Psychology key terms

Processing information by connecting it to meaning rather than simply repeating it, helping it enter long-term memory.

A simplified representation of a face used to communicate emotion.

A feeling state, such as fear, happiness or sadness.

Changing information into a form that can be stored in memory.

An internal biological clock that regulates a biological rhythm.

A lasting physical memory trace in the brain associated with learning.

Long-term memory for personally experienced events, including their circumstances.

A state of mental balance in which experiences fit a person's existing schemas.

An approximate result, often calculated by rounding numbers before carrying out the calculation.

A principle or standard that guides how psychologists should treat people and make responsible decisions in research or practice.

Standards of acceptable conduct that guide researchers in respecting participants' rights and protecting their welfare.

The proposed contribution of a characteristic or behaviour to survival and reproduction over generations.

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

An external cue, such as light, that helps synchronise a biological rhythm with the environment.

A belief about what is likely to happen or be encountered, based on previous experience or the current context.

The way participants are organised in relation to the conditions of an experiment.

A research method that investigates the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable while controlling other relevant variables.

An influence of the researcher’s expectations or beliefs on the procedure, data or interpretation that makes a particular outcome more likely.

Specialist knowledge, skills or training that can enable someone to help effectively.

Believing that outcomes depend mainly on forces outside one’s control, such as luck, fate or other people.

The consistency of a measure from one use to another.

A variable other than the independent variable that could affect the dependent variable.

A personality dimension involving sociability, impulsiveness and seeking excitement or stimulation.

When two people look at each other’s eyes at the same time.

Envy experienced after viewing other people’s personal information on Facebook.

A recollection of an event that did not happen, or that happened substantially differently from how it is remembered.

An explanation for visual illusions in which real visual elements cause a person to perceive a feature that is not physically present in the stimulus.