clusions seem valid or logical conclusions seem
invalid.
Belief perseverance—the tendency for people to
cling to a particular belief even after information
that led to the formation of that belief has been
discredited.
Big 5 or OCEAN—trait theory of personality
that says our personalities are composed of
different amounts of common traits—openness,
conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and
neuroticism.
Binocular cues—clues about distance that require
two eyes and that include retinal disparity and
convergence.
Biofeedback—a system for electronically recording,
amplifying, and giving back information regarding
a subtle physiological state.
Biological approach—psychological perspective
concerned with physiological and biochemical
factors that determine behavior and mental
processes.
Biological preparedness—the species-specific pre-
disposition to learn in certain ways but not in
others.
Bipolar cells—second layer of neurons in the retina
that transmit impulses from rods and cones to gan-
glion cells.
Bipolar disorder—a mood disorder characterized by
extreme mood swings from unusual excitement to
serious depression.
Bisexuality—a tendency to direct sexual desire
toward people of both sexes.
Blastula—the hollow ball stage of cell division during
the first two weeks after conception.
Blind spot—region of the retina, without receptor
cells or vision, where the optic nerve leaves the eye.
Blocking—the inability to condition a second stimu-
lus because of prior conditioning to another stim-
ulus that is also present during training.
Blood-brain barrier—a collection of cells that
presses together against the walls of capillaries to
block many substances from entering the brain,
while allowing others to pass.
Borderline personality disorder—maladaptive
beha vior characterized by rapidly shifting and
unstable mood, self-concept, and interpersonal
relationships, as well as impulsiveness; self-
mutilation, and anger directed inwards; promis -
cuity and other self-destructive habits like drug
addiction are common.
Bottom-up processing—data-driven information
processing that begins with sensory receptors and
works up to the brain’s integration of sensory infor-
mation to construct perceptions.
Brain—portion of the central nervous system above
the spinal cord.
Brainstem—also called the hindbrain, includes the
medulla, pons, and cerebellum.
Brainstorming—a popular technique practiced
during creative problem solving that encourages
the generation of many ideas in a nonjudgmental
environment.
Broadbent filter theory of memory—inputs are
analyzed for each stage of memory and most fil-
tered out; only the most important are encoded.
Broca’s area—region in left frontal lobe that controls
production of speech.
Bulimia nervosa—an eating disorder characterized
by a pattern of eating binges involving intake of
thousands of calories, followed by purging either
by vomiting or using laxatives.
Bystander effect—tendency for an observer to be less
likely to give aid if other observers are present.
Cannon-Bard theory—theory that emotions and
physiological states occur simultaneously.
Cardinal trait—defining personality characteristic,
in a small number of us, that dominates and shapes
our behavior (according to Allport).
Case study—intensive investigation of the behavior
and mental processes associated with a specific
person or situation.
Catastrophes—stressors that are unpredictable,
large-scale disasters which threaten us.
Catatonic schizophrenia—a psychotic disorder
characterized by bizarre motor behavior which
sometimes takes the form of an immobile stupor
and waxy flexibility.
Catharsis—in Freudian psychoanalysis, the release of
emotional tension after remembering or reliving an
emotionally charged experience from the past; as a
coping device for stress, the release of pent up emo-
tions through exercise or other means.
Cell body—also called the cyton or soma, the part of
the neuron that contains cytoplasm and the
nucleus which directs synthesis of such substances
as neurotransmitters.
Central nervous system (CNS)—brain and spinal
cord.
Central route of persuasion—according to the elab-
oration likelihood model, changes attitudes by316 á Glossary
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