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pain management:
the various measures
and techniques employed to control and reduce pain.
panic disorder:
classified under
DSM as an
anxiety
disorder, sufferers experience attacks?that are
unpredictable, and involve intense feelings of apprehension,
anxiety and
fear, and
physiological
symptoms of chest pain, dizziness and heavy
breathing.
paralinguistics:
refers to how something
is said rather than what is said, including pauses and tone of voice.
parallel processing:
an explanation of
information processing, whereby two or more mental processes can be carried
out simultaneously.
paranoia:
is a disturbed thought process characterised by excessive
anxiety or fear, often to the point of
irrationality and
delusion.
paranoid schizophrenia:
a subcategory of
schizophrenia, whereby an individual
possesses an organised and systematic set of
delusions or
hallucinations, including that of
persecution or
jealousy.
parapsychology:
refers to a
branch of
psychology that seeks to explain the paranormal
(which cannot be explained in terms of normal sensory
experience)
parasympathetic nervous system:
combined
with the
sympathetic nervous system, comprises
the
autonomic nervous system of the body. The
parasympathetic system is
antagonistic to the
sympathetic
nervous system, by conserving and restoring bodily energy to
restore the organism to a state of calm and relaxation.
parietal lobe:
the region of the
cortex behind the
frontal lobe and above
the lateral fissure, containing the
somatosensory cortex,
important for the sense of touch.
Parkinson’s disease:
a
degenerative
neurological disorder, typified by difficulties
in movement, for instance a continual rapid tremor in the
limbs, a lack of sensory-motor co-ordination and a tendency
to be continually tired. The condition is thought to be
caused by problems in the production of the
neurotransmitter
dopamine.
parsimony:
in the
philosophy of science, the principle that the simplest
possible explanation should always be sought for any event.
partial reinforcement:
in
operant conditioning, a contingency of reinforcement
whereby a response is rewarded or punished only some of the
time.
participant:
(‘subjecf)
in research, an individual who is the object of study or who
participates in an
experiment.
participant observation:
a
research method involving direct participation of the
researcher in the events being studied.
participant variables:
confounding effects that result from the
characteristics of the
participants that may influence the
results, such as differences in age,
memory,
gender, state
of hunger or level of
arousal.
paternal deprivation:
loss of the father, or growing up without a steady father
figure may have
deprivation effects, including a range of
emotional and social disturbances depending on the nature
and length of the absence.
pathological:
the quality
of being diseased or
dysfunctional. Sigmund
Freud’s
psychological
theories describe and
diagnose the sources of
pathological social behavior in individuals.
pattern recognition:
the process by which we transform and organise the raw
sensory information into a meaningful whole.
Pavlovian
conditioning:
see
classical conditioning.
peak experience:
proposed by
Maslow, a temporary, profound and intense experience of
enhanced awareness, frequently accompanied by feelings of
feeling fully alive.
peer:
an
individual who is in some way equal to the person with whom
they are being compared on a specific dimension.
peer group:
a social
unit of (typically) same-age peers who share common values
and standards of behaviour.
perception:
the process
of selection, meaningful organisation and interpretation of
information from the
senses.
perceptual constancy:
the tendency for objects to provide the same perceptual
experience despite changes in the retinal image, e.g.
size constancy.
perceptual defence:
a
phenomenon whereby words that have a high degree of
emotional content or might be considered ‘taboo‘ are
perceptually recognised less easily than neutral
valence
words.
perceptual development:
the systematic development and maturation of perceptual
abilities and processes over time.
perceptual organisation:
processes that combine incoming sensory information into a
coherent, meaningful perceptual experience. For instance,
the ability to perceive patterns and to judge size and
distance in a three-dimensional scene.
peripheral nervous
system: nerves outside the
spinal cord and
brain (not part of the
central nervous system).
persecution:
to be badly treated, oppressed
or harassed usually because of beliefs,
gender, race, religion or
sexual orientation.
personal space:
the
physical region around us that we deem to be our own, in
order to regulate interactions with others.
personality: a set of
qualities that make a person (or thing) distinct from
another.
personality disorder:
a group of disorders
characterised by
pathological trends in personality structure. It may
show itself by lack of good judgment or poor relationships
with others, accompanied by little
anxiety
and no personal sense of distress.
personality inventory:
a self-report questionnaire that is designed to measure
personality characteristics, through questions on personal
thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The
Eysenck
Personality Inventory (EPI) measures personality along
the dimensions of
neuroticism – stability and
extroversion –
introversio
n.
person-centred therapy:
See
client-centred therapy
persuasion:
intentional efforts to alter attitudes.
pervasive
development disorder (PDD): refers to a group of
five disorders characterised by delays in the development of
multiple basic functions including
socialisation and communication. The most commonly known
PDD is
autism.
PET (positron emission tomography) scans:
a technique for imaging
brain
activity by recording the
extent of
metabolic activity in different regions of the
brain during different
cognitive or behavioural activities,
through injecting a radioactive substance.
phallic stage:
the third stage of development in
Freud’s theory, from about
3 to 5 years of age, during which the source of
gratification is focused on the genitals.
phantom limb:
a mysterious phenomenon experienced by amputees who often
continue to experience sensations which seem to originate
from the missing limb.
phenomena:
in
the scientific sense, a phenomenon is an observable
occurrence, pattern, or relationship between events.
phenomenological:
pertaining to the way things appear or are experienced; in
the
humanistic approach, a reference to the emphasis on an
individual’s
perceptions and feelings as defining the
meaning of their behaviour.
phenotype:
the
observed characteristics of the individual, that manifest as
a combination of genetic and environmental influences.
philosophy:
is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning
matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, justice,
beauty, validity, mind, and language.
philosophy
of mind: is the
branch of
philosophy that studies the nature of the
mind, mental events, mental functions, mental
properties,
consciousness
and their relationship to the physical body, particularly
the
brain.
philosophy of perception:
concerns how mental processes and
symbols depend on the world
internal and external to the perceiver.
philosophy of science:
is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications
of science.
philosophical:
of
or pertaining to
philosophy; a certain critical, creative
way of thinking.
phobic disorders (phobias):
a type of
anxiety disorder, of a
persistent and
irrational fear of an object or situation that is often
unreasonable and unfounded in proportion to the threat, and
which may interfere with an individuals function in daily
life.
phoneme:
minimal units of speech, that create differences in speech
production and reception.
phylogeny:
evolution
and development of a species. See
ontogeny, which
refers to the evolution and development of an
individual organism.
physical
(physiological) dependence:
a state where the body has adapted to and has become
dependent on drugs, and sudden absence can result in
withdrawal.
physiological:
relating to
the way that living things function rather than to their
shape or structure.
physiologists:
scientists who study living organisms and how their parts
work.
Piaget (1896-1980): a Swiss
developmental psychologist whose work has had a huge
influence on
psychology and education. Piaget defined four sequential
stages of
cognitive development; the sensorimotor, preoperational,
concrete operational and formal operational stages, each
characterised by different ways of thinking. Through
development a child develops ?a target=”_blank” href=”https://psychology.net.in/dictionary/s#schema”>schemas?
(mental representations), which are used to solve new
problems (?a target=”_blank” href=”https://psychology.net.in/dictionary/a#assimilation”>assimilation?
and existing
schema is also changed to solve new experiences
(“accommodation“.
Piagetian:
of, relating to, or dealing with
Jean Piaget or his
writings,
theories, or methods especially with respect to
child development.
Piliavin (1969):
completed a famous experiment demonstrating diffusion of
responsibility by exploring factors that influence helping
behavior of bystanders.
pituitary gland:
a small gland located next to the
hypothalamus, which
regulates many
endocrine functions, including the secretion
of growth
hormones, and secretes
hormones that in turn
trigger
hormone secretions in other glands. For instance, a
hormone called ACTH is released during
stress, which in turn
triggers the release of
steroids from the
cortex of the
adrenal glands.
placebo:
a
chemically inert substance administered instead of a real
drug.
placebo
effect:
when
participants display improvements after being administered a
placebo, on the belief that it has beneficial powers even
though it has none.
pleasure principle:
Freuds proposal that humans are
motivated to achieve
immediate and maximal pleasure, regardless of the cost.
pons:
the pons trigger dreaming
and awakening from sleep.
population:
(or target
population)
the entire
group to which the results of the study are intended to
apply to and from which those individuals selected to
participate in the study will be drawn.
positive correlation:
a relationship between two measured variables where as
one measure increases the other measured variable increases
too.
positive regard:
see
unconditional positive regard.
positive reinforcement:
in
operant conditioning, a process of increasing the
likelihood of a response by immediately following the
response with a desirable stimulus (a positive
reinforcer).
positive symptoms:
behaviours related to a mental disorder which do not occur
in healthy persons; for example,
hallucinations in
schizophrenia.
posthypnotic amnesia:
a subject’s inability to remember something that happened
while they were
hypnotised.
post-traumatic
stress disorder:
a type of
anxiety disorder that arises as a consequence of the
experience of a
traumatic event, such as a life-threatening
event. Symptoms typically involve a persistent re-experience
of the event, through
hallucinations, recollections,
flashbacks, increased
anxiety and
guilt.
postsynaptic:
in a
synapse, of or pertaining to the
neuron that bears receptors for
neurotransmitter released into the synaptic cleft by the
presynaptic
neuron.
preconscious:
thoughts,
experiences, and
memories not in a persons immediate
attention but that can be called into awareness at any
moment.
predictive validity:
an indicator of validity based on whether a test can
accurately predict future performance on the measure in
question.
prejudice:
a
learned negative attitude, comprised of negative affective
and
stereotypes towards a person or group. Behavioural
manifestation is labelled ‘discrimination‘
presynaptic:
refers to the
axonal end of the
neuron where the
synapse may be
inhibited or stimulated to release
neurotransmitters.
primacy effect:
information
presented first to a
participant is more likely to be
remembered than material subsequently presented.
primary carer:
the individual that holds primary responsibility for the care of an
infant, often the biological mother.
primary prevention:
strategies that aim to prevent disease in currently healthy
individuals, by focusing on the development of good health
habits and discouraging poor ones.
primary reinforcer:
reinforcers based on
innate biological significance, such
as food or water.
priming:
a phenomenon whereby previous exposure to a word or
situation, improves implicit
memory and increases the
activation of associated thoughts or
memories.
pro-attitudinal
behaviour:
a tendency
for people to behave in a manner that is consistent, with existing, underlying attitudes.
probability:
a numerical measure of the chance that something will happen,
expressed as a number between 1 (certainty) and 0
(impossibility). A probability of 0.05 is typically used in
psychological investigations to represent the probability of
an effect found occurring if the
null hypothesis is
true, ie. The results are purely due to chance factors.
procedural memory:
memory
for how-to?information, that we have no conscious access
to, for instance, how to ride a bike.
prognosis:
when used in
clinical psychology, refers to the expected
eventual outcome of a disorder.
projection:
defence mechanisms
whereby
which unwanted thoughts are externalised or projected onto
someone else.
projective test:
a type of
personality assessment during which an
individual is asked to interpret an ambiguous, abstract
stimulus and an individuals response will reveal
unconscious and hidden feelings, motives and conflicts.
pro-social behaviour:
behaviour that is believed to help other individuals.
protection of
participants:
an
ethical requirement whereby researchers must minimise any
risk or harm to
participants.
proximal cause:
a factor which is a direct influence on behaviour, such as
one’s attitude or an aspect of the immediate situation.
psyche:
Jungs
term for the totality of each persons psychic contents.
psychiatrists:
medical
doctors who possess an M.D. degree and may prescribe
medications for the treatment of
psychological disorders.
psychoanalytic
theory:
is a general term for approaches to
psychoanalysis
which attempt to provide a conceptual framework more-or-less
independent of clinical practice rather than based on
empirical analysis of clinical cases.
psychoanalysis:
a
type of psychodynamic therapy devised by
Freud, in line with
the assumptions of
unconscious conflict and
psychosexual
development.
Therapy aims for the patient to gain a deeper
understanding of their own
unconscious thoughts and feelings
through free association and
transference.
psychodynamics:
the branch of
social psychology that deals with the processes and
emotions that determine
psychology and
motivation.
psychodynamic approach:
a perspective that views behaviour in terms of past
childhood experiences, and the influence of
unconscious
processes, drives and conflicts.
psychological:
relating
to the way that living things function rather than to their
shape or structure i.e. mental or emotional as opposed
to physical in nature.
psychological dependence:
the reliance upon and beliefs that are held when individuals
become
addicted to drugs.
psychological disorder:
a psychological disorder of
thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness.
physiological psychology:
is a subdivision of
biological psychology
that studies the neural mechanisms of
perception and behavior through direct manipulation of
the
brains of nonhuman animal subjects in controlled
experiments.
psychologist: means a
person who by years of study, training and experience has
achieved professional recognition and standing in the field
of
clinical psychology.
psychology:
the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes.
psychometric testing:
the testing of individuals to measure competence in a
specific area of functioning, e.g.
intelligence,
personality.
psychopath:
see
anti-social personality
disorder.
psychopharmacology:
the study of the effects that drugs have on behaviour.
psychophysics:
the study of the relationship between
physical
stimuli and the mental events that arise as a result of
these
stimuli. The methods developed are fundamental to
sensation and
perception.
psychophysiology:
the branch of
psychology that is concerned with the
physiological bases of
psychological
processes.
psychosis/a>:
any major mental disorder that involves loss of contact with
reality. This usually includes
delusions and/or
hallucinations.
psychotic:
a person afflicted with
psychosis.
psychosocial:
the
psychological and/or social aspects of health, disease,
treatment, and/or rehabilitation.
psychosurgery:
surgical
procedures conducted on
brain tissue to alleviate the
symptoms of severe
psychological disorder.
psychotherapy:
any variety
of treatment for
abnormal behaviour which is primarily
verbal in nature, rather than based on the use of drugs.
psychosexual development:
in
psychoanalytic theory, a description of how a child
progresses through set stages that vary according to the
focus of
gratification (oral, anal, genital) and by the
person towards which this feeling is directed at.
public territory:
a type of territory where there is a low amount of occupation and
perception of ownership, for instance a beach.
punishment:
in
operant
conditioning, a process whereby a response is followed by a
negative reinforcer, which results in a decrease in the
probability of the response.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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