Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

parasomnias (pare-uh-SOM-nee-uz) A categoryof sleep disorders characterized byarousal or activation during sleep or sleeptransitions; includes sleepwalking, sleep terrors,sleepsex, sleep-related eating disorder, and REMsleep behavior disorder (p. 153).parasympathetic nervous system Branchof the autonomic nervous system that maintainsnormal bodily functions and conservesthe body’s physical resources (p. 59).parietal lobe (puh-RYE-et-ull) An area oneach hemisphere of the cerebral cortex locatedabove the temporal lobe that processessomatic sensations (p. 69).partial reinforcement A situation in whichthe occurrence of a particular response isonly sometimes followed by a reinforcer(p. 210).partial reinforcement effect The phenomenonin which behaviors that are conditioned usingpartial reinforcement are more resistant toextinction than behaviors that are conditionedusing continuous reinforcement (p. 210).perception The process of integrating, organizing,and interpreting sensations (p. 89).perceptual constancy The tendency to perceiveobjects, especially familiar objects, asconstant and unchanging despite changes insensory input (p. 123).perceptual illusion The misperception ofthe true characteristics of an object or an image(p. 124).perceptual set The tendency to perceiveobjects or situations from a particular frameof reference (p. 127).peripheral nervous system (per-IF-er-ull)Division of the nervous system that includesall the nerves lying outside the central nervoussystem (p. 57).permissive parenting style Parenting stylein which parents are extremely tolerant andnot demanding; permissive-indulgent parentsare more responsive to their children, whereaspermissive-indifferent parents are not (p. 411).person perception The mental processeswe use to form judgments and draw conclusionsabout the characteristics and motives ofother people (p. 459).personality An individual’s unique and relativelyconsistent patterns of thinking, feeling,and behaving (p. 419).personality disorder Inflexible, maladaptivepatterns of thoughts, emotions, behavior,and interpersonal functioning that are stableover time and across situations, and deviatefrom the expectations of the individual’s culture(p. 555).personality theory A theory that attemptsto describe and explain similarities and differencesin people’s patterns of thinking, feeling,and behaving (p. 419).personnel psychology A subarea of I/Opsychology that focuses on matching people’scharacteristics to job requirements, accuratelymeasuring job performance, and assessingemployee training needs (p. B-2).persuasion The deliberate attempts to influencethe attitudes or behavior of anotherperson in a situation in which that person hassome freedom of choice (p. 489).pessimistic explanatory style Accountingfor negative events or situations with internal,stable, and global explanations (p. 510).phenotype (FEEN-oh-type) The observabletraits or characteristics of an organism asdetermined by the interaction of genetics andenvironmental factors (p. 372).pheromones Chemical signals released byan animal that communicate information andaffect the behavior of other animals of thesame species (p. 107).phobia A persistent and irrational fear of aspecific object, situation, or activity (p. 539).phrenology (freh-NOL-uh-gee) A pseudoscientifictheory of the brain that claimed thatpersonality characteristics, moral character, andintelligence could be determined by examiningthe bumps on a person’s skull (p. 63).physical dependence A condition in whicha person has physically adapted to a drug sothat he or she must take the drug regularly inorder to avoid withdrawal symptoms (p. 165).pitch The relative highness or lowness of asound, determined by the frequency of asound wave (p. 102).pituitary gland (pih-TOO-ih-tare-ee) Endocrinegland attached to the base of thebrain that secretes hormones that affect thefunction of other glands as well as hormonesthat act directly on physical processes (p. 60).place theory The view that different frequenciescause larger vibrations at different locationsalong the basilar membrane (p. 104).placebo A fake substance, treatment, orprocedure that has no known direct effects(p. 27).placebo effect Any change attributed to aperson’s beliefs and expectations rather thanan actual drug, treatment, or procedure; alsocalled expectancy effect (p. 28).placebo response An individual’s psychologicaland physiological response to what isactually a fake treatment or drug; also calledplacebo effect (p. 194).pleasure principle The motive to obtainpleasure and avoid tension or discomfort; themost fundamental human motive and theguiding principle of the id (p. 423).pons A hindbrain structure that connectsthe medulla to the two sides of the cerebellum;helps coordinate and integrate movementson each side of the body (p. 67).population A complete set of something—people, nonhuman animals, objects, or events(p. A-13).positive correlation A finding that two factorsvary systematically in the same direction,increasing or decreasing together (pp. 26,A-9).positive incentive value In eating behavior,the anticipated pleasure of consuming a particularfood; in general, the expectation ofpleasure or satisfaction in performing a particularbehavior (p. 325).positive psychology The study of positiveemotions and psychological states, positive individualtraits, and the social institutions thatfoster positive individuals and communities(p. 11).positive reinforcement A situation inwhich a response is followed by the additionof a reinforcing stimulus, increasing the likelihoodthat the response will be repeated insimilar situations (p. 202).positive symptoms In schizophrenia,symptoms that reflect excesses or distortionsof normal functioning, including delusions,hallucinations, and disorganized thoughts andbehavior (p. 563).positron emission tomography (PET scan)An invasive imaging technique that providescolor-coded images of brain activity by trackingthe brain’s use of a radioactively taggedcompound, such as glucose, oxygen, or adrug (p. 34).possible selves The aspect of the selfconceptthat includes images of the selvesthat you hope, fear, or expect to become inthe future (p. 451).posthypnotic amnesia The inability to recallspecific information because of a hypnoticsuggestion (p. 160).posthypnotic suggestion A suggestionmade during hypnosis that the person shouldcarry out a specific instruction following thehypnotic session (p. 160).post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)An anxiety disorder in which chronic and persistentsymptoms of anxiety develop in responseto an extreme physical or psychologicaltrauma (p. 542).practice effect Any change in performancethat results from mere repetition of a task(p. 28).prejudice A negative attitude towardpeople who belong to a specific social group(p. 469).prenatal stage The stage of developmentbefore birth; divided into the germinal, embryonic,and fetal periods (p. 373).preoperational stage In Piaget’s theory,the second stage of cognitive development,which lasts from about age 2 to age 7;Glossary G-11