Misattribution error—distortion of information at
retrieval resulting from confusion about the source
of information, as when we put words in someone
else’s mouth.
Misinformation effect—the tendency for people to
incorporate misleading information into their
memories of a given event as evidenced in eyewit-
ness testimony.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI-2)—most widely used objective test of
personality, originally designed to distinguish indi-
viduals with different psychological problems from
normal individuals; today used to identify person-
ality characteristics.
Mnemonic devices—memory aids such as the
method of loci and peg word systems which help
to organize, encode, and more easily retrieve infor-
mation from long-term memory.
Mode—most frequently occurring score in a set of
research data (quick and dirty).
Modeling—process of watching and imitating a spe-
cific behavior; important in observational learning.
Monism—sees mind and body as different aspects of
the same thing.
Monocular cues—clues about distance based on the
image of one eye, including interposition or over-
lap, relative size, aerial perspective, relative clarity,
texture gradient, relative height, linear perspec-
tive, relative brightness, motion parallax, and
accommodation.
Monozygotic twins—identical twins; genetically
identical siblings who share 100 percent of their
genes because they developed from a single fertil-
ized egg.
Mood-congruent memory—tendency to recall
experiences that are consistent with your current
good or bad mood.
Mood disorder—affective disorder characterized by
significant shifts or disturbances in mood that
affect normal perception, thought, and behavior;
depression and bipolar disorders.
Moral development—growth in the ability to tell
right from wrong, control impulses, and act
ethically.
Morality principle—in Freud’s psychoanalytic
theory, the way the superego acts as the conscience
and assigns pride and guilt for behavior which does
and does not conform to its ethical guidelines.
Morphemes—the smallest unit of language that has
meaning.
Motivation—need or desire that energizes and
directs behavior.
Motive—a need or a want that causes us to act.
Multiple approach-avoidance—a conflict in which
you must choose between two or more alternatives
each of which has both positive and negative
characteristics.
Multiple intelligences—Howard Gardner’s theory
that intelligence is composed of many different fac-
tors including at least eight intelligences: logical-
mathematical, verbal-linguistic, spatial, bodily-
kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal,
naturalistic.
Myelin sheath—a fatty covering of the axon made by
glial cells which speeds up conduction of the action
potential.
Narcissistic personality disorder—exaggerated
sense of self-importance and demands for
attention.
Narcolepsy—condition in which an awake person
suddenly and uncontrollably falls asleep, often
directly into REM sleep.
Narcotics—analgesics (pain reducers) which work by
depressing the central nervous system and can also
depress the respiratory system; includes opiates
and synthetic opiates: codeine, heroin, morphine,
opium, Percodan, Darvon, Talwin, Dilaudid,
methadone, and Demerol.
Nativist perspective—human brain has an innate
capacity for acquiring language (language acquisi-
tion device), possibly during a critical period of
time after birth. Children are born with a universal
sense of grammar (Noam Chomsky).
Naturalistic observation—research method that
records behaviors of humans or other animals in
real-life situations without intervention.
Nature-nurture controversy—deals with the extent
to which heredity and the environment each influ-
ences behavior.
Nearsighted—too much curvature of the cornea
and/or lens, focusing image in front of the retina so
nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant
objects.
Negative reinforcement—removal of an aversive
consequence that follows a voluntary behavior
thereby increasing the probability the behavior will
be repeated; two types include avoidance and
escape.
Neocortex—the cerebral cortex.
Neonate—newborn baby from birth to one month
old.328 á Glossary
http://www.ebook3000.com