Convergent thinking—conventional thinking;
thinking directed toward a single correct solution.
Conversion disorder—a somatoform disorder
involving the actual loss of bodily function, such as
blindness, paralysis, and numbness, due to exces-
sive anxiety with no physiological cause.
Convolutions—folding in and out of the cerebral
cortex that increases surface area of the brain.
Coping—active efforts to reduce or tolerate perceived
levels of stress.
Cornea—transparent, curved layer in the front of the
eye that bends incoming light rays.
Corpus callosum—broad band of nervous tissue that
connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres
transmitting information from one side of the
brain to the other.
Correlation coefficient(r)—a statistical measure of
the degree of relatedness or association between
two sets of data that ranges from –1 to +1.
Counseling psychologists—psychologists who help
people adapt to change or make changes in their
lifestyle.
Counterconditioning—replacing one emotion with
its exact opposite such as relaxation as opposed to
fear in phobias.
Creative self—Adler’s term for the conscious control
of problem-solving strategies in daily life.
Creativity—the ability to generate ideas and solu-
tions that are original, novel, and useful.
Criterion related validity—a measure of the extent
to which a test’s results correlate with other ac -
cepted measures of what is being tested.
Critical period—a time interval during which spe-
cific stimuli have a major effect on development
that the stimuli do not produce at other times.
Critical period hypothesis—an optimal time after
birth during which an organism must be exposed
to certain influences if it is to develop properly.
(Language is an example.)
Cross-sectional research—a method of assessing
developmental changes by evaluating different age
groups of people at the same time.
Crystallized intelligence—learned knowledge and
skills such as vocabulary which tend to increase
with age.
Culture—behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions
transmitted from one generation to the next within
a group of people who share a common language
and environment.
Daily hassles—everyday annoyances such as having
to wait on lines, arguing with a friend, etc.
Dark adaptation—increased visual sensitivity that
gradually develops when it gets dark.
Daydreaming—state of consciousness characterized
by focus on inner, private realities which can gen-
erate creative ideas or relieve boredom.
Decay theory—assumes that memories deteriorate as
time passes.
Declarative memory (explicit)—memory of facts
and experiences that you are consciously aware of
and can declare.
Deductive reasoning—reasoning from the general to
the specific.
Deep processing—involves attaching meaning and
creating associations between a new memory and
existing memories.
Defense mechanisms—unconscious, deceptive reac-
tions that protect the ego from unpleasant emo-
tions that are threatening, according to Freudian
theory. They become active when unconscious
instinctual drives of the id come into conflict with
prohibitions of the superego.
Deindividuation—loss of self-awareness and
restraint resulting from immersion in a group.
Deinstitutionalization—movement begun in 1950s
to remove patients who were not considered a
threat to themselves or the community from
mental hospitals.
Delayed conditioning—ideal training in classical
conditioning training where the CS precedes UCS
and briefly overlaps.
Delusion—false belief that others are plotting against
one, that one is famous, or that one’s thoughts and
actions are controlled by others; symptomatic of
schizophrenia and sometimes depression.
Demand characteristics—clues participants discover
about the purpose of the study that suggest how
they should respond.
Dendrites—branching tubular processes of a
neuron that have receptor sites for receiving
information.
Denial—Freudian defense mechanism, a refusal to
admit a particular aspect of reality.
Dependent variable(DV)—the behavior or mental
process that is measured in an experiment or quasi-
experiment (the effect).
Depressants—psychoactive drugs that reduce the
activity of the central nervous system and induce
relaxation; include sedatives such as barbiturates,
tranquilizers, and alcohol.Glossary Ü 319