Reality principle—the manner in which the ego
delays gratification and otherwise deals with the
environment in a planned rational fashion (in
Freudian theory).
Recall—retrieval of previously learned information.
Recessive gene—the gene that is hidden or not
expressed when the genes for a trait are different.
Reciprocal determinism—the characteristics of the
person, the person’s behavior, and the environ-
ment all affect one another in two-way causal rela-
tions (according to Bandura).
Reciprocity—compliance technique used by
groups; individuals feel obligated to go along with
a request for a small donation if they have first
accepted a small gift.
Recognition—identification of learned items when
they are presented.
Reconstruction—retrieval of memories often dis-
torted by adding, dropping, or changing details to
fit a schema.
Reflex—the simplest form of behavior.
Reflex arc—the path over which the reflex travels
which typically includes a receptor, sensory or
afferent neuron, interneuron, motor or efferent
neuron, and effector.
Regression—Freudian defense mechanism where
individual displays immature behaviors that have
relieved anxiety in the past.
Rehabilitation psychologists—help clients with
mental retardation, developmental disabilities,
and disabilities resulting from stroke or accidents
adapt to their situations.
Rehearsal—the conscious repetition of information
to either maintain information in STM or to
encode it for storage into long-term memory.
Reinforcer—in operant conditioning, any event
that strengthens the behavior it follows.
Relearning—a measure of retention of memory that
assesses the time saved compared to learning the
first time when learning information again.
Reliability—consistency or repeatability of results.
Replication—repetition of the methods used in a
previous experiment to see whether the same
methods will yield the same results.
Representativeness heuristic—tendency to judge
the likelihood of things according to how they
relate to a prototype; in social psychology the pre-
judgement of people in the same way.
Repression—the tendency to forget unpleasant or
traumatic memories hidden in the unconscious
mind, according to Freud; defense mechanism and
possible explanation for dissociative disorders.
Resistance—blocking of anxiety-provoking feelings
and experiences in the process of psychoanalysis.
Resistance stage—second stage of Selye’s general
adaptation syndrome characterized by the use of
“fight or flight” mechanisms to control, cope with,
or flee from the stressful situation.
Resistant attachment—mixed reactions of infants
to their mothers in the Strange Situation. They
may approach their mothers upon their return
but, at the same time, continue to cry or even
push their mothers away.
Reticular formation (a.k.a. reticular activating
system)—a network of neurons extending from
the brainstem/hindbrain into the midbrain essen-
tial to the regulation of sleep, wakefulness, arousal,
and attention.
Retrieval—the process of getting information out of
memory storage.
Retrieval cue—a stimulus that provides a trigger to
get an item out of memory.
Retroactive inference—recently learned information
disrupts our ability to remember older information.
Retrograde amnesia—involves memory loss for a
segment of the past usually around the time of an
accident, such as a blow to the head.
Reversibility: characteristic of Piaget’s concrete
operational stage, the logical negation of an oper-
ation, for example, if 4 + 2 =6 then 6-2= 4
Roles—ascribed social positions in groups and
defined behavior expectations.
Rooting reflex—the newborn’s tendency to move its
head when stroked on the cheek, turn toward the
stimulus as if searching for a nipple, and open its
mouth.
Rorschach inkblot test—aprojective test in which
a person is shown a series of symmetrical inkblots
and asked to describe what he or she thinks they
represent.
Saltatory conduction—rapid conduction of
impulses when the axon is myelinated since depo-
larizations jump from node (of Ranvier) to node.
Sample—the subgroup of the population that par-
ticipates in the study.
Satiety—absence of hunger.
Savants, also known as people with savant syn-
drome—individuals otherwise considered men-
tally retarded who have a specific exceptional skill
typically in calculating, music or art.332 ❯ Glossary