U

Question 1

An account or explanation for a particular behavior in terms of its adaptive value

Answer 1

Ultimate Explanation

Question 2

Any periodic variation in physiological or psychological function recurring in a cycle of more than 24 hours, such as the human menstrual cycle

Answer 2

Ultradian Rhythm

Question 3

Sound whose frequency exceeds the human audibility range, often used to measure and record structures and structural change within the body in the imaging technique called ultrasonography
- Echoes from these waves reflected from tissue surfaces are recorded to form structural images for diagnostic purposes, for example, to examine a growing fetus during pregnancy or to examine internal organs, such as the heart, liver, kidneys, and gallbladder, for signs of health or disease

Answer 3

Ultrasound

Question 4

Impartial or without net error
- For example, in these types of procedures, studies, and the like any errors that do occur are random and therefore self cancelling in the long run

Answer 4

Unbiased

Question 5

A statistic whose expected value is the value of the parameter being estimated
- Thus if G is used to estimate the parameter Ō, G is said to be unbiased if and only if E(G) = Ō

Answer 5

Unbiased Estimator

Question 6

1. The state or condition in which something (eg; the probability of a particular outcome) is not accurately or precisely known
2. Lack of confidence or clarity in one’s ideas, decisions, or intentions

Answer 6

Uncertainty

Question 7

An attitude of caring, acceptance, and prizing expressed by others irrespective of an individual’s behavior and without regard to the other’s personal standards, which is considered conducive to self awareness, self worth, and personality growth
- Posited by U.S. psychologist Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987) to be a universal human need essential to healthy development, this is the centerpiece of his client centered therapy and is also emphasized in many other therapeutic approaches

Answer 7

Unconditional Positive Regard

Question 8

The unlearned response to a stimulus: any original response that occurs naturally and in the absence of conditioning (eg; salivation in response to the presentation of food)
- This is a reflex that serves as the basis for establishment of the conditioned response in Pavlovian conditioning

Answer 8

Unconditioned Response

Question 9

A stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response, as in withdrawal from a hot radiator, contraction of the pupil on exposure to light, or salivation when food is in the mouth

Answer 9

Unconditioned Stimulus

Question 10

1. In the classical psychoanalytic theory of Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939), the region of the psyche that contains memories, emotional conflicts, wishes, and repressed impulses that are not directly accessible to awareness but that have dynamic effects on thought and behavior
2. Relating to or marked by absence of awareness or lack of consciousness

Answer 10

Unconscious

Question 11

In psychoanalytic theory, wishes, impulses, aims, and drives of which the self is not aware
- Examples of behavior produced by this are purposive accidents, slips of the tongue, and dreams that express unfulfilled wishes

Answer 11

Unconscious Motivation

Question 12

The incorrect restriction of the use of a word, which is a mistake commonly made by young children acquiring language
- For example, a child may believe that the label dog applies only to Fido, the family per

Answer 12

Underextension

Question 13

The process of gaining insight about oneself or others or of comprehending the meaning or significance of something
- In many forms of counseling and psychotherapy understanding the network of relationships between a client’s behavior and such things as his or her environment, experiences, and feelings is considered essential to success

Answer 13

Understanding

Question 14

A subtype of schizophrenia in which the individual exhibits prominent psychotic features, such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, or grossly disorganized behavior, but does not meet the criteria for any of the other subtypes of the disorder

Answer 14

Undifferentiated Schizophrenia

Question 15

Having a single dimension or composed of a single or a pure factor

Answer 15

Unidimensional

Question 16

Denoting or relating to one side of the body or an organ or to one of two or more parties
- For example, this type of cerebral lesion involves one cerebral hemisphere, left or right, and this type of couple counseling is the counseling of one partner on his or her relationship with the other

Answer 16

Unilateral

Question 17

A set of scores that has one mode (represented by one peak in their graphical distribution), reflecting a tendency for scores to cluster around a specific value

Answer 17

Unimodal Distribution

Question 18

Any depressive disorder, that is, any mood disorder marked by one or more major depressive episodes or a prolonged period of depressive symptoms with no history of manic or hypomanic symptoms or mixed episodes

Answer 18

Unipolar Depression

Question 19

Persistent or pervasive depression that does not involve a manic episode, a hypomanic episode, or a mixed episode
- As such, it contrasts with bipolar disorder
- The term is sometimes used synonymously with major depressive disorder

Answer 19

Unipolar Disorder

Question 20

A neuron that has only a single extension of the cell body
- This extension divides into two branches, oriented in opposite directions and representing the axon
- One end is the receptive pole, and the other is the output zone

Answer 20

Unipolar Neuron

Question 21

In factor analysis, the part of the variance of a variable that it does not share with any other variable in the system

Answer 21

Uniqueness

Question 22

In experimental design and research, the group of people, things, or entities that are being investigated or studied

Answer 22

Unit of Analysis

Question 23

Characterized by a single variable

Answer 23

Univariate

Question 24

A theoretical linguistic construct positing the existence of a set of rules or grammatical principles that are innate in human beings and underlie most natural languages
- The concept is of considerable interest to psycholinguists who study language acquisition and the formation of valid sentences

Answer 24

Universal Grammar

Question 25

The position that certain aspects of the human mind, human behavior, and human morality are universal and essential and are therefore to be found in all cultures and historical periods
- This is thus a form of essentialism and is opposed to relativism

Answer 25

Universalism

Question 26

1. The tendency to assume that one’s personal qualities and characteristics, including attitudes and values, are common in the general social group or culture
2. In self help and psychotherapy groups, a curative factor fostered by members’ recognition that their problems and difficulties are not unique to them, but instead are experienced by many of the group members

Answer 26

Universality

Question 27

A measure obtained without disturbing the participant or alerting him or her that a measurement is being made
- The behavior or responses of such participants are thus assumed to be unaffected by the investigative process or the surrounding environment

Answer 27

Unobtrusive Measure

Question 28

An interview that imposes minimal structure by asking open ended (rather than set) questions and allowing the interviewee to steer the discussion into areas of his or her choosing
- These are used in a variety of contexts but are particularly popular in personnel selection, where the idea is that such an approach will reveal more of the applicant’s traits, interests, priorities, and interpersonal and verbal skills than a structured interview

Answer 28

Unstructured Interview

Question 29

An ethical theory based on the premise that the good is to be defined at that which brings the greatest amount or degree of happiness; thus, an act is considered moral if, compared to possible alternatives, it provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people
- The doctrine is often reduced to the single maxim: the greatest good for the greatest number

Answer 29

Utilitarianism

Question 30

The inability of individuals to improve task performance by using strategies that they have already acquired and demonstrated the ability to use because they are not spurred to do so by memory
- Although historically most frequently studied in children, current research suggests that such deficiencies are not developmental per se but may occur at any age as a byproduct of diminished working memory capacity

Answer 30

Utilization Deficiency

Question 31

The larger of the two vestibular sacs in the inner ear, the other being the saccule
- Like the saccule, this senses not only the position of the head with respect to gravity but also acceleration and deceleration
- This is achieved by a special patch of the epithelium - the macula - inside both this and the saccule

Answer 31

Utricle

Question 32

A unit of spoken language, which may be of any length but can usually be identified by conversational turn taking or by clear breaks in the stream of speech
- Mean length of this is considered an important index of language development in young children

Answer 32

Utterance