied, from extremely limited dada
- In statistics, it denotes a method for estimating the variabilityof a parameter associated with a batch of data, such as the standard error
- A number of samples of equal size are obtained from the original data by sampling with replacement, the parameter is calculated for each, and the individual parameters are combined to provide an estimate of the overall parameter for the entire sample

Answer 112

Bootstrapping

Question 113

1. Pertaining to any phenomenon difficult to categorize because it straddles two distinct classes, showing characteristics of both
   - Thus, this type of intelligence is supposed to show characteristics of both the average and sub average categories
2. An inappropriate designation for someone with Borderline Personality Disorder or it’s symptoms

Answer 113

Borderline

Question 114

A personality disorder characterized by a long standing pattern of instability in mood, interpersonal relationships, and self image that is severe enough to cause extreme distress or interfere with social and occupational functioning
- Symptoms include impulsive behavior in such areas as gambling, sex, spending, overeating, and substance use; intense but unstable relationships, uncontrollable temper outbursts, self injurious behavior such as fights, suicidal gestures, or self multilation, and chronic feelings of emptiness

Answer 114

Borderline Personality Disorder

Question 115

Information processing that proceeds from the data in the stimulus input to higher level processes; such as recognition, interpretation, and categorization
- Typically, perceptual or cognitive mechanisms use this type of processing when information is unfamiliar or highly complex

Answer 115

Bottom Up Processing

Question 116

A graphical display of a batch of data involving rectangular boxes with lines of “whiskers” extending outwards from them
- The ends of the box indicate the upper and lower hinges, a dividing line within the box indicates the median, and the whiskers extending from both ends indicate the smallest and largest scores

Answer 116

Box and Whisker Plot

Question 117

Abnormal slowness in the execution of voluntary movements

Answer 117

Bradykinesia

Question 118

The enlarged, anterior part of the central nervous system within the skull
- It develops by differentiation of the embryonic neural tube along an anterior posterior axis to form three main regions - the forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain - that can be subdivided on the basis of anatomical and functional criteria
- The cortical tissue is concentrated in the forebrain, and the midbrain and hindbrain structures are often considered together as the brainstem

Answer 118

Brain

Question 119

Injury to the brain, manifested by impairment of cognitive, motor, or sensory skills mediated by the brain

Answer 119

Brain Damage

Question 120

Any of various theories that different areas of the brain serve different functions
- Since the early 19th century, opinion has varied between notions of highly precise localization and a belief that the brain, or large portions of it, functions as a whole
- For many investigators, however, the concept of extreme parcellation of functions has given way to concepts of distributed control by collective activity of different regions

Answer 120

Brain Localization Theory

Question 121

Stimulation of specific areas of the brain, for example, electrical or transcranial magnetic, as a means of determining their functions and effects on behavior and as a therapeutic technique

Answer 121

Brain Stimulation

Question 122

Spontaneous, rhythmic electric impulses emanating from different areas of the brain
- According to their frequencies, they are classified as:
1) Alpha (8 - 12 Hz)
2) Beta (13 - 30 Hz)
3) Delta (1-3 Hz)
4) Gamma (31 - 80 Hz)
5) Theta (4 -7Hz)

Answer 122

Brain Waves

Question 123

The part of the brain that connects to the cerebrum with the spinal cord
- It includes the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata and is involved in the autonomic control of visceral activity, such as salivation, respiration, heartbeat and digestion

Answer 123

Brainstem

Question 124

A problem solving strategy in which ideas are generated spontaneously and uninhibitedly usually in a group setting, without any immediate critical judgement about their potential value

Answer 124

Brainstorming

Question 125

A broad class of intense and often coercive tactics intended to produce profound changes in attitudes, beliefs and emotions

Answer 125

Brainwashing

Question 126

A significant, sometimes sudden, forward step in therapy, especially after an unproductive plateau

Answer 126

Breakthrough

Question 127

A system of evaluating the presence and severity of clinical psychiatric signs on the basis of 24 factors; such as bizarre behavior, hostility, emotional withdrawal and disorientation
- Each factor is rated on a 7 point scale ranging from “not present” to “extremely severe” based on the judgements of trained observers

Answer 127

Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale

Question 128

A collection of time limited psychodynamic psychotherapy approaches intended to enhance client self awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior
- One particularly important issue is identified as the central focus for the treatment, thus creating a structure and establishing a goal for the sessions
- Rather than allowing the client to associate freely and discuss unconnected issues, as occurs in more traditional psychoanalytic practice, the brief psychodynamic therapist is expected to be fairly active in keeping the session focused on the main issue
- The number of sessions varies from one approach to another, but this type of therapy is typically considered to be no more than 20 - 25 sessions

Answer 128

Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Question 129

Any form of psychotherapy intended to achieve change during a short period (generally 10 - 20 sessions)
- These rely on active techniques of inquiry, focus, and goal setting and tend to be symptom specific
- They may be applied on an individual or group level and are used in the treatment of a variety of behavioral and emotional problems
- There are numerous different types, such as brief cognitive behavioral therapy, brief play therapy, brief psychodynamic psychotherapy, focal psychotherapy, and interpersonal psychotherapy

Answer 129

Brief Psychotherapy

Question 130

A disturbance involving the sudden onset of incoherence or loosening of associations, delusions, hallucinations, or grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
- The condition lasts no longer than one month, with complete remission of all symptoms and a full return to previous levels of functioning

Answer 130

Brief Psychotic Disorder

Question 131

The perceptual correlate of light intensity
- The brightness of a stimulus depends on its amplitude (energy), wavelength, the adaptation state of the observer, and the nature of any surrounding or intervening stimuli

Answer 131

Brightness

Question 132

The tendency to perceive a familiar object as having the some brightness under different conditions of illumination
- It is one of the perceptual constancies

Answer 132

Brightness Constancy

Question 133

One of eight classically identified aphasias, characterized by non fluent conversational speech and slow, halting speech production
- Auditory comprehension is relatively good for every day conversation, but there is considerable difficulty with complex syntax or multi step commands
- It is associated with injury to Broca’s area of the brain
[Pierre Paul Broca (1824 - 1880) French physician]

Answer 133

Broca’s Aphasia

Question 134

A region of the posterior portion of the inferior frontal convolution of the left cerebral hemisphere that is associated with the motor control of speech
- Discovered in 1861 by Pierre Paul Broca

Answer 134

Broca’s Area

Question 135

Any of more than 200 distinctive areas of cerebral cortex characterized variation in the occurrence and arrangement of cells (cytoarchitecture) from that of neighboring areas
- These areas are identified by numbers and in many cases have been associated with specific brain functions, such as area 17 (striate cortex or primary visual cortex), areas 18 and 19 (prestriate cortex), area 4 (motor area or primary motor cortex), and area 6 (pre motor area)
[Korbinian Brodmann (1868 - 1918), German neurologist]

Answer 135

Brodmann’s Area

Question 136

A practice in which female birds of some species lay their eggs in the nest of another species, leaving the other parents to rear the chicks

Answer 136

Brood Parasitism

Question 137

The protection against stressful experiences that is afforded by an individual’s social support

Answer 137

Buffering

Question 138

Insatiable hunger for food
- It may have physiological causes or be primarily a psychological disorder

Answer 138

Bulimia

Question 139

An eating disorder involving recurrent episodes of binge eating (ie, discrete periods of uncontrolled consumption of abnormally large quantifies of food) followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors (eg, self induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, fasting, and excessive exercise)

Answer 139

Bulimia Nervosa

Question 140

Persistent threatening and aggressive physical behavior or verbal abuse directed toward other people, especially those who are younger, smaller, weaker, or in some other situation of relative disadvantage

Answer 140

Bullying

Question 141

Physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion, especially in one’s job or career, accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance, and negative attitudes towards oneself and others
- It results from performing at a high level until stress and tension, especially from extreme and prolonged physical or mental exertion or overburdening workload take their toll
- Most often observed in professionals who work closely with people ( eg; social workers, teachers, correctional officers) in service oriented vocations and experience chronic high levels of stress

Answer 141

Burnout

Question 142

An anxiolytic that produces relief of subjective symptoms of anxiety without the sedation, behavioral disinhibition, and risk of dependence associated with benzodiazepines
- It’s use has been limited due to its relative lack of efficacy compared with benzodiazepines
- U.S. trade name; Buspar

Answer 142

Buspirone

Question 143

Any of a class of antipsychotics used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia, mania, and severe agitation
- They are associated with tardive dyskinesia and numerous extrapyramidal symptoms

Answer 143

Butyrophenome

Question 144

The tendency for people not to offer help when they know that others are present and capable of helping
- Research suggests that a number of cognitive and social processes contribute to the effect, including misinterpreting other people’s lack of response as an indication that help is not needed, confusion of responsibility, and diffusion of responsibility

Answer 144

Bystander Effect