latency According to Freud, the fourth psychosexual stage (occurring from age five or six until the start of puberty), during which sexual impulses are repressed while the child learns social and cognitive skills. 13
latent content In psychoanalysis, the symbolic meanings of dreams that expose unconscious wishes. 5, 16
law of effect Thorndike’s theory that responses that lead to satisfying consequences will be strengthened and are likely to be repeated, whereas responses that lead to unsatisfying consequences will be weakened and are unlikely to occur again. 6
learned motives Secondary drives, learned through association with the reduction of primary drives. 11
learning A relatively permanent change in observable behavior potential that results from experience with the environment. 6
learning perspective The view that most mental and emotional disorders arise not from unresolved psychic conflicts (as Freud proposed) but rather from inadequate or inappropriate learning. 15
lens A transparent, elastic structure that allows the eye to adjust its focus in accordance with an object’s distance. 4
limbic system The innermost borders of the cerebral hemispheres that are involved in emotion, motivation, and sexual and feeding behavior. 3
linear perspective A monocular depth cue; the impression of depth created by the convergence of parallel lines as they recede into the distance. 4
linguistic relativity hypothesis Benjamin Lee Whorf’s notion that language heavily influences thought. 8
lithium A drug used to treat bipolar disorder (alternating episodes of mania and depression). 16
long-term memory The storage of information for an indefinite period of time to be used over and over again. 7
low-ball phenomenon A compliance technique based on the idea that a person’s decision to per-form a certain act often holds even if that action becomes more costly. 18