Gerontologist—person who specializes in the study
of aging.
Gestalt therapy—developed by Perls, a humanistic
therapy emphasizing the unity of mind and body;
teaches the client to “get in touch” with uncon-
scious bodily sensations and emotions.
Glial cells—supportive cells of the nervous system
that guide the growth of developing neurons, help
provide nutrition for and get rid of wastes of neu-
rons, and form an insulating sheath around neu-
rons that speeds conduction.
Grammar—a system of rules that enables us to com-
municate with and understand others.
Grasping reflex—infant closes his or her fingers
tightly around an object put in his or her hand.
Group polarization—when like-minded people
share ideas, outcome is likely to be more extreme
than individual positions.
Group test—many people are tested at the same
time; cheaper and more objective scoring than
individualized testing; may not be as accurate.
Groupthink—the tendency for individuals to censor
their own beliefs to preserve the harmony of the
group; lack of diversity of viewpoints that can
cause disastrous results in decision making.
Gustation—the chemical sense of taste through
receptor cells in taste buds in fungiform papillae on
the tongue and roof of the mouth, or in the throat.
Gyri—folding-out portions of convolutions of the
cerebral cortex.
Habituation—decreasing responsiveness with
repeated presentation of the same stimulus.
Hallucinations—perceptual experiences that occur
in the absence of external stimulation of the
corresponding sensory organ; characteristic of
schizophrenia and some drug states.
Hallucinogens—also called psychedelics, a diverse
group of psychoactive drugs that alter moods, dis-
tort perceptions, and evoke sensory images in the
absence of sensory input; include LSD, PCP, mar-
ijuana (THC), psilocybin from mushrooms, and
mescaline (Peyote).
Hawthorn effect—when people know that they are
being observed, they change their behavior to what
they think the observer expects or to make them-
selves look good.
Health psychologists—psychologists who study how
health and illness are influenced by emotions,
stress, personality, and lifestyle.
Heritability—the proportion of phenotypic varia-
tion among individuals, in a population, that
results from genetic causes.
Heterosexuality—a tendency to direct sexual desire
toward people of the opposite sex.
Heterozygous—also called hybrid, the condition
when the genes for a trait are different.
Heuristic—a problem-solving strategy used as a
mental shortcut to quickly simplify and solve
a problem, but that does not guarantee a correct
solution.
Hierarchies—systems in which items are arranged
from more general to more specific classes.
Hierarchy of needs theory—Abraham Maslow’s
humanistic theory of priorities from the lower
levels of (1) basic biological needs, (2) safety and
security needs, (3) belongingness and love, (4) self-
esteem needs to (5) self-actualization needs; a lower
need must be fulfilled before we can fulfill the next
higher need.
Higher-order conditioning—classical conditioning
in which a well-learned CS is paired with an NS to
produce a CR to the NS.
Hindsight bias—a tendency to falsely report, after
the event, that we correctly predicted the outcome
of the event.
Hippocampus—part of the limbic system of the
brain that enables formation of new long-term
memories for facts and personal experiences.
Holophrase—one-word meaningful utterances of
children from ages of 1 to 2.
Homeostasis—the body’s tendency to maintain a
balanced internal state.
Homosexuality—a tendency to direct sexual desire
toward another person of the same sex.
Homozygous—the condition when both genes for a
trait are the same.
Hormone—chemical messenger that travels through
the blood to a receptor site on a target organ.
Hostile aggression—deliberate infliction of pain
upon an unwilling victim.
Humanistic approach—psychological perspective
concerned with individual potential for growth
and the role of unique perceptions in growth
toward one’s potential.
Huntington’s disease—dominant gene defect that
involves degeneration of the nervous system char-
acterized by tremors, jerky motions, blindness, and
death.
Hypnagogic state—relaxed state of dreamlike aware-
ness as we fall asleep.324 á Glossary
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