N

Question 1

a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.

Answer 1

narcolepsy

Question 2

the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

Answer 2

natural selection

Question 3

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

Answer 3

naturalistic observation

Question 4

the long standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

Answer 4

nature nurture issue

Question 5

an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations.

Answer 5

near death experience

Question 6

a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because the lens focuses the image of distant objects in front of the retina

Answer 6

nearsightedness

Question 7

neural “cables” containing many axons. These bundled axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.

Answer 7

nerves

Question 8

the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

Answer 8

nervous system

Question 9

-interconnected neural cells. With experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results. Computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning.

Answer 9

neural networks

Question 10

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Answer 10

neuron

Question 11

a psychological disorder that is usually distressing but that allows one to think rationally and function socially. Freud saw the neurotic disorders as ways of dealing with anxiety

Answer 11

neurotic disorder

Question 12

chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether it will generate a neural impulse

Answer 12

neurotransmitters

Question 13

a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within 2 or 3 hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered.

Answer 13

night terrors

Question 14

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

Answer 14

normal curve

Question 15

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior

Answer 15

norm

Question 16

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

Answer 16

normative social influence

Question 17

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Answer 17

object permanence

Question 18

learning by observing others

Answer 18

observational learning

Question 19

an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

Answer 19

obsessive-compulsive disorder

Question 20

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field

Answer 20

occipital lobes

Question 21

according to Freud, a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

Answer 21

Oedipus complex

Question 22

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words.

Answer 22

one-word stage

Question 23

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

Answer 23

operant behavior

Question 24

a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer, with attached devices to record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking. Used in operant conditioning research.

Answer 24

operant chamber

Question 25

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment

Answer 25

operant conditioning

Question 26

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.

Answer 26

operational definition

Question 27

opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety.

Answer 27

opiates

Question 28

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red­green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.

Answer 28

opponent-process theory

Question 29

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Answer 29

optic nerve

Question 30

“them” -those perceived as different or apart from one’s ingroup

Answer 30

outgroup

Question 31

the tendency to be more confident than correct-to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgments

Answer 31

overconfidence

Question 32

the effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do. The person may now see the reward, rather than intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task

Answer 32

over-justification effect