Trent Psychology Modules

Glossary of Terms

Click on a Term to learn more.

A
Acquisition

Acquisition

When the conditioned stimulus (e.g., bell) is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus (e.g., dog food), acquisition is said to occur. The more often you pair the CS with the US, the stronger the acquisition occurs. Also, it is important to note that the conditioned stimulus should be noticeable. For instance, if the bell is loud and unexpected, this will produce a better result in comparison to a quite tone.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Amygdala

Amygdala

The Amygdala is part of the limbic system that is central in many emotional processes, mainly the formation of emotional memories.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
C
Categorical (Discrete) Variable

Categorical (Discrete) Variable

A variable which cannot take on any possible value. An example of this type is martial status. A person cannot be both married and unmarried.
Central Tendency

Central Tendency

The measure of Central Tendency describes a dataset through the identification of a central position. It identifies the central location of a dataset and is often refered to as the mean or average of the dataset.
Cerebellum

Cerebellum

The Cerebellum is a large structure in the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Cerebral Cortex

Cerebral Cortex

The Cerebral Cortex is the outer most layer of the brain. It is visable to the naked eye and divided into left and right hemispheres.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning

Is a learning process that occurs by association. Basically, classical conditioning is when something that does not cause a natural response (e.g., bell), produces a response when it is paired with something in the environment that causes a natural response (e.g., food).

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Conditioned response (CR)

Conditioned response (CR)

The response that occurs after the neutral stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation)

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

When a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus, the neutral stimulus then becomes a conditioned stimulus because it now elicits a response (e.g., bell now elicits a salivating response).

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Continuous Variable

Continuous Variable

A variable in a given range for which any value is possible. An example would be the time it takes to complete a test. The test may be limited to 60 minutes, but within that range any value is possible, 49 minutes and 32.2 seconds.
Control Group

Control Group

The Control Group in an experiment are the people who are not exposed to the particular manipulation, as compared to the exprerimental group.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Correlation

Correlation

Two variables are said to "covary" or "be correlated" when variations in the value of one wariable are sychronized with variations in the value of the other.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
D
Dependent Variable

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured in a study. The "Dependent Variable" gets its value "depending" on what the participant says or does.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
E
Experimental (Treatment) Group

Experimental Group

The group of people who are exposed to a particular manipulation, as compared to the control group, in an experiment.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Extinction

Extinction

As time passes, if the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response does not occur (e.g., dog stops salivating when bell is presented without the food). Sort of like forgetting!

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
F
Frontal Lobe

Frontal Lobe

The Frontal Lobe sits behind the forehead and is the region of the cerebral cortext containing specialized areas for movement, abstract, thinking, planning, memory and judgement.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
G
Generalization

Generalization

Similar stimuluses elicit similar reaction. For instance, if the sound of a small brass bell causes the dog to salivate, the sound of a door bell might also cause the dog to salivate as well.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
H
Hippocampus

Hippocampus

The Hippocampus is a critical structure for creating new memories and integrating them into a network of knowledge so that they can be stored indefinitely in other parts of the cerebral cortex.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Hypothalamus

Hypothalamus

The Hypothalamus regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behaviour.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
I
Independent Variable

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated in an experiment. It is called an Independent Variable because it is under our control (the experimenters) and therefore "independent" of what the participant says or does.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
M
Mean

Mean

Commonly referred to as the average of scores. It is calculated by summing all scores and dividing the total by the number of scores.
Median

Median

Also regarded as the middle score. When all values are organized in order from least to greatest, the value in the middle is the median.
Medulla

Medulla

The Medulla is an extention of the spinal cord into the brain that coordinates heart rate, circulation and respiration.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Mode

Mode

The score that occurs the most often. You may have multiple modes in a data set.
N
Negative Punishment

Negative Punishment

Something good is taken away to decrease behaviour

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Negative Reinforcement

Negative Reinforcement

Something negative is taken away to increase behaviour

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Neutral stimulus (NS)

Neutral stimulus (NS)

An object, person, or place etc. which has no effect on a person (e.g., bell)

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Normal Distribution

Normal Distribution

Arrangement of data scores which cluster around the mean. A normal distribution is unimodal, symmetric, and commonly referred to as “bell shaped”.
O
Occipital Lobe

Occipital Lobe

The Occipital Lobe is a region in the cerebral cortex that processes visual information.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

Is a type of learning in which the consequences of an organism's behaviour determine the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated in the future.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Operational Definitions

Operational Definitions

An Operation Definition is the description of a property in measurable terms.

Example:
A researcher measuring stress in students before exams uses a ten question stress survey to measure pre-exam stress in students. The operational definition in this case is a given student's score on the stress survey.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
P
Parietal Lobe

Parietal Lobe

The Parietal Lobe is an area of the cerebral cortex that processes information about touch.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Pituitary Gland

Pituitary Gland

The Pituitary Gland is the mass producer of your body's hormone system. This system releases hormones that direct the functions of many other glands in the body.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Pons

Pons

The Pons is a brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Positive Punishment

Positive Punishment

Something negative is given to decrease behaviour

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Positive Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement

Something rewarding is given to increase behaviour

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
S
Standard Deviation

Standard Deviation

Standard deviation is a statistic that describes the average difference between the measurements in a frequency distribution and the mean of that distribution.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Skewness

Skewness

The degree to which a distribution is asymmetrical. A distribution can be either positively skewed or negatively skewed.
T
Temporal Lobe

Temporal Lobe

The Temporal Lobe in the cerebral cortex is the region associated with processing hearing and language.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Thalamus

Thalamus

The Thalamus filters and relays information from the senses and transmits the information to the cerebral cortex.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Treatment (Experimental) Group

Treatment Group

The group of people who are exposed to a particular manipulation, as compared to the control group, in an experiment.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
U
Unconditioned response (UR)

Unconditioned response (UR)

The reaction as a result of the unconditioned stimulus (e.g., dog salivates to smell of food)

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Unconditioned stimulus (US)

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

Something that causes a natural response (e.g., dog food)

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
V
Variable

Variable

A property whose value can vary across individuals or over time.

Reference:
Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., Nock, M., & Johnsrude, I. (2014). Psychology Third Canadian Edition (3rd ed.). Worth Publishers.
Variance

Variance

Variance is a measure of each number in a dataset from the mean.