Signal detection theory—maintains that minimum
threshold varies with fatigue, attention, expecta-
tions, movitation, and emotional distress, as well as
from one person to another.
Single-blind procedure—research design in which
participants don’t know whether they are in the
experimental or control group.
Situational attributions—inferences that a person’s
behavior is caused by some temporary condition or
situation the person is in.
Sleep—a complex combination of states of con-
sciousness each with its own level of consciousness,
awareness, responsiveness, and physiological
arousal.
Sleepwalking—most frequently a childhood sleep
disruption that occurs during stage 4 sleep
characterized by trips out of bed or carrying on of
complex activities.
Social clock—idea that society has certain age expec-
tations for when someone should marry and have
kids and people feel compelled to meet these
expectations or face a crisis.
Social cognition—refers to the way people gather,
use, and interpret information about the social
aspects of the world around them.
Social facilitation—improved performance of well-
learned tasks in front of others.
Social group—two or more people sharing common
goals and interests interact and influence behavior
of the other(s).
Social impairment—worsened performance of a
newly learned or difficult task when performed in
front of an audience.
Social interactivist perspective—babies are biologi-
cally equipped for learning language which may be
activated or constrained by experience.
Social learning theory—Bandura’s idea that we can
learn behavior from others by first observing it and
then imitating it.
Social loafing—the tendency of individuals to put
less effort into group projects than when they are
individually accountable.
Social motives—learned needs that energize behav-
ior; acquired as part of growing up in a particular
society or culture.
Social psychologists—psychologists who focus on
how a person’s mental life and behavior are shaped
by interactions with other people.
Social psychology—the study of how groups influ-
ence the attitudes and behavior of the individual.
Social referencing—observing the behavior of others
in social situations to obtain information or
guidance.
Social skills training—cognitive behavioral therapy
where the therapist can model the behavior for the
client and then place the client in a simulated situ-
ation for practice.
Sociobiology—study of the biological basis of social
behavior.
Sociocultural approach—psychological perspective
concerned with how cultural differences affect
behavior.
Somatic nervous system—subdivision of PNS that
includes motor nerves that stimulate skeletal (vol-
untary) muscle.
Somatization disorder—somatoform disorder char-
acterized by recurrent complaints about usually
vague and unverifiable medical conditions such as
dizziness, heart palpitations, and nausea which do
not apparently result from any physical cause.
Somatoform disorder—a mental disorder involving
a bodily or physical problem for which there is no
physiological basis.
Somatosensation—the skin sensations: touch/pres-
sure, warmth, cold, and pain.
Somatotype theory—William Sheldon’s theory that
body types determine personality.
Somnambulism—sleepwalking.
Sound localization—the process by which you
determine the location of a sound.
Source trait—Cattell’s underlying 16 traits that
guide your behavior.
Speed test—measures how fast you can answer ques-
tions in a specified time period.
Spinal cord—portion of the central nervous system
below the medulla oblongata.
Split-half reliability—a method where the score on
one half of the test questions is compared with the
score on the other half of the questions to see if
they are consistent.
Spontaneous recovery—the reappearance of a previ-
ously extinguished CR after a rest period.
Sports psychologists—psychologists who help ath-
letes refine their focus on competition goals,
increase motivation, and deal with anxiety or fear
of failure.
Stability versus change—deals with the issue of
whether or not personality traits present during
infancy persist throughout the lifespan.
Stage 1 sleep—sleep stage lasting a few minutes in
which we gradually lose responsiveness to outside336 á Glossary
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