Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

context effect The tendency to recover informationmore easily when the retrieval occursin the same setting as the original learningof the information (p. 246).continuous reinforcement A schedule ofreinforcement in which every occurrence of aparticular response is reinforced (p. 210).control group or control condition In anexperiment, the group of participants whoare exposed to all experimental conditions,except the independent variable; the groupagainst which changes in the experimentalgroup are compared (p. 30).coping Behavioral and cognitive responsesused to deal with stressors; involves our effortsto change circumstances, or our interpretationof circumstances, to make themmore favorable and less threatening(p. 518).cornea (CORE-nee-uh) A clear membranecovering the visible part of the eye that helpsgather and direct incoming light (p. 94).corpus callosum A thick band of axonsthat connects the two cerebral hemispheresand acts as a communication link betweenthem (p. 68).correlation The relationship between twovariables (p. A-8).correlation coefficient A numerical indicationof the magnitude and direction of the relationship(the correlation) between two variables(pp. 25, A-8).correlational study A research strategy thatallows the precise calculation of how stronglyrelated two factors are to each other (p. 25).cortical localization The notion that differentfunctions are located or localized in differentareas of the brain; also called localizationof function (pp. 63, 73).corticosteroids (core-tick-oh-STAIR-oydz)Hormones released by the adrenal cortex thatplay a key role in the body’s response tolong-term stressors (p. 506).counterconditioning A behavior therapytechnique based on classical conditioning thatinvolves modifying behavior by conditioninga new response that is incompatible with apreviously learned response (p. 589).creativity A group of cognitive processesused to generate useful, original, and novelideas or solutions to problems (p. 312).critical thinking The active process of minimizingpreconceptions and biases while evaluatingevidence, determining the conclusionsthat can reasonably be drawn from evidence,and considering alternative explanations forresearch findings or other phenomena(p. 17).cross-cultural psychology Branch of psychologythat studies the effects of culture onbehavior and mental processes (p. 13).G-4 Glossarycued recall A test of long-term memorythat involves remembering an item of informationin response to a retrieval cue (p. 245).culture The attitudes, values, beliefs, andbehaviors shared by a group of people andcommunicated from one generation to another(p. 13).cyclothymic disorder (si-klo-THY-mick) Amood disorder characterized by moderate butfrequent mood swings that are not severeenough to qualify as bipolar disorder (p. 549).Ddaily hassles Everyday minor events thatannoy and upset people (p. 500).decay theory The view that forgetting isdue to normal metabolic processes that occurin the brain over time (p. 250).decibel (DESS-uh-bell) The unit of mea s-urement for loudness (p. 102).déjà vu experience A memory illusioncharacterized by brief but intense feelings orfamiliarity in a situation that has never beenexperienced before (p. 251).delusion A falsely held belief that persistsdespite compelling contradictory evidence(p. 563).demand characteristics In a research study,subtle cues or signals expressed by the researcherthat communicate the kind of responseor behavior that is expected from theparticipant (p. 28).dementia Progressive deterioration and impairmentof memory, reasoning, and othercognitive functions occurring as the result ofa disease or a condition (p. 268).dendrites Multiple short fibers that extendfrom the neuron’s cell body and receive informationfrom other neurons or from sensoryreceptor cells (p. 46).deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) The double-strandedmolecule that encodes geneticinstructions; the chemical basis of heredity(p. 370).dependent variable The factor that is observedand measured for change in an experiment;thought to be influenced by the independentvariable; also called the outcomevariable. (p. 27).depressants A category of psychoactivedrugs that depress or inhibit brain activity(p. 167).depth perception The use of visual cues toperceive the distance or three-dimensionalcharacteristics of objects (p. 119).descriptive research methods Scientificprocedures that involve systematically observingbehavior in order to describe the relationshipamong behaviors and events (p. 21).descriptive statistics Mathematical methodsused to organize and summarize data(p. A-2).developmental psychology The branch ofpsychology that studies how people changeover the lifespan (p. 369).difference threshold The smallest possibledifference between two stimuli that can bedetected half the time; also called just noticeabledifference (p. 92).diffusion of responsibility A phenomenonin which the presence of other people makesit less likely that any individual will helpsomeone in distress because the obligation tointervene is shared among all the onlookers(p. 487).discrepancy hypothesis An approach to explainingjob satisfaction that focuses on thediscrepancy, if any, between what a personwants from a job and how that person evaluateswhat is actually experienced at work(p. B-8).discriminative stimulus A specific stimulusin the presence of which a particular responseis more likely to be reinforced, and in the absenceof which a particular response is not reinforced(p. 207).displacement The ego defense mechanismthat involves unconsciously shifting the targetof an emotional urge to a substitute targetthat is less threatening or dangerous (p. 424).display rules Social and cultural regulationsgoverning emotional expression, especially facialexpressions (p. 354).dissociation The splitting of consciousnessinto two or more simultaneous streams ofmental activity (p. 161).dissociative amnesia A dissociative disorderinvolving the partial or total inability to recallimportant personal information (p. 561).dissociative anesthetics Class of drugs thatreduce sensitivity to pain and produce feelingsof detachment and dissociation; includes theclub drugs phencyclidine (PCP) and ketamine(p. 177).dissociative disorders A category of psychologicaldisorders in which extreme andfrequent disruptions of awareness, memory,and personal identity impair the ability tofunction (p. 560).dissociative experience A break or disruptionin consciousness during which awareness,memory, and personal identity become separatedor divided (p. 560).dissociative fugue (fyoog) A dissociativedisorder involving sudden and unexpectedtravel away from home, extensive amnesia,and identity confusion (p. 561).dissociative identity disorder (DID) Adissociative disorder involving extensive memorydisruptions along with the presence of