A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the body cell

The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

The junction between the the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

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

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction

"morphine within"--natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

The body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Brain and spinal cord

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

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

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system.

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.

Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles.

The part of the nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart).

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

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

The body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another

A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. These glands secret the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which helps to arouse the body in times of stress.

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the gland regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Tissue destruction. A brain _____ is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction to brain tissue.

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp

a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see structures within the brain

A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans.

The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; this part of the brain is responsible for automatic survival functions.

Base of brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal

The brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; its functions including processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance.

A doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and drives such as those for food and sex. Includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus.

Two lima bean sized neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion.

A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements.

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.

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

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding)

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

The brain's capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage (especially in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development

The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them

Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes.

A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.

Every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us.

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

The complete instructions for making an organism

The biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosome.

A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

the proportion of variation among individual that we can attribute to genes. The ___ of a trait may vary, depending in the range of population and environment studied

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

A random error in gene replication that leads to a change.

The sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two _ chromosomes; males have one. An _ chromosome from each parent produces a female child.

The sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.

The fertilized egg.

The developing human organism from about two weeks after fertilization through the second month.

The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.

A baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple.

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas.

Adapting one's current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

In Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.

In Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.

The principle (which Piaget believed to be part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

In Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.

People's ideas about their own and others' mental states - about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict.

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.

An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.

An optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.

The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.

A sense of one's identity and personal worth.

In Kohlberg's Moral Ladder, before age 9, children show morality to avoid punishment or gain reward.

In Kohlberg's Moral Ladder, by early adolescence social rules and laws are upheld simply because they are the rules and laws.

In Kohlberg's Moral Ladder, some of those who develop the abstract reasoning may follow what one perceives as ethical principles.

One's sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust.

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; Toddlers learn to exercise will and do things for themselves, or they doubt their abilities.

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; Preschoolers learn yo initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about efforts to be independent.

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; Children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior.

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are.

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; Young adults struggle to form close relationships and gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated.

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; In middle age, people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually though family and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose.

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; When reflecting on his or her life, the older adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure.

In Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.

A progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning.

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.

One's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

One's ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.

The first stage in the Kubler-Ross model, when people are unable to believe of accept the situation.

The second stage in the Kubler-Ross model, when people begin to feel mad and blame themselves or others for the situation.

The third stage in the Kubler-Ross model, when people usually beg or pray to a higher power to undo the situation, usually through promises to be a better person.

The fourth stage in the Kubler-Ross model, when people become sad and feel helpless in the situation.

The fifth and final stage in the Kubler-Ross model, when people begin to accept the situation they are in.

The brain's capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage.

A parenting style characterized by the placement of few limits on the child's behavior.

A parenting style in which the parents are demanding, expect unquestioned obedience, are not responsive to their children's desires, and communicate poorly with their children.

A parenting style characterized by emotional warmth, high standards for behavior, explanation and consistent enforcement of rules, and inclusion of children in decision making.

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue.

Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference. (Also called just noticeable difference or JND.)

The principle that, to be perceived as different; two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.

Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.

The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next.

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.

The amount of energy in a light wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the waves amplitude.

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.

The sharpness of vision.

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones do not respond. (About 120,000,000 of them)

Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated in the center of the retina that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. They detect fine details and give rise to color sensations. (About 6,000,000 of them)

The transparent layer that protects the eye.

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

Cells that send signals out of the eye to the brain

Nerve cells that combine impulses from many receptors and send results to Ganglion cells.

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there.

The central focal point in retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement. (Hubel and Weisel)

The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

the theory that retina contains three different color receptors; one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue-which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color.

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

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

The sense or act of hearing.

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time.

A tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect.

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

The tendency for vision to dominate the other senses.

An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes.

a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing images from the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object.

Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

a monocular cue for perceiving depth; the smaller retinal image is farther away.

if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as being closer.

a monocular cue for perceiving depth; hazy objects are farther away than sharp, clear objects.

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; a gradual change from a coarse distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance. objects far away appear smaller and more densely packed.

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; objects higher in our field of vision are perceived as farther away.

Monocular distance cue based on the fact that moving objects appear to move a greater distance when they are close to the viewer than when they are far away.

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change.

The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input. Said to include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.

The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.

Communication from one mind to another without speech, writing, or other sensory means.

The apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses.

Perceiving future events.

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Periodic physiological fluctuations in the body, such as the rise and fall of hormones and accelerated or decelerated cycles of the brain activity, that can influence behavior.

the biological clock; regular bodily rythms (for example, of tempeture and wakefulness) that occur on a 24 hour cycle.

Rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active.

The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.

Periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness.

False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.

The large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.

Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.

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

A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings.

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

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer's delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it.

According to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream.

According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream.

Dreams provide "psychic safe value" - accepting otherwise unacceptable feelings, dreaming of secret desires (manifest content & latent content) - a hidden meaning.

Dreams help us sort out the day's events and consolidate our memories.

REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories, which our sleeping brain weaves into stories.

A social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.

A suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.

A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.

A chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods.

The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug.

The discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug.

A physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued.

A psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions.

Compulsive drug craving and use.

Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.

Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment.

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

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes.

A powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels.

A synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition.

Psychedelic (mind-manifesting) drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input.

A powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid.

The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations.

The presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact.

The presumption that mind and body are different aspects of the same thing.

An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

In psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing.

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions.

According to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

Contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. Operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Freud's theory regarding the id's desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain in order to achieve immediate gratification.

The largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

According the Freud, the attempt by the ego to satisfy both the id and the superego while still considering the reality of the situation.

The part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgement (the conscience) and for future aspirations

The childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones.

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

The process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parent's values into their developing superegos.

According to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.

(0 - 18 Months) Pleasure centers on the mouth - sucking, biting, chewing.

(18 - 36 Months) Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination, coping with demands for control.

(3 - 6 Years) Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings.

(8 to Puberty) Dormant sexual feelings.

(Puberty on) Maturation of sexual interests.

In psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some energy remains fixated.

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.

Defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions.

Defense mechanism by which people redirect socially unacceptable impulses toward acceptable goals.

Psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet.

Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history.

A personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics.

A projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.

The most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.

According to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential.

According to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person.

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

A characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports.

A questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.

The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests - originally designed to identify emotional disorders, this test is now used for many other screening purposes.

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups.

A personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.

A personality dimension that describes someone who is good natured, cooperative, and trusting.

A personality dimension that describes someone who is calm, secure, and self-satisfied.

A personality dimension that describes someone who is imaginative, independent, and has a preference for variety.

A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive.

The interacting influences between personality and environmental factors.

Our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless.

The perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.

The perception that one controls one's own fate.

The hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

Overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders.

One's feelings of high or low self-worth.

A readiness to perceive oneself favorably.

A personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types.

Maslow's pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.

Transition between wakefulness and real sleep. Lasts 5 - 10 minutes.

Sleep spindles occur. Muscles less tense, eyes relax. Lasts about 10 minutes.

Delta waves appear.

Delta waves, most difficult stage to awaken from. Deepest sleep.

Short bursts of brain waves detected in stage 2 sleep.

A relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience.

Learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

A type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli.

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists agree with one, but not two.

In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally triggers a response.

In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow an conditioned response; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.

The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for similar stimuli to elicit similar responses

In classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.

Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

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

An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

In operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock.

An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.

A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer.

Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.

In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.

In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.

In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.

In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.

An event that decreases the behavior that it follows.

A mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a ___ of it.

Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

A desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake.

A desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment.

Learning by observing others.

The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy.

Positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

Negative, destructive, unhelpful behavior.

The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

The processing of information into the memory system.

The retention of encoded information.

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

The encoding of picture images.

The encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.

The encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.

Mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding.

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

An increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

The loss of memory.

Retention independent of conscious recollection.

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare."

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.

A measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time.

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

That eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.

Shows that humans tend to halve their memory of newly learned knowledge unless consciously rehearse it.

This is how many items we can keep in short-term memory at a time (±2)

People unknowingly revise their memories.

The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

A mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to the prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).

A methodical logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier, also more error-prone, use of heuristics.

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.

A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions.

A tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions.

The inability to approach a problem in a new perspective; an impediment to problem solving.

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.

The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving.

Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information.

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common.

The tendency to be more confident than correct; to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments.

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

The tendency for one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid.

Clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.

In language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

In a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix).

In a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others.

The set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning.

The rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language.

Beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language.

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

Beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements.

Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram; 'go car'; using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting 'auxiliary' words.

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think.

Mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score.

A general intelligence factor that according to Spearman and others underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

A condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

A method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

The widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

Defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca × 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

A test designed to predict a person's future performance.

A test designed to assess what a person has learned.

The ___ is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

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

The extent to which a test yields consistent results.

The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it's supposed to.

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks).

The behavior that a test is designed to predict.

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

A condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound.

A condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one's genetic makeup.

A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

A complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level.

A positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.

Maslow's pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.

The form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When its level is low, we feel hunger.

The point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.

The body's resting rate of energy expenditure.

An eating disorder in which a normal-weight person diets and becomes significantly underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.

An eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

The four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

A resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.

A problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning.

A sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males. In nonhuman female mammals, ___ levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.

The most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional this hormone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.

An enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation).

A completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one's skills.

The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.

A subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal, and development.

A subfield of I/O psychology that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change.

Interview process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applicants, each of whom is rated on established scales.

A desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard.

Goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals.

Group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support.

A response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.

The theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli.

The theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion.

Schachter's theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal.

A machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and breathing changes).

Emotional release.

People's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.

Self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.

Our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

The perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.

The part of the hypothalamus that produces feelings of fullness as opposed to hunger, and causes one to stop eating.

The part of the hypothalamus that produces hunger signals.

Theory stating that we are motivated by our innate desire to maintain an personally preferred level of arousal. Sometimes called the Yerkes-Dodson Law

Our tendency to form judgements relative to a "neutral" level defined by our prior experience.

An interdisciplinary field that integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to health and disease.

A subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine.

The process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.

Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three stages - alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

The clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries.

Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.

Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people.

Literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches.

The two types of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system.

Form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections.

Form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.

Alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods.

Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.

Attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction.

Sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety.

A system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension.

Unproven health care treatments not taught widely in medical schools, not used in hospitals, and not usually reimbursed by insurance companies.

An emotionally charged, confiding interaction between a trained therapist and someone who suffers from psychological difficulties.

Prescribed medications or medical procedures that act directly on the patient's nervous system.

An approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client's problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy.

A Freudian therapy that emphasizes the use of free association, dream interpretation, resistances, and transference to uncover unconscious conflicts.

In psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material.

In psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors and events in order to promote insight.

In psychoanalysis, the patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships (such as love or hatred for a parent).

A humanistic therapy, developed by Carl Rogers, in which the therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting, empathic environment to facilitate clients' growth.

Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers' client-centered therapy.

Therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors.

A behavior therapy procedure that conditions new responses to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors; based on classical conditioning. Includes exposure therapies and aversive conditioning.

Behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or actuality) to the things they fear and avoid.

A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias.

A type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol).

An operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats.

Therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions.

A popular integrated therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior).

Therapy that treats the family as a system. views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by or directed at other family members; attempts to guide family members toward positive relationships and improved communication.

A procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies.

The study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior.

A biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient.

The application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity.

Surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior.

A now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients. The procedure cut the nerves that connect the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain.

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Suggests how we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the persons disposition.

The tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.

Feelings, often based on our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.

The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent. For example, when our awareness of our attitudes and of our actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitudes.

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Influence resulting from one's willingness to accept others' opinions about reality.

Change in behavior that occurs when people believe they are in the presence of other people.

The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable.

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

The enhancement of a group's prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.

An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members. Prejudice generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action.

A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people.

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.

"Us" - people with whom one shares a common identity.

"them"—those perceived as different or apart from one's ingroup.

The tendency to favor one's own group.

The theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

The tendency of people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get.

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

The principle that frustration—the blocking of an attempt to achieve some goal—creates anger, which can generate aggression.

A perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas.

A situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior.

The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them.

An aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of a love relationship.

The deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.

A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

Unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

The theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

An expectation that people will help those dependent upon them.

Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.

Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction, strategy designed to decrease international tensions.

A psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.

An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations.

An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation.

An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts and/or actions.

An anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

Psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes.

A mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities.

A mood disorder involving a pattern of comparatively mild depression that lasts for at least two years.

A mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state.

A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.

A group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.

False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

A type of schizophrenia that is dominated by delusions of persecution along with delusions of grandeur.

A type of schizophrenia marked by striking motor disturbances, ranging from muscular rigidity to random motor activity.

Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion.

Psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning.

A personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

A personality disorder characterized by excessive emotionality and preoccupation with being the center of attention; emotional shallowness; overly dramatic behavior.

A personality disturbance characterized by an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

A personality disorder characterized by lack of stability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotion; impulsivity; angry outbursts; intense fear of abandonment; recurring suicidal gestures.

An anxiety disorder that involves an intense fear of being in unfamiliar situations or places that may be difficult to leave or in which help may not be available in the event of having an unexpected panic attack or panic-like symptoms.

A class of psychological disorders involving physical ailments with no authentic organic basis that are due to psychological factors.

A rare somatoform disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found.

A somatoform disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with health concerns and incessant worry about developing physical illnesses.

Disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings.

The loss of memory.

A dissociative disorder in which a person forgets who who they are and leaves home to creates a new life.

Psychological disorder that occurs when a person has two or more distinct, well-developed personalities. Typically the personalities are dramatically different from each other, and there is a distinct unawareness of the other personalities. Currently known as dissociative identity disorder.