G-8 GLOSSARY
id part of the personality present at birth and completely unconscious.
imaginary audience type of thought common to adolescents in which
young people believe that other people are just as concerned about the
adolescent’s thoughts and characteristics as they themselves are.
immune system the system of cells, organs, and chemicals of the body that
responds to attacks from diseases, infections, and injuries.
implicit personality theory sets of assumptions about how different types
of people, personality traits, and actions are related to each other.
impression formation the forming of the first knowledge that a person has
concerning another person.
incentive approaches theories of motivation in which behavior is explained
as a response to the external stimulus and its rewarding properties.
incentives things that attract or lure people into action.
independent variable variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the
experimenter.
industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology area of psychology concerned
with the relationships between people and their work environment.
infantile amnesia the inability to retrieve memories from much before age
3.
inferential statistics statistical analysis of two or more sets of numerical
data to reduce the possibility of error in measurement and to determine
if the differences between the data sets are greater than chance variation
would predict.
information-processing model model of memory that assumes the process-
ing of information for memory storage is similar to the way a computer
processes memory in a series of three stages.
in-groups social groups with whom a person identifies; “us.”
inhibitory synapse synapse at which a neurotransmitter causes the receiv-
ing cell to stop firing.
insight the sudden perception of relationships among various parts of a
problem, allowing the solution to the problem to come quickly.
insight therapies therapies in which the main goal is helping people gain
insight with respect to their behavior, thoughts, and feelings.
insomnia the inability to get to sleep, stay asleep, or get a good quality of
sleep.
instinctive drift tendency for an animal’s behavior to revert to genetically
controlled patterns.
instincts the biologically determined and innate patterns of behavior that
exist in both people and animals.
insulin a hormone secreted by the pancreas to control the levels of fats,
proteins, and carbohydrates in the body by reducing the level of glucose
in the bloodstream.
intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) condition in
which a person’s behavioral and cognitive skills exist at an earlier devel-
opmental stage than the skills of others who are the same chronological
age; may also be referred to as developmentally delayed. This condition
was formerly known as mental retardation.
intelligence the ability to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge,
and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving
problems.
intelligence quotient (IQ) a number representing a measure of intelligence,
resulting from the division of one’s mental age by one’s chronological age
and then multiplying that quotient by 100.
interneuron a neuron found in the center of the spinal cord that receives
information from the afferent neurons and sends commands to the mus-
cles through the efferent neurons. Interneurons also make up the bulk of
the neurons in the brain.
interpersonal attraction liking or having the desire for a relationship with
another person.interpersonal therapy (IPT) form of therapy for depression that incorpo-
rates multiple approaches and focuses on interpersonal problems.
intersexed, intersexual modern term for a hermaphrodite, a person who
possesses ambiguous sexual organs, making it difficult to determine actual
sex from a visual inspection at birth.
interview method of personality assessment in which the professional asks
questions of the client and allows the client to answer, in either a struc-
tured or unstructured fashion.
intimacy an emotional and psychological closeness that is based on the
ability to trust, share, and care, while still maintaining a sense of self.
intrinsic motivation type of motivation in which a person performs an
action because the act itself is rewarding or satisfying in some internal
manner.
introversion dimension of personality in which people tend to withdraw
from excessive stimulation.
introverts people who prefer solitude and dislike being the center of
attention.
irreversibility in Piaget’s theory, the inability of the young child to men-
tally reverse an action.
James-Lange theory of emotion theory in which a physiological reaction
leads to the labeling of an emotion.
“jigsaw classroom” educational technique in which each individual is
given only part of the information needed to solve a problem, causing the
separate individuals to be forced to work together to find the solution.
just noticeable difference (jnd or the difference threshold) the smallest
difference between two stimuli that is detectable 50 percent of the time.
kinesthesia the awareness of body movement.
language a system for combining symbols (such as words) so that an
unlimited number of meaningful statements can be made for the purpose
of communicating with others.
latency the fourth stage in Freud’s psychosexual stages, occurring during
the school years, in which the sexual feelings of the child are repressed
while the child develops in other ways.
latent content the symbolic or hidden meaning of dreams.
latent learning learning that remains hidden until its application becomes
useful.
law of effect law stating that if an action is followed by a pleasurable con-
sequence, it will tend to be repeated, and if followed by an unpleasant
consequence, it will tend not to be repeated.
learned helplessness the tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation
because of a history of repeated failures in the past.
learning any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by
experience or practice.
learning/performance distinction referring to the observation that learning
can take place without actual performance of the learned behavior.
leptin a hormone that, when released into the bloodstream, signals the
hypothalamus that the body has had enough food and reduces the appe-
tite while increasing the feeling of being full.
lesioning insertion of a thin, insulated electrode into the brain through
which an electrical current is sent, destroying the brain cells at the tip of
the wire.
levels-of-processing model model of memory that assumes information
that is more “deeply processed,” or processed according to its meaning
rather than just the sound or physical characteristics of the word or words,
will be remembered more efficiently and for a longer period of time.
light adaptation the recovery of the eye’s sensitivity to visual stimuli in
light after exposure to darkness.
limbic system a group of several brain structures located primarily under
the cortex and involved in learning, emotion, memory, and motivation.Z03_CICC7961_05_SE_GLOS.indd 8 9/3/16 12:59 AM