GLOSSARY G-15
somatosensory cortex area of cortex at the front of the parietal lobes
responsible for processing information from the skin and internal body
receptors for touch, temperature, and body position.
somesthetic senses the body senses consisting of the skin senses, the kines-
thetic and proprioceptive senses, and the vestibular senses.
source traits the more basic traits that underlie the surface traits, forming
the core of personality.
spatial neglect condition produced most often by damage to the parietal
lobe association areas of the right hemisphere, resulting in an inability to
recognize objects or body parts in the left visual field.
specific phobia fear of objects or specific situations or events.
spinal cord a long bundle of neurons that carries messages between the
body and the brain and is responsible for very fast, lifesaving reflexes.
spontaneous recovery the reappearance of a learned response after extinc-
tion has occurred.
sports psychology area of psychology in which the psychologists help ath-
letes and others prepare themselves mentally for participation in sports
activities.
standard deviation the square root of the average squared deviations from
the mean of scores in a distribution; a measure of variability.
statistically significant referring to differences in data sets that are larger
than chance variation would predict.
statistics branch of mathematics concerned with the collection and inter-
pretation of numerical data.
stem cells special cells found in all the tissues of the body that are capable
of becoming other cell types when those cells need to be replaced due to
damage or wear and tear.
stereotype a set of characteristics that people believe is shared by all mem-
bers of a particular social category; a concept held about a person or group
of people that is based on superficial, irrelevant characteristics.
stereotype threat condition in which being made aware of a negative per-
formance stereotype interferes with the performance of someone that con-
siders himself or herself part of that group.
stereotype vulnerability the effect that people’s awareness of the stereo-
types associated with their social group has on their behavior.
stimulants drugs that increase the functioning of the nervous system.
stimulatory hallucinogenics drugs that produce a mixture of psychomotor
stimulant and hallucinogenic effects.
stimulus discrimination the tendency to stop making a generalized response
to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus because the
similar stimulus is never paired with the unconditioned stimulus.
stimulus generalization the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is
only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned
response.
stimulus motive a motive that appears to be unlearned but causes an
increase in stimulation, such as curiosity.
storage holding on to information for some period of time.
stress the term used to describe the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behav-
ioral responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging.
stressors events that cause a stress reaction.
stress-vulnerability model explanation of disorder that assumes a bio-
logical sensitivity, or vulnerability, to a certain disorder will result in the
development of that disorder under the right conditions of environmental
or emotional stress.
structuralism early perspective in psychology associated with Wilhelm
Wundt and Edward Titchener, in which the focus of study is the structure
or basic elements of the mind.subjective referring to concepts and impressions that are only valid within
a particular person’s perception and may be influenced by biases, preju-
dice, and personal experiences.
subjective discomfort emotional distress or emotional pain.
sublimation channeling socially unacceptable impulses and urges into
socially acceptable behavior.
superego part of the personality that acts as a moral center.
surface traits aspects of personality that can easily be seen by other people
in the outward actions of a person.
sympathetic division (fight-or-flight system) part of the ANS that is
responsible for reacting to stressful events and bodily arousal.
synapse (synaptic gap) microscopic fluid-filled space between the axon ter-
minal of one cell and the dendrites or soma of the next cell.
synaptic vesicles saclike structures found inside the synaptic knob contain-
ing chemicals.
synesthesia disorder in which the signals from the various sensory organs
are processed in the wrong cortical areas, resulting in the sense informa-
tion being interpreted as more than one sensation.
syntax the system of rules for combining words and phrases to form gram-
matically correct sentences.
systematic desensitization behavior technique used to treat phobias, in
which a client is asked to make a list of ordered fears and taught to relax
while concentrating on those fears.
temperament the behavioral characteristics that are fairly well established
at birth, such as “easy,” “difficult,” and “slow to warm up”; the enduring
characteristics with which each person is born.
temporal lobes areas of the cortex located along the side of the brain, start-
ing just behind the temples, containing the neurons responsible for the
sense of hearing and meaningful speech.
teratogen any factor that can cause a birth defect.
testes (testicles) the male gonads or sex glands.
texture gradient monocular depth perception cue; the tendency for tex-
tured surfaces to appear to become smaller and finer as distance from the
viewer increases.
thalamus part of the limbic system located in the center of the brain, this
structure relays sensory information from the lower part of the brain to the
proper areas of the cortex and processes some sensory information before
sending it to its proper area.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) projective test that uses 20 pictures of
people in ambiguous situations as the visual stimuli.
therapeutic alliance the relationship between therapist and client that
develops as a warm, caring, accepting relationship characterized by empa-
thy, mutual respect, and understanding.
theory a general explanation of a set of observations or facts.
therapy treatment methods aimed at making people feel better and func-
tion more effectively.
theta waves brain waves indicating the early stages of sleep.
thinking (cognition) mental activity that goes on in the brain when a per-
son is organizing and attempting to understand information and commu-
nicating information to others.
thyroid gland endocrine gland found in the neck; regulates metabolism.
time-out an extinction process in which a person is removed from the sit-
uation that provides reinforcement for undesirable behavior, usually by
being placed in a quiet corner or room away from possible attention and
reinforcement opportunities.
token economy the use of objects called tokens to reinforce behavior in
which the tokens can be accumulated and exchanged for desired items or
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