A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

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C

Classical conditioning - A type of learning in which the pairing of a new stimulus with a prior stimulus leads the organism to respond to the new stimulus as it did to the first one, even when the initial stimulus is not present.
Collectivist culture - Culture that places importance on belonging to a larger group.
Correlation - Connection between two sets of paired measurements.

D

Defense mechanisms - Mental processes that operate unconsciously and distort reality in trying to reduce anxious feelings.
Displacement - For Freud, a process by which energy that is blocked from being put into in an object is put into in another object.
Dizygotic twins - Twins who develop from the different ova that are fertilized at the same time.
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid; the basic heredity material of all organisms.

E

Ego - The portion of personality that is oriented toward reality and external factors.
Ego ideal - Parentally approved behaviors

F

Flooding - A behavior therapy procedure in which a person is encouraged to encounter an anxiety arousing stimulus and to maintain contact until he/she realizes that the expected disaster will no occur.
Fundamental attribution error - The tendency to underestimate situational influences on behavior and assume that some personal characteristic of the individual is responsible.

G

Genes - The basic units of heredity transmission, contained in the chromosomes. Each chromosome contains many genes. Most genes are in pairs one from the choromosome of the father, the other from the mother.
Genotype - The characteristics a person inherits and will pass on to his/her descendants.

H

Habitual response - According to Eysenck, an act, made up of several specific responses that characteristically recurs in the same or similar circumstances.

I

Id - The most primitive part, consisting of the basic biological drives, in Freud's division of the personality.
Identification - The mechanism by which the ego matches the id's mental image of a desired object with the actual perception of that object in reality, and the process by which the developing personality conforms its standards and behaviors to those of significant models.
Individualistic culture - Culture that emphasizes individual needs and accomplishments.

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M

Monozygotic twins - Twins who develop from the same ovum.
Moral anxiety - Fear of punishment by one's conscience.

N

Neurotic anxiety - Fear of punishment by others for one's instinctual impulses.

O

Operants - A behavior that is performed in the absence of any directly compelling stimulus.
Operant conditioning - A kind of conditioning in which the response itself is operational in bringing about reinforcement.

P

Pleasure principle - The strategy followed by the id, seeking too get pleasure and to avoid pain no matter what the external situations are, according to Freud's psychoanalytic theory.
Primary process - The type of mental processing that characterizes the id, concerned with fulfilling the id's desires without regard to constraints of reality.

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R

Realistic anxiety - Fear of real danger.
Reality principle - The principle by which the ego delays need of satisfaction until it can decide on an appropriate course of action.
Regression - For Freud, a defense mechanism, the rise in value of processes concerned wit inner, usually unconscious needs.
Reinforcement - An operation that makes a particular behavior either more or less likely to occur in the future, often called a reward under operant conditioning.
Repression - For Freud, a defense mechanism, the forcing out of conscious awareness of memories, thoughts and ideas that arouse anxious feelings.
Respondents - A response that is elicited by a specifiable stimulus.

S

Secondary process - Realistic thinking, the process by which the ego operates.
Skinner box - A small, soundproof chamber for doing experiments with pigeons, rats or other small animals.
Specific response - According to Eysenck, an act or response that occurs in a single instance.
Stimulus discrimination - A process by which an organism comes to distinguish between situations in which a response is or is not reinforced, learning to make the response only in certain situations.
Stimulus generalization - A process by which an organism comes to make the response it makes in one situation in other situations that are sufficiently similar to the first.
Superego - The portion of personality that represents parentally approved and disapproved behaviors.
Superstitious behavior - A kind of conditioning in which a response and a reinforcer are connected by accident.

T

Temperament - A person's distinctive mood, response to stimulation and energy level.
Token economy - A behavioral therapeutic technique based on the principles of operant conditioning in which appropriate behavior is rewarded with tokens, which are later exchanged for desired objects and events.
Trait - According to Eysenck, the trait is a collection of habitual responses that are in some way related to each other, that have some consistency.
Twin-study method - A procedure for examining the role of genetics on personality in which pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins are compared.
Type - According to Eysenck, traits that are related to each other combine to make up a type. Note that Eysenck's use of "type" is quite particular: by "type" he means a broad dimension of personality, not a kind of personality.

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Produced for Thinkquest Internet Challenge 2000.

Send an email to contact Team C004361.