Oh, the Humanity!: Psychology

Get your neurons firing with this list of words related to psychology. You'll learn about parts of the brain, cognition and memory, psychiatry, phobias and psychological disorders, and more. This list will blow your mind!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acquisition
    the cognitive process of obtaining skill or knowledge
  2. action potential
    the local voltage change across the cell wall as a nerve impulse is transmitted
  3. addiction
    being dependent on something habit-forming
  4. ADHD
    condition characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
  5. adrenal gland
    either of a pair of complex endocrine glands situated near the kidney
  6. affective disorder
    any mental disorder not caused by detectable organic abnormalities of the brain and in which a major disturbance of emotions is predominant
  7. agoraphobia
    a morbid fear of open spaces
  8. Alfred Binet
    French psychologist remembered for his studies of the intellectual development of children (1857-1911)
  9. algorithm
    a precise rule specifying how to solve some problem
  10. amnesia
    partial or total loss of memory
  11. amygdala
    the part of the brain responsible for emotional and behavioral reactions
  12. anorexia nervosa
    (psychiatry) a psychological disorder characterized by somatic delusions that one is too fat despite being emaciated
  13. antisocial personality disorder
    a personality disorder characterized by amorality and lack of affect; capable of violent acts without guilt feelings (`psychopathic personality' was once widely used but was superseded by `sociopathic personality' to indicate the social aspects of the disorder, but now `antisocial personality disorder' is the preferred term)
  14. aphasia
    inability to use language because of a brain lesion
  15. applied psychology
    any of several branches of psychology that seek to apply psychological principles to practical problems of education or industry or marketing etc.
  16. Arnold Gesell
    United States psychologist noted for his work in child development (1880-1961)
  17. Asperger's syndrome
    a psychiatric disorder usually noted during early school years; characterized by impaired social relations and by repetitive patterns of behavior
  18. association area
    cortical areas that are neither motor or sensory but are thought to be involved in higher processing of information
  19. autism
    a condition involving social and communication difficulties
  20. autonomic nervous system
    the part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands
  21. axon
    long nerve fiber that conducts impulses away from a cell
  22. B. F. Skinner
    United States psychologist and a leading proponent of behaviorism (1904-1990)
  23. basal metabolic rate
    the rate at which heat is produced by an individual in a resting state
  24. behaviorism
    an approach to psychology that emphasizes observable measurable behavior
  25. Binet-Simon Scale
    the first intelligence test
  26. binge-eating syndrome
    a disorder of eating in which people go on eating binges and then feel guilt and depression and self-condemnation
  27. biofeedback
    a training program in which a person is given information about physiological processes (heart rate or blood pressure) that is not normally available with the goal of gaining conscious control of them
  28. bipolar disorder
    a mental disorder characterized by episodes of mania and depression
  29. blind spot
    the point where the optic nerve enters the retina
  30. brainstem
    the part of the brain continuous with the spinal cord and comprising the medulla oblongata and pons and midbrain and parts of the hypothalamus
  31. Broca's area
    the motor speech center in the left hemisphere of the brain in most people
  32. bulimia
    a disorder of eating in which the person alternates between strong craving for food and aversion to food; characterized by excessive eating followed by periods of fasting or self-induced vomiting
  33. Carl Jung
    Swiss psychologist (1875-1961)
  34. Carl Rogers
    United States psychologist who developed client-centered therapy (1902-1987)
  35. case study
    a detailed analysis of a person or group from a social or psychological or medical point of view
  36. catalepsy
    a trancelike state characterized by rigid muscles and an inability to move
  37. catatonia
    a form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to remain in a fixed stuporous state for long periods; the catatonia may give way to short periods of extreme excitement
  38. catharsis
    purging of emotional tensions
  39. CAT scan
    an image produced by scanning
  40. central nervous system
    the portion of the vertebrate nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord
  41. cerebellum
    a major division of the vertebrate brain
  42. cerebral cortex
    the outermost layer of the cerebrum
  43. Charles Kay Ogden
    English psychologist who collaborated with I. A. Richards in designing Basic English (1889-1957)
  44. chromosome
    a threadlike strand of DNA that carries genes
  45. chunking
    (psychology) the configuration of smaller units of information into large coordinated units