Pacinian corpuscles Receptors deep under the skin surface sensitive to pressure within muscles and internal organs. 4
panic disorder An anxiety disorder in which the sufferer experiences sudden, inexplicable attacks of intense fear that last for minutes or even hours. 15
papillae The bumpy, hill-like projections on the top surface of the tongue that contain the taste buds. 4
paradoxical intention A technique used in family therapy in which the therapist demands that a person with negative symptoms continue to display or even intensify those symptoms, as a first step in gaining control over the problem. 16
parasympathetic nervous system The division of the autonomic nervous system that dominates under conditions of relaxation and tends to conserve the body’s energy. 3
parietal lobes A portion of the cerebral hemisphere, behind the frontal lobes on the opposite side of the cortex’s central fissure, concerned with skin senses and the sense of body position. 3
partial overlap The illusion, created when one object partially covers another, that the covered object is farther away. 4
partial reinforcement Reinforcing a desired behavior only part of the time. 6
participant modeling A therapeutic technique in which the therapist serves as a model by performing activities feared by the patient and then guiding the patient through a series of steps culminating in the same activity. 16
passionate love According to Robert Sternberg, a romantic love, based on strong physical attraction and characterized by emotional highs and lows. 17
Pavlovian conditioning See classical conditioning. 6
peg word method A mnemonic device that involves associating items to be learned with appropriate key words that are easily visualized. 7
perception The process in which the brain interprets sensations, giving them order and meaning. 4
perceptual constancy The tendency of the brain to perceive objects with stable properties even though the visual images received are constantly changing. 4
perceptual illusions Perceptions that differ from the true characteristics of objects. 4
perceptual set A frame of mind that “sets” or readies a person to perceive stimuli in a certain way. 4
peripheral nervous system (PNS) The branch of the nervous system that conveys signals from the body’s sensory receptors to the central nervous system and transmits messages back to the muscles and glands. 3
permissive A parenting style, identified by Diana Baumrind, characterized by responsiveness, coupled, however, with a failure to set firm limits or to require age-appropriate behavior. 10
person schema A set of logically integrated ideas about what a particular person is like, which is used to help us interpret the meaning of the person’s behavior. 17
personality All the relatively stable and distinctive styles of thought, behavior, and emotional response that characterize a person’s adaptations to surrounding circumstances. 13
personality development The emergence of the distinctive styles of thought, feeling, and behavior that make each human being a unique individual. 10
personality disorders Deep-seated maladaptive patterns of relating to others that cause distress either to the victim, those around the victim, or both. 15
personality psychology The branch of psychology concerned with describing and explaining individual differences in behavior. 1
persuasive communications A message consciously intended to persuade or to promote attitude change. 17
phallic stage According to Freud, the third psychosexual stage (occurring from about the third to the fifth or sixth year of life), during which a child struggles with identification with the same-sex parent. 13
phobia An irrational fear that is focused on some specific object or situation. 15
phonemes The smallest units of sound in a language. 8
photons Subatomic particles of light radiation. 4
pinna The projection of skin-covered cartilage visible on the outside of the head, through which sound enters the outer ear. 4
pituitary gland A small endocrine gland at the base of the brain that controls a wide range of bodily functions and that has been called the “master gland.” 3
place theory Proposed by Hermann von Helmholtz, a theory about how the brain distinguishes among tones of different pitches. It argues that each pitch we hear depends on the area of the basilar membrane that vibrates most in response to a given sound wave. 4
plateau stage The second stage of Masters and Johnson’s sexual response cycle, characterized by heightened arousal. 11
pleasure principle According to Freud, the principle of mental functioning of the id whereby physical tensions are reduced by gratification of instinctual drives without regard to logic, reality, or morality. 13
polygraph Often called a lie detector, this instrument monitors the physiological changes (blood pressure, heart rate, and the like) that accompany emotion. 11
pons The structure of the brain that transmits information about body movement from the higher brain centers and spinal cord to the cerebellum, and is vital in integrating movements between the right and left sides of the brain. 3
pornography Material that is designed to sexually arouse its viewers or readers. 18
positive punishment A punishment that involves an unpleasant stimulus following a behavior. 6
positive reinforcement The strengthening of a conditioned response because the response is followed by a positive or pleasant stimulus. 6
postconventional level According to Kohlberg, the final stage in moral development during which a person recognizes that universal ethical principles can transcend specific societal laws. Failure to adhere to these principles brings self-condemnation. 10
postreinforcement pause In a fixed-interval reinforcement schedule, the period of time immediately following reinforcement, when relatively few responses are made. 6
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) A state of anxiety, depression, and psychological “numbing” following exposure to severe trauma. 12, 15
pragmatics The field that studies the implicit understandings people have about how language should be used in different social contexts. 8, 9
preconventional level According to Kohlberg, the early stage in moral development during which a child adheres to the rules of society because he or she fears the consequences of breaking them. 10
predictive validity The type of validity a test has if results can be correlated with people’s future performance. 14
prejudice An inflexible negative attitude toward members of a minority group that is based on erroneous or incomplete information. 17
premature ejaculation A common sexual complaint characterized by ejaculation before both partners are mutually satisfied. 11
preoperational period The second stage of Piaget’s theory of intellectual growth (from age two through six), during which a child understands complex events but cannot use mental operations or coordinate thoughts into logical systems. 9
prepared learning Learning for which an organism is biologically predisposed. 6
primacy effect The principle that information perceived first tends to outweigh later information; this explains the strength of first impressions. 17
primary appraisal The first level of Lazarus’s cognitive appraisal, where we assess whether what is happening is relevant to our personal well-being, or how it might affect us. 11
primary drives The most fundamental drivesthe ones arising from needs that are built into our physiological systems. 11
primary empathy The first step in client-centered therapy during which the therapist mirrors a client’s feelings. 16
primary erectile failure A sexual dysfunction in which the man has never been able to have an erection. 11
primary orgasmic dysfunction A sexual dysfunction in which the woman has never experienced an orgasm. 11
primary reinforcer In operant conditioning experiments, the reward that establishes and maintains the conditioned response. 6
priming The unconscious activation of a schema, which then encourages ideas associated with that schema to come readily to mind. 17
procedural memories Learned associations between stimuli and responses that allow a person to easily perform motor skills. 7
projection According to Freud, a defense mechanism that involves the unknown attribution of one’s own objectionable impulses to other people. 13
projective test A personality test in which a person is shown ambiguous pictures and asked to describe them. 14
propositions The smallest “idea units” in a sentence. 8
proprioceptive Refers to the senses responsible for awareness of body and limb position. 4
prototype An example that best illustrates a concept; the means by which natural concepts are thought to be encoded in memory. 8
proximity The principle of gestalt psychology that stimuli close together tend to be seen as a group. 4
psychiatrist A medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. 1
psychoactive Refers to a drug that interacts with the central nervous system to alter a person’s mood, perception, mode of thinking, and behavior. 5
psychoanalysis Freudian psychotherapy that probes a person’s current thoughts and feelings for clues to unconscious conflicts. 1, 15, 16
psychoanalyst Usually a psychiatrist (although sometimes a layperson or psychologist) who has had advanced training in psychoanalysis and who has been psychoanalyzed as part of that training. 1
psychoanalytic theory (psychosexual approach) A view of social and personality development initiated by Freud that emphasizes childhood experiences as critically important in shaping adult personality. 1, 10, 13, 15
psychological needs In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy, all higher-level needs, including both the need to develop a sense of belonging and the need to achieve competence, recognition, and high self-esteem. 13
psychology The scientific study of behavior, both external observable action and internal thought. 1
psychoneuroimmunology A subfield of psychology that examines how psychological factors alter the immune system and ultimately increase the risk of immune system–related diseases such as AIDS, cancer, arthritis, infections, and allergies. 12
psychopharmacology The study of the link between drugs and behavior. 1
psychosocial theory Erik Erikson’s view of social and personality development that emphasizes eight developmental challenges and two possible outcomes for each. 10
psychosurgery A high-risk surgical procedure with irreversible effects. It is the most extreme of the biological treatments. 16
psychotherapy A systematic series of interactions between a person who is trained in alleviating psychological problems and another who is suffering from them. 16
punishment A stimulus that decreases the frequency of a response. 6
pupil The opening in the center of the eye through which light enters and travels to the retina. 4