Developmental psychology.pdf

Glossary 581
genital stage The stage at which, according to Freudian
theory, full maturity has been attained; in the genital
stage, the individual has achieved mature relations with
the opposite sex.
genuineness In the person-centered approach to therapy,
the capacity of a counselor to express his or her
thoughts or attitudes openly at any given moment in the
therapeutic process.
gestalt psychology The school of psychology which
disparages the partist approach to experience and
behavior and argues for emphasis upon wholes, which,
gestalt psychologists say, are more than the sum of
their parts. In learning, this school emphasizes insight
as opposed to trial and error; in perception, it stresses
primitive organizations, such as figure-ground
relationships and the phi-phenomenon, which appear to
be independent of past experience. The word gestalt is
often translated as configuration or form and the school
is sometimes referred to as configurationalist, i.e., as
emphasizing configurations rather than their constituent
parts.
gestalt therapy An approach to group therapy which
emphasizes individual expression, verbal and physical.
This approach is considered by its founder, Fritz Perls,
to be a form of existential therapy, emphasizing
awareness of one's self and others.
gifted Persons with special talents. Also; individuals with
an IQ of 130 or above, such as Terman's gifted children,
in the upper 2 percent of the general population.
goal-directed behavior A sequence of events presumed
to underlie motivation: need, drive, incentive, and
reward. Need refers to a biochemical imbalance or
deficit, giving rise to a drive, which is directed by some
incentive in the environment, and therefore the
organism's goal is to attain the incentive, resulting in
reward.
gonads (gS'nadz) Sex glands; ovaries in females and
testes in males.
good continuity, principle of Also called good form, this
principle, one of several gestalt principles, emphasizes
that we tend to perceive continuity in our environment.
A line or a moveijient tends to be perceived as
continuing in its given direction, rather than taking
another direction. We perceive contours as having a
stable and continuous form, though there are
exceptions.
gradient A graded or gradual difference in strength of a
response or response tendency, as shown by a rising or
falling curve in a graph.
grammatical transformations Changes in word order or
sentence construction required by the grammar of a
given language. A child knowing that nouns usually
precede verbs may ask "What it is?" This child has not
made the grarnmatical transformation usually required in
questions, in which the verb commonly precedes the
noun.
graph A visual representation of the results of research, in
some quantified form.
great-person theory The view, not generally held in
psychology, that the leader of a specific group is an allaround
capable individual, likely to be the leader of any
group of which he is a member. This view is based on
the uncertain premise that leadership involves a single
dimension, general leadership ability. Current
psychological research suggests instead that different
groups require different, specific characteristics in a
successful leader.
r
grouping, principles of Gestalt principles stating that
objects are perceived as belonging together on the
basis of similarity, proximity, closure, and continuity.
group test A test designed to be administered to more
than one individual at a time.
group therapy Patients meeting with other patients and
with a therapist or counselor to discuss their problems.
gustatory sensitivity The capacity for taste. Gustatory
means "pertaining to taste."
habit A recurring, acquired mode of behavior, such as a
motor or verbal skill, a way of doing things, or a way of
thinking.
hallucination A false perception, generally regarded as
abnormal. Hallucinations differ from one individual to
another. Illusions, on the other hand, are false
perceptions which are typically alike in all people and
not regarded as abnormal. See also illusion.
hallucinogenic A term applied to drugs which commonly
produce hallucinations.
halo effect The tendency to make a biased judgment
based on irrelevant information. A student who is highly
capable athletically and academically may be
erroneously judged by an instructor as capable socially.
In the halo effect, the teacher's judgment of social skills
is influenced by knowledge of the student's academic
and athletic prowess.
Hawthorne effect A general improvement in performance
which occurs when persons receive special attention.
health psychology The use of psychological principles
and findings in health-related issues. These issues can
include prevention, treatment, education, and any other
measures directed to physical and mental health.
heredity That which is passed on from parents to offspring
biologically through the genes. Dependent upon the
genes.
hertz In soundwaves, a unit of frequency of one cycle per
second. This name, derived from a German physicist
Heinrich Hertz, is abbreviated Hz. See loudness.
heterosexuality Sexual interests or experiences with a
partner of the opposite sex. See homosexuality.
heuristic method In problem solving, the use of an
approach which is most likely to yield a successful
solution. The heuristic method involves a strategy or
"best guess" rather than a laborious search of all
possibilities, one after the other. Heuristic methods are
used constantly as people attempt to find the quickest
solution to a given problem.
higher mental processes The various forms of thinking;
inductive and deductive reasoning, evaluative
reasoning, recalling, recognizing, and other symbolic
activities carried on in the nervous system.