Psychology key terms

The process of wanting to be like a role model, which makes adopting their behaviour more likely.

An increase in confidence that an event happened after imagining it.

Copying behaviour that has been observed.

Remembering information straight after it has been presented.

The number of new cases of a condition occurring in a population during a specified period.

Something that does not fit its context or is incompatible with ordinary expectations.

An experimental design in which different participants take part in each condition.

An experimental design in which different participants complete each condition.

A research design in which different participants take part in each condition or group being compared.

The factor the researcher changes or manipulates in an experiment to investigate its effect on the dependent variable.

An economic consequence beyond the expense of providing care, such as production lost through absence from work.

A difference between participants, such as reading ability or memory capacity, that could affect the dependent variable.

A cultural emphasis on independence, personal goals and individual achievement.

A culture that places relatively greater emphasis on personal independence and individual goals.

Reaching a conclusion using available information and past experience.

A sequence of mental operations through which information is taken in, encoded, stored, retrieved and used.

Agreement to take part in research after receiving enough information to make a free and informed decision.

An effect on a neuron that makes it less likely to fire an electrical impulse.

Inborn rather than learned through experience.

A behaviour that develops without needing to be learned.

The entry of information through the senses, such as sight, hearing and touch.

Regular difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or returning to sleep after waking early, often accompanied by tiredness and impaired daytime functioning.

The ethical principle of being honest, accurate, fair and consistent, remaining objective and avoiding exploitation and conflicts of interest.

The ability and potential to learn, think and solve problems.

Forgetting that occurs when one memory competes with or disrupts the retrieval of another memory.

Accepting a belief as personally correct, rather than only expressing it to fit in with other people.

Believing that outcomes depend mainly on one’s own efforts and decisions.