short-term memory (STM), and long-term
memory (LTM).
Attachment—a close emotional bond or relationship
between the infant and the caregiver.
Attention—set of perceptual processes by which you
choose from among the various stimuli bombard-
ing your senses at any instant, allowing some to be
further processed by your senses and brain.
Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD)—
a disorder in which the individual is unable to
focus attention for a normal length of time, and
often shows an elevated level of activity.
Attitude—learned predisposition to respond favor-
ably or unfavorably to certain people, objects, or
events.
Attribution theory—a study of our causal explana-
tions of behavior. We attribute behavior to the
individual’s disposition or to the situation.
Audition—the sense of hearing.
Auditory nerve—axons of neurons in the cochlea
converge, transmitting sound messages through
the medulla, pons, and thalamus to the auditory
cortex of the temporal lobes.
Authoritarian parenting style—absolute and restric-
tive rules by parent accompanied by punishment
for disobedience.
Authoritative parenting style—flexible rules for
which reasons are generally given. Parents are
warm and nurture independence within
guidelines.
Autism—an early-onset developmental disorder
characterized by markedly abnormal or impaired
development in social interaction, communica-
tion, and the restricted repertoire of activity and
interests.
Automatic processing—unconscious encoding of
information about space, time, and frequency that
occurs without interfering with our thinking about
other things.
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)—subdivision of
PNS that includes motor nerves that stimulate
smooth (involuntary) or heart muscle. Its sympa-
thetic nervous system prepares the body for “fight
or flight”; the parasympathetic nervous system
causes bodily changes for maintenance or rest.
Availability heuristic—a tendency to estimate the
probability of certain events in terms of how read-
ily they come to mind.
Aversive conditioning—learning involving an
unpleasant or harmful unconditioned stimulus or
reinforcer; also a form of behavior therapy (aver-
sion therapy) in which the client is trained to asso-
ciate physical or psychological discomfort with
behaviors, thoughts, or situations the client wants
to stop or avoid.
Avoidance-avoidance conflict—a conflict in which
the individual must choose between two unattrac-
tive stimuli or circumstances.
Avoidance behavior—behavior that results in the
removal of an ongoing event, or prevents a future
event from occurring.
Avoidant attachment—infant neither seeks support
or comfort from nor shows distress toward care-
givers in the Strange Situation.
Axon—a long, single conducting fiber (usually cov-
ered in myelin) extending from the cell body of a
neuron that transmits an action potential and that
branches and ends in tips called terminal buttons
(a.k.a. axon terminals, or synaptic knobs) that
secrete neurotransmitters.
Babbling—a stage of speech development that is
characterized by spontaneous utterance of speech
sounds; begins around 4 months old.
Backwards conditioning—in classical conditioning,
presenting the unconditioned stimulus before the
conditioned stimulus.
Basal ganglia—clusters of neurons deep in the brain
(including the caudate nucleus, putamen, globus
pallidus, and substantia nigra) that regulate initia-
tion of movements, balance, eye movements, and
posture.
Basic-level category—a concept that makes impor-
tant distinctions between different categories—
between a superordinate and subordinate category.
Behavior modification—therapy in which the client
selects a goal and as he or she gets closer to that
goal receives small rewards until finally reaching
the intended goal; also a field that applies the
behavioral approach scientifically to solve prob-
lems (applied behavior analysis).
Behavior therapy—treatment approach that uses
applications of learning principles to eliminate
unwanted behaviors.
Behavioral approach—psychological perspective
concerned with behavioral reactions to stimuli;
learning as a result of experience.
Behaviorism—the view that psychology should be
an objective science based on observable and meas-
urable behaviors.
Belief bias—the tendency for our preexisting beliefs
to distort logical reasoning, making illogical con-Glossary Ü 315