Psychology key terms

The cerebral cortex's process of interpreting and organising random neural signals, using stored memories to form a dream.

Selecting every nth person from a list of the target population.

A table used to record occurrences as they happen, using tally marks that are counted to obtain frequencies.

The whole group of people that a researcher wants to investigate and draw conclusions about.

A group of tests used together to assess several abilities or functions.

A brain structure that acts as a relay station, passing sensory information to the cerebral cortex for interpretation.

The explanation that remembering involves rebuilding an account from stored information, influenced by existing knowledge and expectations, rather than replaying an exact recording.

Another factor that could explain an apparent relationship between the two measured variables.

Mental activity involved in forming ideas, understanding concepts and reasoning.

Needing an increased dose of a substance to achieve an effect previously produced by a lower dose.

Using existing knowledge and expectations to interpret incoming sensory information.

Depression that has not improved sufficiently despite antidepressant treatment. In Wiles’ trial, participants still had depression after taking and adhering to antidepressants for at least six weeks.

An influence that discourages a person from involvement in an activity.

A classification of different types of behaviour or involvement.

An unclear or indeterminate feature of an experience, such as uncertainty about a character’s identity.

A stimulus that produces a response naturally, without that response having to be learned.

In Freud’s theory, the part of the mind containing thoughts, memories and desires that are normally inaccessible to conscious awareness but can influence behaviour.

A mood disorder involving depressive episodes without manic or hypomanic episodes. Depressive episodes can recur, with recovery between them.

An interview without a fixed sequence of questions, in which the researcher develops questions in response to what the participant says.

Whether research measures what it intends to measure and supports an accurate explanation of the behaviour being studied.

A factor that can change or take different values in a study.

Sending and receiving messages using words, whether spoken, written or signed.

A learner who prefers to process information through spoken or written words.

Learning from observing the consequences of another person’s behaviour.

Seeing someone else punished for behaviour, making the observer less likely to imitate it.

Learning from observing someone else being rewarded for a behaviour, making imitation more likely.

A survey asking people about crimes they have experienced, including incidents they did not report to the police.