AQA GCSE Psychology key terms

The scientific study of how brain structures and processes relate to cognition, such as memory and thinking, and to behaviour.

Behaviour shared by people acting as part of a group or crowd.

A cultural emphasis on interdependence, cooperation and responsibilities towards the group.

The sending and receiving of information through signals.

Publicly going along with a group while privately disagreeing.

The percentage of pairs in which both individuals share the characteristic being studied, such as alcohol addiction.

One version of the independent variable experienced by participants in an experiment.

A previously neutral stimulus that produces a learned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

A person who works with researchers and plays a planned role while appearing to other participants to be an ordinary participant or member of the public.

Protecting participants' personal information from unauthorised access or disclosure that could identify them.

A change in behaviour or thinking because of real or imagined group pressure.

An uncontrolled extraneous variable that varies systematically with the independent variable, providing an alternative explanation for the results.

Understanding that a quantity remains the same when its appearance changes, provided nothing is added or removed.

Gregory’s explanation that perception is actively built from sensory information and knowledge gained through past experience.

The surroundings in which information is learned or recalled; features of these surroundings can act as retrieval cues.

Numerical data that can take any value within a range, such as reaction time.

The inward turning of both eyes when focusing on a nearby object; feedback from the eye muscles helps the brain judge distance.

An association between two variables: their values vary together in a recognisable pattern.

Varying the order of conditions across participants to balance order effects; for two conditions, half complete A then B and half complete B then A.

One of the two variables measured and compared in correlational research.

A trial in which the researcher creates the condition being investigated. In Asch’s study, the confederates unanimously gave an incorrect answer.

A computerised tomography scan: an imaging technique that combines X-ray views to produce detailed cross-sectional images of brain structure.

Retrieving information with the help of a prompt or clue.

Using the standards of one culture to judge people from other cultures, potentially misinterpreting their experiences or behaviour.

Shared beliefs, values and practices within a social group.

A pattern of symptoms recognised and understood within a particular cultural setting.

Information collected in research, such as test scores, records of behaviour or participants’ answers.