AQA A level Psychology Glossary

ABC/ABCDE model

The ABC/ABCDE model proposed by Ellis, is used to explain and treat depression. A represents the activating event, B is the (irrational) belief about the event, C signifies the consequence of the belief, D involves disputing the belief, and E means replacing the belief with effective feelings. 

Absorption addiction model

The absorption addiction model explains parasocial relationships by proposing that people become ‘absorbed’ (preoccupied with a celebrity) to compensate for deficiencies in their lives, which may lead to addiction (being consumed and controlled by their focus on a celebrity).

Abstract

In a scientific report, the abstract summarises the investigation. It briefly describes the aims, hypotheses, procedure, results, and conclusions.

Accommodation

In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, accommodation occurs when new information cannot be assimilated into an existing schema, so a new schema is formed.

Accumulation

In relation to stress, accumulation is occurs when many daily stressors build up, causing a person feel constantly frustrated and irritated.

Addiction

Addiction occurs when an individual compulsively engages in a pleasurable behavior that eventually has adverse consequences.

Addiction-prone personality scale (APP)

The addiction-prone personality scale (APP) assesses the influence of personality factors on addictive behaviour. It predicts the severity of addiction and likelihood of remission during recovery.

Adrenaline

The adrenal glands release the hormone Adrenaline in response to stressful or dangerous situations. It causes physiological changes, such as an increased heart rate, and prepares the body for a fight or flight response.

Affectionless psychopath

An affectionless psychopath feels no empathy, guilt, or regard for the feelings of others. Bowlby believed that maternally deprived children could become affectionless psychopaths.

Agentic shift

In explanations for obedience, the term agentic shift describes the transition from the autonomous (independent) state to the agentic state. This occurs when a person perceives another person as a legitimate authority figure.

Agentic state

In explanations for obedience, the term agentic state describes when someone acts on behalf of another person (as an agent) and carries out their wishes.

Aim

In an experimental method, a researcher states their aim as a general statement of what they hope to achieve from their investigation; an aim differs from a hypothesis.

Alpha bias

Alpha bias exaggerates the differences between men and women, often to the detriment of one gender (usually women).

Amplification

In relation to stress, amplification occurs when a life event makes daily hassles feel more stressful than usual.

Amygdala

The amygdala, part of the brain’s limbic system, evaluates sensory information and forms appropriate emotional responses, including aggression.

Androcentrism

Androcentrism describes theories or views that are male-centred or based on a male viewpoint.

Androgyny

Psychological androgyny describes a personality type balances masculine and feminine traits, attitudes, or behaviours. Sandra Bem introduced this concept and further assessed and classified it using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI).

Anger management

Anger management uses cognitive behavioural therapy to change the way people think about situations that provoke anger, making them less likely to use violence in response.

Anorexia nervosa (AN)

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterised by an abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image.

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a mental health condition characterised by a lack of empathy and regard for other people; it includes many personality risk factors for addiction, including impulsivity.

Anxiety

Anxiety causes feelings of fearfulness or unease, which can trigger physiological responses like an increased heart rate.

Assimilation

In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, assimilation adds new information to existing schemas.

Atavistic form

Lombroso proposed the atavistic form as a biological explanation for criminality, believing that offenders are born with a criminal personality because they are primitive throwbacks (less evolved) unable to cope with modern society.

Atonement

In restorative justice, a criminal atones or ‘pays’ for their crime, for example by showing remorse or working to fix the damage.

Attachment theory

Attachment theory explains how emotional bonds form between an individual (usually an infant) and their care-giver, influencing behaviours in adulthood.

Atypical antipsychotic

Doctors use Antipsychotics to treat schizophrenia (SCZ). They developed typical antipsychotics, such as clozapine, to combat the side effects of typical antipsychotics and effectively treat both positive symptoms of SCZ (hallucinations and delusions) and negative (cognitive) symptoms.

Auditory centre

The auditory centre, located in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex of the brain, processes information about speech and sounds.

Authoritarian Personality

The Authoritarian Personality refers to a personality who exhibit extreme respect for authority or authority figures. People with this personality show unquestioning obedience to those in power and strictly follow traditional values. It has been refined as a cluster of three personality variables referred to as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA).

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) makes up part of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). It consists of a network of neurons that regulate involuntary bodily processes, such as heart rate, respiration, digestion, and stress responses. It operates automatically, without conscious direction.

Autonomous state

In the autonomous (independent) state, a person acts independently and makes their own decisions.

Autonomy and control

Autonomy and control refers to when a person feels free to make their own decisions and believes they are in charge of their life.

Aversion therapy

Aversion therapy uses counterconditioning to treat addiction by changing the conditioned response of pleasure from the addictive behaviour to one that is unpleasant (aversive).

Avolition

Avolition prevents individuals from starting and maintaining goal-directed activities due to apathy.

Bar chart

A bar chart displays data in categories (nominal or discrete data). Bars must not touch to indicate the data is not continuous.

Behaviour modification

Behaviour modification is a treatment approach that uses operant conditioning to encourage more positive behaviours, for example by using token economy.

Behavioural approach

The behavioural approach in psychology assumes all behaviours are learned.

Behavioural categories

Behavioural categories clearly define the actions or behaviours that researchers observe and record during an investigation.

Behaviourist approach

The behaviourist approach in investigative psychology assumes that only observable and measurable behaviour should be investigated, using scientific experiments and processes, and that animals can replace humans in experiments.

Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)

Sandra Bem devised the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). It is a test (questionnaire) that assesses and scores the level of masculine and feminine traits, to provide a behaviour classification of either masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated.

Benzodiazepine (BZ)

Benzodiazepines (BZs) are a group of anti-anxiety drugs. They reduce anxiety by binding to GABA receptors on postsynaptic neurons, making it harder for other neurotransmitters to stimulate the neuron and boosting the inhibitory/calming effect of the neurotransmitter GABA.

Beta bias

Beta bias is a type of gender bias. It minimises the differences between men and women to the detriment of one gender (usually women); it assumes that what is true for men is also true for women.

Beta blocker (BB)

Beta blockers (BBs) are a group of anti-anxiety drugs. They reduce anxiety by binding to beta-receptors in the cells of the heart and other parts of the body affected by the sympathomedullary pathway (SAM), blocking the action of adrenaline and noradrenaline.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback monitors automatic bodily (physiological) responses to stress, along with relaxation techniques to acquire control over those functions, to manage stress.

Biological approach

The biological approach assumes that our biological roots psychological functions, giving our thoughts, feelings and behaviours a physical basis.

Biological determinism

Biological determinism asserts that biological factors such as genes, hormones, neuronal activity, and evolutionary adaptations, determine or control a person’s behaviour and characteristics.

Biological reductionism

Biological reductionism reduces complex phenomena, such as mental disorders, into constituent biological parts, such as the action of genes or neurotransmitters.

Biological rhythm

Biological rhythms involve a series of physiological changes that occur in the body, in cycles, such as the sleep/wake cycle.

Boomerang effect

The boomerang effect occurs when social norms interventions achieve the opposite of their intended outcome.

Borderline-pathological

At the third level of parasocial relationships on the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS), fans exhibit borderline-pathological behaviour. They have uncontrollable fantasies and behaviours and believe statements like, ‘If I walked through the door of my favourite celebrity’s house, they would be happy to see me’.

Bottom-up approach

The bottom-up approach creates an offender profile using data driven methods, including investigative psychology and geographical profiling.

Boundary model

The boundary model explains why dieting may lead to overeating. It is based on the idea that dieters have a high satiety threshold, and when they set a boundary lower than satiety and exceed it, they overeat.

British Psychological Society (BPS) code of ethics

The British Psychological Society (BPS) code of ethics advises researchers on ethical dilemmas, and provides guidelines to protect participants, wider society and the reputation of psychology.

Broca’s area

Broca’s area, located in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex of the brain, is responsible for speech production.

Calculated value of S

The calculated value of S is a numerical value determined in the sign test, a test for statistical significance. It is the value of the least frequent sign (pluses or minuses) in the dataset.

Capacity

In relation to memory, capacity refers to how much information can be stored.

Cardiovascular disorder (CVD)

Cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) are a range of conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and other health problems.

Case study

A case study is a detailed investigation of an individual, institution, event, or group. A case study is often used to illustrate a theory or principle.

Central executive (CE)

In relation to the working model of memory, the central executive (CE) is the part of the memory that directs attention from either the senses or the long-term memory (LTM) to one of the sub-systems in order to complete tasks.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The central nervous system (CNS) is the body’s master control unit of its internal communication system, consisting of the brain and spinal cord.

Chromosome

Chromosomes are structures of protein and DNA present in the nucleus of almost every cell in the body.

Chunking

Chunking is the process of breaking down large pieces of information into smaller units (chunks) to make them easier to memorise and recall.

Circadian rhythm

Circadian rhythms are biological rhythms that operate on approximately a 24-hour cycle, such as the sleep/wake cycle.

Class inclusion

In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, class inclusion means understanding that objects can be included into classifications (categories) and subsets, for example dogs are included in both the dog and animal classifications.

Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning refers to a type of learning by association, where two different stimuli become associated with each other.

Closed question

A closed question is a question in a questionnaire or interview that has a fixed range of answers and tends to produce quantitative data.

Coding

In relation to memory, coding refers to how information is written into our memory, for example either acoustically or semantically.

Coding unit

In relation to content analysis, coding units are categories generated from the aim, similar to behavioural categories in an observation. For example, for analysing antisocial behaviours in a music video, the coding units may be fighting, use of guns, swearing, etc.

Cognitive approach

The cognitive approach is an approach to psychology that assumes internal mental processes like memory, perception, and thinking should be studied scientifically.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is type of talking therapy used to treat conditions such as depression and anxiety, which aims to replace negative, faulty thoughts with more positive and rational ones.

Cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp)

Cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) is a type of cognitive behavioural therapy used to treat schizophrenia by helping to change the faulty, irrational thoughts associated with delusions and hallucinations.

Cognitive bias

Cognitive bias is a distorted or irrational belief or thought process (or pattern of thought processes) that conflicts with reality, and may influence a person’s attention and memory linked to the belief.

Cognitive distortion

A cognitive distortion is a misperception of reality or a negative thinking pattern that is biased or distorted, so it conflicts with reality.

Cognitive explanation

In relation to schizophrenia (SCZ), a cognitive explanation is the idea that the symptoms are caused by dysfunctional thought processing, in particular metarepresentation dysfunction and central control dysfunction.

Cognitive interview (CI)

The cognitive interview (CI) is a method of questioning eyewitnesses to a crime, used by the police, which aims to increase the eyewitnesses’ accuracy of recall.

Cognitive neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience is the study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes. Scanning techniques like fMRI allow psychologists to see which structures in the brain are active for different functions.

Cognitive priming

The term cognitive priming refers to when the brain is programmed or primed to behave in specific ways in response to environmental cues.

Cognitive theory

Cognitive theory is an approach to psychology that aims to explain human behaviour by studying mental processes.

Co-morbidity

A co-morbidity is a disease or health condition that a person experiences at the same time as another one.

Comparison level (CL)

In social exchange theory, the comparison level (CL) is a judgement of how much an individual is benefitting from a relationship, based on comparing their current partner to all their previous partners and their expectations of what a relationship should be. 

Comparison level for alternatives (CLA)

In social exchange theory, the comparison level for alternatives (CLA) is a judgement of how much an individual is benefitting from a relationship, based on comparing their current partner to all their previous partners, their expectations of what a relationship should be, and possible attractive alternatives.

Comparison with alternatives

In Rusbult’s investment model, the comparison with alternatives refers to alternative options to staying with the current partner.

Complementarity

In filter theory, complementarity refers to where partners in a relationship have different traits and qualities that fit together well.

Complex matching

The term complex matching refers to when people can attract others of a much higher physical attractiveness by compensating with other desirable qualities, such as wealth or kindness.

Compliance

Compliance is a type of conformity where a person changes publicly but not privately; they don’t agree with the majority, but they go along with it temporarily to fit in.

Compulsion

A compulsion is a behaviour, such as hand washing or counting, that is repeatedly and excessively performed by someone (for example, in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)).

Computer model

In relation to cognitive psychology, the computer model refers to the language and functions of computing, such as ‘input’, ‘coding’ and ‘stores’, to explain how information is processed and stored in the brain.

COMT gene

The COMT gene is involved in regulating mood; a variation of the gene results in higher levels of dopamine, which is linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Concurrent validity

Concurrent validity is when the same person completes an already established questionnaire or psychological test on a characteristic, such as depression, and a new one. If their scores correlate by 0.8 or more, the new measure is valid.

Conformity

Conformity is a form of social influence where a person changes their values, attitudes, and behaviours to fit in with the majority group, despite being given no instruction to do so.

Confounding variable (CV)

In experimental methods, a confounding variable is a variable that systematically changes with the independent variable. This means the researcher can’t be sure whether it’s the independent variable or confounding variable that causes the effect on the dependent variable.

Congruence

In humanistic psychology, the term congruence refers to when the ideal self (what we think we should be) aligns with our actual self (who we actually are).

Conservation

In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the term conservation is the mathematical principle that quantity stays the same despite appearance (for example, the same volume of water will look different in a tall thin glass compared to a short fat one).

Content analysis

A content analysis is an indirect observational technique used to analyse the content of media. Coding units are analysed to transform the data from qualitative to quantitative and to draw conclusions.

Context-dependent forgetting

Context-dependent forgetting is when a person forgets information because the environment (context) in which a person is trying to recall the information is different to the environment in which it was learned.

Controlled observation

An observation is a non-experimental method of investigating behaviour where researchers watch and/or listen to participants. A controlled observation takes place in a laboratory setting, with all participants experiencing identical procedures.

Correlation

A correlation is a non-experimental analysis of the relationship between two co-variables; correlation can be positive, negative, or zero and is given a value called the correlation coefficient.

Correlation coefficient

The correlation coefficient is a number between -1 and +1 that signifies the strength and direction of the relationship between two co-variables (correlation). The closer the figure is to -1 or +1, the stronger the correlation.

Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone released by the adrenal cortex in response to fear or stress, which has various effects including providing a quick burst of energy and increasing the body’s pain threshold, to help deal with the stressor, but also reduces the function of the body’s immune system.

Counterbalancing

Counterbalancing is a method for controlling order effects in a repeated measures experimental design. Known as the ABBA procedure, half the participants do condition A followed by condition B, and the other half do condition B followed by condition A. This balances the effects of order between the conditions of the independent variable.

Counter-conditioning

Counter-conditioning is a behavioural technique used in therapy that aims to replace a negative response to a stimulus with a more positive one, where the negative response is paired with a positive stimulus to create a new association.

Co-variables

Co-variables are two or more variables that are measured in an experiment to determine if there is a relationship (correlation) between them.

Covert observation

An observation is a non-experimental method of investigating behaviour where researchers watch and/or listen to participants. In a covert observation, participants don’t know they are being watched, for example they are watched from a hidden location.

Covert sensitisation

Covert sensitisation is a type of aversion therapy that aims to treat addiction by using an imagined, rather than actual, aversive stimulus.

Critical period

According to Bowlby, the critical period is the stage in a baby’s development when it needs to attach to its caregiver. The optimal time is 3–6 months.

Critical value

In the statistical testing of data, the critical value is a numerical value found in a statistical table, that the calculated/observed value is compared to, to test for significance.

Critical value of S

The critical value of S is a numerical value found in a statistical table, that the calculated value of S in a sign test is compared to, to test for significance.

Cue reactivity

Cue reactivity is a form of classical conditioning in drug addition, where cues associated with a drug (secondary reinforcers) produce similar physiological and psychological responses to the drug itself; an individual reacts to the cues by craving the drug.

Cultural bias

Cultural bias in psychology is when people are judged on the basis of a researcher’s own cultural assumptions; people may be judged as abnormal because a researcher is interpreting their behaviour through the values and standards of the researcher’s own culture.

Cultural relativism

Cultural relativism is the idea that behaviour can only be interpreted and understood if it is regarded from the viewpoint of the culture being studied.

Culture

Culture refers to the ideas, customs, and social behaviours of a particular society, which binds it together.

Custodial sentence

A custodial sentence is when an offender must spend time in a closed institution, such as a prison, psychiatric hospital, or young offender’s institute.

Daily hassle

A daily hassle is a minor, everyday event that is negative and causes stress, such as a difficult commute to college or irritating family members.

Daily uplift

A daily uplift is a minor, everyday event that is positive and relieves stress, such as a joke with a friend or a hug from a partner.

Defence mechanisms

Defence mechanisms are methods that are used by people to unconsciously protect themselves from distressing thoughts or feelings. Defence mechanisms include repression, denial, and displacement.

De-individuation

De-individuation is when people feel anonymous because they don’t feel identifiable and are therefore more likely to feel no personal responsibility for their actions.

Delusion

A delusion is a strongly held or persistent distorted (false) belief that contradicts reality.

Demand characteristics

Demand characteristics are cues or clues that cause participants in an investigation to guess the purpose of a study and behave in a way they think is expected (please-U) or try to sabotage the experiment (screw-U).

Denial

Denial is a defence mechanism where a person refuses to accept reality.

Dependent variable (DV)

The dependent variable (DV) is the variable in an experiment that is being measured or tested.

Depression

Depression is a mental health condition characterised by a persistent low mood and negative, irrational thoughts.

Descriptive statistics

Descriptive statistics are numerical methods used to describe and summarise data by showing patterns and trends, including the mean, median, mode, range and standard deviation.

Desensitisation

Desensitisation is a process where an emotional response (e.g. fear or anxiety) to a stimulus (e.g. violence) is reduced the more an individual is exposed to the stimulus (e.g. in the media).

Determinism

Determinism is the concept that human behaviour is controlled (or determined) by internal or external forces.

Deterrence

In relation to offending behaviour, deterrence is when the threat of punishment, such as a custodial sentence, deters or discourages people from offending or reoffending.

Deviation from ideal mental health (DIMH)

Deviation from ideal mental health (DIMH) is a way of defining abnormality that focuses on what makes someone ‘normal’ rather than ‘abnormal’.

Deviation from social norms

Deviation from social norms is a way of defining abnormality in terms of breaking the social norms (rules of society), i.e. what a culture generally considers to be acceptable behaviour.

Diachronic consistency

Diachronic consistency refers to a type of minority influence, when the minority present the same message over time.

Diathesis-stress model

The diathesis-stress model is the concept that the onset of a condition is due to a combination of biological factors (a diathesis) and psychological factors (stress).

Differential association theory

Differential association theory is a social learning theory that identifies that individuals learn the values, attitudes, and behaviours of crime from the people and social groups they associate with.

Direct reinforcement

Direct reinforcement is part of social learning theory and is when learning is through classical and operant conditioning.

Directional hypothesis

A directional hypothesis is a statement that predicts a specific result in response to a change in the independent variable in an investigation. It is used when conclusions have been made from previous research.

Discussion

The discussion is the section of a scientific report that briefly summarises the findings, offers an explanation for what the results show, identifies methodological limitations, and discusses the implications of the research.

Disinhibited attachment

Disinhibited attachment is an attachment disorder where children are clingy, attention-seeking, and try to attach to adult strangers.

Disinhibition

In relation to diet, disinhibition is when a person overeats despite satiety. In relation to aggression, disinhibition is when children are more willing to display aggression because their consumption of violent media has normalised it.

Disinhibitor

A disinhibitor is a cue that weakens a person’s control over their behaviour. In relation to diet, media images and mood can act as disinhibitors to prompt an individual to overeat.

Disorganised offenders

Disorganised offenders are people who carry out unplanned crimes on random victims and leave a lot of evidence at the crime scene. They are typically socially and sexually incompetent.

Displacement

Displacement is a defence mechanism that involves taking out anger towards one person on another (innocent) person.

Dispositional explanation

The dispositional explanation proposes that behaviour is influenced by an individual’s personality.

Distribution

The term distribution refers to the spread of scores in a dataset.

Dopamine

Dopamine is an excitatory neurotransmitter with several important roles, including acting on the brain to produce feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation.

Dopamine hypothesis

The dopamine hypothesis is a theory that both over-activity and under-activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine, in different brain regions, causes positive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Drive reduction theory

Drive reduction theory identifies that we are driven to reduce the discomfort of hunger by feeding.

Drug therapy

Drug therapy uses medications (drugs) to treat conditions of the body and brain.

Duration

In relation to memory, duration refers to how long information can be stored.

Dyadic phase

The dyadic phase is the second stage in Duck’s phase model of relationship breakdown, where the dissatisfied person in a relationship will speak to their partner about their concerns.

Dysfunctional thought processing

In relation to schizophrenia, dysfunctional thought processing refers to the difficulties people with schizophrenia have in understanding and interpreting information due to faulty thought processes – in particular, metarepresentation dysfunction and central control dysfunction.

 

Ecological validity

Ecological validity refers to the extent to which the findings of an investigation can be generalised to everyday life. For example, if the setting of an investigation is artificial (a laboratory experiment), the findings may differ in real-life contexts and so the investigation could have low ecological validity.

Economy

The economy is the state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.

Ego

According to Freud, the Ego is the part of a person’s personality that develops at age 2 and mediates between the Id and Superego.

Egocentrism

Egocentrism is the inability to take on the perspective of others or see things from their viewpoint.

Elaborative rehearsal

Elaborative rehearsal is the proposed process for transferring memories between short-term and long-term memory that involves making associations and connections between the new information and information already stored in long-term memory.

Electra complex

According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the Electra complex occurs during the phallic stage (ages 3 to 6), when a girl transfers her sexual desires away from her mother and onto her father, becomes hostile towards her mother, and develops penis envy.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a method to measure brain activity, where electrodes placed on the skull detect electrical charges from brain neurons to produce brainwave patterns.

Emotional support

Emotional support is a form of social support that helps people cope with stress, by providing emotional rather than practical support (such as by taking the time to listen to a friend’s problems).

Emotion-focused coping

Emotion-focused coping is a method for dealing with stress that involves tackling the anxiety associated with the stressor; the threat remains, but stress is reduced by finding ways to feel less anxious about it.

Empirical research

Empirical research gathers data from direct observation and experience.

Encoding specificity principle

The encoding specificity principle is the theory that people remember more if cues that are encoded at the same time as the initial learning are also present at recall.

Endocrine system

The endocrine system is a network of glands that produce hormones to regulate bodily processes.

Endogenous pacemaker

An endogenous pacemaker is an internal body clock made up of neurons that regulates biological rhythms such as the sleep/wake cycle.

Enmeshment

Enmeshment is when family members are overly close, spend a lot of time together to the exclusion of others, and speak for each other assuming they know the other’s views.

Entertainment-social

The first level of parasocial relationships on the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS) is entertainment-social, where a fan enjoys the entertainment value of a celebrity and is drawn to them, using the celebrity as a source of social interaction in real life.

Environment of evolutionary adaptiveness (EEA)

The environment of evolutionary adaptiveness (EEA) was an ancestral environment with selection pressures to which a species has adapted.

Environmental determinism

Environmental determinism is the idea that all behaviour is environmentally determined by external forces, such as our experiences and the processes of classical and operant conditioning.

Environmental reductionism

Environmental (stimulus-response) reductionism is an approach that explains complex phenomena by breaking it down into stimulus-response links.

Episodic buffer

In the working model of memory, the episodic buffer is the storage element of the central executive (CE), holding about four chunks of information. It integrates information from the CE, phonological loop, and visuo-spatial sketchpad.

Episodic memory

Episodic memory is a type of long-term memory and a form of explicit memory (conscious retrieval), involving personal memories for ‘episodes’ (events) in people’s lives.

Equilibration

In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, equilibration describes the sense of inner balance created by successfully assimilating and accommodating new information into existing knowledge.

Equity theory

Equity theory is an economic theory to determine the likelihood of partners continuing or ending their romantic relationship, where profitability is gained from an equitable (fair) exchange of rewards and costs.

Esteem support

Esteem support is a form of social support that helps people cope with stress, involving helping somebody believe in themselves so they have more confidence to cope with their stressful situation.

Ethical issue

In a psychological investigation, an ethical issue refers to a conflict between the requirements of the researcher to conduct meaningful research and the rights of the participants.

Ethnocentrism

The term ethnocentrism refers to judging other cultures from the point of view of one’s own; it can lead to discrimination and cultural bias because people may view their own culture as superior.

Ethology

Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour. It can be used to attempt to explain aggression in humans by studying aggression in animals.

Event sampling

Event sampling is a sampling method. In sampling for behavioural categories, these are tallied each time they occur in a structured observation.

Event-related potential (ERP)

An event-related potential (ERP) is an electrical impulse in the brain in response to a specific cognitive, motor, or sensory event. ERPs are measured with an EEG skull cap; all the neural responses are averaged, which cancels out everything but the ERP for the specific event.

Evolutionary adaptation

An evolutionary adaptation is a trait that has evolved over many generations to aid a species’ survival.

Excitatory

In relation to electrical impulses in neurons, the term excitatory means a positive response in the neuron and the generation or continuation of the impulse.

Exogenous zeitgeber

An exogenous zeitgeber is environmental cue such as light, temperature, or the timing of meals, that influences the body’s biological rhythms by entraining the endogenous pacemaker.

Experimental design

Experimental design refers to the way participants are allocated to conditions of the independent variable in an investigation. Types of experimental design include repeated measures, independent groups, and matched pairs.

Expressed emotion

Expressed emotion refers to the way that the family and caregivers of a person with a mental health condition express their emotions and attitudes towards that person.

Extraneous variable (EV)

An extraneous variable (EV) is an extra ‘nuisance’ variable in an experiment that may affect the dependent variable and interfere with determining cause and effect.

Extrinsic investments

Extrinsic investments are resources that partners have made together within their relationship, such as possessions, children, mutual friends, and shared memories.

Eyewitness testimony (EWT)

An eyewitness testimony (EWT) is an account of a crime given by a person who saw it happen (witness).

Eysenck’s theory of personality

Eysenck’s theory of personality proposes a link between criminality and personality, suggesting that criminals tend to be high in neuroticism, extraversion, and psychoticism.

Face validity

Face validity is a simple test of validity of an investigation to assess if it measures what the researchers intended it to measure. It relies on a researcher’s subjective opinion (rather than statistical analysis).

Failure to function adequately (FFA)

Failure to function adequately (FFA) is a way of defining abnormality that considers whether a person can cope with everyday tasks.

Falsifiability

Falsifiability refers to being able to prove a hypothesis wrong. 

Family dysfunction

Family dysfunction is when there are unhealthy behaviours between family members on an ongoing basis, such as conflict, abuse, or neglect.

Family systems theory (FST)

Family systems theory (FST) is the theory that a person develops anorexia nervosa due to growing up with family dysfunction.

Family therapy

Family therapy is a type of therapy that aims to prevent an individual with schizophrenia from relapsing, where family members attend therapy sessions to learn how to best communicate with and support the person with schizophrenia.

Field experiment

A field experiment is an investigation where the independent variable and dependent variable are controlled in a natural setting, such as a prison.

Fight or flight response

The fight or flight response is an automatic (unconscious) physiological reaction to a stressful, frightening, or dangerous event. It is also called the sympathomedullary pathway (SAM).

Filter theory

Filter theory is the idea that people are attracted to romantic partners based on a series of filters that narrows down the field of available people. The three filters are social demography, similarity in attitudes, and complementarity of needs.

Fixed action pattern (FAP)

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a sequence of instinctive behaviours that is triggered by an environmental cue. Each FAP is specific to a certain species.

Flooding

Flooding is a desensitisation therapy to treat phobias, where the person is exposed to the most frightening aspect of fear on their hierarchy and practices relaxation techniques until they feel calm.

Food preferences

The term food preferences refers to liking or preferring certain foods more than others.

Free will

Free will is the idea that people are free to choose their own thoughts and actions, rather than being limited or directed by external forces.

Frustration–aggression hypothesis

The frustration–aggression hypothesis proposes that frustration always leads to aggression, and aggression is always the result of frustration.

F-scale

The F-scale or ‘Potential for Fascism’ scale, was devised to measure the Authoritarian Personality. The higher the F-scale score, the more politically right-wing someone is.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a method to investigate brain activity, which scans the brain while the person carries out a task in order to measure changes in blood flow in areas of the brain associated with the task, producing a 3D activation map image.

GABA

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is neurotransmitter that is a natural form of anxiety relief and works by increasing the flow of chloride ions into the post-synaptic neuron, which has an inhibitory effect.

Gating

In relationships, gating is the presence of barriers (‘gates’) to dating that stop people from approaching others to request a date, such as being shy, having a stammer, or not being ‘out’ about their sexuality.

Gender

Gender is a person’s sense of maleness or femaleness, which is a psychosocial construct.

Gender bias

Gender bias is where men and women are treated differently based on stereotypes, leading to misrepresentation or mistreatment of one gender (usually women).

Gender constancy

Gender constancy is the third stage of Kohlberg’s theory, which happens around the age of 6. Children recognise that their own and other’s sex is constant across time and situations.

Gender dysphoria

Gender dysphoria is the unease an individual feels due to a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity.

Gender identity

Gender identity is the first stage of Kohlberg’s theory, which happens between the ages of about 2 and 3. Children can identify themselves and others as a boy or a girl, And their gender identity is based on outward appearance.

Gender schema theory (GST)

Gender schema theory (GST) is a cognitive–developmental approach that says a child’s understanding of gender increases with age, and that the child is active in that process as soon as gender identity has been established (at 2–3 years). At this point they begin to develop a gender schema (a mental representation of gender that is learned and develops through experience).

Gender stability

Gender stability is the second stage of Kohlberg’s theory, which happens around the age of 4. Children realise that gender is usually consistent over time, but do not yet recognise that gender is consistent across situations.

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

General adaptation syndrome (GAS) is a theory that animals/humans have the same (general) physiological responses to stressors that are adaptive, because it’s the best way for the body to cope with stress.

Genetic heritability

Genetic heritability is a measure of how much the differences in people’s genes account for differences in their traits.

Genotype

The term genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an individual, i.e. the specific versions of genes they have.

Geographical profiling

Geographical profiling is a bottom-up approach to offender profiling that involves analysing the locations of crime scenes to make inferences about where the offender lives or has their criminal base.

Ghrelin

Ghrelin is a ‘hunger’ hormone secreted by the stomach when it’s empty to prompt the person to eat.

Glands

Glands are organs in the body that produce and release substances, for example endocrine glands secrete hormones to regulate bodily processes.

Grave-dressing phase

The grave-dressing phase is the fourth and final stage in Duck’s phase model of relationship breakdown, where the relationship is ‘dead in the grave’ and each partner wants to ‘dress the grave’ to make it look more appealing, for example by telling their own version of the breakup that favours them.

Hallucination

Hallucinations are distortions of sensory perception, where a person hears, smells, sees, or senses things that are not real.

Hard determinism

Hard determinism is the idea that all behaviour has a cause and can be predicted, so free will does not exist.

Hardiness

Hardiness is a style of personality that consists of three personality characteristics that protect against stress: feeling in control, being committed, and viewing potential threats as challenges to be overcome.

Hassles and Uplifts Scale (HSUP)

The Hassles and Uplifts Scale (HSUP) is a questionnaire that assesses a person’s attitudes towards daily hassles and uplifts in their life.

Hello–goodbye effect

The hello-goodbye effect is when patients exaggerate their symptoms at the beginning (hello) to appear worthy of treatment, then exaggerate the success of their treatment at the end (goodbye) because they are grateful for the treatment and want to show how effective it has been.

Hemispheric lateralisation (HL)

Hemispheric lateralisation (HL) is the theory that some mental processes are specialised to different hemispheres of the brain. For example, the left hemisphere is largely responsible for language, and the right for creativity.

Heredity

Heredity is the process in which traits and characteristics are passed from one generation to the next through genes.

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a model organising the five types of needs that people need to progress through to achieve personal growth and fulfilment: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation.

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is an area of the brain in the temporal lobe that plays an important role in forming new memories and the process of learning.

Histogram

A histogram is a type of graph that shows continuous data. The x-axis has equal-sized intervals of a single category, and the y-axis shows the frequency.

Holism

Holism is the idea that behaviour is best understood by analysing the person as a whole, rather than focusing on certain parts or causes of the behaviour.

Hormones

Hormones are chemical messengers that are secreted by glands and move through the blood to target different organs or tissues in order to coordinate bodily functions.

Hostile attribution bias

Hostile attribution bias is when a person’s thinking is distorted to assume the worst when interpreting the actions of others.

Humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology is an approach to psychology that assumes humans are essentially self-determining and have free will.

Hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal system (HPA axis)

The hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal system (HPA axis) is the body’s response system to chronic stress, and causes cortisol to be released into the body to provide energy and increase the pain threshold.

Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is the area of the brain that controls bodily functions including heart rate, hunger and thirst, and the sleep-wake cycle.

Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a precise testable statement made before an investigation begins about the relationship between the variables.

Id

According to Freud, the Id forms the unconscious part of personality present from birth. It demands instant gratification regardless of circumstances.

Identification

In the context of conformity, a person demonstrates identification by changing their behaviour and beliefs to align with the majority – both publicly and privately – but only whilst they remain part of that group. Meanwhile, in social learning theory and Freud’s psychodynamic explanation of gender development, identification refers to when an individual feels a role model or their same-sex parent is similar to them.

Idiographic approach

Psychological researchers adopt the idiographic approach to focus on individuals, employing qualitative methods to explore how each person subjectively perceives the world. 

Immunosuppression

When the immune system loses strength, it becomes harder for the body to fight off disease and infection – a condition known as immunosuppression.

Imprinting

As soon as they are born, animals instinctively follow and bond with the first moving object they see—often an adult animal or human. This immediate attachment process is known as imprinting.

Impulsivity

Because they seek immediate gratification and take risks without thinking through the consequences, impulsive individuals often act on impulse—a personality trait known as impulsivity.

Incapacitation

As part of custodial sentencing, the justice system uses incapacitation to protect the public by removing individuals – especially those who are violent or dangerous – from society

Independent groups design

Researchers use an independent groups design by assigning participants to only one condition of the independent variable, allowing them to compare outcomes across different groups.

Independent variable (IV)

Researchers manipulate the independent variable (IV) during an experiment to observe how changes affect the outcome.

Indirect reinforcement

As a result of observing others, people learn through indirect (or vicarious) reinforcement by watching how others behave and noting whether they receive rewards or punishments.

Inference

Based on the available information, we draw an inference by forming a logical conclusion that connects the evidence to a likely explanation.

Informational social influence (ISI)

When people want to be correct, they often conform by relying on others for guidance—an explanation known as informational social influence (ISI).

Infradian rhythm

Infradian rhythms are biological rhythms that take more than 24 hours to complete, such as the menstrual cycle.

Inhibitory

In relation to electrical impulses in neurons, the term inhibitory means a negative response in the neuron – an impulse is not generated or continued.

Innate releasing mechanisms (IRM)

Innate releasing mechanisms (IRM) are physiological processes, such as a network of neurons, that are activated by a specific environmental cue and trigger a fixed action pattern (specific sequence of behaviours).

Insecure-avoidant

Insecure-avoidant is an attachment type identified by the Strange Situation, where children show low separation anxiety and low stranger anxiety.

Insecure-resistant

Insecure-resistant is an attachment type identified by the Strange Situation, where children both want their mother and resist her. They show high separation anxiety and high stranger anxiety.

Institutionalisation

Institutionalisation in the context of attachment occurs when children grow up in an institution such as an orphanage, hospital, or children’s home. Institutionalised children can suffer from a lack of emotional care, meaning they may experience difficulty in forming attachments.

Instrumental support

Instrumental support is a problem-focused approach where somebody gives practical, tangible help, such as giving someone a lift to a hospital appointment.

Intense-personal

The second level of parasocial relationship on the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS) is intense-personal, when a person invests more time and emotional energy into a celebrity, leading them to agree with statements such as ‘When something bad happens to my favourite celebrity, I feel like it happened to me.’

Interactional synchrony

Interactional synchrony is when an infant and their caregiver mirror each other’s actions and emotions.

Interactionist approach

The interactionist approach is an approach to psychology that believes nature and nurture are inextricably linked and work together to shape behaviour.

Interference theory

Interference theory is an explanation for forgetting that suggests that forgetting occurs when one memory blocks or distorts another memory.

Internal working model (IWM)

The internal working model (IWM) is the theory that a baby’s relationship with its primary caregiver acts a blueprint for all future relationships.

Internalisation

Internalisation is a type of conformity where a person changes to fit in with the majority both publicly and privately on a permanent basis. In Freud’s psychodynamic explanation of gender development, identification refers to when a child adopts the attitudes and values of their same-sex parent, including their gender identity, so they behave in the same way.

Inter-observer reliability

Inter-observer reliability measures the extent to which different observers in an experiment agree with each other and are observing and recording data in the same way.

Intersexual selection

Intersexual selection is when one sex evolves preferences for the opposite sex, which determines the areas in which the opposite sex must compete.

Interval data

Interval data is data that has precise intervals between measurements, such as heart rate in beats per minute.

Interview

An interview is a set of questions asked face-to-face by a researcher.

Intra-psychic phase

The intra-psychic phase is the first stage in Duck’s phase model of relationship breakdown, where a person will brood on the aspects of their relationship they are dissatisfied about and feel resentful towards their partner.

Intrasexual selection

Intrasexual selection is when members of the same sex (usually men) compete to gain access to the opposite sex. The characteristics that led to their success will be passed on through their genes.

Intrinsic investments

Intrinsic investments are resources a person directly brings to their relationship, such as money, possessions, energy, and self-disclosures.

Introduction

An introduction is the section of a scientific report that states the aims and hypotheses of the investigation.

Introspection

Wundt’s method of investigation into psychology, known as introspection, involved showing participants a stimulus and asking them to reflect on their inner experiences.

Investigative psychology

Investigative psychology is a bottom-up approach to offender profiling that compares crime scene evidence to a database to create an offender profile.

Investigator effects

Investigator effects are any conscious or unconscious behaviours of a researcher that could influence the outcome of a study. For example, a researcher may unconsciously give subtle cues to participants which act as confounding variables.

Job-strain model

The job-strain model is the theory that ahigh workload and a low sense of control in the workplace causes stress and illness.

Klinefelter’s syndrome

Klinefelter’s syndrome is a genetic condition where an individual is born biologically male but with an extra X chromosome (XXY). Individuals with Klinefelter’s syndrome tend to look less masculine and often have problems with language development, reading, memory, and problem solving.

Kohlberg’s theory

Kohlberg’s theory is a cognitive–developmental theory that identifies three stages of gender development in children: gender identity, gender stability, and gender constancy.

Laboratory experiment

A laboratory experiment is a type of experiment where the researcher manipulates the independent variable(s) in a well-controlled artificial setting, such as a university classroom or scientific laboratory.

Leading questions

Leading questions are questions that are worded to suggest a particular answer.

Learning theory

Learning theory is a behaviourist approach that says all behaviour is learned through either classical and/or operant conditioning.

Legitimacy of authority

Legitimacy of authority is when a person obeys another due to their perceived social control in a situation, not due to their personal characteristics.

Legitimate authority

A person with legitimate authority is believed to have rightful power and control over others, so others believe they should be obeyed.

Leptin

Leptin is a ‘satiety’ hormone produced by adipose (fat) cells and causes a person to feel full and stop eating.

Levels of measurement

In statistics, the levels of measurement are the different ways that quantitative data can be measured and categorised, including nominal, ordinal, and interval.

Life Change Unit (LCU)

A Life Change Unit (LCU) is a measurement of how stressful (or life-changing) an event is for a person. It is used as part of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale to measure how life events impact on health.

Life changes

Life changes are events that cause a major change or disruption to a person’s life, such as getting married or the death of a friend.

Limbic system

The limbic system is a part of the brain that helps coordinate emotional and behavioural responses, such as aggression. It includes the amygdala and hippocampus.

Localisation of function

Localisation of function is a theory that different functions of the body are localised in specific areas of the brain, for example Broca’s area is responsible for speech production.

Locus of control

Locus of control refers to the extent to which a person feels in control of the events that influence their life.

Long-term memory (LTM)

Long-term memory (LTM) is a memory store that can hold unlimited amounts of information for long periods of time.

Maintenance rehearsal

We use maintenance rehearsal by repeating information over and over to keep it in short-term memory and transfer it to long-term memory.

MAOA gene

The MAOA gene produces the enzyme monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), which regulates serotonin metabolism in the brain.

Matched pairs design

In a matched pairs design, researchers pair participants based on characteristics that might influence the dependent variable, then randomly assign one participant from each pair to a condition of the independent variable.

Matching hypothesis

The matching hypothesis suggests that people choose romantic partners who match their own level of physical attractiveness, rather than selecting the most physically attractive person.

Maternal care

A mother provides maternal care by attending to her child’s needs.

Maternal deprivation

Children experience maternal deprivation when they are separated from their mother or when she fails to provide consistent care.

Mean

To find the mean, researchers add all the scores in a dataset and divide the total by the number of scores, giving the average value as a measure of central tendency.

Measures of central tendency (MCT)

Researchers use measures of central tendency (MCT) to describe the most typical or ‘middle’ values in a dataset, including the mean, median and mode.

Measures of dispersion (MD)

Researchers use measures of dispersion (MD) to describe how spread out the scores are in a dataset, including statistics like the range and standard deviation.

Media

The media communicates with large audiences through methods such as TV, film, newspapers, and social media.

Median

To find the median, researchers arrange the scores from lowest to highest and identify the middle value as a measure of central tendency.

Mediational process

Cognitive processes drive learning by determining whether individuals acquire new behaviour. These mediational processes include focusing attention, retaining information, reproducing actions, and staying motivated.

Meta-analysis

A meta-analysis is a ‘study of studies’. Researchers conduct a meta-analysis by examining and combining results from multiple published studies (secondary data) that share the same aim. They use secondary data to identify patterns and draw broader conclusions.

Method

In the method section of a scientific report, the researcher outlines the exact steps they took during their investigation. This section provides enough detail to enable others to replicate the study precisely.

Minimalisation

A criminal who engages in minimalisation distorts their thinking by downplaying the seriousness of their crime, making it seem trivial.

Minority influence

Minority influence is when an individual or small group persuades a majority to conform to their attitudes, values, and behaviours.

Mirror neuron system

The mirror neuron system activates when we observe others, allowing us to simulate their feelings and experience their emotions as if they were our own. 

Mode

The mode identifies the most frequently occurring score in a dataset, making it a key measure of central tendency.

Modelling

People learn through modelling by observing and imitating the behaviour of significant role models such as parents, friends, and media figures.

Monotropic theory of attachment

Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment argues that babies form attachments as an evolutionary strategy to boost their chances of survival. It emphasises how the baby builds a strong bond with a primary caregiver—typically the mother—which plays a crucial role in developing attachment.

Monotropy

Bowlby’s idea of monotropy is that having one true attachment figure (usually the mother) is key in the development of attachment. As a result, this unique attachment shapes the child’s social and emotional growth.

Motor centre

The motor centre, located at the back of the frontal lobe, controls voluntary movement by directing signals to the muscles.

Motor neuron

Motor neurons transmit signals from the central nervous system to muscles and glands, actively triggering movement and bodily responses. As a result, they play a vital role in converting neural instructions into physical actions.

Multi-store model of memory (MSM)

The multi-store model of memory (MSM) describes how the brain stores and processes information in a linear sequence, and transfers it to memories. As a result, this model helps explain how different memory stores (short term and long term) interact to form lasting memories.”

Musturbatory thinking

Ellis identified musturbatory thinking as a cognitive distortion where people convince themselves they must meet certain unrealistic conditions to feel happy. This rigid thinking pattern often leads them to experience unnecessary stress and dissatisfaction.

N value

In statistical testing, researchers use the N value to represent the total number of scores in a dataset. Therefore, this value plays a crucial role in determining the reliability and significance of the results.

Natural experiment

In a natural experiment, researchers study the effects of events that have already occurred. Unlike in controlled experiments, the independent variable arises naturally, while researchers still measure and control the dependent variable. As a result, natural experiments allow scientists to explore real-world phenomena without direct manipulation.

Naturalistic observation

In a naturalistic observation, researchers investigate behaviour by watching and/or listening to participants in their natural environment. Importantly, they avoid interfering with the situation, allowing behaviour to unfold naturally. As a result, this method provides rich, authentic insights into real-world actions.

Nature–nurture debate

The nature–nurture debate explores whether biological and genetic factors (nature) or environmental influences (nurture) shape human behaviour. On one hand, some researchers argue that people inherit traits and tendencies. On the other hand, others believe that life experiences and surroundings play a more significant role. Ultimately, this debate highlights the complex interaction between genes and environment in shaping who we are.

Negative correlation

A negative correlation describes a relationship where one co-variable increases while the other decreases. As this pattern emerges, researchers observe that higher values in one variable consistently align with lower values in the other.

Negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement strengthens behaviour by removing something unpleasant, which the individual experiences as a reward. This process encourages the person to repeat the behaviour to avoid discomfort in the future.

Negative skew

A negatively skewed distribution places most scores at the higher end of the dataset.

Negative symptom of SCZ

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia reduce a person’s ability to function in key areas of life. These symptoms include speech poverty, avolition (a lack of motivation), anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure), and affective flattening (limited emotional expression). As these symptoms persist, they interfere with daily activities and social interactions. Furthermore, they often contribute to long-term challenges in recovery and quality of life.

Negative triad

Beck developed the negative triad to explain how depression takes hold and persists. According to this model, individuals with depression consistently view themselves, the world around them, and their future in a negative light. As these thoughts reinforce one another, they create a cycle that deepens and maintains depressive symptoms. 

Neophobia

Neophobia causes children -especially those aged 2 to 6 – to reject new or unfamiliar foods. They avoid trying anything outside their usual diet, which can limit nutritional variety during early development.

Nervous system

The nervous system uses a network of nerve cells to send messages between the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body. It coordinates actions and responses by rapidly transmitting signals to and from different body parts.

Neural correlates

Neural correlates link specific brain structures and functions to mental experiences, such as the symptoms of schizophrenia. Researchers identify these correlations by observing how changes in brain activity align with particular behaviours or psychological states. As a result, neural correlates help scientists understand the biological basis of complex conditions.

Neurochemistry

Neurochemistry explores how chemicals like neurotransmitters influence the nervous system. As a result, neurochemistry plays a key role in understanding brain function and mental health.

Neuron

Neurons actively transmit electrical impulses to and from the central nervous system, playing a crucial role as specialised cells in the body’s communication network.

Neurotransmitter

Neurotransmitters act as chemical messengers that enable neurons to communicate efficiently – not only with each other but also with various target cells throughout the body.

Nicotine

Nicotine is an addictive chemical that is a component of cigarettes and e-cigarettes (vapes).

Nominal data

Researchers classify nominal data by sorting it into distinct categories, such as male, female, and non-binary.

Nomothetic approach

The nomothetic approach advances psychological research by examining large groups of people. By applying quantitative methods, it collects numerical data, which researchers then analyse statistically to identify general patterns and principles.

Non-directional hypothesis

A non-directional hypothesis states that a difference will exist between the conditions of the independent variable; however, it does not predict which direction that difference will take. 

Non-participant observation

In a non-participant observation, researchers investigate behaviour by watching or listening to participants from a distance without becoming actively involved.

Normal distribution

A normal distribution describes data that spreads evenly, with most scores clustering around the middle of the dataset and fewer scores appearing at the extremes.

Normative social influence (NSI)

Normative social influence (NSI) explains conformity by showing how people change their behaviour to gain social approval and be liked by others.

Obesity

Obesity is a chronic disease where individuals are significantly overweight.

Object permanence

In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children demonstrate object permanence when they understand that objects continue to exist even after they disappear from view.

Objectivity

Researchers maintain objectivity by recording data without allowing personal bias to influence their observations or interpretations.

Observation

Researchers investigate behaviour through observation by actively watching or listening to participants; moreover, this non-experimental method allows them to gather data without manipulating variables.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) affects mental health by causing individuals to experience recurring, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and feel compelled to perform repetitive behaviours (compulsions); as a result, they often struggle to control these actions, which can significantly disrupt daily life.

Oedipus complex

According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, a boy develops the Oedipus complex during the phallic stage (ages 3 to 6), by directing unconscious desires toward his mother and perceiving his father as a rival. However, he also recognises his power and fears he will castrate him.

Oestrogen

Oestrogen acts as a key female sex hormone that initiates puberty in girls, regulates the menstrual cycle, and prepares the body for pregnancy.

Offender profiling

Forensic psychologists use offender profiling to identify the likely characteristics of a criminal. By analysing the crime scene and examining other evidence, they build a psychological picture that helps narrow down suspects and guide investigations.

Open questions

Researchers use open questions in questionnaires or interviews to encourage participants to respond freely; as a result, these questions typically generate rich, qualitative data that offer deeper insights into thoughts and experiences.

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning teaches behaviour through rewards—when individuals receive a reward for an action, they are more likely to repeat that behaviour in the future.

Operationalisation

Researchers apply operationalisation by turning abstract concepts and transforming them into something objectively measurable.

Opportunity sample

Researchers create an opportunity sample by selecting participants who are readily available at the time of the study, forming a subset of the target population based on convenience.

Ordinal data

Researchers organise ordinal data by ranking values in order; however, the intervals between these ranks are neither equal nor objectively measurable.

Organised offender

Organised offenders plan their crimes carefully, taking deliberate steps to avoid leaving evidence at the scene.

Over-benefitted

In equity theory, an over-benefitted partner receives more rewards than they contribute to the relationship; as a result, they may experience feelings of guilt, shame, or pity due to the imbalance.

Overt observation

Researchers conduct overt observations by openly watching or listening to participants; in this non-experimental method, participants are aware they are being observed, which may influence their behaviour.

Oxytocin

The pituitary gland produces oxytocin in both men and women; this hormone actively promotes emotional bonding, enhances orgasm, and even accelerates wound healing by supporting the body’s stress response and immune function.

p value

In statistics, researchers use the p value to measure the probability that a study’s results occurred by chance.

Paradigm

Scientists within a discipline share a paradigm—a common set of assumptions and research methods that guide their studies.

Paradigm shift

A paradigm shift occurs when scientists gather evidence that challenges and ultimately overturns widely accepted scientific assumptions.

Parasocial relationship

People form parasocial relationships when they develop one-sided emotional connections, usually with celebrities.

Partial reinforcement

Partial reinforcement is a process of conditioning where behaviour is rewarded only some of the time, rather than every time it occurs.

Participant observation

Participant observation is a non-experimental method of investigating behaviour where researchers go undercover to join a group they wish to observe.

Peer review

Peer review is when experts in the field scrutinise a research paper to ensure it is of high scientific quality.

Perceptual-representation system (PRS)

The perceptual-representation system (PRS) enables us to automatically and unconsciously recognise stimuli we’ve encountered before.

Perfectionism

People who show perfectionism set extremely high standards for themselves and and are very critical of themselves if these standards are not achieved.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) includes nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, and it divides into the autonomic and somatic nervous systems.

Person-centred counselling

Rogers developed person-centred counselling as a talking therapy to help individuals achieve congruence.

Perspective-taking

People use perspective-taking to understand situations from another person’s point of view.

Phenotype

An individual’s phenotype shows how their genes (genotype) express themselves through physiological or psychological traits or characteristics.

Phobia

A phobia causes a person to feel intense fear toward a specific object or situation.

Phonological loop (PL)

According to the working model of memory, the phonological loop handles auditory tasks by storing the words we hear in the phonological store and repeating them through the articulatory process.

Physical attractiveness

Physical attractiveness is the extent to which a person’s physical appearance is pleasing.

Physical dependence

When people develop physical dependence on a drug, they experience painful or unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if they stop taking it.

Physiological measure

Researchers use physiological measures to track bodily functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance response.

Pilot study

Researchers carry out a pilot study as a small-scale trial to test the design, materials, and procedures of an investigation, allowing them to identify and fix any issues before the main study.

Piloting

Researchers use piloting by running small-scale trial studies (pilot studies) to improve the validity, reliability, and smooth running of the actual investigation.

Plasticity

The brain adapts its structure and function in response to experiences and new learning, demonstrating plasticity.

Population

Researchers identify a population as the group of individuals they want to study and apply their findings to.

Positive correlation

In a positive correlation, both co-variables increase together, as one co-variable increases, the other increases as well.

Positive reinforcement

In operant conditioning, trainers use positive reinforcement by rewarding a desired behaviour, so it is more likely to be repeated.

Positive skew

A dataset shows a positive skew when most scores cluster at the lower end.

Positive symptom of SCZ

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia introduce experiences that conflict with reality, such as hallucinations and delusions.

Post-event discussion

Eyewitnesses engage in post-event discussion when they talk to each other about the crime after it happens.

Post-mortem

A post-mortem is a medical examination of the body after death.

Prefrontal cortex

The prefrontal cortex, located in the brain’s frontal lobe, actively supports cognitive functions like reasoning, decision-making, and speech.

Primary data

Researchers collect primary data directly from participants during their study.

Proactive interference

Proactive interference is when an older memory blocks or distorts a newer one.

Probability

Probability is how likely something is to happen.

Problem-focused coping

To manage stress effectively, individuals often use problem-focused coping, a strategy where they directly confront the source of stress with practical and rational actions. As a result, they reduce the impact of the stressor by addressing it head-on rather than avoiding it.

Procedural memory

Procedural memory is a type of long-term memory that is implicit (unconscious retrieval) often referred to as ‘muscle memory’, where the skill (or memory) becomes automatic once it is practised enough.

Psychic determinism

Psychic determinism explains behaviour by linking it directly to unconscious forces, including innate drives and early childhood experiences (internal and external forces). As a result, individuals act not by choice, but because internal and external influences shape their actions beneath conscious awareness.

Psychoanalytic theory

Freud developed psychoanalytic theory to explain how unconscious processes actively drive human behaviour. Consequently, this approach to psychology emphasises how hidden thoughts, desires, and early experiences shape human actions.

Psychodynamic approach

The psychodynamic approach is an approach to psychology, based on the idea that most behaviours are determined by the unconscious. It used case study methodology to analyse behaviour and create theories.

Psychodynamic explanation

Psychodynamic explanations link behaviour to early childhood experiences, claiming that events in infancy actively shape a person’s psychological development. As a result, this approach highlights how unconscious memories and unresolved conflicts influence behaviour later in life.

Psychological dependence

A person experiencing psychological dependence constantly thinks about their addictive substance or behaviour and feels a strong urge to engage in it, even when they know it will cause harm. 

Psychosexual stages

Psychosexual stages are different stages that children go through as they grow up in terms of their sexuality, according to Freud. The five stages are: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.

Punishment reinforcement

Punishment reinforcement is a process in operant conditioning where an unwanted behaviour is punished, so it is less likely to be repeated.

Qualitative data

Qualitative data is data that is expressed in words, such as the diary entry of a participant or the transcript of an interview.

Quantitative data

Quantitative data is data that is measured in numbers or quantities, such as the duration of short-term memory or a participant’s score on a test.

Quasi experiment

Quasi experiments are experiments where the independent variable is a pre-existing characteristic, such as age.

Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a structured set of questions used to gather information from respondents.

Random allocation

In sampling, researchers use random allocation to assign participants randomly to different conditions of the independent variable.

Random sample

Researchers create a random sample (sampling technique) by giving every member of the target population an equal chance of being selected. 

Randomisation

Researchers use randomisation to introduce chance into a study, helping control for extraneous variables, confounding variables, and investigator effects. For example, they might randomly assign participants to different conditions of the independent variable to reduce bias.

Range

Range is a measure of dispersion of a dataset that gives the difference in value between the lowest and highest values.

Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)

Ellis developed Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), a type of cognitive behavioural therapy that uses the ABCDE model to treat depression.

Recidivism

A criminal commits recidivism when they reoffend.

Reciprocity

In caregiver–infant interactions, the caregiver and infant respond to each other’s movements or sounds in a reciprocal way, like having a conversation without words.

Reductionism

Reductionism explains behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent parts.

Reference

The reference is the section of a scientific report that lists the sources (references) mentioned in the report (such as other research papers). Each reference includes details such as title, author, and publisher.

Rehabilitation

Custodial sentencing aims to rehabilitate prisoners by offering therapy and opportunities to develop skills and training, helping them function more effectively after release.

Relay neuron

Relay neurons (interneurons), found only in the brain and spinal cord, connect sensory neurons to motor neurons to enable communication between them.

Reliability

Researchers assess reliability by checking whether an investigation produces consistent findings when repeated. If the results stay the same, they consider them reliable

Remission

A person enters remission when they recover from a physiological or psychological health condition and stop experiencing symptoms.

Repeated measures design

In a repeated measures design, researchers have participants take part in all conditions of the independent variable

Replicability

Replicability means researchers can repeat an investigation in different contexts and circumstances and still obtain the same results.

Repression

In Freud’s psychodynamic approach, repression involves forcing a traumatic memory into the unconscious, so it can’t be remembered.

Restorative justice

Restorative justice addresses criminal behaviour by aiming to repair the harm caused by the crime. It prioritises atonement and rehabilitation over punishment.

Restraint theory

Restraint theory explains obesity by proposing that dieting causes people to become preoccupied with food, which then leads to overeating.

Results

The results section of a scientific report presents the key findings in detail.

Sally–Anne test

The Sally-Anne test is a false-belief task that uses a story of two dolls, where Sally puts a marble in her basket, but Anne moves it to a box while Sally is away. Children are asked where Sally will search for the marble.

Sample

Researchers select a small group of individuals from the target population using different sampling techniques, each designed to ensure the sample represents the population accurately.

Scaffolding

In Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development, experts support children as they cross the zone of proximal development by providing scaffolding – temporary assistance that they gradually remove as the child’s cognitive abilities grow.

Scattergram

Researchers use a scattergram to display the relationship between two co-variables in a correlational investigation. They label each axis with one co-variable and plot a scatter point for each data pair

Schema

People use schemas—mental structures that group related concepts—to make sense of the world. For example, a schema for a cat might include concepts like fluffy, four legs, tail, and whiskers.

Schizophrenia (SCZ)

Schizophrenia presents both positive symptoms – such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganised speech—and negative symptoms like speech poverty and avolition.

Secondary data

Researchers use secondary data, which is data that has been generated for other purposes. It may have been collected by the same researcher in a previous study, or by another organisation.

Secure attachment

Children with a secure attachment, as identified in the Strange Situation, use their mother as a secure base to explore their surroundings. They show moderate levels of separation and stranger anxiety.

Self-actualisation

A person reaches self-actualisation—the final stage in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—when they fulfil their full potential.

Self-disclosure

A person strengthens a relationship by gradually and reciprocally revealing personal information—an act known as self-disclosure.

Self-report scale

Participants complete a self-report scale by providing information about themselves without interference from a researcher.

Self-report technique

Researchers use self-report techniques (non-experimental methods) to ask participants about their experiences, thoughts, and feelings on a given topic

Self-schema

People develop a self-schema—a packet of knowledge about themselves—that actively guides how they perceive the world.

Self-worth

People express their self-worth by valuing and respecting themselves and believing they are worthy of love.

Semantic memory

People use semantic memory—a type of long-term and explicit memory (conscious retrieval) to recall knowledge about the world and the meanings of words.

Sensory neuron

Sensory neurons carry nerve impulses from sensory receptors to the spinal cord and brain, allowing the body to interpret sensory information.

Sensory register

In the multi-store model of memory, the sensory register actively collects and briefly processes information from the senses.

Separation anxiety

A child experiences separation anxiety when they feel distressed by being apart from their primary attachment figure.

Serotonin

Serotonin acts as a neurotransmitter that inhibits activity across the brain and naturally stabilizes mood. It also supports key bodily functions such as sleep, digestion, and wound healing.

SERT gene

The SERT gene helps regulate mood, and a variation in this gene lowers serotonin levels, which researchers have linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Sex

In terms of gender, sex refers to being genetically male (XY) or female (XX).

Sex-role stereotype

Society imposes sex-role stereotypes by promoting expectations about how males and females should typically and acceptably behave—for example, saying ‘boys don’t cry’ or ‘girls don’t fight’.

Sexual selection

According to the theory of sexual selection, people are biologically programmed to seek out traits and behaviours in the opposite sex that enhance their chances of mating successfully and raising children who grow into sexually attractive adults.

Short-term memory (STM)

Short-term memory (STM) holds a small amount of information and keeps it readily accessible for a brief period.

Sign test

Researchers use the sign test to assess whether differences in a dataset are statistically significant. They apply it when working with nominal data in repeated measures or matched pairs experimental designs.

Significance level

In statistical testing, researchers use the significance level to measure how likely it is that their results occurred by chance (probability, or p value). In psychology, they typically accept a significance level of p < 0.05, meaning there is a 5% or lower probability that the findings are due to chance alone.

Similarity in attitudes

In filter theory, the second filter emphasises similarity in attitudes, highlighting how shared values and beliefs help people form stable relationships.

Situational explanation

A situational explanation for behaviour suggests that a person behaves the way they do because of the situation they’re in—their current environment or circumstances.

Skewed distribution

A dataset forms a skewed distribution when its values spread unevenly around the mean.

Skin conductance response

Researchers measure the skin conductance response by tracking how the skin’s electrical conductivity increases with sweat, using this change to assess stress levels.

Sleep/wake cycle

Endogenous pacemakers drive our sleep/wake cycle—a circadian rhythm that controls how alert or sleepy we feel over a 24-hour period.

SNRIs

SNRIs are a type of anti-depressant drug that blocks the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline.

Social change

Society creates social change when people shift how they think about specific issues, such as women’s rights or sexuality.

Social cognition

People engage in social cognition when they process and apply their thoughts during interactions with others.

Social demography

Social demography serves as the first filter in filter theory, using variables like age, location, and religion to predict whether potential partners will meet. According to filter theory, people tend to meet and form relationships with others who share similar social demographic traits.

Social exchange theory

Social exchange theory predicts whether partners will stay in a relationship by weighing the benefits against the costs. To maintain a relationship, partners must perceive that the rewards of being together outweigh the drawbacks.

Social influence

Social influence occurs when a person changes their beliefs or behaviours in response to the actions or opinions of other people.

Social learning theory (SLT)

Social learning theory (SLT) explains behaviour as something people learn within a social context by observing others, modelling their actions, and experiencing both direct and indirect reinforcement.

Social norms intervention

Social norms interventions use messages to show what most people do, encouraging others to adopt the majority’s behaviour to fit in.

Social penetration theory

Social penetration theory describes how partners deepen their relationships by gradually and reciprocally sharing personal information, allowing them to explore each other’s inner thoughts and lives.

Social phase

In the third stage of Duck’s phase model of relationship breakdown—the social phase – partners begin sharing their relationship problems with their social network. As the issues become public, the relationship moves closer to an inevitable breakdown.

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) uses a self-report questionnaire to measure how much stress a person has experienced based on life events, helping to predict the potential impact on their health.

Social releaser

Social releasers are innate biological traits—like a baby’s cute button nose—that trigger caregiving responses from others.

Social role

An individual plays a social role based on what others expect in a given context – such as acting as a parent, friend, or teacher.

Social support

Social support involves individuals in a person’s network offering practical help or emotional comfort.

Socially sensitive research

Socially sensitive research is research that might have consequences for the groups being investigated and represented. The groups are usually minorities who are vulnerable to discrimination.

Soft determinism

Soft determinism suggests that while we can predict most behaviour, individuals still exercise some free will when making conscious decisions.

Somatic nervous system (SNS)

The somatic nervous system, a branch of the peripheral nervous system, directs voluntary muscle movement by sending motor commands from the brain to the muscles.

Somatosensory centre

The somatosensory centre, located at the front of the parietal lobe, processes sensory input like touch, pain, and heat as it arrives in the brain.

Speech poverty

Speech poverty (alogia) reduces a person’s ability to speak fluently.

Spiral model

The spiral model explains why dieting often fails by showing how it increases the risk of overeating. This overeating then pushes the person to try dieting even more strictly, creating a self-reinforcing cycle.

Split-brain research

Split-brain research builds on Sperry’s studies of epilepsy patients who had their corpus callosum cut, preventing communication between the brain’s left and right hemispheres.

SSRIs

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) treat depression by extending the time serotonin stays in the synapse, which strengthens its effect on mood regulation.

Stages of attachment

As children grow, they form attachments in distinct stages. Schaffer identified four of these stages: asocial, indiscriminate, specific, and multiple, each reflecting how children increasingly connect with others.

Stages of intellectual development

Piaget identified four stages of intellectual development, showing how children adopt increasingly sophisticated ways of thinking as they grow. These stages include the sensory motor stage (0–2 years), the pre-operational stage (2–7 years), the concrete operational stage (7–11 years), and the formal operational stage (11+ years).

Standard deviation (SD)

Standard deviation (SD) measures how much scores spread out from the mean. A higher SD shows that the scores vary more widely within the dataset.

Standardisation

In experiments, researchers standardise procedures and instructions so that all participants experience them in exactly the same way.

State-dependent forgetting

State-dependent forgetting occurs when people struggle to recall information because their physical or emotional state differs from the one they were in when they first learned it.

Statistical infrequency

In psychopathology, statistical infrequency defines ‘abnormality’ by identifying behaviours that occur rarely within a population.

Statistical testing

Statistical testing applies mathematical techniques to data to determine whether the differences or associations observed are statistically significant.

Stimulus-response link

Stimulus-response links connect a specific stimulus with a specific response.

Strange Situation

In the 1970s, Mary Ainsworth devised the Strange Situation as a controlled observation to determine infants’ attachment types.

Stranger anxiety

A child shows distress when they are with unfamiliar people, a behavior known as stranger anxiety.

Stratified sample

Researchers use a stratified sampling technique to identify subgroups (strata) within a target population and proportionally represent them in the sample.

Stress inoculation therapy (SIT)

Stress inoculation therapy (SIT) uses cognitive behavioural techniques to prevent stress by teaching people to think differently about the stressors affecting them.

Structuralism

Wundt developed structuralism as an approach to psychology, scientifically studying the structure of the human mind by breaking down perceptions and sensations into their constituent parts.

Structured interview

In a structured interview, the researcher asks pre-determined questions in a fixed order.

Structured observation

In a structured observation, the observer breaks down overall behaviour into specific behavioural categories.

Superego

Freud claimed that the superego develops during the phallic stage of a person’s development.

Sympathomedullary pathway (SAM)

The body activates the sympathomedullary pathway (SAM) to deal with acute stress, triggering the fight or flight response.

Synaptic transmission

A neuron communicates with another neuron through synaptic transmission, releasing neurotransmitters into the synaptic gap between them.

Synchronic consistency

Synchronic consistency is a process affecting minority influence, in which the minority have the same message between themselves.

Systematic desensitisation (SD)

Systematic desensitisation (SD) is a behavioural therapy used to treat phobias. It uses counter-conditioning to pair the (learned) phobic stimulus with a new conditioned stimulus of relaxation techniques.

Systematic sample

A systematic sample is a random sampling technique where every nth person is selected, for example every 10th person from the list.

Table

In statistics, a table is a structured grid used to organise data in columns and rows.

Taste aversion

When we see or smell food that once made us ill, we develop a taste aversion and avoid it—an adaptive response that helped our ancestors survive by steering them away from dangerous foods.

Temporal validity

Researchers assess temporal validity by examining whether their findings can be generalised to different time periods.

Tend and befriend response

Women often respond to stress or threat by protecting and caring for their children (‘tend’) and forming alliances with other women (‘befriend’)—a pattern known as the tend and befriend response.

Testosterone

Testosterone is a male sex hormone, which develops external genitalia in prenatal males, is responsible for puberty in boys, and has behavioural effects (such as heightening aggression).

Test-retest reliability

Researchers test the reliability of a research tool-such as a questionnaire or IQ test-using the test-retest method, where the same person completes the tool at two different times.

Thematic analysis

A thematic analysis is a form of content analysis that produces qualitative data, as it identifies underlying themes from the coded data. For example, in the content analysis of a music video, antisocial themes such as ‘positive portrayal of violence’ and ‘sexist attitudes towards women’ may emerge.

Theoretical model

A theoretical model is a framework used to represent a psychological theory. It is based on research and is often pictorial, using boxes and arrows to indicate the stages of a mental process.

Theory construction

Theory construction involves generating a theory (an idea to explain facts or events) and testing it repeatedly to refine it.

Theory of mind (ToM)

Theory of mind (ToM) is an individual’s understanding that other people have their own thoughts and feelings, which can be understood through facial expressions.

Theory of planned behaviour (TPB)

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) explains behaviour change by proposing that intention directly drives action. For example, in the context of addiction, assessing a person’s intention to quit can help predict whether they will stop using the substance.

Time sampling

In time sampling, observers record specific behaviours at set intervals – such as every five minutes – during a structured observation.

Token economy

A token economy uses operant conditioning to reinforce positive behaviours by rewarding individuals when they perform them.

Tolerance

In addiction, long-term drug use reduces the body’s physiological response, leading to tolerance. As a result, individuals must take larger doses to achieve the same effect.

Top-down approach

In the top-down approach to offender profiling, profilers match crime scene details and offender characteristics to pre-established templates developed by the FBI.

Transdiagnostic model

The transdiagnostic model is model suggesting that the same cognitive distortions underlie all eating disorders. These cognitive distortions include a person overestimating their weight, negative misperceptions of appearance, and an emphasis on self-control.

Turner’s syndrome

Turner’s syndrome is a genetic condition where an infant is born biologically female but with a missing X chromosome (X0). Individuals with Turner’s syndrome do not have periods and are infertile. They typically have a higher-than-average reading ability, but poorer performance in spatial ability, visual memory, and maths tasks.

Two-process model

The two-process model states that classical conditioning triggers phobias, and operant conditioning reinforces them.

Type A personality

An individual with a Type A personality tends to act competitively, pursue ambitious goals, show impatience, and display hostility.

Type B personality

An individual with a Type B personality typically stays relaxed, shows patience and tolerance, and maintains a laid-back attitude.

Type C personality

An individual with a Type C personality typically avoids conflict and suppresses their emotions.

Type I error

A researcher makes a Type I error when they accept the alternative hypothesis even though the null hypothesis is true.

Type II error

A researcher makes a Type II error when they accept the null hypothesis even though the alternative hypothesis is true.

Typical antipsychotic

Doctors prescribe typical antipsychotics, such as chlorpromazine, to treat schizophrenia. These drugs block dopamine activity and effectively reduce positive symptoms, although they can cause problematic side effects.

 

Ultradian rhythm

The body follows ultradian rhythms, completing biological cycles like the 90-minute sleep cycle in less than 24 hours.

Unanimity

People show unanimity when they all agree with each other.

Unconscious

In psychoanalysis, the unconscious stores basic instincts, drives, and repressed traumatic memories.

Under-benefitted

In equity theory, an under-benefitted partner bears more costs than rewards in a romantic relationship and may feel sadness, humiliation, and anger as a result.

Universality

Universality refers to a theory that applies to everyone regardless of gender or culture.

Unstructured interview

Researchers use unstructured observation to investigate behaviour by recording everything they see or hear, which generates qualitative data.

Unstructured observation

Unstructured observation is a non-experimental method of investigating behaviour where researchers record everything they see or hear and produce qualitative data.

Validity

Researchers assess validity by determining whether an experiment, observation, questionnaire, or similar tool measures what it claims to measure.

Variable

Researchers change the independent variable and measure its effect on the dependent variable. A variable refers to anything that can be changed and measured.

Variable reinforcement

In gambling, players experience variable reinforcement when they receive wins unpredictably and only after a proportion of their gambles, and the schedule is completely unpredictable.

Vicarious reinforcement

People learn vicariously by observing others’ behaviour and seeing how it is rewarded or punished.

Violation of expectation (VOE) research

Baillargeon conducted violation of expectation (VOE) research to investigate how young infants respond to unexpected events.

Visual centre

The brain’s visual centre, located in the occipital lobe, actively processes visual information such as colour, shape, and movement.

Visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSS)

According to the working model of memory, the visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSS) supports spatial tasks and visual imagery. It splits into two parts: the visual cache, which stores visual data, and the inner scribe, which tracks the arrangement of objects in the visual field.

Volunteer sample

A volunteer sample includes people who choose to take part in an experiment, often by responding to an advertisement or invitation.

Weapon focus effect

The weapon focus effect occurs when eyewitnesses concentrate on the criminal’s weapon, which distracts them from noticing other details and lowers the accuracy of their testimony.

Wernicke’s area

Wernicke’s area is located in the temporal lobe, an area of the brain responsible for speech comprehension.

Withdrawal syndrome

Withdrawal syndrome occurs when a person stops taking a drug they’ve become physically dependent on, triggering a set of aversive symptoms – often the opposite of the drug’s effects. 

Working model of memory (WMM)

The working model of memory (WMM) explains how memory functions by treating short-term memory as an active processor that helps people carry out tasks in the present.

Workplace stress

Workplace stress arises from job-related pressures, such as tight deadlines or challenging colleagues.

Yerkes–Dodson law

The Yerkes-Dodson law shows that anxiety can improve eyewitness accuracy up to a certain level, but once anxiety becomes too intense, accuracy starts to decline.

Zero correlation

Zero correlation describes a relationship between two co-variables where changes in one do not affect the other.

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

In Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development, the zone of proximal development (ZPD) marks the gap between what a child already understands and what they could understand with guidance.