G-12 GLOSSARY
preoperational stage Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development, in
which the preschool child learns to use language as a means of exploring
the world.
pressure the psychological experience produced by urgent demands or
expectations for a person’s behavior that come from an outside source.
primacy effect tendency to remember information at the beginning of a
body of information better than the information that follows.
primary appraisal the first step in assessing stress, which involves estimating
the severity of a stressor and classifying it as either a threat or a challenge.
primary drives those drives that involve needs of the body such as hunger
and thirst.
primary reinforcer any reinforcer that is naturally reinforcing by meeting a
basic biological need, such as hunger, thirst, or touch.
primary sex characteristics sexual organs present at birth and directly
involved in human reproduction.
proactive interference memory problem that occurs when older infor-
mation prevents or interferes with the learning or retrieval of newer
information.
problem-focused coping coping strategies that try to eliminate the source
of a stress or reduce its impact through direct actions.
problem solving process of cognition that occurs when a goal must be
reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways.
projection psychological defense mechanism in which unacceptable or
threatening impulses or feelings are seen as originating with someone else,
usually the target of the impulses or feelings.
projective tests personality assessments that present ambiguous visual
stimuli to the client and ask the client to respond with whatever comes to
mind.
proprioception awareness of where the body and body parts are located in
relation to each other in space and to the ground.
prosocial behavior socially desirable behavior that benefits others.
prostate gland gland that secretes most of the fluid holding the male sex
cells or sperm.
prototype an example of a concept that closely matches the defining char-
acteristics of the concept.
proximity a Gestalt principle of perception; the tendency to perceive objects
that are close to each other as part of the same grouping; physical or geo-
graphical nearness.
psychiatric social worker a social worker with some training in therapy
methods who focuses on the environmental conditions that can have an
impact on mental disorders, such as poverty, overcrowding, stress, and
drug abuse.
psychiatrist a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders.
psychoactive drugs chemical substances that alter thinking, perception,
and memory.
psychoanalysis an insight therapy based on the theory of Freud, emphasiz-
ing the revealing of unconscious conflicts; Freud’s term for both the theory
of personality and the therapy based on it.
psychodynamic perspective modern version of psychoanalysis that is more
focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of motiva-
tions behind a person’s behavior other than sexual motivations.
psychodynamic therapy a newer and more general term for therapies
based on psychoanalysis with an emphasis on transference, shorter treat-
ment times, and a more direct therapeutic approach.
psychological defense mechanisms unconscious distortions of a person’s
perception of reality that reduce stress and anxiety.
psychological dependence the feeling that a drug is needed to continue a
feeling of emotional or psychological well-being.psychological disorder any pattern of behavior or thinking that causes peo-
ple significant distress, causes them to harm others, or harms their ability
to function in daily life.
psychologist a professional with an academic degree and specialized train-
ing in one or more areas of psychology.
psychology scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
psychoneuroimmunology the study of the effects of psychological factors
such as stress, emotions, thoughts, and behavior on the immune system.
psychopathology the study of abnormal behavior and psychological
dysfunction.
psychopharmacology the use of drugs to control or relieve the symptoms
of psychological disorders.
psychosexual stages five stages of personality development proposed by
Freud and tied to the sexual development of the child.
psychosurgery surgery performed on brain tissue to relieve or control
severe psychological disorders.
psychotherapy therapy for mental disorders in which a person with a prob-
lem talks with a psychological professional.
psychotic refers to an individual’s inability to separate what is real and
what is fantasy.
puberty the physical changes that occur in the body as sexual development
reaches its peak.
punishment any event or object that, when following a response, makes
that response less likely to happen again.
punishment by application the punishment of a response by the addition
or experiencing of an unpleasant stimulus.
punishment by removal the punishment of a response by the removal of a
pleasurable stimulus.
random assignment process of assigning subjects to the experimental or
control groups randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being
in either group.
range the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.
rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage of sleep in which the eyes move rap-
idly under the eyelids and the person is typically experiencing a dream.
rating scale assessment in which a numerical value is assigned to specific
behavior that is listed in the scale.
rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) cognitive behavioral therapy in
which clients are directly challenged in their irrational beliefs and helped
to restructure their thinking into more rational belief statements.
rationalization psychological defense mechanism in which a person
invents acceptable excuses for unacceptable behavior.
reaction formation psychological defense mechanism in which a person
forms an opposite emotional or behavioral reaction to the way he or she
really feels to keep those true feelings hidden from self and others.
realistic conflict theory theory stating that prejudice and discrimina-
tion will be increased between groups that are in conflict over a limited
resource.
reality principle principle by which the ego functions; the satisfaction of
the demands of the id only when negative consequences will not result.
recall type of memory retrieval in which the information to be retrieved
must be “pulled” from memory with very few external cues.
recency effect tendency to remember information at the end of a body of
information better than the information that precedes it.
receptor sites three-dimensional proteins on the surface of the dendrites or
certain cells of the muscles and glands, which are shaped to fit only certain
neurotransmitters.
recessive referring to a gene that only influences the expression of a trait
when paired with an identical gene.Z03_CICC7961_05_SE_GLOS.indd 12 9/3/16 12:59 AM