Psychology key terms

A belief that intelligence and ability are set and cannot be substantially changed through effort or practice.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging: a scanning technique that uses changes in blood oxygenation as an indirect measure of brain activity.

A number representing a part of a whole or a division, written with a numerator above a denominator, such as $\frac{3}{5}$.

Retrieving information without being given prompts or cues.

The capacity to choose how to act, including choosing to resist social pressure.

The number of times a value or category occurs in a dataset.

A graphical display showing how often different values or groups of values occur.

A table showing how often each value, category or interval occurs.

The front region of the cerebrum, involved in planning, decision-making and retrieving stored memories.

A standardised questionnaire developed by Adorno and colleagues to measure authoritarian attitudes associated with susceptibility to fascism.

A technique that maps indicators of brain activity, such as changes in blood flow or energy use.

An imbalance in research that favours or places greater emphasis on one gender, potentially producing incomplete or misleading conclusions.

The extent to which findings can be applied beyond the participants and circumstances studied.

Applying findings from a sample to the wider population it is intended to represent.

An inherited susceptibility that increases the likelihood of developing a condition, without making it inevitable.

A belief that intelligence and ability can develop through effort, practice and learning.

A sensory experience without a corresponding external stimulus, such as hearing a voice when nobody is speaking.

A pattern of substance use that causes actual damage to physical or mental health.

A monocular depth cue in which objects higher in the visual field, towards the horizon in a ground-level scene, appear further away.

One of the two halves of the cerebrum: the left hemisphere or the right hemisphere.

A characteristic passed from parents to offspring through genes.

The size of the hippocampus, a brain structure whose volume has been linked to self-esteem and internal locus of control.

A structure deep within the temporal lobe that helps consolidate new memories of facts and experiences into long-term memory.

A graph showing continuous numerical data grouped into intervals, with touching bars whose areas represent frequencies.

An approach that considers the whole person and the interaction of factors affecting their behaviour and wellbeing.

A less severe episode of elevated mood and increased energy and activity than mania.

A brain region involved in regulating bodily functions, including the sleep–wake cycle.