Psychology's Current Perspectives
How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences.
Neuroscience
In an experiment the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied
Independent Variable
Increasing behaviors by presenting a pleasurable stimulus, such as food.
Positive Reinforcement
In classical conditioning, a stimulus that evokes no response before conditioning.
Neutral Stimulus (NS)
The scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive.
Positive Psychology
How the natural selection of traits passed down from one generation to the next has prompted the survival of genes.
Evolutionary
A method in which researchers vary one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process
Experiment
Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli, such as an electric shock.
Negative Reinforcement
Conditioned Response(CR)
A branch of psychology that studies, assess and treats people with psychological disorders.
Clinical Psychology
How we learn observable responses.
Behavioral
In an experiment, a factor that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated.
Dependent Variable
An event that is innately reinforcing, often by satisfying a biological need.
Primary Reinforcer
In classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus.
Unconditioned Response(UR)
A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups.
Community Psychology
How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.
Cognitive
An inactive substance or condition that is sometimes given to those in a control group in place of the treatment given to the experimental group.
Placebo
Reinforcing a desired response every time it occurs.
Continuous Reinforcement
In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally-naturally and automatically-triggers a response.
Unconditioned Stimulus(US)
A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and in achieving greater well-being.
Counseling Psychology
How our genes and our environment influence our individual differences.
Behavioral Genetics
Double-Blind Procedure
An event that gains its reinforcing power through its link with a primary reinforcer.
Conditioned Reinforcer(Secondary Reinforcer)
In classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy.
Psychiatry