Glossary page 4

Question 1

intrasexual selection

Answer 1

Selection between the sexes – in humans this means

female mate choice

Question 2

lesioned

Answer 2

damaged; often used of deliberate damage to an animal’s nervous
system for the purposes of science

Question 3

maintenance

Answer 3

the process whereby people stay addicted and carry on behaving in
an addictive fashion, despite negative consequences

Question 4

melatonin

Answer 4

a hormone, which has an effect on sleep, produced by the pineal
gland

Question 5

memoing

Answer 5

in grounded theory, the process of recording thought, opinions and
ideas about the process

Question 6

menstrual synchrony

Answer 6

the idea that the menstrual cycles of women who live

together become synchronised over time

Question 7

narcolepsy

Answer 7

a neurological sleep disorder characterised by excessive daytime
sleepiness and sudden ‘sleep attacks’ that may come without warning

Question 8

neuroadaptation

Answer 8

refers to the changes in brain chemistry that happen after a
drug has been taken, as the brain tries to deal with the immediate effects
of the drug

Question 9

neurotransmitters

Answer 9

messenger chemicals in the brain that transmit nerve

impulses from one neuron to another

Question 10

objective

Answer 10

being unbiased, so the facts or data are independent of the

researcher’s own viewpoint

Question 11

operant conditioning

Answer 11

learning by reinforcement – for example, by getting

rewards or punishments

Question 12

opportunity sample

Answer 12

a sample where the researcher has chosen people who
happened to be available to take part in the study; it is a non-random
method

Question 13

optic chiasm

Answer 13

the point where the optic nerves (one from each eye) cross in the
brain

Question 14

paradigm

Answer 14

a way of thinking about the world, a world view that is generally
agreed on and accepted by most individuals working within a subject area

Question 15

paradoxical sleep

Answer 15

another term for REM sleep

Question 16

paranoid schizophrenia

Answer 16

a form of schizophrenia characterised by delusions and

hallucinations, particularly in relation to persecution

Question 17

parentification

Answer 17

children or adolescents taking on adult roles before they are
developmentally ready

Question 18

participant attrition

Answer 18

the loss of participants from a study (usually a longitudinal
design) over time, through drop-out or other non-participation

Question 19

participant observation

Answer 19

an observational method where the observer tries to get
close to the people being observed by becoming involved with them in
their own environment, usually over a period of time