CHSE Odisha Elective Psychology key terms

The earliest school of psychology, associated with Wundt and Titchener, which tried to analyse conscious experience into its basic elements through trained introspection of sensations, images and feelings.

A school founded by William James that asked what mental processes are for, stressing how consciousness and behaviour help an organism adapt and survive in its environment.

A school holding that perception and thought cannot be broken into parts, because the whole pattern or configuration has properties that its individual elements do not possess.

A method in which a trained observer reports inner experiences such as sensations and feelings as they occur, used by early structuralists but criticised for being subjective and unreliable.

An approach, led by Watson and Skinner, that restricts psychology to observable stimuli and responses and rejects the study of unobservable mental states as unscientific.

The basic nerve cell that receives, integrates and transmits electrochemical signals; it consists of dendrites, a cell body, an axon and terminal endings.

The tiny gap between the terminal button of one neuron and the membrane of another, across which chemical messengers carry the signal from one cell to the next.

A chemical released into the synapse that excites or inhibits the receiving neuron; examples include acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline.

The division of the peripheral nervous system controlling involuntary functions of glands, heart and smooth muscle; it has sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.

The body's tendency to maintain a stable internal state, such as temperature or blood sugar, through automatic corrective responses, often described as a physiological basis of drive.

A chemical secreted by an endocrine gland into the bloodstream, which travels to target organs and regulates growth, metabolism, stress responses and sexual development.

A thread-like structure in the cell nucleus carrying genes in a linear sequence; humans normally have 23 pairs, with one pair determining sex.

A statistical estimate of the proportion of variation in a trait within a given population that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals in that population.

The basic unit of heredity, a segment of DNA on a chromosome that codes for a protein and thereby influences particular physical or behavioural characteristics.

The minimum intensity of a stimulus that a person can detect reliably, usually defined as the level detected on 50 per cent of presentations.

The smallest change in a stimulus that can be noticed, also called the just noticeable difference; Weber's law states that it is a constant fraction of the original stimulus.

A model of detection that separates a person's sensory sensitivity from their decision criterion, explaining hits, misses, false alarms and correct rejections under uncertainty.

The tendency to perceive objects as keeping the same size, shape or colour despite large changes in the retinal image caused by distance, angle or illumination.

The ability to judge distance and three-dimensional relations, using binocular cues such as retinal disparity and monocular cues such as linear perspective and relative size.

The process of focusing mental resources on one stimulus or task while filtering out competing inputs, as in the cocktail-party effect.

The attempt to allocate processing resources to two or more tasks at once; performance usually suffers, especially when tasks demand the same mental resources.

Learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after being repeatedly paired with a stimulus that already produces that response, as in Pavlov's dogs.

An unlearned, naturally occurring reaction to a biologically significant stimulus, such as salivation to food or blinking to a puff of air.

Learning in which the probability of a behaviour changes because of the consequences that follow it, such as reinforcement or punishment, as described by Skinner.

Any consequence that increases the likelihood of the behaviour it follows; positive reinforcement adds a pleasant stimulus, negative reinforcement removes an unpleasant one.

The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned or operant response when the reinforcement or unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented.

Learning by watching others, called models, and imitating their behaviour, especially when the model is rewarded; central to Bandura's social learning theory.

The first stage of memory, in which information is transformed into a form the memory system can store, often through visual, acoustic or semantic processing.

A limited-capacity system that holds information briefly while it is being used for reasoning, comprehension or problem solving, replacing the older concept of short-term store.

The relatively permanent store of information with essentially unlimited capacity, divided into explicit memory for facts and events and implicit memory for skills and habits.

Forgetting caused by new learning that disrupts the recall of material learned earlier, as when a new phone number replaces an old one.

Forgetting in which previously learned material interferes with the recall of material learned later, as when an old address blocks recall of a new one.

An internal state of tension or arousal produced by a biological need, which energises behaviour directed at reducing that need and restoring balance.

The desire to engage in an activity for its own sake, because it is interesting or enjoyable, rather than for an external reward or pressure.

The need to accomplish difficult tasks, meet high standards and compete against a measure of excellence; it is often assessed with projective or self-report measures.

The view that emotion arises from the perception of bodily changes: we feel afraid because we tremble, rather than trembling because we are afraid.

The view that a stimulus produces the subjective feeling of emotion and the bodily arousal at the same time, with neither causing the other.

Schachter and Singer's view that emotion depends on undifferentiated physiological arousal plus a cognitive label derived from the surrounding situation.

A numerical index of mental ability, traditionally mental age divided by chronological age multiplied by 100, and now usually a standard score with a mean of 100.

A person's potential to acquire a particular skill or to profit from training in a specific area, measured by tests that predict future performance rather than present achievement.

The consistency or stability of a test's scores across repeated administrations, parallel forms or items, estimated by test-retest, split-half or internal consistency methods.

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure, judged by content, criterion-related and construct evidence rather than by consistency alone.

A relatively stable and enduring characteristic that distinguishes one person from another and predisposes them to behave in consistent ways across situations.

A widely used trait model describing personality along five dimensions: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

An assessment in which ambiguous stimuli such as inkblots or pictures are presented and the person's responses are interpreted as revealing hidden needs, conflicts and traits.

A projective technique in which the person makes up stories about a series of pictures, and the content is scored for themes such as achievement, affiliation and power.

A learned tendency to evaluate an object, person or issue favourably or unfavourably, comprising cognitive, affective and behavioural components that may not always agree.

The unpleasant tension felt when a person holds two inconsistent cognitions, or acts against a belief, which motivates change in attitude or behaviour to restore consistency.

A change in behaviour or belief toward the group standard as a result of real or imagined group pressure, studied in Asch's line-judgement experiments.

Compliance with the direct commands of an authority figure, famously investigated by Milgram, whose participants often followed orders that harmed another person.

The finding that a person is less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present, explained by diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance.

Helping behaviour motivated by genuine concern for another's welfare rather than by expected personal gain or social reward.

A sensory experience that occurs without any external stimulus, such as hearing voices when no one is speaking, and is experienced as real by the person.

A firmly held false belief that is not shared by the person's culture and does not yield to contrary evidence, such as the conviction of being persecuted.

A severe disturbance in which contact with reality is lost, marked by hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thinking or grossly inappropriate behaviour.

A group of conditions marked by excessive, persistent fear or worry that impairs functioning, including generalised anxiety, panic disorder, phobias and obsessive-compulsive patterns.