Glossary / A

Psychology terms starting with A

2,382 terms with short definitions. Study these as flashcards

A fibernoun: This insulated nerve fiber carries signals quickly, including information about body position, touch, temperature, or sharp pain.
a posterioriadjective: Describes knowledge or conclusions based on experience and evidence rather than reasoning alone.
a posteriori comparisonnoun: A statistical comparison chosen after examining study results rather than planned before collecting the data.
A primenoun: This statistical score estimates how well someone distinguishes targets from other items, using correct detections and false alarms.
a prioriadjective: Based on logic or earlier assumptions rather than on new observation or evidence.
a priori comparisonnoun: A statistical comparison planned before examining study results, usually to test a specific prediction.
a- (an-)prefix: Placed before a word or root, this prefix indicates that something is absent or does not apply.
A-alpha fibernoun: This large, insulated sensory nerve fiber rapidly carries information about muscle stretch and body position.
A-B designnoun: A study first measures behavior without treatment, then introduces treatment and compares the later pattern with the starting pattern.
A-B-A designnoun: A study measures baseline behavior, introduces treatment, then removes it to see whether behavior moves back toward its earlier pattern.
A-B-A-C-A designnoun: A study compares two treatments by introducing each separately, with baseline periods before, between, and after them.
A-beta fibernoun: This insulated sensory nerve fiber quickly carries information about touch, pressure, and vibration from the skin.
A-delta fibernoun: This thin, insulated sensory nerve fiber carries information about temperature and the fast, sharp component of pain.
A-not-B tasknoun: A child watches an object move to a new hiding place but may still search where it was hidden before.
A-S Scaleabbreviation: This historical questionnaire measured prejudiced beliefs and hostility toward Jewish people as part of research on authoritarian attitudes.
A* searchphrase: A problem-solving method picks the next step using distance traveled plus a heuristic, or educated guess, of what's left.
A1abbreviation: The primary auditory cortex is a brain region that begins cortical processing of sound, including its frequency.
A2abbreviation: The secondary auditory cortex surrounds the primary hearing region and contributes to further processing of sound information.
AAabbreviation: A self-help group where people support each other in recovering from alcohol addiction.
AAAPabbreviation: This historical professional group represented psychologists doing practical work and rejoined the larger American psychology association in 1944.
AAAPPabbreviation: This professional organization promoted research-guided clinical care and prevention, emphasizing benefits for the public and people receiving services.
AAASabbreviation: This broad scientific organization supports research, science education, public understanding, and responsible scientific practice across many fields.
AAASPabbreviation: These initials identified a professional group advancing sport psychology research and responsible practice before its 2007 name change.
AACPabbreviation: This historical group sought stronger clinical psychology training and certification standards before rejoining the American psychology association in 1919.
AACSabbreviation: This independent graduate school was designed to train licensed mental health professionals in clinical sexology and sex therapy.
AAHPERDabbreviation: This historical professional alliance supported education and research concerning health, physical activity, recreation, and dance.
AAIabbreviation: A structured interview that explores an adult's early attachment experiences and current views about close relationships.
AAIDDabbreviation: This professional organization supports research, effective services, policies, and rights benefiting people with intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities.
AAMIabbreviation: Age-associated memory impairment describes mild changes in learning and remembering new information that can accompany typical aging.
AAMRabbreviation: This historical abbreviation named the disability research and advocacy organization now known as AAIDD.
AAPabbreviation: A shortened name for a professional group that works to promote progress in psychology.
AASECTabbreviation: This professional organization supports sexuality education and certifies qualified professionals working in sexuality teaching, counseling, and therapy.
AASPabbreviation: This international professional organization advances research and ethical practice applying psychology to sport, exercise, and performance.
AAVEabbreviation: African American Vernacular English is a systematic English language variety used within many African American communities.
ab-prefix: Added before a word root, this prefix can express movement away or a meaning of opposition.
ABAabbreviation: A treatment approach that uses learning principles to increase helpful behaviors and reduce harmful ones.
abandonmentnoun: When a parent or main caregiver leaves and stops caring for a dependent child or sick adult.
abandonment reactionnoun: A strong emotional response follows being left, losing needed support, or believing an important person will leave.
abasianoun: A person loses the ability to walk, which can arise from neurological or functional causes.
abatementnoun: A problem, symptom, or harmful condition becomes less intense or less frequent.
ABC theorynoun: In rational emotive behavior therapy, beliefs about an event help shape the emotional and behavioral consequences that follow.
ABCDE techniquenoun: A therapy method examines an event, its beliefs and consequences, then challenges unhelpful beliefs to develop more useful ones.
ABCLabbreviation: These initials named a historical American organization that advocated birth control and later became part of Planned Parenthood's history.
abdominal bloatingnoun: A person experiences uncomfortable fullness, pressure, or swelling in the belly, which can have various physical and psychological contributors.
abdominal migrainenoun: This condition causes repeated attacks of severe belly pain, often with nausea or vomiting, and occurs mainly in children.
abducens nervenoun: The sixth cranial nerve controls the muscle that turns an eye outward, away from the nose.
abducens nucleusnoun: This brainstem cluster of nerve cells gives rise to the abducens nerve and helps coordinate horizontal eye movements.
abductionnoun: A body part moves outward, away from the body's central line or a digit's reference axis.
Abecedarian Projectnoun: This randomized study tested whether intensive education from infancy through preschool improved development among children from families with low incomes.
aberrant responsenoun: A behavior differs from what is usual or expected in a setting and may become a focus of behavioral intervention.
aberrationnoun: Something departs from an expected or usual pattern, especially when the difference is noticeable or considered undesirable.
abiencenoun: A person or animal responds by withdrawing from something or acting to prevent contact with it.
Abilifynoun: A brand name for aripiprazole, a medicine used to treat psychosis and mood symptoms.
abilitynoun: A person's current skill or competence to do a specific mental or physical task.
ability groupingphrase: Students are placed into classes or groups based on how quickly or well they learn.
ability levelphrase: A score showing how well someone performs on the skill or trait being measured.
ability parameterphrase: A hidden score in item response theory showing how likely someone is to answer items correctly.
ability testphrase: A standardized test compares someone's physical or mental skill level with others of the same group.
ability traitnoun: A relatively lasting personal characteristic describes how effectively someone can carry out a particular kind of task.
ability–achievement discrepancynoun: A gap exists between someone's measured or estimated capacity in an area and their demonstrated performance there.
abioticadjective: Something has no life, such as water, sunlight, or rocks within an environment that also contains organisms.
abiotrophynoun: Body tissues deteriorate and lose function, particularly when an inherited defect causes them to decline earlier than expected.
ablationnoun: Tissue is deliberately removed or destroyed, sometimes to treat illness or investigate what a brain region does.
ableismnoun: Beliefs, practices, or systems disadvantage disabled people by treating certain bodies and abilities as the expected standard.
ablutionnoun: Historically, clinicians used washing, bathing, or wet wrapping as a treatment intended to calm people experiencing agitation.
ABMSabbreviation: This organization coordinates medical specialty boards that set standards for evaluating and certifying specialist physicians.
Abney’s effectnoun: Mixing white light with light of a single wavelength can change the color's perceived hue, beyond making it less saturated.
abnormaladjective: Outside what a culture sees as usual and causing harm or poor coping.
abnormal behaviornoun: Behavior differs markedly from cultural expectations or involves significant distress, impaired functioning, or other signs needing careful assessment.
abnormal fixationnoun: The eyes have difficulty maintaining a steady gaze on a chosen target, sometimes because of involuntary movements.
abnormal griefnoun: This older label described grief considered unusually persistent, intense, delayed, or absent, often involving difficulty returning to daily activities.
abnormal psychologynoun: A field studies mental disorders and troubling patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, including their causes and treatment.
abnormalitynoun: An unusual problem in body structure or function that differs from what is typical.
aboiementnoun: A person involuntarily produces sounds resembling animal calls, such as barking, as a symptom in some conditions.
abortifacientnoun: A substance or other agent causes a pregnancy to end through abortion.
abortionnoun: Ending a pregnancy before the fetus can live outside the uterus on its own.
abortion lawsnoun: These legal rules govern whether, when, and under what conditions people can obtain or provide an abortion.
aboulianoun: A severe reduction in motivation and initiative makes choosing actions or beginning voluntary activities very difficult.
above-average effectnoun: People often judge their own abilities or qualities more favorably than those of a typical other person.
ABPHabbreviation: A professional organization certifies psychologists who have advanced training and experience in using hypnosis.
ABPPabbreviation: A U.S. organization sets professional standards and oversees certification in different psychology specialties.
ABRabbreviation: An auditory brainstem response is a measurable electrical reaction in the brainstem shortly after a sound.
abreactionnoun: Bringing hidden memories into awareness during therapy while strong feelings come out and tension is relieved.
abscessnoun: A pocket of infection contains pus and damaged tissue and can disrupt brain function when located there.
abscissanoun: A point's horizontal coordinate tells you its position along the x axis of a graph.
absencenoun: A short spell of being unaware or not paying attention, often during a seizure, with no memory afterward.
absence culturenoun: An unwritten workplace expectation makes taking more time off than officially permitted seem acceptable or deserved.
absence seizurenoun: A brief generalized seizure stops activity, causes blank staring and unresponsiveness, and usually leaves no memory afterward.
absence without leave (AWOL)phrase: Someone is away from a required duty without permission or without reporting their absence.
absent griefnoun: A proposed grief pattern involves little visible distress after a death, sometimes interpreted as avoiding the loss.
absent statenoun: A dreamlike period of reduced awareness and detachment can occur during certain seizures that begin in one brain area.
absent-mindednessnoun: Everyday forgetting happens because attention was elsewhere when information needed to be noticed or remembered.
absenteeismnoun: Frequent, unjustified missing of work or school, often shaped by workplace norms as much as satisfaction.
absoluteadjective: Means complete and not limited by rules, conditions, or comparison to something else.
absolute differencephrase: The size of the gap between two numbers, ignoring which one is larger.
absolute errornoun: How far a result is from the true value, ignoring whether it is too high or low.
absolute idealismnoun: A philosophical view proposes that minds and the physical world express one universal mind or spirit.
absolute impressionnoun: A person judges a sensory experience using an unstated or unclear standard, such as calling a room bright.
absolute judgmentnoun: A person rates or identifies a stimulus using an internal standard rather than a comparison presented alongside it.
absolute limen (AL)noun: The weakest stimulus a person detects on half of repeated attempts marks a sensory detection boundary.
absolute measurementnoun: A measurement gives a value that is meaningful without comparing it with other people's scores or measurements.
absolute pitchnoun: The ability to identify or produce a musical note without first hearing another note for comparison.
absolute realitynoun: A philosophical concept describes everything that truly exists as one whole beyond human perception and interpretation.
absolute refractory periodnoun: Immediately after firing, a neuron cannot produce another action potential, regardless of how strong the next stimulus is.
absolute riskphrase: Shows the chance that an outcome will happen in an entire population during a set time.
absolute scotomanoun: A particular region of someone's visual field has no vision at all.
absolute thresholdphrase: The weakest stimulus a person notices at least half the time.
absolute valuenoun: A number's distance from zero, without considering whether the number is positive or negative.
absolute-judgment methodnoun: Researchers present sensory stimuli in random order and ask participants to assign each one to a category.
absolutismnoun: Belief that some truths and values are always right or wrong, no matter the situation.
absorptionnoun: Deep focus on one thing while missing much of what is happening around you.
absorption curvenoun: A graph shows how much light a visual pigment absorbs at each wavelength.
abstinencenoun: Choosing not to use alcohol, drugs, or another activity, often as a treatment goal.
abstinence deliriumnoun: Severe confusion with shifting alertness and poor attention can develop when someone abruptly stops heavy alcohol or certain drug use.
abstinence rulenoun: A historical psychoanalytic rule asked patients to limit pleasures, supposedly preserving emotional tension to drive progress in therapy.
abstinence syndromenoun: An older name describes the physical and behavioral symptoms that can follow rapid withdrawal from substances causing dependence.
abstinence violation effect (AVE)phrase: After one slip, a person trying to quit feels like a failure and is more likely to relapse.
abstract abilitynoun: A person can reason with general ideas and concepts beyond specific objects or immediate experiences.
abstract attitudenoun: A thinking style combines recognizing shared features, shifting perspectives, using symbols, drawing conclusions, and planning beyond the immediate situation.
abstract conceptualizationnoun: People form general categories or intangible ideas from what they experience or learn.
abstract ideanoun: A concept describes a quality or relationship rather than one particular object you can directly observe.
abstract intelligencenoun: A mental capacity allows someone to understand and reason about general concepts beyond particular objects or events.
abstract learningnoun: Learning involves understanding general rules or relationships that can apply beyond the specific examples used during practice.
abstract representationnoun: A mental or symbolic model captures important features while leaving out details of particular examples.
abstract thinkingphrase: Using general ideas and concepts instead of only what can be directly seen or touched.
abstract wordnoun: A word names an idea, quality, or relationship rather than something that can be directly sensed.
abstract-versus-representational dimensionnoun: An artwork's position on a scale indicates how closely its forms depict recognizable things from the world.
abstractionnoun: Making a general idea by noticing what different specific examples have in common.
abstraction experimentnoun: A study tests how people discover a category's general features from examples that belong and examples that do not.
absurdities testnoun: A reasoning assessment asks people to spot details that do not make sense in pictures or written passages.
abulia (aboulia)noun: A severe reduction in motivation makes starting deliberate actions or making decisions very difficult.
abusenoun: Cruel, harmful, or violating treatment of a person or animal, including physical, sexual, or emotional harm.
abuse excusenoun: A person's history of being abused is presented as a defense for their violent behavior.
abuse potentialnoun: A substance's properties make harmful or nonmedical use more likely, often because its effects feel rewarding.
abusive punishmentnoun: Physical discipline of a child uses excessive force and causes bodily injury.
ABX paradigmnoun: Participants hear sounds A and B, then decide which matches sound X or whether either matches it.
ACAabbreviation: A major U.S. group for counselors that sets ethical guidance and professional standards.
academicadjective: Connected to school-based learning, especially formal study of ideas and subjects.
academic achievementphrase: How well someone does in schoolwork overall or in a subject like reading or math.
academic aptitudenoun: A person's capacity to benefit from teaching and succeed in school learning, often estimated through assessment.
academic failurephrase: Doing much worse in school than expected, often because of personal, family, or classroom factors.
academic freedomnoun: Educators and students can pursue study, teaching, and research without improper restrictions on their ideas or findings.
academic intelligencenoun: Some theories group reasoning skills that support school success, such as analyzing information and evaluating answers, into one ability.
academic intelligence tasknoun: An activity requires school-based knowledge or reasoning skills, such as solving number problems or comparing word relationships.
academic interventionnoun: Planned teaching changes or added supports help a student improve specific learning skills or school performance.
academic overachievementnoun: School performance exceeds what assessments of a student's abilities would have predicted.
academic problemphrase: Trouble meeting grade-level schoolwork goals that is not caused by a disorder or learning disability.
academic self-conceptnoun: A person's beliefs about their own abilities and performance as a learner.
academic underachievementnoun: School performance falls below what would reasonably be expected from a student's abilities and opportunities.
Academy for Eating Disorders (AED)noun: An international professional group advances scientific understanding, education, prevention, and care related to eating disorders.
Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW)noun: A professional certification program recognizes qualified social workers and supports high standards for independent practice.
acalculianoun: Losing the ability to do simple math after brain damage, often involving the parietal lobe.
acamprosatenoun: A medicine that helps some people stay away from alcohol, possibly by calming overactive brain signaling.
acarophobianoun: A historical label described a persistent, mistaken conviction of having parasites living on or inside one's body.
acatamathesia (akatamathesia)noun: A person loses the capacity to understand sensory information generally or spoken language specifically.
acataphasia (akataphasia)noun: A speech disturbance involves words or expressions that do not fit the intended meaning or grammatical rules.
acathisianoun: Intense inner restlessness brings an urge to move and difficulty remaining seated or standing still.
ACCabbreviation: A brain area that helps with attention, emotion, and noticing conflicts or mistakes.
accelerated agingnoun: Changes associated with getting older occur earlier or faster because of environmental exposure, genetic conditions, or illness.
accelerated longitudinal designnoun: Researchers follow several age groups during overlapping years to estimate development across a wider age span more quickly.
accelerationnoun: A speeding up in movement or in how fast something changes over time.
acceleration effectsnoun: Acceleration producing forces above ordinary gravity can change body functioning, perception, thinking, or awareness.
acceleration forcesnoun: Forces accompanying changes in speed or direction place loads on objects and bodies, potentially affecting physical and mental functioning.
acceleration–deceleration injurynoun: Sudden movement or stopping of the head can damage the brain and affect memory, attention, planning, or behavior.
accentnoun: The way speech sounds can hint at a person's region or social group.
accentuation theorynoun: A theory proposes that categorizing things makes people overestimate similarities within categories and differences between them.
acceptancenoun: Positive approval or openness toward a person, group, belief, or situation.
acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)phrase: A therapy that teaches accepting thoughts and feelings while choosing actions guided by personal values.
acceptance regionnoun: The set of test results that do not lead researchers to reject a specified null hypothesis.
acceptance samplingnoun: Inspecting a sample from a batch helps decide whether the whole batch meets a required quality standard.
acceptance stagenoun: In a stage-based account of grief, someone begins recognizing a loss as real and adjusting to life with it.
acceptance-based behavioral therapy (ABBT)noun: Therapy builds willingness to experience difficult thoughts and feelings while practicing actions that support personally important goals.
acceptornoun: In bargaining, the person or group receiving the initial offer decides how to respond to it.
accessnoun: Fair chances to join and take part without barriers such as discrimination or exclusion.
accessibilitynoun: How easy information, services, or tests are to get, enter, or bring to mind.
accessibleadjective: Easy to respond to, influence, or bring to mind in a given situation.
accessoryadjective: Something provides extra support or contributes to a main function without being its central part.
accessory nervenoun: The eleventh cranial nerve controls muscles that help turn the head and raise the shoulders.
accessory structurenoun: A biological part supports another structure's main job or can perform that job in its place.
accessory symptomsnoun: In Bleuler's historical theory, some schizophrenia symptoms, including hallucinations, were considered indirect reactions also found in other disorders.
accidentnoun: An unplanned event that was not meant to happen and may cause harm, damage, or loss.
accident analysisnoun: A structured investigation identifies why an accident happened so similar events can be made less likely.
accident behaviornoun: Actions can lead to injury or property damage and may reflect individual choices, fatigue, or poorly designed work conditions.
accident preventionnoun: Actions reduce the chance of harmful, unintended events by addressing hazards, behavior, equipment, and working conditions.
accident pronenessnoun: A proposed tendency makes some people more likely to experience accidents across different situations.
accident reductionnoun: Scientifically tested safety measures aim to make accidents less frequent and less severe through training, hazard control, and improved design.
accident-path modelnoun: An ordered diagram traces events and conditions leading to an accident to help identify where prevention could work.
accidental chainingnoun: Reinforcement strengthens an action sequence that includes an unnecessary step because that step happened near a cue for a reinforced action.
accidental groupnoun: People gradually form an informal group through repeated contact, without deliberately establishing shared goals or official rules.
accidental hypothermianoun: An unintended drop in core body temperature below normal can slow thinking, reduce alertness, and disrupt bodily functions.
accidental propertynoun: A nonessential feature can change or disappear without changing what something fundamentally is.
accidental reinforcementphrase: When a reward happens right after a behavior by chance, that behavior can become more likely.
accidental samplingnoun: Researchers select readily available participants or cases instead of using random selection, potentially producing an unrepresentative sample.
acclimatizationnoun: The body or individual gradually adjusts to changed surroundings, often developing physical responses that improve tolerance.
accommodationnoun: Changing a mental plan, test condition, or setting so it better fits new information or a person's needs.
accommodation timenoun: The duration between a visual target appearing and the eyes bringing it into focus measures this visual adjustment.
accommodative copingnoun: A person manages stress by adjusting goals, expectations, or preferences to fit circumstances that resist change.
accommodative insufficiencynoun: The eyes have difficulty increasing their focusing power enough for nearby objects, often making close work blurry.
accommodative spasmnoun: The eye's focusing muscle remains excessively contracted, making its focus difficult to relax and producing blurred vision or temporary nearsightedness.
accomplishment quotientnoun: A historical measure divides actual achievement test performance by performance predicted from an intelligence test.
accountabilitynoun: Being expected to explain and stand behind your actions, decisions, or work to others.
accreditationnoun: Official approval showing a school or training program meets set quality standards.
accretionnoun: Learning builds gradually as repeated connections between events and reinforcing consequences add to what someone already knows.
acculturationnoun: Adjusting one's beliefs, habits, and behavior after regular contact with a different culture.
acculturation strategiesphrase: Four common ways people from minority cultures balance keeping their own culture and joining the larger culture.
accumbensnoun: A brain area in the reward system that helps drive pleasure, motivation, and addiction.
accumulated advantagenoun: Early differences in children's skills can widen over time as stronger skills support further learning.
accuracynoun: How close a measurement, judgment, or answer is to the truth or correct result.
accuracy motivenoun: A person seeks truthful information about themselves, favoring useful feedback over praise that may be misleading.
accuracy standardsnoun: Evaluation criteria judge whether sound evidence, suitable methods, and fair reporting support a report's conclusions.
accusativenoun: This grammatical case marks a direct object, such as “us” in the sentence “They invited us”.
Accutanenoun: A brand name identifies isotretinoin, a medicine related to vitamin A used for severe acne.
acenesthesianoun: A person loses awareness of their body or the felt sense that they physically exist.
ACEPabbreviation: An earlier coaching education program taught adults how to support young athletes and improve their sports experiences.
acetaldehydenoun: A toxic chemical produced during alcohol breakdown can contribute to flushing and nausea and may influence alcohol use.
acetaminophennoun: A common pain and fever medicine that can badly harm the liver in high doses.
acetanilidenoun: A chemical once used to reduce fever and pain fell out of medical use because of its toxicity.
acetazolamidenoun: A medicine blocks carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme, and can treat glaucoma, altitude sickness, and some seizures.
acetonenoun: A readily evaporating liquid with a fruity smell can build up when the body relies heavily on fat for energy.
acetyl-para-aminophenolnoun: Another name for acetaminophen identifies a medicine that reduces pain and fever with little effect on inflammation.
acetylcholine (ACh)noun: A brain and body messenger that helps learning, memory, and muscle movement.
acetylcholine receptor (AChR)noun: A protein in a cell's outer membrane responds to the chemical messenger acetylcholine and changes the cell's activity.
acetylcholinesterase (AChE)noun: An enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine after nerve signaling, helping messages stop at the right time.
acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI)noun: A substance blocks the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, allowing the chemical messenger acetylcholine to remain available longer.
acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)noun: Commonly called aspirin, this substance relieves pain, reduces fever and inflammation, and makes blood platelets less likely to clump.
acetylureanoun: This chemical family includes older seizure medicines related in structure to hydantoin drugs.
AChabbreviation: A neurotransmitter, a brain chemical messenger, that helps muscles move and supports memory.
AChEabbreviation: Acetylcholinesterase is an enzyme that breaks down the chemical messenger acetylcholine, helping end its effects on receiving cells.
AChEIabbreviation: An acetylcholinesterase inhibitor blocks the enzyme that normally breaks down acetylcholine, extending this chemical messenger's availability.
acheiria (achiria)noun: A disturbance of touch perception leaves a person unable to identify which side of their body was touched.
achieved statusphrase: A person's social rank earned through personal effort, skills, or accomplishments.
achievementnoun: Success in reaching a goal, often shown by learned skill in school or work.
achievement age (AA)noun: A test score is expressed as the age at which that level of achievement is typical in the comparison group.
achievement batteryphrase: A set of tests that measures what someone has learned across several related school or skill areas.
achievement ethicnoun: An individual or shared belief demands strong accomplishments in employment as well as activities done during free time.
achievement goal theorynoun: A theory connects motivation and performance to goals focused on mastering tasks or showing greater ability than others.
achievement levelnoun: The degree of skill or success someone has reached can be assessed in schoolwork or another activity.
achievement measuresphrase: Tests or tasks that show how well a student performs compared with other students.
achievement motivationphrase: A strong drive to do well, meet high goals, and keep trying through hard tasks.
achievement potentialnoun: A person's capacity to develop skills suggests the level of performance they might reach through learning and practice.
achievement quotient (AQ)noun: A ratio compares an achievement test result with the performance predicted from the person's intelligence test result.
achievement testphrase: A standardized test compares a person's learned knowledge or skills in a subject to others their age.
achievement-oriented leadershipphrase: A leader pushes people toward high goals and steady improvement by showing strong confidence in them.
achievernoun: A person successfully carries out an action or reaches a desired goal.
achieving stagenoun: In Schaie’s proposed developmental theory, young adults apply previously learned thinking skills to personal goals, such as careers or family life.
achirianoun: A person experiencing this touch-perception disturbance cannot determine whether contact occurred on their body's left or right side.
achondroplasianoun: A genetic condition changes cartilage-based bone growth, producing short stature with relatively short limbs while intelligence is usually typical.
AChRabbreviation: An acetylcholine receptor is a cell-membrane protein that detects acetylcholine and helps translate its arrival into a cellular response.
achromaticadjective: A visual appearance has no hue, showing only black, white, or intermediate grays.
achromatic intervalnoun: A brightness range allows someone to detect a single-wavelength light before it becomes bright enough for its color to appear.
achromatic–chromatic scalenoun: A color measurement scale covers hues alongside neutral shades, including white, gray, and black.
achromatismnoun: A complete loss or absence of color perception leaves vision limited to differences in lightness.
acidadjective: Describing a sour, sharp smell that counts as one basic odor quality in an older smell system.
acid flashbacknoun: Some people report a return of aspects of an earlier LSD experience after the drug's immediate effects have ended.
acid tripnoun: An informal expression describes the temporary changes in perception, thoughts, and feelings experienced while under LSD's effects.
acidosisnoun: Excess acid builds up in body fluids, disturbing chemical balance and sometimes affecting alertness or thinking.
acmesthesianoun: A skin stimulus that would usually hurt instead feels like a sharp touch or pressure.
ACOAabbreviation: A support program called Adult Children of Alcoholics uses twelve steps to help adults raised amid alcohol misuse or family difficulties.
AComAabbreviation: Short for anterior communicating artery, this small vessel links the brain’s left and right anterior cerebral arteries.
aconuresisnoun: An uncommon name for enuresis describes repeated unintended urination after the age when bladder control is generally expected.
acoria (akoria)noun: An unusually strong appetite occurs together with an absent feeling of fullness after eating.
Acosta’s syndromenoun: Another name for altitude sickness describes illness from reduced oxygen availability at high elevations, sometimes affecting thinking.
acousticadjective: Related to sound or hearing, especially in scientific descriptions of how sound behaves.
acoustic cuenoun: A measurable feature of spoken sound helps listeners identify which speech sound they are hearing.
acoustic encodingphrase: Remembering information by how it sounds, such as repeating words in your mind by their speech sounds.
acoustic environmentsnoun: The sound qualities of places shape how sounds travel, echo, and reach listeners.
acoustic filternoun: In some working memory models, a proposed gate admits only speechlike sounds into temporary storage for speech information.
acoustic nervenoun: A bundle of hearing fibers within cranial nerve eight sends sound information from the inner ear’s cochlea to the brainstem.
acoustic neuromanoun: A noncancerous tumor on the nerve serving hearing and balance can cause hearing loss, ringing, or dizziness.
acoustic phoneticsnoun: A field of speech science examines speech sound waves, their measurable features, and how those features reach listeners.
acoustic pressurenoun: Sound waves create changes around the surrounding pressure in air or another material, measured in pascals.
acoustic reflexnoun: Loud sounds automatically tighten muscles inside the middle ear, reducing the vibrations passed onward to the inner ear.
acoustic resonancenoun: A sound system responds most strongly at particular frequencies that match its natural patterns of vibration.
acoustic spectrumnoun: A representation breaks sound into its component frequencies, showing their strengths and, for a complete description, their relative timing.
acoustic storenoun: A proposed part of temporary memory holds information according to its sound, making similar-sounding items easier to confuse.
acoustic traumanoun: Very intense sound or prolonged loud noise damages structures inside the inner ear and can reduce hearing.
acoustic-mnestic aphasianoun: Damage within the left temporal lobe causes language difficulties centered on remembering spoken material, including word lists and lengthy sentences.
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)noun: A United States professional society brings together people studying sound, including hearing, speech, music, and sound’s physical properties.
acousticsnoun: This branch of physics studies how sound is produced, travels through materials, and is received.
acoustics as emotionsphrase: Patterns in someone’s voice, such as pitch and rhythm, can provide clues that help listeners recognize emotions.
ACPTabbreviation: The Auditory Continuous Performance Test checks how steadily children listen by asking them to signal selected words during repeated spoken lists.
acquaintance rapenoun: Rape committed by someone the person already knows involves sexual activity without that person’s freely given consent.
acquiescencenoun: Quietly going along with something without arguing or objecting.
acquiescent response setnoun: A tendency to agree with questions or statements regardless of their meaning can make survey results misleading.
acquiredadjective: Learned through experience rather than already present at birth.
acquired characteristicnoun: A physical feature, ability, or behavior develops mainly through experience or environmental influences during an organism’s life.
acquired color blindnessnoun: Difficulty distinguishing colors develops after previously typical color vision, often because of illness, injury, or exposure to certain substances.
acquired distinctiveness of cuesnoun: Learning to notice certain stimulus features can make it easier to use those same features in a different task.
acquired drivenoun: A learned source of motivation develops through association with a basic biological drive, such as hunger.
acquired dyslexianoun: Brain damage causes reading difficulties in someone who had already developed the ability to read.
acquired dyspraxianoun: Brain injury or disease disrupts previously learned skilled movements, beyond what muscle weakness or sensory loss explains.
acquired immune deficiency syndromenoun: Advanced HIV infection severely weakens immune defenses, allowing infections and certain diseases that a healthier immune system usually resists.
acquired responsenoun: A reaction or action develops through learning, including associations between events or consequences that follow behavior.
acquired speech disordernoun: Difficulty producing clear speech sounds develops after birth, usually after a person has already learned to speak typically.
acquired visual impairmentnoun: Illness or injury causes partial or complete loss of sight after a period of typical vision.
acquisitionnoun: The gaining of new skills, knowledge, or behaviors, especially while clear step-by-step improvement can be measured.
acquisition curvenoun: A graph shows how an individual’s or group’s learning performance changes across practice attempts or time.
acquisition trialnoun: One presentation of material or events gives a participant an opportunity to learn during an experiment.
acquisitive stagenoun: In Schaie’s proposed theory, infancy through adolescence centers on gathering knowledge and developing thinking skills.
acquisitivenessnoun: A person’s desire or tendency to collect and own more objects shapes their interest in possessions.
acro-prefix: A word part placed at the beginning can indicate height or the body’s outermost parts, such as hands and feet.
acroanesthesianoun: Sensation is absent in one or more outer parts of the body, such as the hands or feet.
acrocentric chromosomenoun: A chromosome has its centromere, the region joining copied halves, close to one end, leaving arms of unequal length.
acrocephalopolysyndactylynoun: Carpenter syndrome is an inherited condition involving early skull bone fusion, joined or extra digits, and sometimes developmental difficulties.
acrocephalosyndactylynoun: A group of genetic conditions involves early skull bone fusion and differences in fingers or toes, often including joined digits.
acrocephalynoun: The skull has an unusually tall shape with a pointed upper portion.
acrocinesisnoun: An unusually large amount of bodily movement is described by this uncommon word.
acrodysostosisnoun: A condition present from birth affects bone development, producing short hands and feet, distinctive nasal features, and sometimes learning difficulties.
acroesthesianoun: The hands, feet, or other outer body parts show increased sensitivity to stimulation.
acromegalynoun: An adult's excess growth hormone gradually enlarges body tissues, especially facial features, hands, and feet.
acromicrianoun: Incomplete growth leaves the toes, fingers, or parts of the face unusually small.
acroparesthesianoun: Unusual sensations, including tingling or numbness, occur in body extremities such as the hands or feet.
acrophobianoun: An intense fear of high places causes avoidance or distress beyond what the actual danger would explain.
acrotomophilianoun: Sexual attraction centers on people with amputated limbs or on the places where body parts were removed.
ACSIabbreviation: The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory asks athletes to rate psychological skills across seven areas of sports performance.
ACSMabbreviation: An international professional organization brings together exercise and health specialists to share knowledge and offer fitness certifications.
ACSWabbreviation: A professional academy certifies social workers' competence and supports standards for independent practice.
ACT Assessmentnoun: The American College Testing Assessment measures school achievement and academic preparation for college through standardized testing.
act psychologynoun: A historical approach treats mental activities, such as judging or perceiving, as distinct from their contents and central to psychology.
ACT*abbreviation: A theory of thinking that explains how knowledge is stored and used in skilled actions.
ACTHabbreviation: A pituitary hormone that tells the adrenal glands to release cortisol during stress.
ACTH-releasing factornoun: A hypothalamic peptide, also called corticotropin-releasing factor, helps regulate pituitary ACTH release and the body's stress response.
actigraphynoun: A wearable movement tracker that estimates sleep, wake, and daily activity over time.
actinnoun: A protein forms thin muscle filaments that interact with myosin to generate the force of muscle contraction.
acting inphrase: Using behavior during therapy to block free association and avoid painful hidden wishes or memories.
acting outphrase: Showing strong feelings through disruptive behavior instead of saying them directly.
actionnoun: A self-started, goal-directed set of movements that may include several smaller behaviors working together.
action at a distancenoun: Physical objects influence one another without touching or requiring a mechanical substance between them, as with gravity.
action disorganization syndrome (ADS)noun: Brain damage, particularly involving frontal regions, disrupts familiar tasks through misplaced steps, omissions, additions, or incorrect object use.
action groupnoun: A task-focused group formed to make practical changes in its setting or surroundings.
action identificationnoun: People understand a behavior at different levels, from its physical movements to the larger purpose it serves.
action orientationnoun: A response style favors making decisions and taking prompt steps to change thoughts or behavior when facing difficulties.
action paintingnoun: Spontaneous abstract painting uses expressive movements such as dripping or splashing paint and may be incorporated into art therapy.
action patternnoun: A particular cue brings about a recognizable sequence of behaviors that tends to unfold predictably.
action potential (AP)phrase: A brief electrical spike travels down a neuron's axon to send a nerve signal.
action readinessnoun: An emotion prepares someone to act, often with bodily changes, even when no particular behavior is selected.
action researchphrase: Research that studies a real problem, tries a change, and checks whether things improve.
action slipnoun: A brief lapse in attention or thinking leads someone to perform an action they did not intend.
action streamnoun: The dorsal visual pathway carries information toward parietal brain regions, helping process movement and location and guide actions.
action teachingnoun: An educational approach connects course concepts with interactive activities that help students understand and address social problems.
action tendencynoun: A particular emotion brings an urge to perform a certain kind of behavior, such as moving closer or withdrawing.
action theorynoun: A family of theories explains human behavior through intentional efforts to reach goals within particular surroundings and situations.
action tremornoun: Involuntary shaking occurs while muscles are deliberately engaged, including during movement or while holding a position.
action unitnoun: A basic visible facial movement receives its own code in a system for describing facial expressions.
action-based modelnoun: A theory proposes that inconsistent thoughts create discomfort because they interfere with clear action, even without unpleasant consequences.
action-oriented therapynoun: Therapy places its main emphasis on activities and practical actions as ways to produce change.
action-specific energynoun: A historical animal behavior theory proposed that each innate behavior has an energy supply that builds up and becomes depleted.
actional verbnoun: A verb describes a physical act, usually performed by someone and affecting another person or thing.
Actiqnoun: A brand of fentanyl delivers a powerful opioid pain medicine through a lozenge absorbed inside the mouth.
activating eventphrase: In REBT, a situation from the past, present, or future that sets off irrational beliefs and upsetting feelings.
activationnoun: A state of being turned on or made more ready to respond in the mind or body.
activation hypothesisnoun: One proposal treats numerical values in cognitive networks as measures of activity, sometimes linking consciousness to values above a threshold.
activation patternnoun: An EEG change shows reduced alpha waves and faster, smaller signals when someone opens their eyes to look at something.
activation theory of emotionnoun: A historical theory proposes measuring emotion through brainstem reticular activity and related alertness in the cortex and thalamus using EEG.
activation–arousal theorynoun: A historical proposal linked emotion to changing energy use, later refined around brain activity and alertness.
activation–elaborationnoun: A memory theory proposes that stored ideas differ in current activity and in how fully they connect with other information.
activation–synthesis hypothesisnoun: A historical hypothesis proposes that dreams arise when the cortex makes sense of random signals coming from the brainstem.
activational effectnoun: A hormone temporarily changes behavior or bodily activity, typically in an adult animal.
activeadjective: Currently doing something or causing an effect in the body, brain, or behavior.
active analytic psychotherapynoun: Wilhelm Stekel's historical therapy used direct therapist involvement to explore current inner conflicts and aimed to shorten psychoanalytic treatment.
active attentionnoun: A person deliberately directs and maintains mental focus through conscious effort.
active avoidancenoun: Learning strengthens a specific action because performing it prevents or delays an unpleasant event.
active concretizationnoun: Arieti proposed that, in schizophrenia, abstract ideas can become specific beliefs or representations, sometimes developing into perceived sensory experiences.
active control trialnoun: An experiment compares a treatment being studied with an established treatment given to a separate group.
active copingnoun: A person uses their own skills and effort to take targeted steps toward managing a source of stress.
active deceptionnoun: Researchers deliberately give participants incorrect information, often to reduce the influence of knowing the study's actual purpose.
active euthanasianoun: Someone deliberately acts to end another person's or animal's life to relieve severe suffering when recovery is considered impossible.
active intermodal mapping (AIM)noun: A proposed infant ability connects observed actions with sensations of their own movements across senses, helping explain early imitation.
active joynoun: Intense happiness includes an urge to share the feeling and engage with people or the surrounding world.
active learningphrase: Learning by doing and by actively seeking information, using goals and strategies to build understanding.
active listeningnoun: A listener carefully follows someone's words and feelings, asks clarifying questions, and restates ideas to check understanding.
active memorynoun: A stored memory is currently in awareness or remains activated after being recently brought to mind.
active negativismnoun: A person repeatedly does the opposite of what others request or expect, often without an obvious reason.
active noise cancellationnoun: A technology reduces unwanted noise by producing sound waves that counteract incoming sound waves.
active noise protection (ANP)noun: Methods that actively control sound or vibration help protect people from unwanted noise, beyond simply placing barriers over ears.
active noise reduction (ANR)noun: Sound absorbers or devices that interrupt vibration transmission reduce unwanted noise.
active performancenoun: A person physically carries out an action instead of only imagining or mentally practicing it.
active placebonoun: A comparison substance in research mimics a tested drug’s side effects without providing its intended treatment effect.
active recreationnoun: Therapeutic leisure involves taking part in activities that require bodily effort, mental effort, or both.
active rehearsalnoun: A memory strategy repeats each new item and then practices it together with every earlier item.
active therapyphrase: A counseling style where the therapist takes charge by giving guidance, opinions, and action steps.
active touchnoun: People discover an object’s features by deliberately moving their hands or other body parts against it.
active transportphrase: Moves substances across a cell membrane using energy, often against their usual direction of flow.
active vocabularynoun: The words someone regularly uses when speaking or writing make up their productive word collection.
active voicenoun: A grammatical pattern usually makes the sentence's subject the person or thing carrying out its action.
activismnoun: Taking organized, committed action to bring about a social or political change.
activities of daily living (ADLs)noun: Basic personal care tasks include washing, dressing, eating, using the toilet, and moving between a bed and chair.
activities, interests, opinions (AIO)noun: An older name for psychographics describes studying people’s lifestyles and views to understand buying preferences and guide marketing.
activity analysisnoun: An observer evaluates someone’s behavior over a set time by separating it into categories of activity.
activity cagenoun: A research enclosure lets an animal move around while researchers observe or measure its behavior.
activity cyclenoun: A repeating sequence includes rises and falls in activity and may develop through learning rather than biological timing.
activity deprivationnoun: Restrictive conditions prevent enough physical movement, sometimes causing discomfort or distress.
activity drivenoun: A proposed inborn urge pushes an organism to move even without an obvious outside reason.
activity group therapynoun: Slavson’s historical therapy uses freely chosen group play and crafts to help children aged six to twelve express feelings.
activity lognoun: A researcher or participant keeps a diary of activities, often noting times, places, and companions.
activity recordnoun: A school record documents which clubs, extra projects, and activities outside regular lessons a student participates in.
activity rhythmnoun: An individual’s activity rises and falls in a repeating pattern roughly aligned with timing signals, such as daylight.
activity systemnoun: Related behaviors serve a shared function or express a basic motive in ways shaped by culture and experience.
activity theorynoun: A Soviet psychological approach explains people through purposeful activities linking routine operations, planned actions, cultural tools, and social settings.
activity therapynoun: Treatment uses participation in activities such as painting, exercise, or drama to support psychological or physical functioning.
activity wheelnoun: A rotating device turns as an animal runs inside, allowing researchers to count rotations as a measure of activity.
activity-interview group psychotherapynoun: Slavson’s historical group treatment combines activities, discussion, and psychoanalytic questioning for children aged six to twelve experiencing strong emotional distress.
activity–passivitynoun: Freud proposed that instinctive urges seek satisfaction either through doing something or through having something done to oneself.
actomyosinnoun: The muscle proteins actin and myosin interact to generate force that makes muscles contract.
actor–observer effectnoun: People may explain their own actions through circumstances while explaining someone else’s similar actions through that person’s traits.
ACTPabbreviation: The initials mean American College Testing Program, a system that collects student data, including achievement scores, and shares it with institutions.
actualadjective: Really existing or happening now, rather than only seeming true or being merely possible.
actual neurosisnoun: Freud’s historical label described psychological symptoms he attributed to present sexual frustration rather than earlier experiences or inner conflicts.
actual selfnoun: In several therapy traditions, a person’s present, genuine self is distinguished from an exaggerated or imagined version.
actualizationnoun: Developing your built-in abilities so they become real skills, growth, and a fuller sense of self.
actuarialadjective: An estimate or method relies on measured past outcomes and statistical calculations.
actuarial predictionnoun: Formal statistical rules combine numerical information to estimate a diagnosis or likely future outcome.
actuarial risk assessmentnoun: Statistical formulas use factors supported by research to estimate someone’s likelihood of a specified behavior within a stated period.
actuarial tablenoun: A statistical chart shows a population’s chances of surviving or dying at different ages and helps estimate life expectancy.
actus reusnoun: The action or legally relevant failure to act forms the conduct element of a crime, separate from mental state.
acuitynoun: How clearly and precisely someone can notice sensory information such as sights, sounds, or other stimulation.
acuity gratingnoun: A pattern of closely spaced dark and light stripes tests how finely a person can distinguish visual detail.
aculalianoun: Speech lacks understandable meaning alongside difficulty understanding language, as can happen with Wernicke’s aphasia.
acupressurenoun: A complementary treatment applies finger or thumb pressure at selected body sites with the aim of easing symptoms.
acupuncturenoun: A treatment rooted in Chinese medicine places thin needles at selected body sites to try to ease pain or other symptoms.
acupuncture anesthesianoun: Reduced or absent sensation, especially pain, follows acupuncture needling, sometimes alongside other methods of controlling surgical pain.
acuteadjective: Describes a problem that starts suddenly, is intense, and usually does not last long.
acute alcoholic myopathynoun: Heavy alcohol consumption can cause rapidly developing muscle damage with pain, swelling, tenderness, cramps, and weakness.
acute alcoholismnoun: An older label describes the usually brief effects of severe alcohol intoxication, including poor coordination and potentially slowed breathing.
acute anxietyphrase: A sudden, intense fear with body tension caused by a threat, usually fading when the stressful event ends.
acute brain disordernoun: A temporary, reversible disruption of brain function produces a pattern of symptoms.
acute cerebellar ataxianoun: Sudden disruption of cerebellar function causes uncoordinated movement, often in children after a viral illness.
acute cerebrovascular accidentnoun: A stroke begins when blocked blood flow or bleeding disrupts brain function, potentially affecting movement, sensation, thinking, or awareness.
acute chest syndromenoun: A dangerous lung problem in people with sickle cell disease can cause fever, painful breathing, and difficulty getting enough air.
acute confusional statephrase: A sudden period of severe confusion with poor memory, disorientation, and possible agitation during serious illness.
acute coronary syndrome (ACS)noun: A sudden reduction in blood supply to heart muscle causes conditions including heart attack and unstable angina.
acute deliriumnoun: A rapidly developing disturbance of attention and awareness causes confusion, sometimes with hallucinations or restlessness, following illness or substance effects.
acute delusional psychosisnoun: A French psychiatric concept describes sudden, temporary psychotic symptoms, often following stress, with recovery generally expected.
acute depressionnoun: Depression begins suddenly or involves an especially severe episode with many symptoms.
acute dystoniaphrase: Sudden, painful muscle spasms can twist the neck, eyes, jaw, or body, often after certain medicines.
acute maniaphrase: A severe manic episode with very high or angry mood, overactivity, fast speech, reckless acts, and inflated self-importance.
acute mountain sicknessnoun: Climbing to high altitude too quickly can cause illness because less oxygen is available to the body.
acute onsetphrase: Begins suddenly, with symptoms appearing quickly and often unexpectedly.
acute otitis medianoun: A rapidly developing middle ear infection causes inflammation and can temporarily reduce hearing, especially in young children.
acute preparationnoun: Researchers perform a procedure on an animal and study it briefly, usually under anesthesia, without a later recovery period.
acute psychotic episodephrase: A sudden, brief time of psychosis, losing touch with reality, with hallucinations, false beliefs, or confused speech.
acute schizophrenic episodenoun: Clear symptoms of schizophrenia appear suddenly, including strongly disorganized thinking and changes in emotional expression or behavior.
acute stress disorder (ASD)phrase: A short-term reaction to trauma with scary memories, jumpiness, avoidance, and sometimes feeling detached from yourself or reality.
acute stress responsenoun: The body quickly increases alertness and readiness for action when it detects stress or a possible threat.
acute tolerancenoun: A drug's effect becomes weaker over a short time, sometimes during exposure to just one dose.
ad hocadjective: Made for one specific situation instead of as a general plan or theory.
ad hoc categorynoun: People create a temporary grouping of things to serve a particular goal or immediate need.
ad libadverb: In animal research, food or water remains freely available whenever the animal wants it.
ad litemphrase: A legal role or appointment applies specifically to one court case.
ad-prefix: Shows movement toward something or being next to it.
ADAabbreviation: A U.S. law that bans disability discrimination and requires reasonable access and accommodations.
Adamnoun: This slang name identifies MDMA, a drug that can increase energy, emotional closeness, and changes in perception.
ADAMHAabbreviation: A former U.S. agency coordinated federal work on alcohol problems, other drug problems, and mental health before reorganization in 1992.
Adapinnoun: This trade name identifies doxepin, a tricyclic antidepressant that can also have strong sedating effects.
adaptabilitynoun: Being able to change your behavior to fit new situations, demands, or people.
adaptationnoun: Changing thoughts, behavior, or body responses to fit new demands or surroundings.
adaptation level (AL)noun: Past experience establishes a mental reference point that shapes how someone judges new sensations or events.
adaptation periodnoun: Researchers allow participants time to become familiar with study equipment or tasks before collecting the main observations.
adaptation stagenoun: In Selye's stress model, the body maintains increased activity while trying to manage continuing stress.
adaptation timenoun: The interval runs from a stimulus beginning until the responding sense organ fully adapts and stops responding to it.
adapted childnoun: Transactional analysis proposes a childlike mental state shaped by others' expectations, expressed through obedience, orderliness, or attempts to influence others.
adaptive actnoun: An organism learns a response that helps it meet demands in its surroundings.
adaptive behaviorphrase: Everyday skills needed to live independently and meet age and cultural expectations for personal and social responsibility.
adaptive behavior scalenoun: A structured assessment measures everyday practical and social skills against expectations for a person's development and cultural setting.
adaptive control of thought theorynoun: Anderson's theory explains how knowledge is represented mentally and used to carry out skilled actions.
adaptive hypothesisnoun: Hartmann proposed that independent ego functions, including perception, memory, emotional regulation, and movement, help people handle ordinary surroundings.
adaptive intelligencenoun: People use what they know to handle unfamiliar situations and learn through effective interaction with their surroundings.
adaptive nonresponding theorynoun: This theory proposes that sleep evolved to keep animals inactive during daily periods when predators posed the greatest danger.
adaptive production systemnoun: A computer model changes its stored if–then rules as it learns from interactions with its surroundings.
adaptive samplingnoun: Researchers use earlier findings to guide later sample selection toward cases most useful for their study.
adaptive skillsphrase: These everyday abilities help a person handle change, learn new things, and manage behavior like controlling impulses.
adaptive strategy choice model (ASCM)noun: This model proposes that children increasingly choose efficient problem-solving methods through experience, while less efficient methods remain available.
adaptive systemnoun: In ergonomics, technology adjusts its display, controls, or output to suit changing users, operating conditions, or surroundings.
adaptive task allocationnoun: A system shifts tasks between people and machines as working conditions, operator needs, or operating rules change.
adaptive testingphrase: A test that changes question difficulty after each answer to quickly estimate a person's ability level.
adaptometernoun: An instrument measures how long someone's eyes take to adjust to a particular light level.
ADCabbreviation: AIDS dementia complex describes HIV-related brain dysfunction that can affect thinking, daily activities, movement, and mood.
ADDabbreviation: An older name for ADHD when hyperactivity is not the main problem.
Adderallnoun: This prescription stimulant combines amphetamine salts, including dextroamphetamine, and is used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy.
addictnoun: This potentially stigmatizing label describes someone experiencing addiction to a substance or behavior.
addicted athletenoun: This label describes an athlete experiencing addiction to performance-enhancing substances or withdrawal symptoms when unable to exercise.
addictionnoun: A strong mental or physical need to keep using a substance or doing a behavior despite harm.
addictive behaviornoun: Actions connected with problematic substance use or dependence become difficult to control and take priority over other activities.
addictive drugnoun: A substance that changes mental activity carries substantial potential to produce dependence or problematic, hard-to-control use.
addictive personalitynoun: An unsupported idea proposes that one distinct personality pattern makes people especially likely to develop substance addiction.
Addison’s diseasenoun: The adrenal glands themselves fail to make enough essential hormones, which can affect energy, physical health, and mood.
addition rulenoun: For events that cannot happen together, the probability that either happens equals their individual probabilities added together.
addition testnoun: An assessment asks someone to add numbers, sometimes as one part of measuring mental abilities.
additiveadjective: Describes a situation where separate parts or effects can be added to get a total result.
additive bilingualismnoun: A community gains another language while its original language keeps its standing and continued use.
additive color mixturenoun: Different colored lights combine to produce a new perceived color.
additive effectnoun: Several influences produce a combined change equal to their separate changes added together, without changing one another's effects.
additive genenoun: A gene contributes to a trait through allele effects that add together, without one allele masking the other.
additive modelnoun: A statistical model predicts an outcome by adding separate contributions, assuming each stays unchanged by the other predictors.
additive scalenoun: A measurement scale uses evenly spaced units so that adding measured amounts gives a meaningful result.
additive taskphrase: A group job where the final result is the sum of each person's effort.
additive-factors methodnoun: Researchers compare combined reaction-time effects to infer whether experimental factors influence shared or separate stages of mental processing.
adductionnoun: In conditioning, combining cues for separately learned actions can produce a new behavior.
ADEabbreviation: An adverse drug event involves harm associated with medication use, including an unwanted drug reaction.
ADEAabbreviation: A U.S. law enacted in 1967 protects workers aged 40 and above from certain forms of workplace age discrimination.
adendriticadjective: A neuron described this way has no dendrites, the branching extensions that usually receive signals.
adeninenoun: A chemical base represented by A helps encode genetic information in both DNA and RNA.
adeno- (aden-)prefix: This word part means gland or glandular when joined to other parts of a scientific word.
adenocarcinomanoun: This cancer begins in cells that form glands or produce substances such as mucus.
adenohypophysisnoun: The front portion of the pituitary makes hormones involved in growth, reproduction, and control of other glands.
adenomanoun: A noncancerous growth develops from cells with glandular features, sometimes in the pituitary.
adenosinenoun: This molecule combines adenine with ribose sugar and helps regulate chemical communication among nerve cells.
adenosine 3’,5’-monophosphatenoun: Also known as cyclic AMP, this molecule carries signals inside cells after certain receptors are activated.
adenosine triphosphatenoun: Commonly shortened to ATP, this molecule supplies usable energy for cellular work, including nerve cell activity.
adenylate cyclasenoun: This enzyme converts ATP into cyclic AMP, helping cells pass along messages received at their surface.
adequate samplenoun: A research sample has enough observations to estimate population characteristics with the precision needed for a study.
adequate stimulusnoun: A sensory organ responds most readily to this kind of input, such as light for eyes.
ADHabbreviation: A hormone called vasopressin that helps the body keep water by reducing urine.
ADHDabbreviation: A disorder marked by ongoing inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that disrupts school, work, or relationships.
adherencenoun: How well a person follows a health professional's treatment plan, such as taking medicine as directed.
adhesive otitis medianoun: Persistent middle ear fluid can lead to lasting tissue attachments that may damage tiny bones involved in hearing.
adiencenoun: An approach response brings someone physically closer to something or increases their contact with it.
adinazolamnoun: This benzodiazepine drug has been studied for effects that reduce anxiety and symptoms of depression.
Adipexnoun: This brand name identifies phentermine, a stimulant-like medicine that reduces appetite and is used for short-term weight management.
adipo- (adip-)prefix: This word part means fat or fatty in scientific and medical vocabulary.
adipocytenoun: A specialized cell makes and stores fat, then releases its components when the body needs fuel.
adipose tissuenoun: Body tissue made mostly of fat cells stores energy, cushions organs, and helps maintain warmth.
adipsianoun: An absence of thirst reduces the urge to drink, sometimes because brain systems controlling thirst are damaged.
ADJabbreviation: A learning arrangement continually changes what earns reinforcement based on how the learner performs.
adj R2abbreviation: This symbol means adjusted R-squared, which estimates explained outcome variation while accounting for sample size and predictor count.
adjective checklistnoun: A questionnaire asks people to select describing words that fit themselves, often to assess personality.
adjudicationnoun: A formal judgment made after a case is reviewed through a legal hearing or court process.
adjudicative competencenoun: A person's capacity to understand and participate meaningfully in criminal legal proceedings includes making relevant decisions.
adjunctnoun: A helper medicine taken with the main medicine to improve treatment in a different way.
adjunctive behaviornoun: Repeated behavior emerges after scheduled reinforcers, although it does not earn them, and varies with the spacing between deliveries.
adjunctive therapistnoun: A practitioner provides additional therapeutic services that support a person's main treatment program.
adjunctive therapynoun: An additional treatment runs alongside the main treatment to improve its results, usually with a different practitioner.
adjusted effectnoun: An estimated relationship between a predictor and an outcome accounts statistically for other selected variables.
adjusted Rnoun: A corrected multiple correlation describes how closely predicted outcomes match observed outcomes, allowing for sample size and predictor count.
adjusted R2noun: This statistic estimates the outcome variation explained by a model, applying a correction for predictor count and sample size.
adjusting schedule of reinforcement (ADJ)noun: A learning arrangement repeatedly changes what earns reinforcement based on how the learner performs.
adjustive behaviornoun: A response successfully takes account of the demands of the surrounding situation or environment.
adjustmentnoun: Changing your thoughts or actions to meet needs and handle new or difficult situations well.
adjustment disorderphrase: Strong emotional or behavior problems begin within three months after a clear stressor and disrupt daily life.
adjustment inventorynoun: A questionnaire compares someone's emotional and social adaptation with results from a representative group.
adjustment methodnoun: In perception research, participants change a stimulus until it seems to match a fixed comparison.
adjustment processnoun: People change their attitudes or actions to balance personal needs with demands from their surroundings.
adjustment reactionnoun: A temporary psychological response to stress involves emotions or behaviors that interfere with coping or everyday functioning.
adjuvant therapynoun: An additional treatment follows the main treatment to strengthen its benefits or improve the chance of recovery.
Adlerian psychologynoun: Alfred Adler's theory proposes that people seek belonging and personal mastery while working to overcome feelings of inferiority.
Adlerian therapynoun: Treatment based on Adler's ideas helps people understand their goals, build social connections, and contribute meaningfully to others.
ADLsabbreviation: These everyday tasks meet basic self-care needs, including washing, getting dressed, eating, and moving between a bed and chair.
administrationnoun: The act of giving a test, drug, or other procedure in a planned way.
administrative controlsnoun: Workplace rules, training, and scheduling practices reduce exposure to hazards by changing how people organize and perform work.
admissionnoun: The process of deciding whether someone qualifies to enter a school or training program.
admission certificationnoun: A formal assessment checks whether a person's medical needs justify admission to a hospital or another care facility.
admission criterianoun: Educational programs use these requirements or tests to decide which applicants qualify to enter.
admission proceduresnoun: Administrative and medical steps organize a person's entry into a health facility for inpatient care.
adolescencenoun: The stage between puberty and adulthood when bodies, brains, thinking, and social lives change quickly.
adolescent egocentrismphrase: During adolescence, some teens believe they are unusually special and that other people are always noticing them.
adolescent growth spurtphrase: A rapid increase in height and weight that happens during puberty, often earlier in girls than boys.
adolescent gynecomastianoun: Breast gland tissue enlarges in adolescent boys, often temporarily because of hormone changes during puberty.
adolescent pregnancynoun: A pregnancy occurs while the pregnant person is in adolescence, the developmental period between childhood and adulthood.
adolescent psychologynoun: This field studies how young people think, feel, behave, and develop during the transition from childhood to adulthood.
adolescent psychotherapynoun: Psychological treatment helps adolescents work through difficulties with emotions, behavior, or relationships.
adolescent rebellionphrase: A teenager pushes against family rules and values to gain more independence.
adolescent sex changesnoun: This phrase describes puberty's bodily changes, including reproductive maturation and developing features such as breasts, facial hair, or voice changes.
adopter categoriesphrase: Groups of people based on how quickly they start using a new product or idea.
adoptionnoun: A legal process that permanently places a child with parents who are not the birth parents.
adoption studyphrase: Compares adopted children with birth and adoptive parents to separate genetic influences from home environment on behavior or disorders.
adoptive parentnoun: An adult becomes a child's legal parent through adoption and takes responsibility for raising and caring for them.
ADRabbreviation: An adverse drug reaction is an unintended, harmful response caused by a medicine.
adren-prefix: This word part indicates a connection with the adrenal glands, which sit near the kidneys.
adrenal cortical hyperfunctionnoun: The outer adrenal layer produces excessive amounts of certain hormones, with effects depending on which hormones increase.
adrenal glandnoun: A small gland above each kidney releases hormones that help control stress, energy, and salt balance.
adrenal hyperplasianoun: Here, an inherited condition disrupts adrenal hormone production, usually reducing cortisol and increasing androgens.
adrenal virilismnoun: Excess adrenal androgens cause physical changes such as increased facial hair or a deeper voice in females.
adrenalectomynoun: A surgeon removes either a single adrenal gland or both glands during this operation.
adrenalinenoun: A hormone and neurotransmitter that helps the body react quickly to stress or danger.
adrenarchenoun: During childhood, adrenal androgen production rises, usually around ages six to eight, contributing to changes such as body hair.
adrenergicadjective: Describes nerves or body reactions that use or respond to adrenaline or norepinephrine.
adrenergic blocking agentnoun: A drug reduces adrenaline or noradrenaline effects by blocking their attachment to particular cell receptors.
adrenergic drugnoun: A substance boosts sympathetic nervous activity by copying or strengthening the effects of adrenaline or noradrenaline.
adrenergic reactionnoun: An organ responds to adrenaline or noradrenaline, producing changes such as faster heartbeats or wider pupils.
adrenergic receptornoun: A cell-surface protein that reacts to norepinephrine and helps the sympathetic nervous system control body responses.
adrenergic systemnoun: This network of autonomic nerves and receptors uses or responds to adrenaline and noradrenaline to regulate bodily activity.
adreno- (adren-)prefix: This word part connects a word's meaning to the hormone-producing adrenal glands near the kidneys.
adrenoceptornoun: A receptor on a cell detects adrenaline or noradrenaline and helps trigger a response inside that cell.
adrenocortical insufficiencynoun: The adrenal outer layer supplies too little of essential hormones, especially cortisol, affecting energy, bodily function, and sometimes mood.
adrenocorticoidnoun: A corticosteroid is a hormone from the adrenal outer layer that helps regulate metabolism, stress responses, or salt balance.
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)phrase: A pituitary hormone that tells the adrenal cortex to release cortisol during stress.
adrenogenital syndromenoun: An older medical label describes inherited adrenal enzyme problems that reduce cortisol production and commonly raise androgen levels.
adrenoleukodystrophynoun: An inherited disease can damage nerve insulation and adrenal function, affecting movement, thinking, behavior, and other abilities.
adrenoreceptornoun: A cell receptor responds when adrenaline or noradrenaline attaches, helping change the cell's activity.
ADSabbreviation: Short for action disorganization syndrome, a problem planning and ordering the steps of actions.
ADS modelabbreviation: The proposed aperture, draw, syntax model describes attention through processing pathways, attraction of relevant information, and rules guiding recognition and responses.
adultnoun: A fully grown person who has reached maturity, often meaning legal age as well.
adult attachmentnoun: Patterns of trust, closeness, and fear people often show in adult romantic or close relationships.
Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)phrase: A structured interview that uses childhood relationship stories to sort adults into attachment patterns.
Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA)noun: A twelve-step fellowship supports adults whose childhood families experienced alcohol problems or other ongoing difficulties.
adult day carenoun: A daytime group service outside the home supports adults who need assistance with health, social activities, or everyday tasks.
adult developmentnoun: The physical, mental, and social changes people go through from late teens into old age.
adult educationnoun: Organized classes help adults develop knowledge or skills for work, personal interests, or further learning.
adult foster carenoun: Host families provide housing and around-the-clock support in their own homes for adults needing help with daily life.
adult homenoun: A shared residence provides meals, personal assistance, activities, and supervision for adults needing support, usually without intensive nursing care.
adult progerianoun: Werner syndrome is a rare inherited condition in which signs of accelerated aging develop after childhood.
adult sensorineural lesionnoun: In adulthood, disease or injury damages inner-ear sensory structures or hearing pathways leading toward the brain.
adult stem cellnoun: An unspecialized cell in developed tissue can renew itself and produce a limited range of specialized cells.
adult-onset diabetesnoun: This older name for type 2 diabetes describes high blood sugar caused by insulin resistance and insufficient insulin production.
adulterynoun: A married person voluntarily has a sexual relationship with someone other than their marriage partner.
adulthoodnoun: The life stage after adolescence when people are physically mature and keep changing in thinking, social life, and aging.
adultomorphismnoun: A person assumes children have grown-up qualities or intentions, overlooking how their thinking and development may differ.
advance directivenoun: A legal arrangement records healthcare preferences or appoints a decision maker for times when someone cannot make their own decisions.
advanced HIV diseasenoun: HIV infection has progressed enough to severely weaken immune defenses, increasing vulnerability to serious infections and other illnesses.
advanced organizersnoun: Information given before a lesson provides a framework that helps students connect, understand, and organize what comes next.
advanced placement examinations (AP)noun: Achievement exams assess subject knowledge that may qualify students for college credit or entry into more advanced courses.
advantage by illnessnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, illness may bring indirect benefits through others' responses, such as extra attention or fewer demands.
advantage lawnoun: When possible responses conflict, the more appealing or useful response is expected to occur more often.
adventitiousadjective: Describing a condition that appears later because of injury or illness after earlier normal functioning.
adventitious deafnessnoun: Hearing loss develops because of illness or injury after a person previously had typical hearing.
adventitious reinforcementnoun: A rewarding event happens by chance after an action and may make that action more likely to recur.
adventitious visual impairmentnoun: Vision becomes partly or completely reduced through illness or injury after a period of typical sight.
adventure-recreation modelnoun: A framework relates outdoor risk-taking to engagement, social preferences, decision control, participation frequency, and preferred surroundings.
adversarial systemnoun: Opposing sides present their cases in court, while an independent judge or jury evaluates the evidence.
adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)noun: Stressful or traumatic events during childhood can affect development and increase later health risks, especially without adequate support.
adverse drug reaction (ADR)noun: A medicine causes an unwanted response that negatively affects a person's health, ranging from mild to severe.
adverse eventnoun: A harmful injury or effect caused by medical treatment or by taking part in research.
adverse impactphrase: When a hiring rule unfairly lowers the chances of a protected group getting selected.
adverse witnessnoun: A person giving court evidence shows bias against the side that asked them to testify.
advertisementnoun: A message in media meant to catch attention and persuade people to buy or use something.
advertising psychologynoun: Researchers examine how advertisements affect potential customers' thoughts, feelings, and choices, and why some approaches work better.
advertising researchnoun: Researchers investigate advertising messages, product images, and campaign results to understand and improve how advertising works.
advertising response modeling (ARM)noun: Statistical models estimate how advertisements reach and influence audiences, often combining sales information to guide advertising levels.
advice givingnoun: A counselor suggests possible actions or alternatives for a client to consider when addressing a concern.
advocacynoun: Speaking or acting for a person or group to protect their rights and express their needs.
AEAabbreviation: Arachidonoylethanolamide, also called anandamide, is a substance the body makes that activates cannabinoid receptors and helps regulate nerve communication.
AEDabbreviation: The Academy for Eating Disorders is an international professional organization supporting research, education, prevention, and care related to eating disorders.
AEPabbreviation: An average evoked potential combines brain electrical responses across repeated stimulus presentations to make the response clearer against background activity.
AEqabbreviation: An age equivalent expresses a test score as the age group whose typical performance matches that score.
AERAabbreviation: One of the professional groups that publishes standards for educational and psychological testing.
aerial perspectivenoun: Distance can be judged with one eye because atmosphere usually makes faraway objects look hazier and bluer.
aero- (aer-)prefix: This word part adds the meaning of air or gas to a longer word.
aerobic activitynoun: Sustained physical movement relies on the body's ability to use oxygen to supply working muscles with energy.
aerobic exercisephrase: Steady, moderate activity using oxygen for energy improves heart, lung, mood, and endurance.
aesthesiometernoun: An instrument measures touch sensitivity by testing detectable pressure or how closely two touches can occur while feeling separate.
aesthesiometrynoun: Touch sensitivity is measured by testing the pressure someone notices or their ability to distinguish nearby touches.
aesthetic appreciationnoun: Someone enjoys something to a certain extent because its beauty or other qualities appeal to their taste.
aesthetic emotionnoun: A feeling arises while someone experiences art or natural beauty, such as music, dancing, or a landscape.
aesthetic evolutionnoun: A proposed explanation holds that art changes systematically through its own drive for novelty rather than through outside influences.
aesthetic overshadowingnoun: One especially noticeable feature dominates how much someone likes something, while its other qualities receive little attention.
aesthetic preferencenoun: Someone favors one thing over alternatives because it better matches their sense of beauty or personal taste.
aesthetic tastenoun: A person's judgments determine which artworks they find beautiful or otherwise enjoyable and how strongly they like them.
aesthetic valuenoun: Beauty or personal taste can give art and natural scenes a sense of emotional importance or spiritual worth.
aestheticsnoun: Strong enjoyment of art, beauty, and sensory experiences, often measured as one part of openness.
affectnoun: Feelings and emotions, from simple pleasure or distress to more complex moods.
affect displaynoun: A person's facial movements, voice, or gestures provide outward signs of emotion.
affect intensitynoun: Emotional experiences vary in strength, regardless of whether the feelings are pleasant, unpleasant, or somewhere between.
affect inversionnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, an instinctive urge changes to an opposite aim, including shifts between directing it toward oneself and others.
affect misattribution procedure (AMP)noun: An indirect attitude test measures how feelings from an initial image influence pleasantness judgments of an unclear image shown next.
affect regulationphrase: Managing feelings by using thoughts or actions to increase pleasant emotions and reduce upsetting ones.
affect scalenoun: A questionnaire or rating tool lets people report how strongly they experience particular moods or emotions.
affect theorynoun: Tomkins proposed that inborn emotions, shaped by social experience, primarily motivate behavior and guide awareness and thought.
affect-blocknoun: Difficulty feeling or expressing emotion is described as arising when feelings become disconnected from related thoughts.
affectionnoun: Warm, caring feelings that connect people, especially babies and caregivers, and support attachment.
affectiveadjective: Related to emotions or feelings, or able to cause an emotional response.
affective aggressionnoun: Behavior intended to hurt arises from strong emotion, often targeting the perceived cause of distress or a substitute.
affective ambivalencenoun: Someone experiences opposing feelings about the same person, thing, or situation at the same time.
affective assessmentnoun: An evaluation examines which emotions a person is experiencing and how strong those emotions are.
affective commitmentphrase: Feeling emotionally attached to a workplace and believing in what it is trying to do.
affective concordancenoun: Emotional expression matches inner feelings, or people connected by an experience have similar emotional responses.
affective developmentphrase: Growth in how a person feels, shows emotions, and learns to manage them over time.
affective dischargenoun: During therapy, someone expresses intense feelings while exploring earlier experiences, historically understood as releasing mental energy.
affective discordancenoun: A person's emotional expression does not fit their reported feelings or the emotional content of what they describe.
affective disordernoun: A group of mental disorders mainly involving disturbed mood, such as major depression or bipolar disorder.
affective domainnoun: Within Bloom's educational framework, this area of learning concerns feelings, attitudes, values, and their increasing influence on behavior.
affective educationnoun: Teaching helps students recognize emotions and connect them with thinking and actions to support positive changes in behavior.
affective engineeringnoun: Designers study people's feelings about products and use those findings to guide product design.
affective equilibriumnoun: A proposed pattern places an overall emotional judgment of several items near the middle of their individually ranked emotional judgments.
affective forecastingnoun: People predict how they will feel after future events, sometimes overestimating the strength or duration of those feelings.
affective hallucinationnoun: A perception without an external source has depressive or manic themes during a mood episode with psychotic symptoms.
affective interactionnoun: An exchange between people involves strong emotions, as can happen within families or during therapy.
affective logicnoun: Ribot proposed that emotions operate through their own mental processes, separate from processes governing other kinds of thinking.
affective meaningnoun: Words, pictures, or sounds can carry significance through the emotions and attitudes they awaken in someone.
affective memorynoun: Memory for emotionally meaningful events can involve consciously recalling feelings or showing learned emotional responses without conscious recollection.
affective neurosciencenoun: Researchers study how brain processes produce emotions, shape emotional experiences, and help regulate feelings.
affective psychosisnoun: A mood disorder involves hallucinations or delusions that begin after mood changes and occur only during major depressive or manic episodes.
affective rigiditynoun: A person's emotional state stays much the same across situations that would usually bring changes in feeling.
affective theorynoun: Some approaches to psychotherapy rest on a framework that gives emotions a central role in personal change.
affective tonenoun: A particular event, object, or experience carries an accompanying mood or feeling for someone.
affective well-beingnoun: Emotional well-being concerns the presence of pleasant feelings and the relative lack of unpleasant feelings in someone's experience.
affective–cognitive consistencynoun: Feelings about something agree with beliefs about its qualities in how positively or negatively they evaluate it.
affective–cognitive structurenoun: An emotion becomes linked with a particular thought or mental image, forming a connected pattern of feeling and meaning.
affective–evaluative consistencynoun: Feelings about something match the overall judgment of it in how positive or negative they are.
affectively based persuasionnoun: An attempt to influence an attitude works mainly by changing the feelings someone associates with its subject.
affectivitynoun: A person's tendency to react strongly or weakly to pleasant, painful, or emotional events.
afferentadjective: Signals or substances travel inward toward a center, especially when nerves carry information toward the central nervous system.
afferent nerve fibernoun: A nerve extension carries signals toward the brain, spinal cord, or a higher processing center, usually conveying sensory information.
afferent pathwaynoun: A nerve route carries incoming signals toward the brain, spinal cord, or a receiving brain region.
afferent sensory neuronnoun: This nerve cell delivers information from sensory receptors toward the central nervous system.
afferent stimulationnoun: Activation of sensory pathways produces nerve messages that travel inward toward the central nervous system.
affiliationnoun: Choosing to be close with others because of liking, comfort, or connection rather than personal gain.
affinitynoun: Someone feels naturally drawn toward another individual, setting, or object, often because something about it feels shared.
affirmativeadjective: Openly supportive and validating of a person's identity, choices, or equal rights.
affirmative actionphrase: Policies that actively increase school or job chances for groups harmed by past discrimination.
affirmative defensenoun: A legal defense presents additional facts that can excuse or reduce responsibility, even if the alleged conduct occurred.
affirmative postmodernismnoun: A philosophical perspective holds that society can improve while questioning universal truths and recognizing different perspectives.
affirmative therapyphrase: A therapy approach that actively validates clients' identities and cultures, especially when bias has treated normal differences as problems.
affixationnoun: Adding meaningful parts before, inside, or after a word changes its meaning or grammatical form.
Affordable Care Actphrase: A U.S. law that expanded health insurance coverage and support for preventive health care services.
affordancenoun: A feature of the surroundings offers an action that depends on an organism’s abilities.
affricatenoun: One speech sound starts with blocked airflow, then releases it through a tight gap, as when saying the ch in chin.
AFMETabbreviation: This former name identified a military screening program assessing recruits’ likely difficulties with training or adjustment to military life.
AFPabbreviation: Alpha-fetoprotein is a protein produced during fetal development that also limits estrogen entry into developing rodent brains.
AFQTabbreviation: The Armed Forces Qualification Test assesses mental skills to help determine eligibility for United States military service.
AFRabbreviation: Alcohol flush reaction involves skin reddening after drinking, often because inherited enzyme differences slow the breakdown of an alcohol byproduct.
African Americannoun: An American whose family heritage includes Black African ancestry, often connected to a shared cultural history.
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)noun: A variety of English used in many African American communities has its own consistent grammar, pronunciation, and social uses.
African trypanosomiasisnoun: An infection spread by infected tsetse flies can affect the brain, disturbing sleep, alertness, and thinking.
after-nystagmusnoun: After head rotation stops, involuntary eye movements continue, with quick movements opposite the previous direction of rotation.
afterbirthnoun: The final stage of childbirth involves the uterus releasing the placenta and remaining fetal membranes after the baby arrives.
aftercarenoun: Continuing treatment and practical support after leaving a care facility help people maintain progress and adjust to everyday life.
aftercurrentnoun: A nerve or muscle cell shows a remaining voltage change after the main peak of its electrical impulse.
afterdischargenoun: Nerve cells keep producing impulses for a time after the triggering stimulation ends.
aftereffectnoun: Extended exposure to one sensory pattern temporarily changes how a later stimulus is perceived.
afterimagenoun: A picture that still seems visible for a moment after the real sight is gone.
afterplaynoun: Affectionate or sensual contact, such as cuddling or kissing, continues after orgasm during a sexual encounter.
afterpotentialnoun: A brief voltage change remains in a nerve or muscle cell after its main electrical spike.
agapenoun: A caring form of love combines tenderness, concern for another’s well-being, and willingness to put their needs first.
AGCTabbreviation: The Army General Classification Test historically assessed verbal, number, and spatial abilities to classify recruits by expected learning ability.
agenoun: The number of years that have passed since a person was born.
age calibrationnoun: Adjusting the interpretation of a test score allows comparison with people of similar ages.
age cohortnoun: A group consists of people born during the same year or a similar period.
age crisisphrase: A supposed sudden personality shift from inner conflict at a certain life stage, with little research support.
age dedifferentiation hypothesisnoun: A debated proposal suggests that distinct mental abilities become more closely related in later adulthood as fluid intelligence declines.
age differentiation hypothesisnoun: A debated proposal suggests that children’s initially general intelligence develops into increasingly distinct but related mental abilities.
age discriminationphrase: Treating people differently or unfairly because of how old they are.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)noun: This 1967 American federal statute restricts workplace age bias against covered individuals who are at least 40 years old.
age effectphrase: A difference linked to people's age, which can be hard to separate from generation or time influences.
age equivalent (AEq)noun: A test result is expressed as the age at which people typically achieve that score.
age normnoun: The average test score expected for people who are a certain age.
age of consentnoun: A legal age threshold determines when someone can independently agree to a particular activity or decision.
age of onsetphrase: The age when a disorder's first symptoms begin to show.
age rationoun: For repeated aptitude testing, this calculation divides someone’s earlier testing age by their later testing age to help assess predictive usefulness.
age regressionnoun: A controversial hypnosis technique suggests returning mentally to earlier ages to recall experiences, but it can produce false memories.
age-associated memory impairment (AAMI)noun: Small memory difficulties accompanying typical aging mainly affect learning and recalling new information without indicating a neurocognitive disorder.
age-equivalent scalenoun: A scoring system translates test results into ages when those levels of performance are typical.
age-grade scalingnoun: A test is standardized using children whose ages are typical for their school grades to establish comparison scores.
age-related changephrase: A shift in body or mind function that happens as people grow older, whether typical or not.
ageismnoun: Prejudice, stereotypes, or unfair treatment based on age often target older adults.
agencynoun: Having the power to act on purpose and influence what happens to you or others.
agency shopnoun: A workplace arrangement requires employees outside the union to pay fees for union representation as a requirement for keeping their jobs.
agency theorynoun: An economic theory examines agreements between people assigning work and those doing it, including conflicting interests and ways to align them.
agenesisnoun: A body structure does not form, or does not develop completely, during early development.
agenitalismnoun: A person is born without sex organs, or has a condition involving absent sex hormone secretion.
agentnoun: Something, such as a drug or germ, that causes a specific effect in the body.
agentic orientationnoun: A personal outlook emphasizes taking action, achieving goals, succeeding, and making an individual contribution.
agentic statephrase: A mindset where someone sees themself as an authority's tool and feels driven to obey orders.
ageusia (aguesia)noun: A person cannot detect tastes because their sense of taste is absent or lost.
agglutinationnoun: Words are built by joining meaningful units that stay mostly unchanged and recognizable.
agglutinative languagenoun: A language of this type regularly builds complex words by joining distinct, largely unchanged units of meaning.
aggravated damagesnoun: A civil court awards extra compensation for emotional suffering intensified by the especially malicious or humiliating way someone acted.
aggravating factornoun: A detail about an offense or defendant increases its seriousness or supports a more severe sentence.
aggregate dataphrase: Information combined into summary numbers that stand for a whole set of scores or observations.
aggregate ideanoun: In Wundt’s account, elements of a complex sensory experience are recombined into a new idea with qualities beyond its separate parts.
aggregationnoun: A gathering of organisms in one place with little organization, shared goal, or dependence on each other.
aggregation problemsnoun: Studying whole groups makes it difficult to distinguish individual influences from effects of the shared setting.
aggressionnoun: Actions meant to hurt another person in body or feelings.
aggression–frustration hypothesisnoun: A historical theory proposed that frustration always creates an aggressive urge and that all aggression begins with frustration.
aggressive characternoun: Horney proposed a personality pattern that manages anxiety through hostility, competition, and pursuit of power, status, and possessions.
aggressive cuenoun: An environmental signal suggests hostility to someone or brings aggression to mind through learned associations.
aggressive instinctnoun: Classical psychoanalysis proposed that a death-related drive could turn outward, producing destructive impulses toward the surrounding world.
aggressive mimicrynoun: A predator resembles a nonpredatory species in appearance or behavior, encouraging potential prey to approach.
aggressive-rejected childnoun: In peer-relationship research, this describes a child who frequently acts with hostility and receives strong dislike from peers.
aggressivenessnoun: A repeated tendency to act hostile, threatening, or controlling toward other people.
agingnoun: The body and mind change over time as people grow older.
aging disordernoun: A condition disrupts usual age-related bodily changes, causing unusually early aging and raising the risk of earlier death.
aging in placenoun: Older adults continue living in their own homes with safety, comfort, independence, and support as their needs change.
agitated depressionnoun: A major depressive episode includes especially prominent restlessness, irritability, and excessive movement without a clear purpose.
agitationnoun: Restless, repeated movement or activity that seems driven but has no clear purpose.
agitographianoun: Extremely fast writing includes unnoticed missing or altered letters, words, or word parts.
agitophasianoun: Speech becomes extremely fast and jumbled, with sounds or sections of words missing or altered.
aglossianoun: A person is born without a tongue, which can make forming speech sounds difficult or impossible.
agnosianoun: A brain injury can leave someone unable to recognize familiar sights, sounds, or objects despite normal sensation.
agnosic alexianoun: Brain damage impairs reading while writing, speaking, and understanding spoken language remain largely preserved.
agnosticismnoun: A philosophical position holds that certain ultimate questions, especially whether God exists, cannot be answered with knowledge.
agnus castusnoun: An herbal preparation from the chasteberry plant is used for menstrual concerns, including symptoms occurring before menstruation.
agonadaladjective: This describes the absence of ovaries or testes, or effects resulting from that absence.
agonistnoun: A chemical that attaches to a receptor and turns it on, often mimicking a natural neurotransmitter.
agonist–antagonistnoun: A substance activates one receptor type while blocking the action of natural chemical messengers at another receptor type.
agonistic behaviornoun: Competitive encounters combine changing expressions of fear and aggression, often during disputes over territory or social rank.
agoraphobianoun: An intense fear of places where escape feels hard leads to avoiding crowds, lines, or unfamiliar public settings.
agrammatic comprehensionnoun: Someone understands separate words but struggles to understand sentences because their grammatical structure is difficult to process.
agrammatismnoun: An acquired language impairment makes it difficult to produce grammatically organized speech, including appropriate word order and grammatical endings.
agranular cortexnoun: Some outer brain regions, especially motor cortex, lack a clearly developed inner layer of small granular neurons.
agranulocytosisnoun: A dangerous drop in neutrophils, white blood cells that fight infection, often caused by certain medicines.
agraphianoun: Brain damage can remove someone's ability to write, even though they previously knew how.
agreeablenessnoun: A Big Five personality trait marked by kindness, trust, and a cooperative, unselfish way of dealing with others.
agreementnoun: A shared judgment or a close match between people, ratings, or test scores.
agreement coefficientnoun: A number summarizes how consistently different raters or measuring tools assign cases to the same categories.
agrypnianoun: Another name for insomnia describes difficulty getting or maintaining restorative sleep that causes significant distress or problems functioning.
aguesianoun: A person has no sense of taste or loses the ability to detect tastes.
agyrianoun: The brain's outer surface develops without its usual folds because nerve cells do not migrate normally before birth.
AHabbreviation: The abbreviation means alternative hypothesis, a proposed explanation that competes with the null hypothesis in statistical testing.
aha experiencenoun: A sudden insight into something puzzling brings a noticeable emotional reaction, often surprise, excitement, or relief.
ahistoric therapynoun: A therapy approach centers on present situations and behavior instead of making earlier life events its main focus.
ahistoricaladjective: This describes an explanation of behavior that emphasizes influences operating now rather than tracing their historical development.
AHPabbreviation: An allied health professional provides specialized services supporting health, such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, or medical testing.
ahylognosianoun: Touch no longer allows someone to reliably recognize material qualities of objects, such as texture or weight.
ahypnianoun: This synonym for insomnia describes trouble starting or sustaining restorative sleep, with significant distress or interference in daily life.
ahypnosianoun: An alternative name for insomnia describes difficulty obtaining restorative sleep that meaningfully disrupts well-being or everyday functioning.
AIabbreviation: Placing sperm into the reproductive tract without sexual intercourse to help pregnancy happen.
AICabbreviation: Akaike's information criterion compares statistical models by balancing fit to the same data against the number of estimated parameters.
aided recallnoun: A person tries to retrieve a memory with help from a cue, question, or other prompt.
AIDSabbreviation: The late stage of HIV infection, when immune defenses are badly weakened and serious infections can occur.
AIDS counselingnoun: Counseling offers information and emotional support about HIV prevention, testing, treatment, relationships, and living with HIV or AIDS.
AIDS dementia complex (ADC)noun: HIV-related brain dysfunction can severely affect thinking, everyday activities, movement, and mood, particularly in people with advanced HIV disease.
AIMnoun: A planned goal or purpose that guides what someone tries hard to do.
AIM modelnoun: This model proposes describing consciousness through brain activation, input–output gating between external and internal information, and chemical modulation.
aim of the instinctnoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that a drive seeks satisfaction through a particular activity that reduces internal tension.
aim-inhibitedadjective: Psychoanalytic theory describes drives that gain partial satisfaction through substitute activities or relationships while their original goal remains unfulfilled.
aiming testnoun: A task measures how quickly and accurately someone coordinates vision and movement to place marks or a stylus on targets.
AIOabbreviation: Activities, interests, and opinions are surveyed in consumer research to describe lifestyles and help predict buying preferences.
air conductionnoun: Sound travels through air in the ear canal and makes the eardrum vibrate.
Air Force Medical Evaluation Test (AFMET)noun: This former screening program name identified military applicants who might struggle with Air Force training or military adjustment.
air sicknessnoun: Movement during flight causes motion sickness, which can include nausea, dizziness, sweating, and vomiting.
air traffic controlnoun: People and technical systems coordinate aircraft movements by monitoring flights, sharing information, and directing routes to support safety.
air-conduction testingnoun: A hearing test finds the quietest single-frequency sounds each ear detects when sound is delivered through the ear canal.
air-pollution adaptationnoun: Repeated exposure to local air pollution can make people less responsive to its unpleasant qualities and perceived health effects.
air-pressure effectsnoun: Large changes in surrounding air pressure can disrupt bodily functioning and mental performance, including breathing, attention, and consciousness.
air–bone gapnoun: The difference between air-conducted and bone-conducted hearing thresholds at a frequency helps identify difficulty transmitting sound through the ear.
AISabbreviation: Androgen-insensitivity syndrome is an inherited variation in which reduced responses to androgen hormones affect sexual development in people with testes.
Ajzen–Fishbein modelnoun: A theory proposes that attitudes and perceived social expectations shape intentions, which then guide behavior.
Akaike’s information criterion (AIC)noun: A statistical score compares models using the same data, balancing fit against complexity, with lower scores preferred.
akatamathesianoun: A person loses the ability to understand sensory information, sometimes especially spoken language.
akataphasianoun: A speech disturbance involves choosing unsuitable words or combining words in grammatically incorrect ways.
akathisia (acathisia)noun: A drug side effect causing intense inner restlessness, with pacing, fidgeting, and trouble staying seated or standing still.
akinesianoun: A loss or strong decrease in a person's ability to make voluntary movements.
akinesia algeranoun: A historically described condition involves intense pain during bodily movement and has often been linked to psychological factors.
akinesthesianoun: The internal sense of body position and movement becomes reduced or absent.
akineticadjective: A person shows greatly reduced or absent intentional movement without paralysis explaining the difficulty.
akinetic mutismnoun: A brain condition greatly reduces self-initiated movement and speech, although the person may remain awake and visually track objects.
akinetic seizurenoun: An older name describes an atonic seizure, when muscles suddenly lose their usual tension and a person may fall.
Akinetonnoun: A brand name identifies biperiden, a medicine for Parkinson’s symptoms and similar movement problems caused by some antipsychotic medicines.
akinetopsianoun: Damage to brain systems for visual motion makes continuous movement difficult or impossible to perceive normally.
akorianoun: An unusually strong appetite occurs alongside an absent feeling of fullness after eating.
ALabbreviation: An abbreviation can mean absolute limen, a sensory detection threshold, or adaptation level, a baseline for judging new experiences.
Al-Anonnoun: An international peer support organization uses twelve steps to help people affected by someone close to them drinking compulsively.
alalianoun: The ability to speak is partly or completely absent, often because the muscles needed for voice production are paralyzed.
Alameda County Studynoun: A long-running California study examined how everyday habits and social connections relate to health and survival over time.
alaninenoun: An amino acid that the body can make helps build proteins and supports processes that supply energy.
alarm callnoun: An animal makes a warning sound that can prompt others to escape or respond together to a possible predator.
alarm reactionphrase: The body's first stress stage, when it quickly prepares to face danger or escape it.
alaryngealadjective: A structure or process lacks the voice box or functions without using it.
Alateennoun: A program within Al-Anon offers peer support for young people affected by someone else’s problematic drinking.
albinismnoun: Inherited conditions reduce melanin pigment, affecting the eyes and sometimes skin and hair, often with differences in vision.
Albright’s diseasenoun: This older name identifies McCune-Albright syndrome, a genetic condition that can alter bones, skin coloring, and hormone activity.
Albright’s hereditary osteodystrophynoun: An inherited condition affects bone development and body growth, sometimes accompanied by reduced responses to certain hormones.
alcoholnoun: The psychoactive drug in beer, wine, and liquor slows brain and body activity.
alcohol abusenoun: An older diagnosis described repeated drinking that caused serious problems or danger, now included within alcohol use disorder.
alcohol dependencephrase: An older diagnosis for compulsive alcohol use despite harm, often with craving, tolerance, and withdrawal.
alcohol derivativenoun: A historical drug category includes alcohol-related compounds used to calm people or induce sleep by slowing nervous system activity.
alcohol flush reaction (AFR)noun: Skin reddens after drinking, often because an inherited enzyme difference allows acetaldehyde, an alcohol breakdown product, to build up.
alcohol hallucinosisnoun: Alcohol causes experiences such as hearing nonexistent voices while the person remains generally alert and oriented.
alcohol intoxicationphrase: Drinking enough alcohol can temporarily cause poor judgment, behavior changes, slurred speech, and trouble with balance or attention.
alcohol intoxication deliriumnoun: Heavy drinking causes rapidly developing confusion and disrupted attention or awareness beyond the usual effects of intoxication.
alcohol myopianoun: Alcohol narrows attention toward whatever stands out immediately, reducing consideration of less obvious information or later consequences.
alcohol rehabilitationnoun: Treatment and support help people recover from problematic drinking and sustain abstinence or other appropriate changes in alcohol use.
alcohol use disorderphrase: A harmful pattern of drinking that continues despite problems and may include craving, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms.
alcohol withdrawalphrase: Symptoms that can appear when a heavy long-term drinker suddenly stops alcohol, including shakes, sweating, anxiety, seizures, or confusion.
alcohol withdrawal deliriumnoun: Stopping or sharply reducing prolonged heavy drinking can cause severe confusion, disturbed attention, and awareness changes requiring emergency care.
alcohol-amnestic disordernoun: An older diagnostic name describes lasting alcohol-related memory difficulties that seriously disrupt learning, remembering, and daily functioning.
alcohol-induced persisting amnestic disordernoun: An older diagnosis describes lasting, alcohol-related impairment in learning or remembering information that substantially disrupts daily activities.
alcohol-induced persisting dementianoun: A historical diagnosis describes lasting alcohol-related decline across memory and other thinking abilities that disrupts everyday functioning.
alcohol-induced psychotic disorderphrase: Seeing or believing unreal things because alcohol directly affects how the brain works.
Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA)noun: A former United States federal agency coordinated substance use and mental health programs before its responsibilities were reorganized in 1992.
alcoholicnoun: An older label for someone whose alcohol use involves dependence or serious, ongoing problems.
alcoholic blackoutnoun: Alcohol temporarily prevents reliable memory formation, leaving gaps for events that occurred while the person was awake.
alcoholic brain syndromenoun: An older umbrella label covers several disturbances of brain function connected with alcohol intoxication, withdrawal, or lasting effects.
alcoholic cerebellar degenerationnoun: Prolonged alcohol use damages cells in the cerebellum, especially its middle region, often disrupting balance and walking.
alcoholic dementianoun: An older name describes persistent alcohol-related impairment in memory, planning, and other mental abilities needed for daily life.
alcoholic hallucinosisnoun: Alcohol-related hallucinations, commonly involving sounds or voices, occur while general awareness and orientation remain relatively clear.
alcoholic Korsakoff’s syndromenoun: Severe thiamine deficiency associated with prolonged heavy drinking causes brain damage and persistent difficulty forming and recalling memories.
alcoholic myopathynoun: In this usage, heavy drinking causes an acute muscle condition involving pain, swelling, cramps, and weakness.
alcoholic neuropathynoun: Prolonged heavy drinking can damage peripheral nerves, causing weakness and unusual sensations such as tingling, burning, or numbness.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)phrase: A self-help group where people with alcohol problems support each other in staying sober through twelve steps.
alcoholismnoun: A harmful pattern of alcohol use marked by craving, loss of control, and physical dependence.
aldolase (ALS)noun: An enzyme found in muscles and other tissues helps break down sugars, and elevated blood levels can suggest muscle damage.
Aldometnoun: A brand name identifies methyldopa, a medicine that lowers blood pressure by reducing certain signals from the brain.
aldosteronenoun: An adrenal hormone helps kidneys retain sodium and release potassium, supporting regulation of body fluids and blood pressure.
alert inactivitynoun: An infant rests calmly with open eyes, relaxed features, and steady breathing while actively looking around.
alerting devicenoun: An assistive tool uses light, vibration, or another accessible signal to notify people with hearing loss about events.
alerting mechanismsnoun: Nervous system networks increase readiness and direct attention toward events that may require a response, including possible threats.
alertnessnoun: Being awake, aware, and ready to notice and respond.
Alexander techniquenoun: A movement education approach develops awareness of posture and habitual tension to encourage easier, more coordinated movement.
alexianoun: Brain injury or disease causes a person to lose some or all of their previously developed reading ability.
alexia with agraphianoun: Damage to the brain disrupts previously developed abilities to both read and write.
alexithymianoun: A person has difficulty identifying their feelings, telling emotions apart, or explaining them in words.
Alfentanoun: A brand name identifies alfentanil, an opioid medicine used to relieve pain during anesthesia.
alfentanilnoun: An opioid medicine related to fentanyl provides pain relief during anesthesia for medical procedures.
algebraic summationnoun: Adding signed values gives their combined effect, such as the balance between signals encouraging and discouraging a neuron's activity.
algedonicadjective: An experience has qualities involving pleasure and pain, including how pleasant or unpleasant it feels.
algedonic aestheticsnoun: A historical theory proposed that unusually high sensory readiness produces pleasure, while unusually low readiness produces displeasure.
algesianoun: The nervous system has the capacity to register pain as a felt experience.
algesimeternoun: A measuring device applies a controlled stimulus to assess pain sensitivity, including when a sensation first becomes painful.
algo- (alg-)prefix: This word part adds the meaning of pain to a longer word.
algolagnianoun: Sexual excitement is associated with receiving pain or causing another person pain.
algometernoun: An instrument measures pain sensitivity by delivering a controlled stimulus and recording the person's response.
algophilianoun: A person finds pleasure in experiencing pain or causing pain to someone else.
algopsychalianoun: An older term describes bodily pain that the person experiencing it believes comes from psychological causes.
algorithmnoun: A step-by-step set of rules for solving a problem or making a decision.
ALI Guidelinesabbreviation: The American Law Institute's insanity standard considers substantially impaired ability to appreciate criminal wrongfulness or follow the law.
alien abductionnoun: Some people report being taken away by extraterrestrial beings, although conclusive scientific evidence does not support these accounts.
alien hand syndromenoun: A neurological condition makes a hand move without intended control, sometimes creating a feeling that it belongs to someone else.
alien limb syndromenoun: A brain condition produces limb actions without deliberate control, sometimes making the affected body part feel unfamiliar.
alienationnoun: Feeling cut off from other people, yourself, or the world, often with mistrust and emptiness.
alienation coefficientnoun: A statistical index expresses how weakly two variables relate, with larger values indicating more variation left unexplained.
alkalosisnoun: A disturbance in body chemistry shifts the acid–base balance toward excessive alkalinity and can affect nervous system function.
all-prefix: This form of allo- contributes the meaning of something different or other.
all-or-none lawnoun: A neuron produces a full electrical spike once its firing threshold is reached; weaker stimulation produces no spike.
all-or-none learningnoun: A theory proposes that learning happens completely during a single trial or does not happen on that trial.
all-payer systemnoun: A health care payment system sets matching prices and payment methods for a service across different payers.
all-possible-subsets regressionnoun: A statistical method tests every combination of available predictors and selects a regression model using chosen comparison criteria.
allachesthesianoun: A perception disturbance makes a stimulus seem located across from its actual position, on the other side.
allelenoun: One of the different versions of a gene, inherited from each parent, that helps shape traits.
allergic asthmanoun: An allergic reaction triggers airway inflammation and narrowing, causing episodes of breathing difficulty, coughing, or wheezing.
allergynoun: When the immune system overreacts to harmless things like pollen, causing symptoms such as sneezing or itching.
allesthesia (allaesthesia; alloesthesia)noun: A person perceives a stimulus at an opposite location instead of where it was actually presented.
alley mazenoun: A research maze uses enclosed passages and dead ends, with walls or a cover keeping participants within its routes.
alley problemnoun: The puzzle asks why equally spaced, parallel edges look closer together farther away, despite their unchanged physical separation.
alliaceousadjective: An older smell classification describes a garliclike odor quality and places chlorine's smell in that same category.
alliancenoun: A cooperative bond between two or more people who work together toward shared goals.
allied health professional (AHP)noun: A trained health worker, such as a speech therapist, provides specialized support for prevention, treatment, or recovery.
allo- (all-)prefix: This word part contributes the meaning of otherness or difference to a longer word.
allocation decisionnoun: A person or group chooses how to divide limited resources among different recipients or uses.
allocation rulenoun: A mathematical rule assigns cases to groups so that members share similar measured characteristics.
allocatornoun: In bargaining or game theory, a person or group makes the opening offer to another party.
allocentricadjective: Someone with this orientation directs attention toward others or external objects, rather than toward personal concerns.
allocheiria (allochiria)noun: Touch or pain applied to one body side is felt at the corresponding location across the body.
allochthonousadjective: Something develops from influences outside the person or system being considered.
allocortexnoun: Evolutionarily older brain cortex has fewer than six major cell layers and supports smell, memory, and emotion.
alloeroticismnoun: Sexual feelings are directed toward other people, with satisfaction involving someone beyond oneself.
alloesthesianoun: A sensory disturbance makes something seem present at a location opposite to where the stimulation actually occurs.
allogroomingnoun: One animal cleans another's fur, hair, or feathers, helping maintain cleanliness and often strengthening social connections.
allomonenoun: A chemical released by one species changes another species' behavior in a way that benefits the sender.
allomorphnoun: A meaningful word unit takes different spoken or written forms while keeping the same grammatical meaning.
allonursingnoun: A mammal provides its milk to young that are not its own offspring.
alloparentingnoun: Individuals help raise or care for young whose parents are someone else.
allopathynoun: A historical medical approach uses treatments whose effects differ from or counter the effects of an illness.
allopatricadjective: Species or populations occupy separate geographic areas rather than sharing an area.
allophasisnoun: Speech becomes difficult to follow because its words and ideas lack clear organization or connection.
allophonenoun: A speech sound varies with its surroundings while still counting as the same basic sound within a language.
alloplastynoun: A person adapts to a situation by changing their surroundings to better meet their needs.
allopregnenolonenoun: A steroid made within the body enhances GABA-A receptor effects, helping quiet activity in nerve cells.
allopsychic delusionnoun: A firmly held false belief concerns other people or external events and persists despite strong evidence against it.
allostasisnoun: The body maintains effective functioning by adjusting its internal systems as demands and circumstances change.
allosteric modulationnoun: A substance attaches to one receptor site and changes how readily molecules bind at another site.
allotriophagynoun: A person feels a desire to eat substances without nutritional value or things generally unsuitable as food.
Allport–Vernon–Lindzey Study of Values (SOV)noun: A personality questionnaire compares how much someone values knowledge, practical benefit, beauty, helping, influence, and religion.
Allport’s personality trait theorynoun: Gordon Allport proposed that enduring personal traits interact with surroundings to explain each person's distinctive, consistent behavior.
allusive thinkingnoun: Ideas develop through hints and implied connections, often remaining vague instead of following explicit steps of reasoning.
alogianoun: Very limited speaking and reduced thought output, often seen in psychotic disorders.
alopecianoun: Hair is lost from some or all areas where it normally grows, with causes and duration varying.
alphanoun: A score showing how consistently the items on a test measure the same thing.
alpha alcoholismnoun: Jellinek's historical category described disruptive drinking used for pain relief while the person retained control and could abstain.
alpha biofeedbacknoun: Training uses signals about measured alpha brain activity to help people increase it, with the aim of relaxation.
alpha blockernoun: A drug reduces adrenaline or noradrenaline signaling by blocking alpha receptors, often allowing blood vessels to widen.
alpha blockingnoun: Visible alpha brain activity decreases on an EEG recording, often when someone opens their eyes or engages attention.
alpha coefficientnoun: Cronbach's alpha estimates how consistently a set of test questions works together by examining relationships among item scores.
alpha errornoun: A statistical test rejects a null hypothesis even though that hypothesis is actually true.
Alpha examinationnoun: A historical group intelligence test used language tasks to assess United States Army recruits beginning during World War I.
alpha femalenoun: A female animal holds the highest social rank among females in her group, often gaining priority access to resources.
alpha levelphrase: The chosen cutoff for calling a result significant, usually the chance of a false positive.
alpha malenoun: A male animal holds the highest social rank among males in his group, often gaining priority access to resources.
alpha motor neuronnoun: A nerve cell in the spinal cord or brainstem sends signals directly to skeletal muscle fibers that produce contraction.
alpha movementnoun: An object seems to grow or shrink when still images of it changing size appear quickly in sequence.
alpha neurofeedbacknoun: A person receives feedback about alpha brain activity and practices increasing it to encourage relaxation while remaining awake.
alpha receptornoun: A cell protein responds to noradrenaline or adrenaline and helps regulate functions such as blood vessel tightening and nerve signaling.
alpha rhythmnoun: Brain electrical activity repeats about eight to twelve times per second, commonly during quiet wakefulness with closed eyes.
alpha statenoun: A person experiences relaxed wakefulness that, in some individuals, accompanies increased alpha brain activity.
Alpha testnoun: The United States Army historically used this group intelligence test to assess recruits through language-based questions and instructions.
alpha wavenoun: An electrical brain rhythm cycles around eight to twelve times each second and often appears during relaxed, eyes-closed wakefulness.
alpha-adrenergic receptornoun: A receptor protein detects adrenaline or noradrenaline, influencing nerve communication and bodily responses such as tightening blood vessels.
alpha-adrenoreceptor blocking agentnoun: A substance blocks alpha receptors, reducing responses to adrenaline and noradrenaline and often helping blood vessels relax.
alpha-block conditioningnoun: Training uses reinforcement or feedback about brain activity to teach people or other animals to reduce alpha waves.
alpha-endorphinnoun: A small protein belongs to the endorphin family, whose members act as opioid-like chemical messengers made within the body.
alpha-fetoprotein (α-fetoprotein; AFP)noun: A protein abundant in fetal blood is measured in some pregnancy screenings and in evaluating certain tumors.
alpha-mannosidosisnoun: An inherited enzyme deficiency causes certain sugar-containing materials to accumulate inside cells, potentially affecting learning, movement, hearing, and other functions.
alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH; alpha-MSH)noun: A hormone activates melanocortin receptors, including MC4 receptors, and helps regulate appetite, sexual function, and pigmentation.
alpha-methylparatyrosine (AMPT)noun: A drug reduces the body's production of dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline by interfering with their formation from tyrosine.
alpha-MSH (α-MSH)abbreviation: Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone activates melanocortin receptors and helps control food intake and aspects of sexual functioning.
alpha-wave trainingnoun: Feedback from brain recordings helps people practice increasing alpha activity, aiming to support relaxation without falling asleep.
alphabetnoun: A language's ordered set of letters or symbols used to write its speech sounds.
Alport syndromenoun: An inherited collagen disorder affects kidney filtering structures and can also cause hearing loss and eye changes.
alprazolamnoun: A fast-acting benzodiazepine, a calming medicine, often used to treat anxiety and panic attacks.
ALSabbreviation: The abbreviation usually means amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive disease that damages movement-controlling nerve cells and weakens muscles.
als obphrase: The German phrase means 'as if' and describes Vaihinger's proposal to live by useful ideas without treating them as established truths.
Alström–Hallgren syndromenoun: An inherited disorder can combine vision loss, hearing loss, obesity, and diabetes, with effects that vary across individuals.
ALTabbreviation: An alternative reinforcement schedule rewards a response when either a set response count or waiting interval is satisfied first.
alter egonoun: A second persona represents someone while expressing qualities that differ from their usual identity or presentation.
alter-ego transferencenoun: Within self psychology theory, seeing a therapist as resembling oneself can help a client feel recognized and appreciated.
alteration hypothesisnoun: A proposed explanation holds that later misleading information changes or damages an earlier memory, producing inaccurate recall.
altercastingnoun: Someone encourages another person to take on an identity or role by treating them as though they already occupy it.
altered state of consciousness (ASC)noun: A person's awareness and mental experience differ substantially from their usual state, potentially changing perceptions, emotions, or sense of time.
alternate binaural loudness-balance testnoun: A hearing test alternates matching-pitch tones between ears and compares perceived loudness to detect unusually rapid loudness growth.
alternate formphrase: One version of a test built to closely match another version in content and difficulty.
alternate-forms reliabilitynoun: A test's consistency is estimated by correlating people's scores across different versions designed to measure the same abilities.
alternate-uses testnoun: A creativity task asks people to suggest many unusual purposes for an everyday object.
alternating personalitynoun: An older description concerns distinct personality states that take turns directing a person's behavior.
alternating perspectivenoun: Perception suddenly switches between possible interpretations of an unclear image, with only one interpretation experienced at once.
alternating treatments designnoun: Researchers compare interventions by switching the same participant between them across sessions or during a session.
alternation learningnoun: A learning task requires changing responses each time, or learning when one response alternates between rewarded and unrewarded occasions.
alternation methodnoun: A research technique requires following increasingly complicated action patterns to achieve a goal or earn a reward.
alternative behavior completionnoun: A behavior therapy technique replaces an unwanted habit with an action that cannot happen alongside it.
alternative dispute resolutionnoun: People settle disagreements outside a lawsuit with help from an impartial person who guides discussion or makes a decision.
alternative distributionnoun: A legal requirement directs part of a person's punitive damage award to state funds supporting public purposes.
alternative hypothesis (AH; symbol: H1, Ha)phrase: Predicts that a real difference or relationship exists in the data, not just chance.
alternative hypothesis distributionnoun: A probability distribution describes expected statistical results under an assumed effect and helps estimate a study's chance of detecting it.
alternative medicinenoun: Health practices outside conventional medical care are used in place of conventional treatment.
alternative psychologynoun: Approaches to understanding minds and behavior reject or set aside mainstream scientific psychology, sometimes emphasizing spiritual explanations.
alternative psychotherapynoun: Psychological treatment approaches fall outside what the profession generally accepts as mainstream practice.
alternative schedule of reinforcement (ALT)noun: A response earns reinforcement when either a set response count or a set waiting time is satisfied first.
alternative schoolnoun: A school within the education system offers flexible or innovative approaches to teaching, coursework, grading, or graduation requirements.
alternative sentencingnoun: Courts impose consequences other than prison, such as community service, aiming to support successful community participation and reduce repeat offenses.
altitude sicknessnoun: Illness develops when reduced oxygen availability at high elevations affects the body and sometimes thinking.
altitude testnoun: An assessment estimates someone's ability within a specific field from the highest performance level they can achieve.
altricialadjective: Animals described this way begin life relatively undeveloped and need extended parental support beyond simply being fed.
altruismnoun: Helping others even when it costs you something, without expecting a reward.
altruistic aggressionnoun: In nonhuman animals, aggressive behavior protects relatives or group companions rather than the animal performing it.
altruistic suicidenoun: Durkheim proposed a suicide category involving overwhelming group loyalty and a belief that one's death would benefit others.
alveolaradjective: Describing a speech sound made when the tongue touches or nears the ridge behind the upper teeth.
alveolar ridgenoun: A raised section of jawbone holds the sockets where teeth are anchored.
Alzheimer’s Associationnoun: A nonprofit supports people affected by Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers while promoting research into the condition.
Alzheimer’s diseasenoun: A progressive brain disease damages nerve cells, gradually weakening memory, thinking, and the ability to manage daily life.
amacrine cellnoun: A retinal nerve cell adjusts signals among nearby cells, helping shape visual information before it travels to the brain.
amaenoun: A Japanese concept describes seeking indulgent care from someone close, expecting acceptance even when help is not strictly needed.
Amalric’s syndromenoun: A rare familial condition combines deafness with central vision problems and is thought to follow recessive inheritance.
amantadinenoun: An antiviral medicine also helps manage Parkinson's disease and certain movement problems caused by other medicines.
amaurosisnoun: Sight is partly or completely lost without obvious eye abnormalities, sometimes because visual nerves or brain areas are affected.
amaurosis fugaxnoun: Brief episodes of painless vision loss occur, usually affecting a single eye before sight returns.
ambenomiumnoun: An oral medicine preserves the nerve messenger acetylcholine by blocking its breakdown, helping reduce muscle weakness in myasthenia gravis.
ambi-prefix: A word beginning with this prefix carries the meaning of both or both sides.
ambidextrousadjective: A person described this way can perform tasks equally skillfully with either hand.
Ambiennoun: This brand of zolpidem is a sleep medicine used for short periods to manage insomnia.
ambient awarenessnoun: A person registers background sights or sounds even while attention is focused on something else.
ambient conditionsnoun: Surrounding physical features, including light, temperature, and noise, combine to shape an environment's atmosphere and potentially influence mood.
ambient optic arraynoun: The surrounding pattern of reflected light contains visual information available at a viewer's location.
ambiguitynoun: A word, message, or situation allows several reasonable meanings instead of just one clear reading.
ambiguity scalenoun: A questionnaire measures how comfortably someone handles unclear information, uncertain situations, or several possible meanings.
ambiguity tolerancenoun: Someone's capacity to handle unclear or conflicting possibilities allows them to keep functioning without becoming overly distressed or confused.
ambiguous figurenoun: An image supports multiple visual interpretations, so its shapes can be understood in different ways.
ambiguous genitalianoun: External genital anatomy varies from the patterns typically classified as male or female.
ambisexualadjective: An uncommon adjective describes people or characteristics without a predominant sex or gender designation.
ambitendencynoun: Conflicting motivations pull behavior in opposite directions, sometimes appearing as hesitant, unfinished movements in catatonia.
ambivalencenoun: Having opposite feelings about the same person, thing, or choice at the same time.
ambivalence of an attitudenoun: An attitude contains mixed evaluations, with greater ambivalence when both favorable and unfavorable judgments are present.
ambivalent attachmentphrase: An insecure infant bond where a child both clings to and pushes away a returning parent.
ambivalent sexismphrase: Holding both hostile and overly protective beliefs about a gender, which still supports unfair inequality.
ambiversionnoun: A person tends to show roughly balanced levels of introverted and extraverted characteristics.
ambly-prefix: This word part adds the meaning of reduced, weakened, or impaired functioning.
amblyacousianoun: Hearing is reduced or lost, making sounds harder or impossible to detect.
amblyopianoun: Vision develops poorly because unusual visual input during early childhood disrupts how the brain learns to process sight.
amblyoscopenoun: An eye examination instrument measures eye misalignment and checks how well the eyes work together despite it.
ambrosiacadjective: In Zwaardemaker's historical smell classification, this adjective describes the odor category represented by musk and sandalwood.
ambulationnoun: Walking from one place to another, often practiced again during rehabilitation after injury or illness.
ambulatory carenoun: Nonemergency health services allow people to receive assessment or support without staying overnight in a facility.
ambulatory schizophrenianoun: An older label described schizophrenia after hospitalization when unusual behavior and difficulties meeting everyday social demands remained.
ambulatory servicesnoun: Health and counseling services provide help through visits that do not require an overnight stay.
ambulatory treatmentnoun: Medical or psychological treatment takes place during nonemergency visits without admission for an overnight stay.
ameliorationnoun: A difficult condition becomes less severe, even if it does not disappear completely.
amenity movenoun: A person changes homes to improve daily enjoyment or living conditions, often near retirement.
amenorrheanoun: Menstrual periods are absent, either because they have not begun or because they have stopped.
American Academy of Clinical Sexologists, Inc. (AACS)noun: This independent graduate school was established to offer doctoral training in clinical sexology for licensed mental health practitioners.
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD)noun: This historical U.S. professional alliance supported research and teaching about health, exercise, recreation, and dance.
American Anorexia/Bulimia Associationnoun: This eating disorder organization merged with another group in 2001 to form the National Eating Disorders Association.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)noun: This broad scientific society supports research, science education, public understanding, and responsible scientific work across many fields.
American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology (AAAPP)noun: This professional group promotes research supporting psychological care and prevention, placing public benefit ahead of members' personal interests.
American Association of Applied Psychology (AAAP)noun: This historical group represented psychologists applying their knowledge to practical problems and reunited with the APA in 1944.
American Association of Clinical Psychologists (AACP)noun: This group formed in 1917 to strengthen clinical training and certification, then rejoined the APA in 1919.
American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR)noun: This former organizational name identified a professional group supporting research, services, and rights concerning intellectual and developmental disabilities.
American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)noun: This professional organization trains and certifies specialists who teach about sexuality or provide related counseling and therapy.
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD)noun: This professional organization supports research, better services, fair policies, and rights concerning intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities.
American Birth Control League (ABCL)noun: This historical birth control organization, founded in 1921, was a predecessor of today's U.S. Planned Parenthood federation.
American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)noun: This organization coordinates medical specialty boards that set standards for evaluating and certifying doctors' specialized knowledge and skills.
American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP)noun: This organization oversees specialty certification standards and examinations for psychologists with advanced training and experience.
American Board of Psychological Hypnosis (ABPH)noun: This professional board certifies psychologists' expertise in using hypnosis for clinical work or experimental research.
American Coaching Effectiveness Program (ACEP)noun: This earlier name identified the American Sport Education Program, which taught youth sport leaders to prioritize athletes' needs.
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)noun: This international professional organization brings together exercise and health specialists to share knowledge and offer fitness certifications.
American College Testing Program (ACTP)noun: This educational assessment program gathered student information, including ACT achievement test results, for colleges and other designated institutions.
American Counseling Association (ACA)noun: This professional organization supports counselors' education and development and helps establish ethical standards for their work.
American Educational Research Association (AERA)noun: This professional organization encourages studies of education and helps people share and apply what those studies reveal.
American Indiannoun: A member of the Indigenous peoples of the United States, including many distinct tribes and cultures.
American Law Institute Model Penal Code insanity testnoun: This legal standard excuses criminal responsibility when mental disorder substantially limits capacity to appreciate wrongfulness or conform behavior to law.
American Manual Alphabetnoun: A set of one-handed letter shapes allows people to spell words alongside American Sign Language.
American optical H–R–R platesnoun: These Hardy–Rand–Rittler color vision tests use colored patterns with hidden shapes to reveal difficulties distinguishing certain colors.
American Orthopsychiatric Associationnoun: This organization brought professionals from several fields together to support mental health through prevention, treatment, and advocacy.
American Pain Society (APS)noun: This professional organization brought several disciplines together to improve pain research, teaching, treatment, and standards of practice.
American Parkinson Disease Association, Inc. (APDA)noun: This organization helps people with Parkinson's disease and their families find information, supportive groups, and relevant services.
American Philosophical Society (APS)noun: This scholarly society, founded in 1743, recognizes outstanding work and supports research across science and the humanities.
American Psychiatric Association (APA)phrase: A U.S. organization of mental health doctors that supports psychiatry and publishes the DSM.
American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA)noun: This U.S. professional organization supports psychoanalysts through education, research, training institutions, and professional connections.
American Psychological Association (APA)noun: A major U.S. group of psychologists that sets standards, shares research, and guides ethical practice.
American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS)noun: This APA group represents psychology graduate students and supports their training, professional development, funding opportunities, and shared interests.
American Psychological Foundation (APF)noun: This charitable organization funds psychology research, student scholarships, and programs, including support for psychologists beginning their careers.
American Psychological Society (APS)noun: This earlier name belonged to APS, a professional organization advancing psychology research and its practical uses.
American Psychosomatic Society (APS)noun: This professional society studies how bodily processes, thoughts, emotions, behavior, and social conditions work together in health and illness.
American Sign Language (ASL)phrase: A full visual language that uses hand shapes, movement, and facial expressions to communicate.
American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR)noun: This scholarly organization was established to investigate claims of paranormal experiences, including proposed abilities beyond ordinary senses.
American Sport Education Program (ASEP)noun: This course program teaches adults involved in volunteer youth sports to organize their work around athletes' needs.
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)phrase: A U.S. law bans disability discrimination in jobs and public services unless essential job tasks truly cannot be done.
Ames roomnoun: A specially distorted room appears rectangular from one viewpoint, making people or objects inside seem misleadingly large or small.
Ameslannoun: An alternative shortened name identifies American Sign Language, a complete visual language with its own grammar.
amethysticnoun: A proposed drug would counter alcohol's intoxicating effects, although the word itself does not identify an established treatment.
ametropianoun: An eye's focusing error prevents light from forming a sharp retinal image, as in nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.
AMHabbreviation: Anti-Müllerian hormone prevents embryonic Müllerian ducts from developing into structures such as the uterus when released by developing testes.
AMIabbreviation: These initials identify either the Athletic Motivation Inventory or the Autobiographical Memory Interview, depending on context.
amicus curiaenoun: An outside person or organization offers a court relevant information or arguments without being a party to the case.
amiloridenoun: A sodium-channel-blocking medicine increases salt and water loss through urine and helps researchers study how people taste salt.
amimianoun: A communication difficulty prevents someone from expressing meaning through gestures or understanding gestures made by other people.
aminenoun: A class of chemicals with nitrogen groups, including several brain messengers such as serotonin and norepinephrine.
amine hormonenoun: A chemical messenger is made by modifying one amino acid, as happens with melatonin and norepinephrine.
amino acidnoun: One of the small molecules that build proteins, some of which also help make neurotransmitters.
amino acid imbalancenoun: The body has too little of some essential protein building blocks compared with others, potentially affecting brain function and development.
aminoketonenoun: A chemical in this group contains amino and ketone groups, and the antidepressant bupropion belongs to it.
aminopterinnoun: This drug blocks folate activity, was used against leukemia, and can disrupt development before birth, including brain development.
aminotransferasenoun: An enzyme of this kind moves an amino chemical group between molecules, helping the body process amino acids.
amitriptylinenoun: An older tricyclic antidepressant that boosts serotonin and norepinephrine but often causes bothersome side effects.
Ammon’s hornnoun: This anatomical name describes the hippocampus, a curved brain structure that helps people learn and form memories.
amnesianoun: When memories vanish or new experiences cannot be saved in memory.
amnesic syndromephrase: A condition with major memory loss that makes learning new information and recalling past events very hard.
amnestic aphasianoun: A language difficulty makes finding names for objects hard, while everyday conversation and sentence structure remain mostly intact.
amnestic apraxianoun: A person cannot follow a command because they forget it, even though they retain the skills needed for the task.
amnestic disordernoun: An older diagnosis described serious difficulty forming memories or recalling past information that substantially disrupted daily life.
amnestic mild cognitive impairmentnoun: Memory declines more than expected for someone's age, while the person remains largely independent in everyday activities.
amniocentesisnoun: A prenatal test uses a needle to collect fluid surrounding a fetus and examine its cells for genetic conditions.
amniotic sacnoun: A thin enclosure containing fluid surrounds and cushions a developing embryo or fetus in mammals, birds, and reptiles.
amobarbitalnoun: This barbiturate drug slows nervous system activity and was historically used to promote calmness and sleep.
amok (amuck)noun: Historical Southeast Asian accounts describe episodes of sudden violence after withdrawal, sometimes followed by exhaustion and missing memories.
amorphagnosia (amorphognosia)noun: A person has difficulty identifying an object's shape or size through touch.
amorphosynthesisnoun: A person struggles to combine different sensory signals arriving from one side of their body into a unified experience.
amotivational syndromenoun: A described pattern involves reduced motivation and difficulty starting or sustaining purposeful activities.
amount of maskingnoun: This measurement gives the extra decibels a sound needs to become detectable when another sound interferes.
amoxapinenoun: This antidepressant reduces nerve cells' reabsorption of norepinephrine and serotonin and can also have antipsychotic effects.
AMPabbreviation: The affect misattribution procedure estimates attitudes by testing whether feelings about an earlier image influence judgments of a later ambiguous image.
AMPAabbreviation: This chemical activates AMPA receptors, which receive signals from the brain messenger glutamate.
AMPA receptornoun: A protein on nerve cells opens an ion channel when glutamate or AMPA binds, enabling fast excitatory signaling.
amphetaminenoun: A stimulant drug that speeds brain and body activity and can raise alertness and energy.
amphetamine abusenoun: An older diagnosis described repeated amphetamine use causing serious life problems when the separate dependence diagnosis did not apply.
amphetamine dependencenoun: An older diagnosis described persistent amphetamine use despite major problems, sometimes involving tolerance or withdrawal.
amphetamine intoxicationnoun: Recent amphetamine use causes temporary, significant changes in behavior or mental functioning alongside physical effects.
amphetamine intoxication deliriumnoun: Heavy amphetamine use can cause rapidly developing confusion and disturbed attention or awareness beyond ordinary intoxication effects.
amphetamine psychosisnoun: Amphetamine's effects can produce delusions, often involving perceived threats, that may continue after use ends.
amphetamine withdrawalnoun: Stopping or reducing prolonged heavy amphetamine use can bring low mood, tiredness, and changes in sleep or appetite.
amphetamine-induced psychotic disordernoun: A condition caused by amphetamine effects involves delusions, especially beliefs about being threatened, which can outlast drug use.
amphetaminesnoun: Drugs that speed up the brain and body, raising alertness, energy, and risk of dependence or psychosis.
amphi-prefix: This word beginning can indicate something uncertain, something involving both kinds, or something occurring on either side.
amplification effectnoun: In disease ecology, greater variety among species can increase transmission of a disease-causing organism.
amplitudenoun: The height or strength of a signal, wave, or other stimulus.
amplitude distortionnoun: A hearing difficulty causes loud sounds to seem altered or their loudness to be judged inaccurately.
amplitude modulationnoun: Information is carried by varying a wave's amplitude more slowly than the wave itself oscillates.
amplitude of light wavenoun: The size of a light wave's electric field oscillation determines its intensity, with larger amplitudes generally producing brighter light.
amplitude spectrumnoun: A representation shows how large each frequency component is within a sound or other wave.
AMPTabbreviation: Alpha-methylparatyrosine blocks a production step needed for dopamine and certain other chemical messengers.
ampullanoun: A widened pocket in a bodily passage can house sensory cells, as in inner-ear structures that detect head movement.
amputationnoun: Removal of a body part, usually an arm, leg, finger, or toe, by injury or surgery.
amputation fetishnoun: A sexual interest centers on people with amputated limbs or on the body sites where amputations occurred.
amputee identity disordernoun: An older label describes distress when a healthy limb feels inconsistent with someone's experienced body, often bringing a wish for amputation.
Amsterdam criterianoun: Historical family-history rules identify patterns of colorectal cancer across relatives, generations, and ages that suggest possible Lynch syndrome.
Amsterdam dwarf diseasenoun: This outdated name describes a genetic syndrome, named after Cornelia de Lange, that can affect growth, learning, and behavior.
amucknoun: An alternative spelling of amok describes historically reported Southeast Asian episodes of sudden violence, sometimes followed by exhaustion and memory gaps.
amurakhnoun: Historical reports from Siberia describe a cultural pattern, observed among women, involving hard-to-control repetition of others' speech or actions.
amusianoun: A difficulty in processing music affects recognizing musical patterns, producing melodies, or both, and may follow brain injury.
amygdalanoun: A small almond-shaped brain area helps detect threat, create fear, and link emotions with memories.
amygdaloid stimulationnoun: Applying electricity to the amygdala can alter feelings, actions, and motivation by activating this brain region.
amyl nitritenoun: This inhaled chemical relaxes muscles in blood vessel walls, lowering blood pressure, and has medical and recreational uses.
amyloidnoun: A harmful protein buildup between brain and body cells that can interfere with how they work.
amyloid plaquenoun: A deposit of beta-amyloid protein builds up outside brain cells and is a characteristic feature of Alzheimer's disease.
amyloid precursor protein (APP)phrase: A brain protein that can be cut into beta-amyloid, which can build up in Alzheimer's disease.
amyloid-beta (amyloid-β or Aβ)noun: Small protein fragments normally produced in the brain can collect into abnormal clusters associated with Alzheimer's disease.
amyloidosisnoun: Abnormally folded proteins accumulate in body tissues as amyloid deposits, which can interfere with organ function.
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)noun: A progressive disease damages upper and lower motor neurons, weakening muscles and eventually affecting movement, speaking, swallowing, or breathing.
Amytalnoun: This trade name identifies amobarbital, a barbiturate that reduces nervous system activity and was historically used for sedation.
Amytal interviewnoun: A historical interview method used amobarbital sedation to seek hidden thoughts or information, despite unreliable results and serious risks.
an-prefix: This prefix adds the meaning of absence or lack to the word that follows it.
ana-prefix: This prefix can express upward movement, return, or repetition, depending on the word containing it.
anabolic-androgenic steroidnoun: A synthetic testosterone-like substance promotes tissue growth and male sexual characteristics, while misuse can affect mood and judgment.
anabolismnoun: Cells use energy to build larger, more complex molecules from smaller building blocks.
anaclisisnoun: A person depends heavily on someone else to meet emotional needs, physical needs, or both.
anaclitic depressionnoun: A depressive pattern centers on dependence in relationships, strong fears of being left, and feelings of helplessness.
anaclitic identificationnoun: Freud proposed that children adopt a needed caregiver's qualities to develop their own source of comfort.
anaclitic object choicenoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes choosing a romantic partner whose care resembles the support received from early caregivers.
anaclitic personalitynoun: Some psychoanalytic theories describe personality development centered on relationships, vulnerability, and fears of being left without support.
anacusis (anakusis)noun: A person has a complete absence of hearing in one ear or both ears.
anaerobic exercisenoun: Brief, intense physical activity relies heavily on energy pathways that do not directly require oxygen.
anaesthesianoun: Sensation is reduced or absent in part or all of the body, sometimes alongside unconsciousness.
Anafranilnoun: This brand name identifies clomipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and some other conditions.
anaglyphnoun: A picture combines two offset, differently colored views that appear three-dimensional when seen through matching color filters.
anaglyptoscopenoun: An optical device swaps light and dark regions, changing how deep or raised an object appears.
anagogic interpretationnoun: In this historical approach, hidden mental content and dreams are interpreted as expressing spiritual influences or higher ideals.
anagramnoun: A letter puzzle requires rearranging given letters into a word, sometimes to study memory or problem solving.
anal characternoun: Freud's historical theory linked adult orderliness, stubbornness, or disorderliness to early childhood pleasure involving bowel control.
anal eroticismnoun: Psychoanalytic theory describes pleasure connected with anal stimulation or passing, holding, or looking at feces.
anal intercoursenoun: This sexual activity involves a penis entering another person's anus.
anal masturbationnoun: Sexual pleasure comes from stimulating one's own anal area using hands or objects.
anal personalitynoun: Freud proposed that early experiences of holding or passing feces shape adult traits such as orderliness, stubbornness, or messiness.
anal phasenoun: Freud proposed a toddler period when pleasure and psychological development center on holding and passing feces.
anal sadismnoun: Freud's historical theory connected aggression during the anal stage with wishes to possess, control, or destroy a target.
anal stagephrase: In Freud's theory, the toddler stage when pleasure and control center on bowel movements and toilet training.
anal-aggressive personalitynoun: Freud's historical theory attributed adult stubbornness, defiance, and indirect resistance to childhood conflicts involving withholding feces.
anal-expulsive phasenoun: Freud proposed an anal-stage period linking pleasure in passing feces with destructive impulses and possible later personality patterns.
anal-retentive phasenoun: Freud proposed an anal-stage period linking pleasure in withholding feces with parental defiance and wishes for possession and control.
anal-sadistic phasenoun: Freud proposed an anal-stage period marked by aggression and destructiveness, including withholding feces to resist parental demands.
analepticnoun: In this usage, a nonamphetamine stimulant produces amphetamine-like effects, such as greater alertness, energy, or reduced appetite.
analgesianoun: Pain feels weaker or disappears, while other kinds of sensation may remain.
analgesicnoun: A medicine or other substance that reduces or stops the feeling of pain.
analogadjective: Using a smoothly changing signal, like voltage, to carry information instead of separate numbered steps.
analog computernoun: A computing device represents quantities through changing physical measurements, such as voltage, to model relationships and solve problems.
analogical thinkingnoun: People use similarities with something familiar to reason about something less familiar.
analogies testnoun: An assessment measures how well someone identifies a relationship between items and applies it to another set.
analoguenoun: Something used for comparison because it is similar to another thing in an important way.
analogue observationnoun: A researcher records behavior in a controlled situation arranged to bring out behavior resembling that of interest.
analogue studynoun: Researchers investigate a question using participants or situations that resemble, but do not exactly match, their real target.
analogynoun: A comparison showing how two things are alike in some ways to help infer another similarity.
analogy of the cavenoun: Plato's philosophical story uses cave shadows to suggest that everyday perception reveals only limited appearances of a deeper reality.
analysandnoun: A person receiving psychoanalysis explores thoughts, feelings, and experiences with an analyst.
analysisnoun: Breaking something into smaller parts so each part can be studied more carefully.
analysis by synthesisnoun: Perception is proposed to combine sensory details with knowledge, build a possible interpretation, and check its predicted features against input.
analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)noun: A statistical method compares group averages while adjusting for other measured variables related to the outcome.
analysis of resistancenoun: In psychoanalysis, the therapist examines barriers to speaking freely as possible defenses against uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, or experiences.
analysis of transferencenoun: In psychoanalysis, therapist and client explore how earlier relationship patterns may appear in the client's feelings toward the therapist.
analysis of variance (ANOVA)phrase: A statistical test that checks whether two or more group averages differ more than chance.
analysis unitnoun: The entity or level examined in research may be a person, household, group, organization, or another defined unit.
analystnoun: A therapist who uses psychoanalysis, a treatment exploring hidden thoughts and conflicts.
analytic approachnoun: A method examines the parts of something complex and their relationships to understand how the whole works.
analytic couchnoun: A reclining seat used during psychoanalysis is intended to help clients focus inward and express thoughts freely.
analytic group psychotherapynoun: Slavson's group treatment uses psychoanalytic interpretation and shared interactions to develop insight, with different formats for different ages.
analytic inductionnoun: A qualitative research method develops an explanation by examining cases successively and revising it when a case does not fit.
analytic philosophynoun: A philosophical tradition emphasizes clear concepts, careful language, and logical examination of claims and arguments.
analytic psychologynoun: Jung's psychological theory emphasizes symbols, a proposed shared unconscious, and personal growth through integrating conscious and unconscious experience.
analytic rulesnoun: Freud's historical therapy guidelines encouraged uncensored speech, limiting distracting satisfactions, and discussing feelings instead of expressing them through actions.
analytic thirdnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, a proposed shared mental space emerges from the thoughts, feelings, and interactions of therapist and patient.
analytical intelligencenoun: Thinking skills measured by typical IQ tests, such as comparing, judging, and evaluating information.
analytical psychotherapyphrase: A talk therapy using psychoanalytic ideas with fewer sessions and more therapist guidance than full psychoanalysis.
analyzernoun: In Pavlov’s theory, a nervous system component evaluates a particular feature of sensory input, such as color or brightness.
anamnesisnoun: A patient describes their earlier health, family background, and development to help explain difficulties that appeared later.
anancastic personality (anankastic personality)noun: This historical label describes obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, where extreme perfectionism, rigid rules, and controlling habits interfere with everyday living.
anandamidenoun: A natural brain chemical that binds to cannabis-like receptors and helps affect mood, memory, pain, and appetite.
anandrianoun: An outdated label described a boy or man as lacking traits that a culture considered masculine.
anaphianoun: A person cannot feel touch because the ability to detect tactile input is absent or has been lost.
anaphoranoun: A later word points back to something mentioned earlier, helping readers or listeners connect meaning without repeating the original wording.
anaphrodisiacnoun: A substance or other agent reduces sexual desire by acting on the body.
anaphylaxisnoun: A severe allergic reaction develops rapidly and can affect breathing, blood circulation, and several other body systems.
anaplasianoun: Cells lose the specialized appearance and organization of mature tissue, a change characteristic of cancer.
anaplastic astrocytomanoun: A historical tumor category describes a malignant grade III growth arising from brain support cells called astrocytes.
anarthrianoun: Damage or disruption in the nervous system prevents someone from producing speech through control of the speaking muscles.
anastomosisnoun: A connection joins bodily structures, either naturally as a linking pathway or through surgery.
anatomical agenoun: An estimate of physical maturity comes from comparing bone development with patterns typically seen at different ages.
anatomically detailed dollnoun: A doll with realistic genitals is sometimes used during interviews to help children communicate about possible sexual abuse.
ancestor worshipnoun: Religious or cultural practices honor deceased relatives and may seek contact with their spirits through ceremonies or prayer.
ancestral traitnoun: An inherited feature was already present in an earlier ancestor shared by the organisms being compared.
anchornoun: A starting reference point people use when making later judgments or choices.
anchor testphrase: A shared set of questions given with different test versions to compare scores fairly.
anchoringnoun: Judging something by leaning too much on an initial number or example used as a starting point.
anchoring biasphrase: Judgments under uncertainty lean too heavily on the first number or idea, even after better information appears.
ancillaryadjective: Providing extra support or information, but not essential for the main task or result.
ANCOVAabbreviation: A statistical test that compares group means while adjusting for starting differences on another measured variable.
and rulephrase: To find the chance of two events both happening, multiply their probabilities.
Andersen’s diseasenoun: An inherited enzyme deficiency disrupts glycogen formation, causing abnormal stored sugar that can damage the liver and other tissues.
Andersen’s syndromenoun: A historical label groups pancreatic cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, and insufficient vitamin A into one described syndrome.
Andrade’s syndromenoun: An inherited form of amyloidosis involves protein deposits that damage nerves, affecting sensation, muscle movement, and automatic body functions.
andro- (andr-)prefix: A word part added at the beginning indicates a connection with males or masculine characteristics.
androcentricadjective: Centered on men's viewpoint, often leaving out or downplaying women's experiences.
androgennoun: A male sex hormone, such as testosterone, that helps create male body traits.
androgen antagonistnoun: A substance limits the bodily effects of androgen hormones, such as testosterone, by reducing their production or blocking their action.
androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)noun: This prostate cancer treatment reduces hormones called androgens or blocks their action, limiting signals that help certain tumors grow.
androgen-insensitivity syndrome (AIS)noun: A genetic variation makes the body respond partly or not at all to androgen hormones, affecting development of sex characteristics.
androgenizationnoun: Androgen hormones act on responsive tissues to produce physical traits associated with male sexual development.
androgynophilianoun: Someone experiences emotional, bodily, or sexual attraction toward people whose appearance, behavior, or qualities combine masculinity and femininity.
androgynous personalitynoun: A person shows psychological qualities that their culture stereotypically associates with both masculinity and femininity.
androgynynoun: Having both masculine and feminine traits or ways of expressing gender in one person.
androidnoun: A robot or other artificial machine is designed to resemble a human being.
andropausenoun: A proposed menopause-like phase in some aging men links declining hormones with changes in energy, sexual interest, mood, or thinking.
androstenedionenoun: A steroid hormone made in the adrenal glands and reproductive glands supplies material for producing testosterone and certain estrogens.
androsteronenoun: A steroid hormone associated with the adrenal glands and testes has relatively weak effects on male sex characteristics.
anecdotal methodnoun: Researchers use informal accounts of casually noticed events to gather clues that need checking through more systematic investigation.
anecdotal recordnoun: An educator keeps brief, factual notes about a student’s observed behavior over time to support later understanding and evaluation.
anechoic chambernoun: A specially designed room absorbs reflected sound so echoes and lingering reverberation are largely removed.
Anectinenoun: A brand name identifies succinylcholine, a medicine that temporarily blocks muscle movement during anesthesia and some electroconvulsive treatments.
anencephalynoun: An early developmental condition leaves major portions of the brain and skull absent when a baby is born.
anergianoun: A person experiences an absence of energy, sometimes accompanied by little activity or initiative.
anesthesia (anaesthesia)noun: A temporary loss of feeling, and sometimes consciousness, in part or all of the body.
anethopathnoun: An outdated label describes someone believed to lack the moral restraints that usually discourage unethical behavior.
aneuploidynoun: A cell has extra or missing individual chromosomes, rather than a change involving complete chromosome sets.
aneurysm (aneurism)noun: A weak, bulging spot in an artery can burst and cause dangerous bleeding or stroke.
angakoknoun: An Inuit spiritual guide leads ceremonies and carries out practices understood within the community as healing and communication with spirits.
angel dustnoun: A slang name identifies phencyclidine, or PCP, a drug that can alter perception and produce feelings of detachment.
Angelman syndromephrase: A genetic condition before birth causing severe learning problems, little or no speech, and jerky movements.
angernoun: A strong, tense, hostile feeling after frustration, hurt, or unfairness that can fuel aggression without being the same.
anger control therapynoun: Therapy builds anger coping skills through guided practice, demonstrations, assertiveness training, and gradual contact with situations that trigger anger.
anger managementnoun: Ways to notice anger, calm your body and thoughts, and express it without hurting others.
anger stagenoun: In Kübler-Ross’s proposed grief model, a person may experience anger or resentment while facing death or another major loss.
anginanoun: Discomfort, often felt in the chest, occurs when the heart muscle receives too little oxygen through its blood supply.
angio- (angi-)prefix: A word beginning signals that the subject involves vessels carrying blood or lymph.
angioedemanoun: Sudden swelling develops in deeper layers beneath the skin or in tissues lining internal body surfaces.
angiographynoun: Medical imaging reveals blood vessels to help locate narrowing, blockages, or other changes in circulation.
angiomanoun: An abnormal growth consists of clustered blood vessels or vessels that carry lymph.
angioscotomanoun: A small area of reduced vision results when retinal blood vessels cast shadows on the eye’s light-sensitive surface.
angiotensinnoun: A family of peptide signals helps regulate circulation and fluid balance, with active forms promoting thirst and raising blood pressure.
angstnoun: Deep unease can arise from facing life's uncertainty and the responsibility of making personal choices.
angular gyrusnoun: A brain area in the parietal lobe that helps with reading and writing words.
angular transformationnoun: A statistical method converts proportions into angle values to help make group variability more comparable.
anhaphianoun: A person lacks or loses the ability to feel touch.
anhedonianoun: Losing the ability to feel pleasure from activities that usually seem enjoyable.
anhypnianoun: Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep causes tiredness and significant distress or problems with daily activities.
aniconianoun: A person does not experience mental images of things.
anilidenoun: A compound derived from aniline belongs to a chemical group that includes medicines for pain and fever.
anilingusnoun: Sexual contact involves using the lips or tongue to stimulate another person's anus.
animanoun: In Jung's theory, the hidden feminine side of a man's mind shapes feelings and relationships.
animalnoun: A living creature, usually meaning a nonhuman one in psychology research and treatment contexts.
animal aggressionnoun: Nonhuman animals attack or threaten other animals, sometimes during competition, defense, or hunting.
animal behaviornoun: Researchers investigate what nonhuman animals do, including feeding, playing, finding mates, and raising young.
animal care and usenoun: Research animals receive care and undergo procedures guided by ethical duties to protect their well-being.
animal cognitionnoun: Nonhuman animals use mental processes, inferred from their actions, to handle problems involving their surroundings and other animals.
animal communicationnoun: Researchers examine how nonhuman animals send signals that convey information or influence other animals' actions.
animal cooperationnoun: Nonhuman animals coordinate their actions so that the participants benefit from working together.
animal courtshipnoun: Nonhuman animals attract and assess possible mates through behaviors that can prepare them for reproduction and strengthen bonds.
animal defensive behaviornoun: Nonhuman animals protect themselves from other animals through actions such as hiding, fleeing, warning, or fighting back.
animal dominancenoun: Relationships within animal groups give certain individuals priority over others when accessing food, mates, or shelter.
animal emotionalitynoun: Nonhuman animals' emotional responsiveness is estimated from actions and bodily changes, such as exploration and heart rate.
animal escape behaviornoun: A nonhuman animal acts to leave or stop an unpleasant experience that is already happening.
animal hypnosisnoun: Nonhuman animals become temporarily still and unresponsive in movement after restraint, stroking, or a strong sensory event.
animal intelligencenoun: Nonhuman animals have abilities to learn and solve problems suited to the challenges their species encounters.
animal learningnoun: This branch of psychology investigates how experience changes nonhuman animals' abilities and behavior.
animal magnetismnoun: Mesmer proposed an invisible bodily force that could supposedly be directed to heal illness, a historical claim without scientific support.
animal modelnoun: Researchers study an animal with relevant human similarities to investigate behavior, bodily processes, or health conditions.
animal open-field behaviornoun: Researchers measure an animal's movement, exploration, and bowel activity in a spacious enclosure where it can move freely.
animal phobianoun: A lasting, intense fear of certain animals exceeds the actual danger and causes avoidance or substantial distress.
animal psychologynoun: Psychologists investigate nonhuman animals' behavior to understand those animals and gain insights into human behavior.
animal rightsphrase: The belief that nonhuman animals deserve respect and should not be harmed or used by people.
animal social behaviornoun: Nonhuman animals interact within groups or families through activities including signaling, play, cooperation, competition, and caring for young.
animal spiritsnoun: Early thinkers proposed that a special substance flowed through nerves, carrying commands between the brain and body.
animal starchnoun: Glycogen stores linked glucose units in animal tissues, especially liver and muscle, for later energy needs.
animal vocalizationnoun: A nonhuman animal produces a sound that conveys information or influences the actions of other animals.
animal welfarenoun: This ethical approach emphasizes animals' well-being and humane treatment while allowing some human uses, including certain research.
animal-assisted therapynoun: Planned treatment includes interactions with animals to support goals involving emotions, relationships, thinking, or physical abilities.
animal–human comparisonnoun: Researchers use findings about other animals to explore possible explanations for human behavior and its origins.
animate nounnoun: A naming word identifies a living being capable of performing an action, such as a person or dog.
animatismnoun: A belief holds that supernatural power exists throughout living beings and nonliving things.
animismnoun: Giving thoughts and feelings to objects or nature, common in young children's early thinking.
animusnoun: In Jung's theory, the unconscious masculine side of a woman's mind.
anionnoun: An atom or molecule carries a negative electrical charge after gaining extra electrons.
aniridianoun: An eye condition usually present at birth leaves the colored ring around the pupil incompletely developed or missing.
aniridia, cerebellar ataxia, and mental deficiencynoun: This historical name describes Gillespie syndrome, involving incomplete irises, difficulties coordinating movement, and intellectual disability.
aniseikonianoun: The same object appears different in size or shape depending on which eye views it.
aniso- (anis-)prefix: This word part adds the meaning unequal or different to another word.
anisocorianoun: One pupil is larger than the other when the eyes are compared.
anisometropianoun: The eyes bend incoming light differently, producing unequal focusing needs.
anisometropic amblyopianoun: Unequal focusing between a child's eyes disrupts visual development, leaving poorer vision in the eye receiving a less clear image.
anisotropynoun: A property or response varies with direction, orientation, or the part being examined.
ankylo- (ankyl-)prefix: This word part adds the meaning bent or crooked to another word.
ankyloglossianoun: An unusually short band of tissue beneath the tongue limits its movement and may affect speech.
ankylosisnoun: A joint becomes fixed or severely stiff because its tissues fuse or undergo structural changes.
Anna O.noun: Bertha Pappenheim used this pseudonym in Josef Breuer's influential case account, which helped shape the beginnings of psychoanalysis.
annihilationnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, complete loss or destruction of the self is imagined as a source of deep anxiety.
anniversary reactionnoun: Strong feelings return around the date of an important past event, often a loss or painful experience.
annual cyclenoun: A behavior pattern repeats across roughly one year, sometimes continuing without signals from changing seasons.
annulmentnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, troubling thoughts or events supposedly lose their emotional force when transformed into fantasies or daydreams.
annulospiral endingnoun: A sensory nerve ending coils around a muscle spindle's center and signals stretching, responding especially strongly when stretching begins.
annunciatornoun: A monitoring device alerts an operator when measured conditions move outside their expected limits.
anodal polarizationnoun: Electrical current moves toward a positive pole, typically flowing outward across a nerve cell's membrane in this arrangement.
anodynenoun: A substance or procedure reduces pain, whether through medication or another method.
anoeticadjective: In memory theory, this describes responding through knowledge or memory without awareness of knowing or remembering.
anogenitaladjective: This describes the body area containing the anus and the genitals.
anomalopianoun: Color vision differs because all three cone types are present, but one responds to light differently than usual.
anomalous dichromatismnoun: This older color vision label describes reduced color discrimination associated with reliance on two functional cone pigment systems.
anomalous experiencenoun: An unusual experience seems difficult to explain using commonly accepted understandings of reality.
anomalous stimulusnoun: An unexpected event or signal produces brain responses different from those triggered by what recent experience leads an organism to expect.
anomalous trichromatismnoun: A person has three cone types for color vision, but altered sensitivity in one makes some colors harder to distinguish.
anomalynoun: Something unusual that does not fit the expected pattern, such as a birth or growth problem.
anomianoun: Trouble naming familiar people or objects, often seen in aphasia after brain damage.
anomic aphasiaphrase: A language problem where speech stays fluent, but naming objects and finding words is hard.
anomic suicidenoun: Durkheim described a suicide category involving social disruption that leaves people feeling their familiar standards no longer guide them.
anomienoun: People feel disconnected and without direction when shared social rules or values weaken, often during major social change.
anonymitynoun: Keeping a study participant's identity unknown so no one can link answers to that person.
anopia (anopsia)noun: Vision is absent in part or all of the visual field because the visual system is not functioning properly.
anorchismnoun: A person is born without one or both testes.
anorectantnoun: A substance reduces appetite and may be used to help manage body weight.
anorexianoun: Appetite becomes reduced or absent, which can happen for many physical or emotional reasons.
anorexia nervosanoun: An eating disorder where someone severely restricts food, fears weight gain, and sees their body unrealistically.
anorgasmianoun: Being unable to reach orgasm during sexual activity.
anorthopianoun: Vision appears distorted or uneven, sometimes in connection with eyes that do not line up together.
anorthoscopenoun: An optical device uses two oppositely spinning disks and viewing slits to make a distorted picture appear correctly shaped and still.
anorthoscopic perceptionnoun: The mind combines successive views through a narrow opening into the experience of a whole object's shape.
anosmianoun: A person cannot detect smells, either generally or for particular odors.
anosognosia (anosagnosia)noun: A brain-based inability to realize you have a problem, such as blindness, paralysis, or memory loss.
ANOVAabbreviation: A statistical test that checks whether three or more group averages differ more than chance would expect.
anovulatory menstrual cyclenoun: A menstrual cycle occurs without an ovary releasing an egg, and bleeding may be irregular.
anoxemianoun: Arterial blood contains extremely little or no oxygen, which can disrupt consciousness and damage the brain.
anoxianoun: Body tissues receive essentially no oxygen, which can damage the brain and affect thinking, memory, or perception.
ANPabbreviation: Active noise protection uses methods that actively cancel or reduce unwanted sound to protect people from noise.
ANRabbreviation: These initials identify active noise reduction, which uses electronically generated sound to counter unwanted noise.
ANSabbreviation: The autonomic nervous system regulates mostly automatic body functions, including heartbeat, digestion, sweating, and pupil size.
Anschauungnoun: In Kant's philosophy, knowledge comes through immediate intuition rather than through concepts or stepwise reasoning.
ANTabbreviation: The Attention Network Test uses computerized tasks to measure alertness, attention direction, and control over competing responses.
ant-prefix: This word beginning can mean before, against, opposite, or counteracting, depending on whether it represents ante- or anti-.
Antabusenoun: The brand name identifies disulfiram, a medicine used in alcohol treatment that causes unpleasant reactions when alcohol is consumed.
antagonistnoun: A substance that blocks or weakens another chemical's effect, often by sitting on its receptor.
antagonistic colorsnoun: Pairs of colors occupy opposing positions on a color circle, such as blue and yellow.
antagonistic musclesnoun: Muscle pairs produce opposing movements, such as one bending an elbow while the other straightens it.
ante- (ant-)prefix: This word beginning indicates something earlier in time or farther forward in position.
antecedentnoun: A cue or event that happens first and helps trigger or signal a behavior.
antecedent variablenoun: A measured or manipulated factor comes before an outcome and may help researchers explain or predict it.
antecedent-focused emotion regulationnoun: People shape an emotion before it fully develops, for example by changing how they interpret a situation.
antergicadjective: This describes forces that act against each other, including muscles that produce opposing movements.
anterioradjective: Located toward the front of the body or nearer the head.
anterior cerebral arterynoun: This brain artery brings blood to inner frontal and parietal areas involved in movement, thinking, and sensation.
anterior chambernoun: A space near the eye's front lies between its clear cornea and colored iris and contains watery fluid.
anterior choroidal arterynoun: This blood vessel usually branches from the internal carotid artery and nourishes deep brain regions supporting vision, movement, and memory.
anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)phrase: A frontal brain area helps balance attention, mistake checking, pain, and emotion to guide self-control.
anterior commissurephrase: A bundle of nerve fibers linking the brain's two halves, especially parts of the temporal lobes.
anterior communicating artery (ACoA, AComA)noun: A short artery joins the brain's two anterior cerebral arteries and contributes blood to nearby structures.
anterior corticospinal tractnoun: A motor pathway carries signals from the cerebral cortex down the spinal cord's front region to help control movement.
anterior cranial fossanoun: A shallow hollow inside the skull's front base supports the brain's frontal lobes.
anterior hornnoun: The forward extension of either lateral ventricle forms part of the brain's system of fluid-filled spaces.
anterior pituitarynoun: Front part of the pituitary gland that makes hormones controlling growth, milk production, and other glands.
anterior rhizotomynoun: A surgeon cuts a motor nerve root near the spinal cord, generally to reduce unwanted muscle contractions.
anterior rootnoun: A bundle of motor nerve fibers leaves the spinal cord's front surface, carrying outgoing signals toward muscles.
anterior spinothalamic tractnoun: An ascending nerve pathway carries touch and pressure information through the spinal cord toward the thalamus.
anterior white commissurenoun: A bridge of insulated nerve fibers crosses the spinal cord's front region, linking pathways on its two sides.
anterior–posterior axisnoun: An imaginary reference line extends between the body's front and back.
anterior–posterior development gradientnoun: Before birth, growth advances more rapidly near the head than in regions farther toward the body's lower end.
anterogradeadjective: Going forward from a starting point, such as memories made after brain injury.
anterograde amnesianoun: After brain injury or illness, a person cannot form new long-term memories, though older memories may stay.
anterograde degenerationnoun: After an axon is injured, its portion extending away from the neuron's cell body breaks down.
anterograde memorynoun: This ability lets someone remember information and experiences gained after a particular event or starting point.
anterograde transportnoun: Materials travel inside a neuron's axon from its cell body toward its distant endings.
anterolateral systemnoun: A group of spinal nerve pathways sends signals about temperature, painful sensations, and certain kinds of touch toward the brain.
anthropo-prefix: This word part adds a meaning connected with humans or humankind to a larger word.
anthropocentrismnoun: This viewpoint places humans at the center of importance and judges other things by their relationship to people.
anthropogenesisnoun: This scientific field examines how humans originated and developed over time.
anthropoidadjective: Something described this way resembles a human, with the word commonly applied to apes.
anthropological linguisticsnoun: This field studies connections between a community's language, cultural customs, social organization, and ways of understanding life.
anthropologynoun: The study of humans across cultures, time, biology, and social life.
anthropometrynoun: Researchers measure human bodies and compare their sizes and proportions across people and stages of life.
anthropomorphismnoun: People assign human feelings, intentions, or other qualities to animals, objects, or other nonhuman beings.
anthroponomynoun: This field examines human development in connection with the environment and the development of other living things.
anthroposcopynoun: A person's body shape and build are assessed through visual inspection instead of physical measurements.
anti- (ant-)prefix: This prefix adds the meaning of opposition, reversal, or blocking an effect to a word.
anti-inflammatory therapynoun: Medicines reduce inflammation to ease symptoms and limit damage in conditions where inflammation contributes to illness.
anti-intoxicantnoun: A proposed medicine would counter alcohol's intoxicating effects on a person.
anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH)noun: During prenatal development, this hormone from the testes causes ducts that could form the uterus and related structures to regress.
Anti-Semitism Scale (A-S Scale)noun: This historical questionnaire measures five aspects of prejudice toward Jewish people and was developed for research on authoritarian personality.
antiaging remedynoun: An intervention is proposed to slow aging or undo some of its effects.
antiandrogennoun: A substance limits the body's production or effects of androgen hormones, such as testosterone.
antianxiety medicationnoun: A medicine is used to reduce anxiety and may also help with related agitation or sleep difficulties.
antibioticnoun: A medicine treats bacterial infections by killing bacteria or preventing their growth.
antibodynoun: A protein made by specialized B cells attaches to a matching target, helping neutralize it or organize its removal.
antibody-mediated immunitynoun: The body gains specific protection through antibodies produced by B cells that act against matching targets.
anticathexisnoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that the ego redirects mental energy into ideas that keep unwanted unconscious wishes outside awareness.
anticholinergic drugnoun: A medicine blocks the chemical messenger acetylcholine from activating certain receptors, changing nerve signaling in the brain or body.
anticholinergic effectsphrase: Drug side effects from blocking acetylcholine, a nerve chemical, causing dry mouth, blurry vision, constipation, and trouble urinating.
anticholinergic syndromephrase: A harmful reaction to medicines that block acetylcholine, causing dry body tissues, confusion, poor balance, and memory problems.
anticholinesterasenoun: A substance blocks enzymes that break down acetylcholine, allowing this nerve messenger to remain active longer.
anticipationnoun: Expecting something to happen in the future, often with feelings like excitement, hope, or worry.
anticipation learning methodnoun: Learners practice producing the item or response that follows a given cue in a pair or sequence.
anticipatory anxietyphrase: Worry and body tension that happen before an expected event because something bad might occur.
anticipatory attitude changenoun: A person's opinion shifts after learning that a persuasive message is coming, before knowing which position it will support.
anticipatory copingnoun: A person prepares for a specific upcoming stressful event by addressing expected problems or managing feelings about them.
anticipatory errornoun: A response happens too soon, or a remembered item is placed earlier in a sequence than it belongs.
anticipatory griefnoun: Sadness and worry arise before an expected loss, especially when someone close is likely to die soon.
anticipatory guidancenoun: Counseling or education helps people prepare before an important life transition or developmental change.
anticipatory imagenoun: In Piaget's theory, a mental picture represents changes or transformations that a person has not previously witnessed.
anticipatory movementnoun: The body moves in preparation for an expected event, balance requirement, or upcoming action.
anticipatory nauseanoun: Queasiness occurs before chemotherapy, often when treatment-related sights or smells have become linked with earlier nausea.
anticipatory pleasurenoun: Enjoyment comes from expecting a desired reward and working toward it before it arrives.
anticipatory regretnoun: Imagining future disappointment about a possible decision affects the choice a person makes now.
anticipatory responsenoun: A reaction occurs before the event or signal that would normally bring it about.
anticipatory schemanoun: In perceptual cycle theory, an adaptable knowledge framework shapes expectations, directs attention, and guides exploration of a situation.
anticonfirmationismnoun: A philosophical view rejects supporting observations and probability calculations as ways to establish that general claims are true.
anticonformitynoun: Someone deliberately opposes a group's expectations because resisting those expectations is itself a goal.
anticonvulsantnoun: A medicine that helps prevent seizures or stop one that has already started.
antidepressantnoun: A medicine used to treat depression, often by raising certain brain messengers linked to mood.
antidiuretic hormone (ADH)phrase: A hormone released by the pituitary that helps the kidneys save water and make less urine.
antidromic conductionnoun: A nerve impulse travels along an axon toward the neuron's cell body, reversing its usual direction, often during experiments.
antiepilepticnoun: A medicine helps prevent epileptic seizures, make them less severe, or stop a seizure in progress.
antiestrogennoun: A substance reduces or blocks estrogen hormone activity in tissues that respond to it.
antigennoun: A substance has features recognized by antibodies or immune cells and may trigger an immune response.
antigen–antibody reactionnoun: An antibody attaches to a matching feature on an antigen, potentially helping neutralize it or support its removal.
antigonadal actionnoun: An agent or bodily process reduces or blocks the functioning of the ovaries or testes.
antiharassment policiesnoun: Organizations establish rules and procedures to prevent harassment, handle complaints, and respond to misconduct involving characteristics such as race or gender.
antihistaminenoun: A medicine blocks histamine at its receptors, often reducing allergy symptoms and sometimes causing sleepiness.
antihormone therapynoun: This treatment reduces a hormone’s production or blocks its effects, often to treat cancers that depend on hormones.
antilibidinal egonoun: Fairbairn proposed a self-critical part of personality that develops when a child suppresses needs frustrated by a parent.
Antiliriumnoun: This trade name identifies physostigmine, a medicine that slows acetylcholine breakdown and can reverse certain anticholinergic poisonings.
antimanic drugnoun: A medicine in this category reduces mania, including unusually elevated or irritable mood and excessive energy.
antimetabolitenoun: A chemical resembling a substance the body needs disrupts normal chemical processes by interfering with that substance’s role.
antimetropianoun: This vision condition combines nearsightedness in one eye with farsightedness in the other eye.
antimuscarinic drugnoun: This medicine blocks acetylcholine from activating muscarinic receptors, one family of sites that receive this chemical messenger.
antinicotinic drugnoun: This medicine blocks acetylcholine from activating nicotinic receptors, sites involved in communication between nerves or between nerves and muscles.
antinociceptiveadjective: This describes effects that reduce the nervous system’s response to potentially damaging stimulation or increase tolerance of it.
antinodal behaviornoun: In group therapy, this quieter phase follows a period of heightened, sometimes tense or disruptive activity.
antinomynoun: A contradiction exists between two claims, especially, for Kant, when opposing claims about reality seem equally provable through reason.
antioxidantnoun: A substance limits oxidation and may help protect cells from damage caused by highly reactive molecules called free radicals.
antiparkinsonian drugnoun: These medicines help manage shaking, stiffness, or slowed movement linked to Parkinson’s disease or caused by certain other medicines.
antipathynoun: A strong, lasting feeling of dislike or hostility toward someone or something.
antipredator behaviornoun: An animal acts in ways that reduce its chances of being caught or eaten by a predator.
antipredator defensenoun: An animal’s features or actions reduce its risk of being eaten, through means such as camouflage, warning colors, or escape.
antipredatory aggressionnoun: An animal attacks a possible predator to defend itself against being caught or eaten.
antipsychiatrynoun: This movement gained prominence during the 1960s by challenging psychiatric concepts, institutional power, and treatment practices, especially forced treatment.
antipsychoticnoun: A medicine used to reduce hallucinations, delusions, and other symptoms of psychosis, such as schizophrenia.
antipyreticnoun: A medicine lowers fever by acting on the brain’s temperature regulation system.
antiretroviral therapy (ART)phrase: Using several HIV medicines together keeps the virus from multiplying, lowers viral load, and protects the immune system.
antisocialadjective: Describing behavior that breaks social rules and harms or ignores other people's rights.
antisocial aggressionnoun: Aggressive behavior used to achieve another goal produces consequences that damage others or undermine social well-being.
antisocial personality disorderphrase: A lasting pattern of breaking others' rights, lying, harming, and feeling little guilt or empathy.
antispasmodic drugnoun: This medicine reduces involuntary tightening of smooth muscles, such as those that move material through the intestines.
antiterrorist activitiesnoun: Security efforts aim to identify, prevent, or counter terrorism, including threats involving chemical or biological agents.
antithesisnoun: An idea directly opposes another idea and can serve as the contrasting position in a philosophical dialectic.
antitussivenoun: A medicine reduces coughing, often by acting on brain circuits that control the cough reflex.
antiviral drugnoun: This medicine interferes with a virus’s activity or reproduction to help treat a viral infection.
antivitaminnoun: A substance blocks or reduces a vitamin’s normal activity, often because its chemical structure resembles that vitamin.
Anton’s syndromenoun: A person with blindness caused by brain damage remains unaware of the vision loss and believes they can see.
antonymnoun: A word expresses a meaning opposite to another word, such as empty compared with full.
antonym testnoun: An assessment asks someone to give an opposite-meaning word for each word presented.
anvilnoun: This small middle-ear bone, also called the incus, passes sound vibrations from the hammer bone to the stirrup bone.
anxietynoun: A worried, tense feeling about possible future danger, often with a faster heartbeat, breathing, and tight muscles.
anxiety attacknoun: Used here for a panic attack, this means a sudden burst of intense fear with symptoms such as a racing heart.
anxiety dischargenoun: An everyday action or repeated activity, such as gardening or exercise, helps reduce anxious tension.
anxiety disorderphrase: A mental disorder marked by strong, ongoing fear or worry that disrupts daily life.
anxiety fixationnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, an anxiety response from an earlier period of development persists into a later period.
anxiety hierarchyphrase: An ordered list of feared situations, from least scary to most scary, used to slowly reduce phobia fear.
anxiety hysterianoun: Freud’s historical label linked phobias and conversion symptoms to anxiety he proposed arose from unconscious sexual conflicts.
anxiety managementphrase: Methods such as relaxation, biofeedback, or medicine that help lower anxious feelings and body tension.
anxiety neurosisnoun: This historical diagnostic label described ongoing anxiety and expectations of disaster, often accompanied by sleep problems and bodily tension.
anxiety objectphrase: In psychoanalysis, the thing someone fears because it stands for the real source of anxiety.
anxiety reactionnoun: An emotional response involves strong worry or apprehension together with physical signs of tension.
anxiety scalenoun: A test or rating tool that measures how strong a person's anxiety symptoms are.
anxiety sensitivitynoun: A person fears anxiety-related sensations because they believe those sensations signal or could cause serious problems.
anxiety statenoun: This older label describes persistent anxious distress, often involving an expectation of disaster and physical symptoms.
anxiety-relief responsenoun: In behavior therapy, someone repeats calming words during an anxiety-provoking situation to help reduce distress.
anxiety–performance relationshipnoun: This association connects levels of mental or bodily arousal with how well someone carries out a task.
anxiolyticnoun: A medicine that reduces anxiety and can also calm agitation or help with sleep.
anxious depressionphrase: A major depressive episode with unusually high anxiety happening at the same time.
anxious–ambivalent attachment stylenoun: An adult relationship pattern combines wanting closeness with worry about rejection or hesitation about deep commitment.
anxious–avoidant attachmentnoun: This attachment pattern involves infants avoiding caregiver contact or adults feeling uncomfortable with closeness and avoiding intimate relationships.
anxious–resistant attachmentnoun: An infant attachment pattern involves distress during caregiver separation and mixed contact-seeking, anger, or resistance when the caregiver returns.
aortic arch syndromenoun: Narrowing or blockage of major arteries branching from the aortic arch reduces blood supply, sometimes affecting brain function.
aortic stenosisnoun: The aortic valve becomes narrowed, making it harder for blood to leave the heart and reach the body.
APabbreviation: In neuroscience, these letters abbreviate action potential, a brief electrical change that travels along a nerve cell’s axon.
APAabbreviation: The main U.S. group for psychologists that sets ethics, style, and professional guidance.
APA stylephrase: Rules from psychology's main professional group for organizing, citing, and presenting papers clearly and consistently.
APAGSabbreviation: This APA group speaks up for students pursuing advanced psychology degrees and helps them with training and career development.
APAPabbreviation: This abbreviation names acetaminophen, also called paracetamol, a medicine used to relieve pain and lower fever.
apareunianoun: This word describes being unable to engage in sexual intercourse, without identifying the reason.
apastianoun: This word describes fasting or otherwise going without food for a period of time.
apathynoun: Little motivation or interest, with seeming indifference to people, activities, or what is happening nearby.
apathy syndromenoun: A pattern of markedly reduced motivation and interest can occur with neurological conditions or mental disorders.
APDAabbreviation: The abbreviation names the American Parkinson Disease Association, an organization focused on Parkinson disease.
aperiodic reinforcement schedulenoun: This older name describes rewarding the first response after each waiting period, with waiting times varying unpredictably.
Apert syndromenoun: A genetic condition causes skull bones to join too early and fingers or toes to develop joined together.
aperture, draw, syntax model (ADS model)noun: A proposed attention model combines activity-specific processing pathways, active attraction of relevant information, and rules for interpreting cues and responding.
APFabbreviation: The abbreviation names the American Psychological Foundation, which funds psychology research, education, and related programs.
Apgar scorenoun: A newborn's immediate physical condition is rated using color, pulse, breathing, reflex responses, and muscle firmness.
aphagianoun: This condition leaves someone unable to take in food or swallow.
aphakianoun: An eye with this condition lacks its natural focusing lens.
aphanisisnoun: In historical psychoanalysis, Ernest Jones used this word for the complete disappearance of sexual desire.
aphasianoun: Loss of language ability after brain damage can affect speaking, understanding, reading, or writing.
aphemianoun: In Broca's original description, speech production is impaired while language abilities, including writing, remain intact.
aphonianoun: A person loses the ability to produce voice, sometimes because the voice box or vocal passages are affected.
aphrodisiacnoun: A substance or other agent increases sexual desire or is believed to do so.
apical dendritenoun: A receiving branch extends from the top of a pyramidal neuron toward the cortex's outer surface.
aplasianoun: A tissue or organ fails to develop because its growth process stops.
Aplysianoun: A sea slug with a simple nervous system that scientists use to study learning and memory.
apnea (apnoea)noun: Breathing stops for a period of time, during sleep or in other circumstances.
apo-prefix: This word beginning adds the meaning of movement away or separation.
apodianoun: A person with this congenital condition is born without one or both feet.
ApoEabbreviation: Short for apolipoprotein E, this protein may assist with removing beta-amyloid from the brain.
apoenzymenoun: An enzyme's protein portion needs a nonprotein helper, called a cofactor, before it can function.
apolipoprotein E (ApoE)noun: This protein may support the removal of beta-amyloid, a substance involved in Alzheimer's disease.
Apollonianadjective: In Nietzsche's philosophical vocabulary, this describes thinking marked by reason, balance, and order.
apomorphinenoun: This drug is derived from morphine and has been used for Parkinson-related movement problems and other medical purposes.
apoplexynoun: Historically, this word described a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain.
apoptosisnoun: Cells follow a controlled process of dying and being cleared away during development and ongoing tissue maintenance.
aposematic colorationnoun: An organism's noticeable colors or patterns warn predators that eating or approaching it may be unpleasant or dangerous.
apostilbnoun: This luminance unit equals one divided by pi candelas per square meter.
apotemnophilianoun: A person experiences sexual arousal from imagining having one of their own limbs amputated.
APPabbreviation: A brain cell protein that can be cut into beta-amyloid, which can build up in Alzheimer's disease.
apparatusnoun: The tools or equipment used to carry out a research study or experiment.
apparentadjective: Seeming to be true or easy to notice, even before all the facts are known.
apparent distancenoun: An object's distance is judged by the observer and may differ from its measured distance.
apparent magnitudenoun: An object's observed brightness depends on how much light it gives off and how far away it is.
apparent movementnoun: A visual display seems to move or change size even though that movement or size change is not actually occurring.
apparent sizenoun: An object's perceived size depends on visual information, including how far away it seems.
apparitionnoun: A distorted visual perception makes an actual object appear as something different, sometimes a ghostlike figure.
appealnoun: A product feature highlighted to stir consumers' feelings or wants and make them more likely to buy.
appearance and performance enhancing drugnoun: A substance is used to change body appearance or improve abilities such as strength, endurance, or concentration.
appearance–reality distinctionnoun: A person understands that how something looks can differ from what it actually is.
appeasement behaviornoun: An animal uses gestures, postures, or sounds that make another animal less likely to act aggressively.
Appelt–Gerken–Lenz syndromenoun: Also called Roberts syndrome, this inherited condition affects limb growth and facial development and may involve intellectual disabilities.
apperceptionnoun: Seeing something new by fitting it into what you already know and giving it personal meaning.
apperceptive massnoun: In Herbart's theory, a person's existing knowledge provides the framework for understanding new perceptions and ideas.
apperceptive visual agnosianoun: Difficulty organizing basic visual information into coherent forms prevents reliable recognition of what a person sees.
appersonationnoun: A person mistakenly believes they are someone else and takes on that person's characteristics.
appestatnoun: A proposed single brain center was thought to control appetite, although eating actually involves several interacting brain areas.
appetitenoun: A drive to eat or meet body needs that learning and experience can shape.
appetite suppressantnoun: A substance lowers the desire to eat and may be used in weight management.
appetitive behaviornoun: An organism actively searches for something it wants before performing the action that satisfies that desire.
appetitive conditioningnoun: Through classical conditioning, a previously neutral cue gains the ability to trigger responses by predicting something rewarding, such as food.
appetitive stimulusnoun: Something desirable attracts an organism or reinforces its behavior, with its appeal often depending on current needs.
appetitive systemnoun: In Gray's theory, a proposed system detects reward signals and encourages approach, helping explain differences in extraversion.
applied behavior analysis (ABA)phrase: Uses rewards and consequences to change problem behaviors in real-life settings.
applied linguisticsnoun: Researchers and practitioners use knowledge about language to address practical issues, including teaching, communication difficulties, and computer language tools.
applied psychoanalysisnoun: People use psychoanalytic ideas to interpret cultural works and human affairs, including literature, art, religion, and history.
applied psychologynoun: People use psychological knowledge and methods to address practical problems in everyday life, schools, workplaces, and other settings.
applied psychophysiologynoun: This field puts research on bodily activity, thoughts, feelings, and behavior to practical use for healthier living and better performance.
applied relaxationphrase: Clients practice relaxing faster and faster so they can quickly calm anxiety, panic, pain, or phobias.
applied researchnoun: Scientific investigations are designed to answer practical questions or develop solutions to problems outside the laboratory.
applied sciencenoun: Scientific knowledge is put to work to solve practical problems and meet human needs.
applied sport psychologynoun: Psychological knowledge and methods are used and studied to help athletes improve performance or perform more consistently.
applied statisticsnoun: Statistical tools are used to interpret real data and answer questions across different fields.
applied tensionphrase: A behavior therapy method that teaches muscle tensing during feared exposure to prevent fainting in blood-injury-injection phobia.
applied verbal behaviornoun: A behavioral therapy teaches communication through reinforcement, often supporting autistic children who use little or no speech.
apportnoun: In spiritualist belief, an object supposedly appears through supernatural activity during a meeting intended to contact spirits.
appraisalnoun: A person's mental judgment about what an event means and how important it is.
appraisal dimensionnoun: A feature used to judge a situation, such as its importance or manageability, helps shape an emotional response.
appraisal motivenoun: The desire to understand yourself accurately encourages seeking honest, informative feedback about your qualities and abilities.
appraisal theoryphrase: Emotions depend on how a person judges a situation, not just on what happens.
apprehensionnoun: Worried fear or uneasiness about something that may happen soon or later.
apprehension spannoun: The count of items someone can report after seeing a display briefly measures this attention capacity.
apprehension-span testnoun: An assessment asks someone to report all or selected information from a display shown for a very short time.
apprenticeshipnoun: A beginner learns a job by working with and being guided by an experienced person.
approachnoun: A planned way of handling a problem or reaching a goal.
Approach Control Testnoun: A simulated aircraft landing management task measures air traffic control performance under pressures such as limited time.
approach copingnoun: A person manages stress by actively considering or addressing the difficult situation, including seeking information or support.
approach gradientnoun: The strength of movement toward a desired goal changes with distance, typically increasing as the goal gets nearer.
approach motivationnoun: Expecting a rewarding experience provides a reason to act toward a goal.
approach responsenoun: An action moves a person or animal toward something or increases contact with it.
approach–approach conflictnoun: A decision becomes difficult because two options are equally appealing and only one can be chosen.
approach–avoidance conflictnoun: One option creates competing desires to pursue and avoid it because it has both appealing and unpleasant features.
appropriate affectnoun: A person's displayed emotion fits what they are thinking, saying, doing, or responding to.
appropriate deathnoun: An individual's dying circumstances reflect their own wishes, needs, and values as closely as possible.
approximationnoun: A close estimate of a real value when an exact number is unnecessary or unavailable.
approximation conditioningnoun: A new behavior develops by reinforcing attempts that come progressively closer to the desired action.
appurtenancenoun: In Gestalt psychology, elements influence each other's appearance so they seem to belong within a shared whole.
apractagnosianoun: Brain damage disrupts organizing, remembering, or performing skilled movement sequences, or understanding how objects are arranged in space.
apraxianoun: Trouble planning and carrying out skilled movements even though muscles and understanding still work.
apraxia of gaitnoun: Walking becomes difficult or impossible because its movements cannot be organized, without paralysis or sensory loss explaining the problem.
apraxia of speechnoun: Difficulty planning and coordinating speech movements makes speaking hard, without muscle weakness or paralysis explaining the difficulty.
apraxic agraphianoun: Writing or drawing movements cannot be carried out despite being able to hold and move a pen normally.
apriorismnoun: A philosophical position holds that some ideas are inborn and some valid knowledge does not depend on experience.
aprosexianoun: A person cannot direct and hold their attention on a particular focus.
aprosodynoun: Speech lacks its usual changes in pitch, timing, and emphasis, making the voice sound flat.
APSabbreviation: A short name for the Association for Psychological Science, a major group for psychology research.
APsaAabbreviation: The American Psychoanalytic Association is a professional group supporting psychoanalysts through education, research, and professional development.
aptitudenoun: Natural potential to learn a skill through training, not the skill you already have.
aptitude measurenoun: A tool or scoring system estimates someone's ability to develop skills through training compared with peers.
Aptitude Research Project testsnoun: These historical creativity tests assess generating varied ideas through tasks involving words, story titles, sentences, and imagined consequences.
aptitude testphrase: A test that estimates how well someone can learn future skills or knowledge, especially for school or work.
aptitude–treatment interaction (ATI)noun: The effectiveness of an intervention varies with personal characteristics, so different people may benefit most from different methods.
AQabbreviation: An achievement quotient compares actual achievement with expected achievement by dividing a test result by an intelligence-based expectation.
AQSabbreviation: The Attachment Q-set assesses young children's attachment by sorting 90 behavior descriptions, including how they use caregivers for security.
Aquachloralnoun: This brand name identifies chloral hydrate, a medicine that slows nervous system activity and can induce sleep.
aqueduct of Sylviusnoun: A narrow channel through the midbrain carries cerebrospinal fluid between the third ventricle and the fourth ventricle.
aqueous humornoun: A clear, watery liquid fills the eye's two chambers in front of the lens.
AR modelabbreviation: An autoregressive model describes values measured over time using one or more earlier values in the same series.
arachidonic acidnoun: A fatty acid found in cell membranes supplies material for signaling chemicals, including some involved in communication between neurons.
arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA)noun: Also called anandamide, this naturally produced fatty molecule activates cannabinoid receptors and helps regulate communication between nerve cells.
arachneophobianoun: An intense, lasting fear of spiders exceeds their actual danger and can lead to avoidance or marked distress.
arachnoidnoun: A delicate membrane with webbed strands forms the middle protective covering around brain tissue and the spinal cord.
arachnoid granulationsnoun: Small projections of the arachnoid membrane extend through the outer covering and allow cerebrospinal fluid to enter blood vessels.
arachnoid maternoun: The middle protective membrane surrounding brain tissue and the spinal cord has delicate strands resembling a web.
arachnophobianoun: A lasting, excessive fear of spiders can cause strong distress or efforts to avoid places where spiders might appear.
Arago phenomenonnoun: In dim surroundings, the center of your vision detects faint light less well than nearby areas.
Aran–Duchenne diseasenoun: This historical name describes adult-onset spinal muscular atrophy, involving muscle weakness and wasting as movement-controlling nerve cells deteriorate.
ARASabbreviation: The ascending reticular activating system carries signals upward through brain pathways and helps regulate wakefulness and sleep.
arbitrary inferencephrase: Jumping to a conclusion that the facts do not support, often assuming something negative.
arbitrary matching to samplenoun: A learning task requires choosing the option linked to a sample by a learned rule rather than physical resemblance.
arbitrary symbolnoun: A word or other language sign represents something through an agreed meaning without needing to resemble it.
arbitrationnoun: People in a dispute present their cases to a neutral decision-maker whose ruling they have agreed to accept.
arborizationnoun: The branching pattern of nerve cell extensions creates many possible points for receiving or sharing signals.
arc sine transformationnoun: A statistical procedure changes proportions using an inverse sine, usually after taking square roots, to help stabilize variation.
arch of Cortinoun: Two rows of supporting pillars form this arch inside the inner ear's sound sensing organ.
archaic inheritancenoun: A historical proposal suggests that ancestral experiences leave inherited mental patterns that influence later generations.
archetypenoun: In Jung's theory, an inherited symbol in the collective unconscious shapes how people understand themselves and the world.
archicerebellumnoun: This evolutionarily ancient division of the cerebellum helps regulate balance and eye movements.
archicortexnoun: This evolutionarily older brain cortex has three main cell layers and includes hippocampal regions involved in memory.
Archimedes spiralnoun: An evenly spaced spiral can be rotated in perception experiments to produce an illusion of movement afterward.
archipalliumnoun: Another name for archicortex identifies an ancient, three-layered brain cortex found mainly in the hippocampus.
architectonic structurenoun: The organization of cells into layers and regions gives a tissue, especially brain tissue, its microscopic layout.
architectural constraintsnoun: The brain's physical organization limits which information it can handle and how it can work with that information.
architectural determinismnoun: This mistaken view claims that the design of buildings and spaces directly determines how people behave.
architectural programmingnoun: Planning before construction establishes what a building must support, including people's activities, accessibility needs, and responses to design.
architectural psychologynoun: This branch of environmental psychology investigates how buildings and other constructed spaces influence people's behavior and experiences.
archival researchphrase: Research that studies records already collected, letting scientists examine behavior without disturbing the people involved.
arctic hysterianoun: This historical label described reported episodes of intense agitation, altered awareness, and later memory loss among some Arctic peoples.
arcuate fasciculusnoun: A tract of nerve fibers connects brain areas that understand language and produce speech.
arcuate nucleusnoun: A curved cluster of nerve cells in the hypothalamus helps regulate hormones, appetite, and the body's energy balance.
arcuate zone of the brainnoun: This anatomical label describes a curved brainstem region containing arcuate nerve fibers and cell groups between spinal cord and pons.
area postremanoun: A small medulla region near the fourth ventricle detects substances in blood and helps trigger vomiting.
area samplingnoun: Researchers select participants from geographic locations chosen beforehand, such as particular neighborhoods or streets.
area under the curve (AUC)noun: The space beneath a plotted curve and above the horizontal axis can represent probability when graphing a probability density.
areal linguisticsnoun: This field studies languages within a geographic region, emphasizing how location and contact influence their features.
arecolinenoun: This chemical stimulates certain acetylcholine receptors and was historically tried as a treatment for schizophrenia.
areflexianoun: Lack of automatic muscle responses when a doctor checks a reflex.
arginine vasopressin (AVP)noun: This form of vasopressin helps conserve body water and influences stress responses, memory, and social behavior.
argininosuccinic acidurianoun: An inherited metabolic disorder disrupts nitrogen waste removal, causing substance buildup that can affect brain development and produce seizures.
argotnoun: A group's distinctive slang includes informal words and expressions that outsiders may find difficult to understand.
argumentnoun: Information about an issue's central merits that can persuade careful thinkers when they pay close attention.
argument framingnoun: A persuasive message emphasizes either benefits of following its advice or costs of ignoring that advice.
argument qualitynoun: How much a message makes people think more good than bad about something.
argument quantitynoun: The total count of supporting arguments in a persuasive message measures how many reasons it presents.
Argyll Robertson pupilnoun: An eye pupil with this abnormal response becomes smaller for close focusing but fails to narrow normally in bright light.
arhinencephalynoun: A person with this congenital condition is born without brain structures normally involved in detecting smells.
ARIabbreviation: This abbreviation names the Army Research Institute, which studies human behavior to improve soldier selection, training, and performance.
Ariceptnoun: This brand name identifies donepezil, a medicine that slows acetylcholine breakdown to help manage some dementia symptoms.
aripiprazolenoun: A medicine used for schizophrenia, bipolar I, autism-related irritability, and sometimes depression that has not improved.
Aristotelianadjective: An approach described this way follows Aristotle's ideas, including formal reasoning and attention to particular things observed in the world.
Aristotle’s illusionnoun: Crossing your middle finger over your index finger can make a single item touching both feel like two separate items.
arithmetic disabilitynoun: This older label describes difficulty performing arithmetic, whether present during development or acquired after illness or injury.
arithmetic meanphrase: You get it by adding all the scores and dividing by how many scores there are.
Arizona v. Fulminantenoun: This 1991 Supreme Court decision allowed courts to assess whether admitting a coerced confession was harmless beyond reasonable doubt.
ARMabbreviation: A way to predict how changes in advertising will affect people's responses, such as buying or remembering.
armamentariumnoun: The full collection of tools, supplies, and other resources equips someone or an institution to carry out their work.
armchair psychologynoun: An approach explores the mind through reasoning and examining personal experience, without necessarily testing ideas through systematic observation.
Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT)noun: This military screening measure uses verbal and mathematical abilities to help determine eligibility for enlistment in the United States.
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)noun: This collection of military aptitude tests assesses abilities used in enlistment decisions and assignment to suitable jobs.
armodafinilnoun: A medicine that helps people stay awake when disorders cause too much daytime sleepiness.
armoringnoun: In some psychological theories, a protective defense limits a person's ability to feel and express emotions.
Army Alpha Testnoun: This historical group intelligence test used verbal tasks to assess U.S. Army recruits during the First World War.
Army Beta Testnoun: This historical Army intelligence test used nonverbal tasks for recruits with limited English proficiency or reading experience.
Army General Classification Test (AGCT)noun: This historical Army test assessed verbal, number, and spatial abilities to classify recruits by expected capacity to learn military tasks.
Army Research Institute (ARI)noun: This U.S. Army organization conducts behavioral and social research to improve personnel selection, development, training, and performance.
Army testsnoun: Historical group intelligence assessments helped the U.S. Army evaluate recruits, beginning with verbal Alpha and nonverbal Beta versions.
Arnold–Chiari malformationnoun: A congenital condition places parts of the cerebellum and brainstem below the skull's large opening into the spinal canal.
AROabbreviation: This research organization brings together doctors and scientists studying sensory functions, including balance, hearing, smell, taste, and speech.
aromachologynoun: This research field examines how fragrances temporarily influence psychological experiences and how thinking shapes those effects.
aromatasenoun: This enzyme changes androgen hormones into estrogens, contributing to hormone activity in the brain and elsewhere.
aromatase inhibitornoun: A substance lowers estrogen production by blocking aromatase, the enzyme that converts androgens into estrogens.
aromatherapynoun: A complementary practice uses plant essential oils to support well-being, although evidence for its health benefits remains uncertain.
aromaticadjective: In a historical smell classification, this describes odors resembling spices or camphor.
aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylasenoun: An enzyme converts L-dopa into dopamine, helping produce a chemical messenger used by the brain.
aromatization hypothesisnoun: A proposed explanation holds that converting testicular androgens into estrogens within some rodents’ brains promotes male-typical nervous system development.
arousalnoun: The body's level of alert, activated energy that rises with stimulation, emotion, or stress.
arousal jagnoun: A rise in excitement followed by a fairly sudden drop may bring pleasure and laughter as tension eases.
arousal levelnoun: The degree of alertness shows how ready an organism is to respond to stimulation.
arousal phasenoun: In a four-stage model of sexual response, the initial stage involves increasing sexual excitement and related bodily changes.
arousal potentialnoun: A stimulus has a capacity to increase alertness or excitement through qualities such as intensity, unfamiliarity, complexity, or meaning.
arousal regulationnoun: Mental and behavioral methods help adjust how activated the mind and body are.
arousal systemnoun: A widespread nerve network helps maintain alertness and coordinate activation of the brain and automatic bodily functions.
arousal theorynoun: One theory proposes that surroundings change bodily activation through stimulation and stress when physical or psychological needs go unmet.
arousal trainingnoun: A behavioral therapy technique teaches people to recognize bodily activation and increase or decrease it toward treatment goals.
arousal transfernoun: A proposed process lets leftover bodily excitement intensify a later emotional response, sometimes because its original source goes unrecognized.
arousal-boost mechanismnoun: In Berlyne’s theory, a gradual increase in activation from experiencing something can itself produce pleasure.
arousal-reduction mechanismnoun: In Berlyne’s theory, reducing uncomfortably high activation through a stimulus or internal response can produce pleasure.
arousal–performance relationshipnoun: The connection between mental or bodily activation and task success varies with the person, task, and situation.
ARP testsnoun: The Aptitude Research Project tests assess creative thinking through tasks that invite varied words, ideas, and possible outcomes.
arpeggio paradoxnoun: Rapid piano sequences challenge explanations claiming each action must await sensory feedback from the previous action before beginning.
arranged marriagenoun: A marriage is organized by relatives or community figures, often connecting families as well as the two partners.
arraynoun: An organized set of data, often arranged in rows and columns, and sometimes across more dimensions.
arrest reactionnoun: An animal suddenly stops moving, a response studied especially in cats that can also follow electrical brain stimulation.
arrested testisnoun: A testicle has not completed its usual descent into the scrotum during development.
arrhinencephaly (arhinencephaly)noun: A condition present at birth involves absence of brain structures traditionally grouped as the rhinencephalon, including structures supporting smell.
arrhythmianoun: An abnormal heartbeat pattern, such as beating too fast, too slow, or irregularly.
arrowhead illusionnoun: Equal lines can appear to differ in length because arrow-shaped ends point in different directions.
ARTabbreviation: Medical methods that help people have a baby, such as in vitro fertilization.
art testnoun: An assessment examines artistic skills, creative ability, judgments about art, or the quality of artwork.
art therapynoun: A therapeutic approach uses making art to support emotional expression, understanding, and psychological change or rehabilitation.
Artanenoun: A brand name for trihexyphenidyl identifies a medicine used for Parkinson’s symptoms and similar movement problems caused by some antipsychotics.
arterial circlenoun: An interconnected ring of arteries beneath the brain can provide alternative routes for blood when a supplying vessel narrows.
arterio-prefix: This word part indicates that a medical word concerns arteries.
arteriographynoun: A medical imaging procedure makes arteries visible, often using injected contrast material and X-rays to reveal narrowing or other abnormalities.
arteriole reactionnoun: Small arteries change width under automatic nervous system control, adjusting blood flow and sometimes blood pressure during emotions.
arteriopathia hypertonicanoun: Arterial walls thicken and develop fibrous tissue in a disease associated with high blood pressure.
arteriosclerosisnoun: A group of diseases makes artery walls harder and less able to stretch.
arteriovenous malformation (AVM)noun: An unusual vessel tangle connects arteries directly to veins without capillaries between them and may disrupt brain function.
arteritisnoun: Inflammation affects one or more arteries and can interfere with their normal blood supply.
arthritisnoun: Painful swelling in one or more joints often causes stiffness and can limit daily movement.
arthro- (arthr-)prefix: This word part indicates that a medical word concerns joints.
arthrogryposis multiplex congenitanoun: A group of conditions present at birth causes multiple joints to have restricted movement, often alongside muscle weakness.
arthrometernoun: An instrument measures joint angles or how far a joint can move.
arthropathynoun: Any disease affecting a joint falls within this broad medical category.
articlenoun: A published piece of writing, often in a journal, that shares information, research, or opinions.
articular sensationnoun: Sensory information from joints contributes to awareness of how body parts are positioned.
articulationnoun: Making speech sounds clearly by moving the lips, tongue, and other vocal parts in the right way.
articulation disordernoun: A speech problem where a person leaves out, changes, adds, or twists speech sounds.
articulation indexnoun: A numerical measure estimates how understandable speech is by comparing speech signals with competing noise.
articulation testnoun: An assessment checks how someone produces speech sounds, including sound accuracy, mouth movements, and how easily others understand them.
articulatornoun: A body structure, such as the tongue or lips, helps shape sounds during speech.
articulatory apraxianoun: A childhood speech disorder makes planning speech movements difficult, causing inconsistent sound production despite adequate muscle strength.
articulatory control processnoun: In a working memory model, silently repeating speech keeps verbal information available for a short time.
articulatory loopnoun: A proposed working memory component briefly holds speech-based information and refreshes it through silent repetition.
articulatory phoneticsnoun: A field of language study examines how speech organs and their movements produce different sounds.
articulatory rehearsal systemnoun: A proposed working memory process refreshes verbal information by mentally repeating words or sounds.
articulatory storenoun: A proposed brief memory store represents spoken items through the movements needed to pronounce them.
articulatory suppressionnoun: Researchers give people a competing speaking task to interfere with silent repetition while they try to remember information.
artifactnoun: A false result caused by study design problems or measurement errors, not by the real thing studied.
artificial consciousnessnoun: A proposed artificial system would have subjective experiences, although whether machines can achieve this remains unresolved.
artificial insemination (AI)noun: A fertility procedure places collected sperm into a person’s reproductive tract to help pregnancy occur.
artificial intelligence (AI)phrase: Computer systems that do tasks needing human-like thinking, such as learning, problem solving, or understanding language.
artificial languagenoun: A deliberately designed system of communication can help researchers test how people learn and understand language rules.
artificial lifenoun: Researchers build computer programs, robots, or biological systems to explore processes resembling life, such as adaptation and cooperation.
artificial pupilnoun: A manufactured opening controls how much light reaches the eye, including during experiments on vision.
artificial selectionnoun: People choose which plants or animals reproduce so desired inherited features become more common across generations.
artificialismnoun: In Piaget’s theory, children may believe that everything in nature was deliberately created by a person or conscious being.
arts and craftsnoun: Creative activities use hands and tools to make objects or images, sometimes supporting rehabilitation or personal expression.
arugamamanoun: In Morita therapy, this attitude involves accepting yourself and your feelings as they are while continuing purposeful activity.
as-if hypothesisnoun: An unproven explanation is provisionally treated as correct because it helps organize ideas or guide research.
as-if personalitynoun: A historical psychoanalytic description proposed that someone could appear socially comfortable while relying on imitation rather than spontaneous personal expression.
ASAabbreviation: An organization named Acoustical Society of America supports sound research, including studies of hearing, speech, and music.
ASA modelabbreviation: The attraction–selection–attrition model proposes that matching preferences, hiring choices, and employee departures gradually make people within organizations more similar.
asananoun: A posture practiced in yoga positions the body as part of physical or contemplative practice.
asapholalianoun: Speech sounds mumbled or unclear, making the speaker’s words difficult to make out.
asbabbreviation: The symbol represents the apostilb, a luminance unit equal to one divided by pi candelas per square meter.
ASCabbreviation: An altered state of consciousness involves awareness or experience that differs substantially from someone’s usual waking state.
ascendancenoun: A personality tendency involves seeking visibility, expressing oneself firmly, and wanting authority within groups.
ascendance–submissionnoun: Interpersonal behavior varies along a dimension from directing and influencing others to yielding and following their lead.
ascending pathwaynoun: A nerve route sends signals from lower parts of the nervous system upward toward the brain.
ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)phrase: A brain pathway that carries arousal signals upward, helping control alertness, sleep, and waking cycles.
ascending tractnoun: A grouped set of nerve fibers transports sensory information up the spinal cord to the brain.
ascending–descending seriesnoun: Researchers estimate a sensory threshold by presenting stimuli in separate sequences that gradually increase or decrease in strength.
ascertainment biasnoun: A study becomes systematically unrepresentative when its selection process makes certain kinds of participants more likely to be included.
asceticismnoun: A lifestyle or personal tendency emphasizes strict discipline, simple living, and giving up comforts, possessions, or physical pleasures.
Asch situationnoun: An experiment tests conformity by placing someone among instructed helpers who deliberately give the same incorrect judgments.
ASCMabbreviation: The adaptive strategy choice model proposes that children increasingly favor effective problem-solving methods while retaining less effective alternatives.
ascorbic acidnoun: Known as vitamin C, this nutrient supports connective tissue, protects cell components from oxidation, and must be obtained through diet.
ascriptive responsibilitynoun: A judgment assigns criminal blame and punishment to someone for an illegal act, beyond establishing that they performed it.
ASDabbreviation: A neurodevelopmental condition marked by social communication difficulties and restricted, repetitive behaviors.
asemianoun: Previously meaningful symbols, such as words or gestures, become impossible for someone to understand or use.
asenapinenoun: This antipsychotic medication treats schizophrenia and manic or mixed episodes in bipolar I disorder by affecting brain signaling.
Asendinnoun: This brand name identifies amoxapine, an antidepressant that changes how certain chemical messengers are handled in the brain.
ASEPabbreviation: The American Sport Education Program provides courses for adults supporting youth sports, with young athletes’ needs at the center.
aseptic meningitisnoun: The membranes surrounding the central nervous system become inflamed, while routine laboratory cultures find no bacteria, often because viruses are responsible.
asexualadjective: A person described this way experiences little or no sexual attraction to others.
asexualitynoun: A sexual orientation involving little or no sexual attraction toward others, with individual differences in romance and sexual behavior.
Asian Americannoun: A U.S. person whose family origins trace to East, Southeast, or South Asia.
Asian influenzanoun: This historical name identifies the influenza pandemic that began in 1957, caused by the H2N2 virus.
asitianoun: Seeing food or even thinking about it produces a feeling of strong aversion or disgust.
ASLabbreviation: A visual language that uses hand shapes, movements, and facial expressions to communicate.
asocialadjective: Someone described this way avoids social interaction, has little interest in it, or has difficulty participating in it.
asomatognosianoun: A person loses awareness of parts of their body and may not feel those parts are theirs.
asonianoun: Someone cannot distinguish musical tones by how high or low they sound, even when those tones have different pitches.
aspartatenoun: This amino acid can act as a chemical messenger that increases the likelihood of receiving nerve cells firing.
aspartate aminotransferasenoun: This enzyme helps process amino acids, and elevated blood levels can signal damage to tissues such as liver or muscle.
aspectnoun: A part or feature of something that can be looked at or studied by itself.
Asperger’s disordernoun: A former diagnosis described autistic people with social communication differences and restricted interests, without significant early language or cognitive delays.
aspermianoun: A person does not produce semen or does not release it during ejaculation.
asphyxianoun: Dangerous lack of oxygen and buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood can cause struggling to breathe.
asphyxophilianoun: Sexual arousal is associated with restricted breathing, an activity that can cause serious injury or death.
aspirationnoun: A hoped-for goal someone believes they can reach through their own effort.
aspirational groupnoun: A group someone hopes to join serves as a model for their goals, choices, or behavior.
aspirinnoun: This medicine, chemically called acetylsalicylic acid, reduces pain, fever, and inflammation and makes blood platelets less likely to clump.
aspirin combinationsnoun: These medicines pair aspirin with other active ingredients, such as another pain reliever or caffeine.
aspirin poisoningnoun: Too much aspirin causes toxic effects that can disrupt body chemistry and brain function, sometimes becoming life-threatening.
ASPRabbreviation: This scholarly organization was established to investigate reported psychic experiences and other claims of paranormal phenomena.
ASRabbreviation: Automated speech recognition uses computers to identify spoken words and usually convert them into written text.
assaultnoun: Threatening or trying to hurt someone when you appear able to carry it out.
assembly bonus effectnoun: Working together produces a better result than either the strongest member working alone or simply combining everyone’s separate contributions.
assembly testnoun: An assessment asks someone to fit separate parts together to create a complete object or arrangement.
assertionnoun: Standing up firmly for your beliefs, needs, or rights without backing down easily.
assertive community treatmentphrase: A mobile care team brings treatment, rehab, and daily support to people with severe mental illness.
assertivenessnoun: Speaking up about your feelings and needs clearly while still respecting other people's rights and feelings.
assertiveness trainingnoun: People practice communicating their feelings, needs, and opinions clearly and respectfully, often by rehearsing everyday situations.
assessmentnoun: A planned process of gathering information to judge a person's abilities, traits, symptoms, or fit for a role.
assessment centerphrase: A hiring and promotion method where people are watched doing job-like tasks to predict future work success.
assessment instrumentphrase: A tool such as a test or interview used to measure abilities, traits, symptoms, or interests.
assessment of intelligencenoun: Standardized testing estimates how well someone reasons, learns, understands ideas, and uses knowledge.
assessment researchnoun: Researchers examine how an organization or one of its units works and suggest ways to improve it.
assigned female at birth (AFAB)phrase: Describes someone labeled female at birth based on physical traits, regardless of later gender identity.
assigned male at birth (AMAB)phrase: Describes someone labeled male when they were born, based on body features seen at birth.
assigned sexphrase: The sex label given at birth, usually based on visible body traits.
assignment therapynoun: A group therapy method uses members’ reported relationships to arrange smaller groups intended to improve communication and connection.
assimilationnoun: Taking in something new by fitting it into what already exists, like a child's mental pattern or a group's culture.
assimilation effectnoun: People’s judgments move closer to a reference value after that value is introduced.
assimilative copingnoun: Someone manages stress by trying to change their circumstances to fit their existing goals.
assisted deathnoun: A person receives another person’s help to end their life following their own request.
assisted livingnoun: A housing arrangement provides help with daily needs while supporting residents’ independence, especially for older adults.
assisted reproductive technology (ART)noun: Medical procedures help achieve pregnancy by handling eggs and sperm, as in fertilization outside the body.
assisted suicidenoun: Someone ends their own life using means supplied by another person.
assistive devicenoun: A tool helps a person with a disability carry out activities or maintain their abilities.
assistive listening devicenoun: Equipment helps someone with hearing loss hear a chosen sound more clearly against background noise.
assistive softwarenoun: Computer programs help people with disabilities access and operate digital applications.
assistive technology (AT)phrase: Tools or systems that help people with disabilities do everyday tasks more independently and effectively.
assistive technology servicenoun: A provider helps people with disabilities select, obtain, adapt, use, or maintain equipment that supports their abilities.
associatenoun: Something linked in your mind or grouped together with something else.
associated movementnoun: Muscles that are unnecessary for an intended action tighten or move without the person choosing to use them.
associationnoun: A learned link between ideas, events, feelings, or actions, so one can bring the other to mind.
association analysisnoun: Statistical methods examine whether measured characteristics are related and how strong those relationships are.
association by contiguitynoun: A mental link forms between experiences because they happen near each other in time.
association cortexnoun: Regions of the brain’s outer layer help combine information beyond basic sensory processing or movement control.
association disturbancenoun: Connections between thoughts become difficult for others to follow within the person’s cultural context.
association fibernoun: A nerve cell’s long extension connects different regions within one half of the brain.
Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)noun: An international professional organization supports research and ethical psychological work in sports and exercise.
Association for Psychological Science (APS)noun: A professional organization promotes scientific psychology and its use to improve people’s lives.
Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO)noun: A scientific organization brings together researchers studying hearing, balance, speech, and the senses of taste and smell.
Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP)noun: Created in 1974, this advocacy group supported psychologists and psychological research by working with policymakers and partner organizations.
association modelnoun: A statistical model tests whether a predictor relates to an outcome recorded in ordered categories.
association nucleinoun: These thalamic cell groups lack direct ascending sensory input and communicate with other thalamic groups and association cortex.
association of ideasnoun: Simple ideas and perceptions connect to form more complex concepts.
association psychologynoun: A psychological approach explains learning and knowledge through links formed among ideas, events, and responses.
association studynoun: Researchers compare genetic differences in people with and without a condition to identify possible genetic links.
association valuenoun: A stimulus has greater value of this kind when it brings up more connections or is easier to give meaning.
association-reaction timenoun: The measured delay runs from presenting a word to the person giving an associated word in response.
associationismnoun: A historical theory proposes that connections among ideas explain most or all complex thinking, learning, and remembering.
associationistnoun: A theorist explains learning mainly through the creation, adjustment, and expansion of mental connections.
associationistic learning theorynoun: A theoretical account explains lasting learning through connections formed among cues, responses, event representations, or network elements.
associative anamnesisnoun: A historical interview method uses key expressions in someone’s life story to explore proposed unconscious sources of their difficulties.
associative clusteringnoun: People tend to recall already connected items close together when remembering material.
associative fluencynoun: Someone can readily generate many different connections from a given word, object, event, or idea.
associative illusionnoun: Parts of a visual pattern influence one another’s appearance, causing what people see to differ from physical reality.
associative lawnoun: A proposed principle describes how mental connections develop or strengthen through factors such as closeness, repetition, or recent experience.
associative learningnoun: Learning that links events, ideas, or actions so one thing comes to predict or trigger another.
associative linkagenoun: In a historical psychoanalytic interview, a therapist connects key expressions to explore proposed unconscious sources of someone’s difficulties.
associative memorynoun: A memory becomes active when something connected to it is encountered or remembered.
associative playphrase: Children play near each other and interact, but they do not yet organize a shared goal.
associative strengthnoun: How strongly one thing brings another to mind or triggers a learned response.
associative thinkingnoun: Thoughts wander from one idea to another through their connections, without a clear plan or direction.
associative visual agnosianoun: Someone has difficulty recognizing what they see despite being able to process its visual form relatively well.
associative-chain theorynoun: A learning theory proposes that complex actions, including speech, develop through linked sequences of simple cue-and-response connections.
associative–dissociative strategynoun: An attention plan alternates between monitoring bodily signals and noticing outside surroundings, especially during endurance exercise.
assonancenoun: Words share similar vowel sounds, even when their other sounds differ.
assortative matingnoun: Mates pair according to particular characteristics, producing patterns of similarity or difference beyond what chance would predict.
assumed rolenoun: Someone adopts a pattern of behavior because they believe it is expected of their position or status.
assumed similarity biasnoun: People tend to believe others share their own characteristics, sometimes making their judgments seem more accurate than they are.
assumptionnoun: Something accepted as true without full proof, often shaping judgments, theories, or test use.
astasianoun: Problems coordinating movement make standing extremely difficult or impossible.
astasia–abasianoun: Standing and walking are severely unsteady despite preserved control of leg movements while lying down.
astereognosisnoun: A person cannot recognize objects through touch, even though they may still feel the objects.
asterixisnoun: Brief interruptions in muscle activity cause held hands or arms to drop and then jerk back into position.
asthenianoun: Severe bodily weakness or reduced strength can accompany tiredness and various health conditions.
asthenic typenoun: A historical body category described slender people with long limbs and a narrow chest, controversially linking their build to personality.
asthenopianoun: The eyes feel tired, weak, or uncomfortable after visual effort, such as extended reading.
asthmanoun: A long-term breathing condition where swollen airways narrow at times, causing wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness.
astigmatismnoun: Uneven curvature of the eye's cornea or lens prevents light from focusing evenly, making vision blurry or distorted.
astigmatoscopenoun: An eye examination instrument helps detect and measure uneven focusing caused by astigmatism.
astral projectionnoun: Some spiritual traditions propose that consciousness can leave the body and travel through a separate level of existence.
astroblastomanoun: A rare brain tumor contains cells that typically form spoke-like patterns around small blood vessels.
astrocytenoun: A branching support cell in the brain and spinal cord helps maintain the conditions nerve cells need.
astrocytomanoun: A tumor develops from cells related to astrocytes, which normally support nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
astrocytosisnoun: Astrocytes increase in number or become enlarged and more active in response to damage in the brain or spinal cord.
astrologynoun: A belief that star and planet positions shape personality and life events, despite no scientific support.
ASVABabbreviation: A standardized group of aptitude tests helps the U.S. military evaluate applicants and match them with jobs.
asyllabianoun: A language impairment leaves letter recognition intact but prevents forming or understanding syllables or words.
asylumnoun: Historically, this name described an institution that housed and cared for people with mental health conditions.
asymbolianoun: A person loses the ability to interpret or use symbols, such as written words, gestures, or signs.
asymmetrical distributionnoun: A pattern of numerical values has sides that do not mirror each other around its center.
asymmetrynoun: A set of scores is uneven around the middle, with one side stretching farther than the other.
asymptomaticadjective: Showing no noticeable signs of illness or disorder, even when a problem is present.
asymptomatic neurosyphilisnoun: Syphilis infection involves the nervous system without causing noticeable symptoms, although tests reveal abnormalities in its surrounding fluid.
asymptotenoun: A straight line that a curve approaches ever more closely can represent a limiting level of learning performance.
asymptotic methodnoun: A statistical approach uses approximations that become more accurate with larger samples when its required conditions hold.
asymptotic normalitynoun: A statistic's distribution approaches a normal bell shape as sample size grows, after suitable centering and scaling.
asynchronous broodnoun: A group of offspring, usually birds, hatches at different times, often giving earlier hatchlings a growth advantage.
asynchronynoun: Related events or processes occur at different times or develop at different rates.
asynergianoun: Muscle groups fail to work together smoothly during actions that require coordinated movement.
asynergic speechnoun: Damage to the cerebellum disrupts speech coordination, producing irregular, jerky patterns of speaking.
ATabbreviation: Assistive technology includes tools and systems that help people with disabilities carry out activities and participate more independently.
at riskphrase: More likely than usual to develop a problem, disorder, or harm because of certain conditions.
at-risk mental statesnoun: Certain symptoms or patterns of thinking indicate increased vulnerability to developing mental disorders or experiencing harmful behavior.
ataque de nerviosnoun: An episode of intense distress recognized in some Latino communities may involve crying, shaking, shouting, and feeling out of control.
ataracticadjective: Something described this way relates to deep mental calm with clear thinking, or helps produce that state.
Ataraxnoun: A brand name for hydroxyzine identifies a sedating antihistamine used to relieve anxiety and itching.
ataraxynoun: A deeply peaceful mental state allows a person to remain alert and think clearly.
atavismnoun: An inherited feature from distant ancestors appears again after being absent in more recent generations.
ataxianoun: Trouble controlling voluntary muscle movements, causing clumsy, unsteady actions and poor balance.
ataxia telangiectasianoun: An inherited disorder causes worsening movement coordination, enlarged small blood vessels, and often problems with immune defenses.
ataxiagraphnoun: An instrument records body sway during standing with closed eyes to help assess problems with movement coordination.
ataxic dysarthrianoun: Poor coordination of speech muscles produces slurred sounds and irregular changes in rhythm, loudness, or vocal control.
ataxic feelingnoun: A person feels that their muscle coordination has become unreliable, sometimes because of psychological factors or medication effects.
ataxic gaitnoun: Walking becomes unsteady, with feet placed widely apart and poorly controlled steps, often because of cerebellar problems.
ataxic speechnoun: Difficulty coordinating speech muscles causes slurring and uneven rhythm, volume, or control of the voice.
ataxic writingnoun: Brain damage disrupts the coordination of handwriting movements, making written strokes irregular or poorly controlled.
ateliosisnoun: An older medical label described incomplete physical development of the whole body or particular parts.
atherosclerosisnoun: Hardening of artery walls caused by fatty plaque buildup, which can reduce blood flow to the brain.
athetosisnoun: Slow twisting movements occur without intention, especially in fingers and toes, because brain systems controlling movement are affected.
athlete-based interventionnoun: An intervention develops an athlete's perceptions or experiences, or is started and carried out by the athlete.
Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI)noun: A questionnaire asks athletes about seven mental skill areas, including handling setbacks, focusing, preparing, and responding to coaching.
Athletic Motivation Inventory (AMI)noun: A questionnaire measures eleven personality traits proposed to relate to success in sports.
athletic triadnoun: A health pattern in some female athletes links inadequate available energy, menstrual disturbances, and weakened bones.
athletic typenoun: A historical body category described muscular people with broad shoulders and controversially linked their build to energy and aggression.
athymianoun: An older psychological label describes an absence of emotional feeling or experience.
athyreosisnoun: A thyroid gland absent or severely underdeveloped from birth causes a shortage of thyroid hormones needed for growth and development.
ATIabbreviation: Aptitude–treatment interaction occurs when an intervention's effectiveness differs depending on people's abilities or other personal characteristics.
Ativannoun: A brand name for lorazepam identifies a benzodiazepine medicine used to reduce anxiety and provide sedation.
atmosphere effectnoun: Wording can lead people to accept a conclusion because it matches the premises' tone rather than their logic.
atmospheric conditionsnoun: Features of surrounding air, including heat, moisture, and movement, can influence people's comfort and task performance.
atmospheric perspectivenoun: People judge distance partly from how air makes faraway objects look hazier and less distinct than nearby objects.
atomismnoun: This approach explains mental experiences and behavior by breaking them into basic parts and examining how those parts combine.
atonianoun: Loss of the normal slight tightness in muscles, making them feel limp.
atonic seizurephrase: A seizure that suddenly makes muscles go limp, often causing the person to collapse.
atopic dermatitisnoun: A recurring inflammatory skin condition causes itching and dryness and can affect sleep, emotional well-being, and daily life.
ATPabbreviation: Adenosine triphosphate is a molecule that supplies usable energy for cellular work, including activity in brain cells.
atrial fibrillationnoun: Disorganized electrical activity makes the heart's upper chambers quiver, often producing an irregular heartbeat.
atrial flutternoun: An unusually fast, organized electrical rhythm makes the heart's upper chambers contract rapidly.
atriumnoun: An internal body chamber can bear this name, particularly either upper heart chamber that receives returning blood.
atrophynoun: A body part shrinks and weakens over time because it is unused, damaged, or poorly nourished.
atropinenoun: This medicine blocks certain acetylcholine receptors, changing nerve signaling that controls functions such as heart rate and saliva production.
atropine-coma therapy (ACT)noun: An abandoned psychiatric treatment used atropine to cause coma in people experiencing psychosis with severe agitation or anxiety.
attachmentnoun: A strong emotional bond that brings security and closeness, first with caregivers and later in other supportive relationships.
attachment and biobehavioral catch-up interventionnoun: This program coaches caregivers in responsive nurturing to support young children's secure relationships and regulation of behavior and bodily stress.
attachment behaviorphrase: Actions like crying, smiling, or clinging that help a baby stay close to a caregiver.
attachment bondphrase: A baby's lasting emotional connection with a caregiver that grows stronger over time.
attachment disordernoun: A childhood condition where severe neglect disrupts bonding, causing very troubled relationships and poor comfort-seeking.
Attachment Q-set (AQS)noun: Observers or caregivers sort 90 behavior descriptions to assess how securely a young child relies on a caregiver.
attachment stylephrase: A person's usual pattern of closeness and trust in relationships, shaped partly by early caregiving experiences.
attachment theoryphrase: Early bonds with caregivers shape a child's safety feelings and later patterns in emotions and relationships.
attachment-based interventionnoun: Early support helps caregivers notice children's requests for closeness and respond sensitively, aiming to strengthen secure emotional bonds.
attack behaviornoun: A person or animal directs physical force against an opponent, usually intending harm and sometimes responding defensively.
attempted suicidephrase: A person tries to end their own life but does not die.
attendverb: To focus attention on something so your mind processes it more and notices it more clearly.
attendancenoun: How often a student is present at school or class over time.
attendant carenoun: Nonmedical help with everyday activities allows a person with a disability to live more independently at home.
attending behaviornoun: Actions such as responsive posture and appropriate nodding accompany careful listening and observation during a conversation.
attensitynoun: In Titchener's historical terminology, a sensation has a degree of clarity or power to draw attention.
attentionnoun: Mentally focusing on some sights, sounds, or thoughts while staying ready to respond to them.
attention decrementnoun: Attention can decrease across a sequence, leaving later material less thoroughly processed and less well remembered.
attention disordernoun: An older label described persistent problems directing or sustaining attention, particularly difficulties now associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
attention fluctuationnoun: Awareness of an object or sensation can come and go even when the stimulation itself remains unchanged.
attention load measurenoun: Researchers estimate a task's attention demands by measuring how much it disrupts performance on another task done simultaneously.
Attention Network Test (ANT)noun: A computerized task measures readiness, attention shifting, and control of competing responses using targets presented with different cues.
attention network theorynoun: This theory proposes three interacting brain networks for becoming alert, directing focus, and managing conflicting information or responses.
attention overloadnoun: Tasks temporarily become difficult to manage when their combined demands exceed a person's available attention.
attention shiftingphrase: Moving your mental spotlight from one place to another, either on purpose or when something suddenly grabs it.
attention spannoun: The duration of continued focus on a particular activity or interest varies with the person, task, and circumstances.
attention trainingnoun: A tailored program teaches people to maintain focus on useful task information while setting aside distractions.
attention-control training (ACT)noun: An individualized program assesses attention patterns and task demands, then teaches skills for concentrating on relevant cues despite distractions.
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)phrase: A childhood disorder marked by ongoing inattention and/or hyperactive, impulsive behavior that harms functioning across different places.
attention-gettingadjective: Behavior described this way aims to make other people notice or respond to the person doing it.
attention-span testnoun: An assessment measures how well someone maintains focus or resists distractions, although fatigue and surroundings can influence results.
attentional biasnoun: Attention favors certain information over other information, often because of emotions, current needs, or previous experiences.
attentional blindnessnoun: Visible information goes unnoticed because of how attention operates, even though the person's vision can detect it.
attentional blinknoun: People often miss a second target appearing shortly after a first target in a rapid stream because attention remains occupied.
attentional capturenoun: Something unexpectedly draws attention away from ongoing mental activity without a deliberate decision to focus on it.
attentional control of action modelnoun: This model proposes that automatic selection manages familiar actions, while a supervisory attention system handles unfamiliar or demanding situations.
attentional dyslexianoun: A reading difficulty involves trouble linking letters to their correct words, especially when several letters or words appear together.
attentional focusnoun: At any moment, attention centers on particular thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, or features of the surrounding environment.
attentional narrowingphrase: Under high stress, attention shrinks to a few cues, causing important task details to be missed.
attentional strategynoun: A learned or habitual pattern of directing focus helps a person complete a task efficiently.
attentivenessnoun: A person stays mentally alert and engaged with what is happening or gives thoughtful notice to other people's needs.
attenuated positive symptomsnoun: Experiences such as hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized thinking are present in a milder or reduced form.
attenuated psychotic symptomsnoun: Psychosis-like experiences occur in a weakened form, often with greater ability to question them or stay connected to shared reality.
attenuationnoun: A falsely smaller correlation caused by poor measurement or a restricted score range.
attenuation theorynoun: This theory proposes that unattended information receives weaker processing, allowing especially meaningful signals to reach awareness.
attenuatornoun: A precisely adjusted instrument component reduces the strength of a sound or light signal by a controlled amount.
attitudenoun: A fairly lasting positive or negative view about a person, thing, group, issue, or idea.
attitude accessibilityphrase: How easily a stored opinion pops up when you encounter the person, thing, or issue.
attitude changephrase: A person's evaluation of something shifts because of persuasion or their own thoughts and experiences.
attitude measurenoun: A method assigns numerical scores to represent differences in how people evaluate a person, object, or issue.
attitude objectnoun: Anything a person can evaluate positively or negatively, such as a person, group, idea, policy, or object.
attitude scalephrase: A questionnaire people fill out to show how they feel about something.
attitude strengthphrase: How lasting and powerful a belief is, shown by staying stable, resisting change, shaping thinking, and guiding actions.
attitude surveyphrase: A questionnaire that measures people's feelings or opinions about several topics or things.
attitude systemnoun: Two or more evaluations are connected in memory, forming a network whose links and agreement can vary.
attitude-congeniality effectnoun: People tend to recall information matching their existing evaluations better than information that conflicts with those evaluations.
attitude-relevant knowledgenoun: Information connected to something a person evaluates becomes available in memory when that person encounters it.
attitude–behavior consistencynoun: The degree of agreement between someone's evaluation of something and their actions toward it can be high or low.
attitudinal involvementnoun: An issue or activity feels personally significant because it matters to someone's sense of self or self-worth.
attitudinal reflexnoun: An automatic bodily response prepares an animal's posture or condition for a more complex action.
attitudinal typesnoun: Jung proposed two personality categories based on whether attention usually turns toward inner experience or the outside world.
attractionnoun: Liking and interest between people that can grow from shared traits, closeness, or appearance.
attraction relationsnoun: Group relationships form patterns showing who likes, accepts, includes, dislikes, or leaves out whom.
attraction–selection–attrition model (ASA model)noun: This model proposes that organizations become more alike internally as similar people apply, get hired, and stay while others leave.
attractor dynamicsnoun: This approach studies how goals, feedback, and surroundings interact to shape movement paths, especially during repeated actions.
attributable risknoun: The extra occurrence of illness associated with an exposure estimates its contribution when a causal explanation is justified.
attributeverb: To link a person's action or an event to a certain cause.
attribute model of memorynoun: This model proposes that different brain areas handle separate memory features, such as location, timing, sensations, actions, and feelings.
attributionnoun: A judgment about what caused someone's behavior or a social event.
attribution errorphrase: A mistaken bias where we explain actions or results using the wrong causes or motives.
attribution of emotionnoun: The Schachter–Singer theory proposes that emotions depend on bodily arousal together with how a person interprets that arousal.
attribution theoryphrase: This idea explains how people decide whether behavior comes from personality or from the situation.
attribution theory of leadershipnoun: These models explain how people infer leadership ability from clues or how leaders explain followers’ behavior and respond.
attribution therapynoun: A therapist helps a person reconsider their explanations for why events happen and people behave as they do.
attributional analysis of persuasionnoun: This approach explains persuasion by examining what listeners believe motivates a speaker to hold or express a particular view.
attritionnoun: When people in a study drop out over time, results can become less trustworthy.
attunementnoun: A caregiver's responses that match a baby's feelings help the pair share the same emotional rhythm.
atypicaladjective: Not following the usual pattern or showing features that are uncommon.
atypical antipsychoticnoun: A newer antipsychotic medicine that treats psychosis with fewer movement side effects than older drugs.
atypical depressionphrase: A type of depression where mood can briefly improve and symptoms include unusual patterns like extra sleep or eating.
atypical featuresnoun: Some symptoms differ from a disorder’s usual pattern, such as depression that temporarily lifts after pleasant events.
atypical psychosisnoun: This broad diagnostic label covers experiences involving psychosis that fall outside the requirements for a more specific diagnosis.
Aubert phenomenonnoun: A truly upright line can appear tilted opposite to the direction of a viewer’s head tilt.
AUCabbreviation: Meaning “area under the curve,” this abbreviation describes the measured space beneath a graphed curve and above its horizontal axis.
audibility curvenoun: A graph shows the lowest detectable sound pressure level, in decibels, for pure tones at different frequencies.
audibility rangenoun: The span of sound frequencies a person can hear is often described for humans as roughly 20 to 20,000 hertz.
audible thoughtnoun: A person experiences their own thoughts as a voice they hear, giving those thoughts a hallucinated sound quality.
audiencenoun: People who watch, listen to, or are meant to receive a performance, event, or message.
audience effectnoun: Being watched can change behavior, often helping practiced tasks while making unfamiliar or difficult tasks harder.
audience tasknoun: A person performs a goal-directed activity while at least one other person watches them do it.
audio-prefix: This word beginning adds a meaning connected with sound or the ability to hear.
audiogenic seizurenoun: Loud noise triggers a seizure in a person or animal susceptible to this type of response.
audiogramnoun: A hearing-test graph plots the softest tones someone detects at different frequencies compared with standard hearing reference levels.
audiogravic illusionnoun: A listener misjudges where a sound originates because their body leans or gravity seems to pull from a different direction.
audiogyral illusionnoun: A sound source that stays still seems to move while the listener’s body rotates.
audiologynoun: This field studies hearing and provides assessment, treatment, and support for hearing loss and related balance difficulties.
audiometernoun: An electronic instrument presents carefully controlled sounds to measure how well someone hears, often supplying results for a hearing graph.
audiometric chambernoun: A specially built enclosure reduces outside noise so hearing tests can take place in quieter conditions.
audiometric zeronoun: A standardized barely audible tone level at each frequency sets the zero point for measuring hearing levels.
audiometrynoun: Testing how well a person hears using electronic equipment to find hearing loss and how severe it is.
audiotactile devicenoun: An assistive tool turns input from a touch-sensitive pad into speech produced electronically.
audiovisual instructionnoun: Teaching uses recorded sound, pictures, video, or other listening and viewing materials to help people learn.
auditnoun: A careful review of services, treatments, or study results to judge their quality and accuracy.
auditionnoun: The sense of hearing, including how the ears and brain detect sound.
auditory abilitiesnoun: These skills allow people to mentally represent sounds and recognize differences among them, including different tones.
auditory acuitynoun: Hearing sharpness describes how well someone detects sounds and notices small differences between very similar sounds.
auditory agnosianoun: A brain-based problem causing difficulty recognizing meaningful sounds, including words, music, or everyday noises, despite normal hearing.
auditory aphasianoun: An acquired language difficulty makes spoken words hard or impossible to understand even though hearing remains intact.
auditory attributesnoun: Sounds have perceived qualities, such as how loud, high or low, or distinctive in tone they seem.
auditory blendingnoun: A listener joins separate speech sounds together mentally to recognize the word they form.
auditory brainstem response (ABR)noun: Electrical activity generated in the brainstem after a sound can be recorded to assess hearing pathways.
auditory canalnoun: A passage in the outer ear carries sound from the visible ear to the eardrum.
auditory closurenoun: A listener mentally supplies missing portions of spoken words, usually without deliberately deciding to do so.
Auditory Consonant Trigram (ACT)noun: This memory test asks someone to recall three spoken consonant letters after varying delays filled with a distracting activity.
Auditory Continuous Performance Test (ACPT)noun: This test measures children’s sustained listening attention by having them identify a target word during six rapidly presented word lists.
auditory cortexnoun: Part of the temporal lobe that receives and sorts sound information so we can hear patterns and locations.
auditory discriminationnoun: A listener can notice differences between sounds, such as changes in their loudness or frequency.
auditory displaynoun: Information is presented through sound, sometimes through headphones that create the impression of a realistic listening environment.
auditory distance cuenoun: A feature of sound, such as its level or frequency content, helps a listener estimate how far away its source is.
auditory distance perceptionnoun: A listener estimates how far away a sound source is using sound information alone, including strength and reflected sound.
auditory evoked potentialnoun: Sound triggers a measurable electrical response in the body’s hearing system, which researchers or clinicians can record.
auditory fatiguenoun: Hearing sensitivity temporarily decreases after exposure to loud sound, whether that exposure is brief or prolonged.
auditory feedbacknoun: Hearing your own voice while speaking helps you adjust loudness, speed, and how clearly words come out.
auditory filternoun: A frequency-selective process in hearing responds more strongly to some sound frequencies than others, helping separate sound components.
auditory flickernoun: A sound arrives in separate bursts divided by short silent gaps instead of continuing without interruption.
auditory fusionnoun: Separate sound elements are experienced together as one unified sound rather than as distinct parts.
auditory hallucinationnoun: A person hears a voice, noise, or other sound without a corresponding sound stimulus being present.
auditory inductionnoun: A briefly interrupted sound seems continuous when a louder sound with suitable frequencies covers or replaces the missing part.
auditory labyrinthnoun: The inner ear contains a complex network of bony spaces and membrane-lined passages supporting hearing and balance.
auditory localizationphrase: Finding where a sound comes from and how it moves using clues in what we hear.
auditory maskingnoun: One sound makes another harder to notice, tell apart, or recognize.
auditory memoryphrase: Remembering information heard through the ears for a short time or a long time.
auditory memory spannoun: The measure counts how many spoken items someone can immediately repeat in their original sequence after a single presentation.
auditory nervenoun: This hearing branch of cranial nerve eight carries signals from the cochlea to the brainstem.
auditory objectnoun: A sound or group of sounds is experienced as one distinct unit, separate from other sounds.
auditory ossiclesnoun: Three small middle-ear bones pass vibrations from the eardrum into the inner ear.
auditory pathwayphrase: The nerve route carrying sound signals from inner ear hair cells to the brain's hearing cortex.
auditory perceptionnoun: The brain organizes information arriving through the ears into meaningful experiences of sound.
auditory perceptual disordernoun: This older label describes difficulty interpreting sounds and distinguishing speech that ordinary hearing sensitivity alone does not explain.
auditory processingphrase: The brain's steps for taking in sounds and making sense of what is heard.
auditory processing disordernoun: A person has difficulty processing sound information, including speech, beyond what reduced hearing sensitivity alone would explain.
auditory projection areanoun: This region of the brain's temporal lobe processes hearing information, helping distinguish sounds and identify their locations.
auditory sensationnoun: A basic experience of hearing occurs when sound or another suitable stimulus activates the hearing system.
auditory sensation levelnoun: In this usage, the level describes how intense a sound seems to a particular listener.
auditory sensation unitnoun: This unit represents the smallest change in sound intensity that a listener can detect under specified conditions.
auditory sensory memorynoun: A brief trace of sound remains available for roughly two to three seconds after the sound ends.
auditory skillsnoun: These abilities help people distinguish sounds, focus on what they hear, and remember information received through hearing.
auditory space perceptionnoun: Hearing helps a person judge a sound source's direction, distance, and height.
auditory spannoun: This measure shows how many heard items someone can repeat immediately, in sequence, after hearing them just once.
auditory spectrumnoun: This range includes sound frequencies a listener can hear, commonly described for humans as roughly 20 to 20,000 hertz.
auditory stimulationnoun: Sound is presented to activate hearing and prompt responses in research, assessment, or therapy.
auditory stimulusnoun: A sound, vibration, or other event can activate the hearing system and produce a hearing experience.
auditory systemphrase: The body parts and brain pathways that let us hear sounds make up the hearing system.
auditory thresholdnoun: The lowest detectable sound level is usually measured as the level heard in half of repeated trials.
auditory thrombosisnoun: A clot blocks the internal auditory artery and can cause a sudden loss of hearing.
auditory trainingphrase: Teaching someone with limited hearing to better tell sounds apart and use context to understand speech.
Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT)noun: This assessment measures learning and memory through repeated spoken word lists and recall immediately and after a delay.
Aufgabenoun: This historical concept describes readiness for particular mental actions created by a task's demands or instructions.
augmentationnoun: A bigger-than-expected rise in an evoked brain response after a stronger stimulus or clearer averaging.
augmentation principlenoun: People infer a stronger motive when someone acts despite obstacles, costs, or reasons to avoid the action.
augmentation strategyphrase: Adding another medicine to make a first medicine work better, often for depression.
augmentative communicationnoun: An outside resource helps someone communicate more clearly, easily, or fully.
augurynoun: People attempt to predict future events by interpreting natural happenings or other supposed signs.
auranoun: A warning feeling, such as odd smells or flashing lights, that can happen before a seizure or migraine.
auraladjective: Something described this way concerns the ear or is experienced through hearing.
aural harmonicnoun: The ear generates an extra frequency at a whole-number multiple of an incoming tone's frequency through its own distortion.
auriclenoun: The visible outer flap of the ear gathers sound and directs it toward the ear canal.
auscultationnoun: An examiner listens to internal body sounds, usually through a stethoscope, to help assess health.
Austrian schoolnoun: This late nineteenth-century psychology movement in Vienna and Graz studied how mental activity creates organized perceptions, anticipating Gestalt psychology.
aut-prefix: This word part adds the meaning of self or something caused by oneself.
autassassinophilianoun: Sexual arousal is linked to imagining or believing that someone might kill oneself.
autemesianoun: Vomiting occurs without an identifiable physical disease or other organic explanation.
authenticitynoun: When a therapist seems real, honest, and caring rather than acting like a distant professional.
authoritarianadjective: Favoring strict control, obedience, and little freedom for other people to choose.
authoritarian consciencenoun: In Fromm's theory, moral judgments follow feared authority or authority's rules absorbed into one's own thinking.
authoritarian leadernoun: A leader controls decisions and assignments, gives followers little say, and often directs interactions through criticism.
authoritarian parentingphrase: A strict parenting style with high control and low warmth, where children are expected to obey without question.
authoritarian personalityphrase: A rigid personality style that obeys powerful people, expects obedience from others, and dislikes those who break tradition.
authoritative parentingphrase: Parents set clear rules and stay warm and responsive, helping children learn self-control and confidence.
authoritynoun: The power to influence others, often because of a role, rank, expertise, or personal appeal.
authority and social order maintaining orientationnoun: In Kohlberg's fourth stage, people judge actions by respect for authority, fulfillment of duties, and preservation of social order.
authority complexnoun: This psychodynamic concept proposes that hidden needs for authority lead people to give others exaggerated power and submit excessively.
authority relationsnoun: Patterns of status and respect shape who directs others and who defers within a group.
autismnoun: A neurodevelopmental condition with early social-communication difficulties and repetitive, restricted behaviors.
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)phrase: A neurodevelopmental condition causing lasting social communication difficulties and restricted, repetitive interests or behaviors that usually begin in early childhood.
autistic disorderphrase: Older diagnosis for autism with social communication problems and repetitive behaviors starting early in childhood.
autistic fantasynoun: This historical defense-mechanism label describes excessive daydreaming used to manage stress instead of addressing problems.
autistic savantnoun: An autistic person shows an exceptionally strong ability in a specific area, such as calculation, memory, or music.
autistic thinkingnoun: This outdated, misleading label described self-absorbed fantasy with little connection to everyday reality.
autistic-contiguous positionnoun: Ogden's psychoanalytic theory proposes an early, preverbal way of experiencing others through sensory contact that helps establish security.
auto- (aut-)prefix: This word beginning signals that something concerns oneself or arises from one's own actions.
autoagonistophilianoun: Sexual arousal is associated with being watched or recorded during sexual activity.
autoantigennoun: A substance belonging to the body, often a protein, becomes a target of its own immune response.
autoassassinatophilianoun: Sexual excitement is associated with a fantasy or belief that one's life is threatened by another person.
autobiographical memoryphrase: Memory for events and facts from your own life, including what happened and what it meant.
Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI)phrase: A semistructured interview checks how well someone remembers personal life events and facts from different times in life.
autobiographynoun: In counseling, a person writes their own life story to help explore feelings, experiences, and patterns of behavior.
autocentricadjective: A person's attention or viewpoint centers on their own self and experiences.
autochthonousadjective: An event or process begins within a person independently of outside influences.
autochthonous gestaltnoun: A perceived pattern arises from internal influences rather than features of the outside stimulus.
autocliticnoun: In behavioral language theory, a speech element depends on other speech and changes how a listener responds to it.
autocorrelationnoun: Measurements taken over time are related to earlier measurements of that same variable at a particular time gap.
autocraticadjective: Describes a leader who makes decisions alone and allows little input or disagreement from others.
autocratic leadernoun: A leader makes decisions alone, rejects others' suggestions, assigns duties without considering preferences, and often criticizes group members.
autocrineadjective: A cell releases a chemical signal that acts back on that same cell.
autodysomophobianoun: A person persistently fears giving off an unpleasant body smell, causing serious distress and often repeated washing or checking.
autoenucleationnoun: An individual extracts a whole bodily organ or tumor themselves, an act sometimes associated with severe psychiatric symptoms.
autoerotic asphyxianoun: A person restricts their oxygen supply to increase sexual pleasure during masturbation, creating a risk of accidental death.
autoeroticismnoun: A person creates sexual excitement or satisfaction through their own thoughts or actions.
autoerythrocyte sensitization syndromenoun: A rare condition causes painful bruises that may grow larger and may be associated with severe emotional stress.
autoflagellationnoun: In this sexual usage, a person gains sexual pleasure from striking their own body.
autogenic trainingnoun: A relaxation method uses self-directed suggestions and attention to bodily sensations, such as warmth and heaviness, to reduce stress.
autognosisnoun: A person has knowledge and understanding of their own self.
autographismnoun: Light scratching or pressure on the skin produces raised welts, often with surrounding redness.
autohypnosisnoun: A person brings themselves into a hypnotic state, usually through suggestions they give themselves.
autohypnotic amnesianoun: In historical Jungian theory, repression was proposed to involve forgetting ideas or memories through suggestions a person gives themselves.
autoimmune neurologynoun: A medical specialty studies and treats nervous system conditions caused by misdirected immune responses, including some associated with cancer.
autoimmunitynoun: The immune system mistakenly responds against the body's own cells or tissues.
autokinesisnoun: A bodily movement occurs voluntarily, under the person's own control.
autokinetic effectnoun: Seeing a still point of light seem to move in darkness, often influenced by other people's judgments.
automaintenancenoun: An established behavior is sustained by pairing signals with rewards delivered on schedule, regardless of whether the behavior occurs.
automasochismnoun: A person gains sexual pleasure from pain they cause themselves, either alone or during activity with a partner.
automated assessmentnoun: A computer collects and evaluates psychological information, often comparing answers or task performance with previously gathered data.
automated desensitizationnoun: Devices guide gradual exposure to feared situations alongside relaxation exercises to help reduce anxiety.
automated natural language understandingnoun: Computer processes interpret the meaning of spoken or written language to support suitable answers or actions.
automated reasoningnoun: An area of artificial intelligence uses computers to perform mathematical reasoning, such as solving equations and proving theorems.
automated speech recognition (ASR)noun: A computer identifies spoken words and usually converts them into text without necessarily interpreting their meaning.
automated telephone disease management (ATDM)noun: Automated calls help people manage ongoing illnesses by sharing guidance, giving reminders, collecting health updates, and allowing questions.
automatic actionnoun: A person performs an act without needing to pay attention or consciously notice it.
automatic activationnoun: The mind processes a stimulus and prepares related responses without deliberate choice, often faster than intentional processing.
automatic activation of attitudesnoun: An existing evaluation springs from memory when its target is encountered, especially when that evaluation is easy to retrieve.
automatic drawingnoun: A person draws during hypnosis or while their attention is directed elsewhere, with little conscious guidance of the drawing.
automatic obediencenoun: A person follows others' directions excessively or mechanically, with little questioning or independent consideration.
automatic performancenoun: A thoroughly practiced skill runs with little need for deliberate control because it has become routine.
automatic processnoun: A mental operation or behavior can happen quickly, with little effort and without deliberate intention.
automatic promotionnoun: Students advance to a higher grade despite insufficient academic mastery, typically to keep them with classmates their own age.
automatic reinforcernoun: A behavior's physical or sensory result makes that behavior more likely without depending on another person's response.
automatic speaker recognitionnoun: A system identifies who is speaking by analyzing features of their speech, usually with a computer.
automatic speechnoun: Spoken words come out involuntarily or require minimal thought because their sequence has become deeply familiar through repetition.
automatic thoughtsphrase: Quick, habitual thoughts that pop up without effort and can shape feelings and behavior.
automatic writingnoun: A person writes with little attention to the activity or without conscious awareness, sometimes during hypnosis.
automaticitynoun: Doing a task quickly and with little effort or conscious attention after enough practice.
automatismnoun: A person makes movements or speaks mechanically, without conscious awareness, intention, or a purposeful goal.
automatism defensenoun: A legal argument claims that a dissociated state prevented conscious control or the criminal intent needed for responsibility.
automatizationnoun: Practice makes a skill or habit so routine that carrying it out needs little deliberate effort.
automatographnoun: A historical instrument records tiny unintended hand movements using a movable plate supported by metal balls.
automatonnoun: A machine follows programmed instructions to carry out actions resembling human functions.
automotive telematicsnoun: Technology sends information, such as traffic updates, directions, or entertainment, to road vehicles while they travel.
automutilationnoun: In this sexual usage, pleasure comes from seriously injuring one's own body or imagining one's body parts as damaged.
autonecrophilianoun: Sexual pleasure comes from imagining oneself dead while another person engages sexually with one's body.
autonoeticadjective: Remembering or knowing includes awareness of oneself as someone who personally experienced events across time.
autonomicadjective: Happening automatically without conscious control, especially in body functions managed by the autonomic nervous system.
autonomic apparatusnoun: The organs and glands regulated by autonomic nerves carry out automatic functions such as digestion and circulation.
autonomic balancenoun: The sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve branches coordinate their activity to regulate automatic body functions.
autonomic conditioningnoun: Researchers pair a cue with an event and measure learned automatic body responses, often through changes in skin conductivity.
autonomic dysfunctionphrase: Problems in the automatic nervous system that make body functions too weak, too strong, or fail.
autonomic dysreflexianoun: After a high spinal injury, stimulation below the injury can trigger an extreme autonomic response with dangerously increased blood pressure.
autonomic function testnoun: An assessment checks how autonomic nerves regulate automatic processes by measuring responses such as sweating or heartbeat changes.
autonomic ganglianoun: Clusters of nerve cell bodies in the autonomic nervous system relay signals to organs.
autonomic hyperactivityphrase: Heightened activity in the body's automatic stress system causes symptoms like sweating, racing heart, and upset stomach.
autonomic hyperreflexianoun: Following a high spinal injury, signals from below the injury can produce excessive autonomic activity and dangerously elevated blood pressure.
autonomic learningnoun: Experience changes automatic body responses controlled by autonomic nerves, including heartbeat speed and blood pressure.
autonomic motor poolnoun: Nerve cells grouped within brainstem or spinal cord tissue send commands to autonomic ganglia, helping control internal organs.
autonomic nervous system (ANS)phrase: Controls automatic body functions like heart rate, digestion, sweating, and glands through the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.
autonomic neuropathynoun: Disrupted autonomic nerve function interferes with automatic body regulation, potentially affecting circulation, digestion, or other processes.
autonomic reactivitynoun: The strength of automatic bodily changes following a stimulus indicates how strongly a person's autonomic system responds.
autonomic responsephrase: An automatic body change controlled by the autonomic nervous system, like sweating or a faster heartbeat.
autonomic restrictorsnoun: This label describes people with generalized anxiety whose autonomic arousal measures are lower than those associated with other anxiety disorders.
autonomousadjective: Able to think, choose, and act on one's own rather than being controlled by others.
autonomous activitynoun: In systems theory, a process or behavior begins spontaneously within a system without an outside trigger.
autonomous depressionnoun: A major depressive episode develops without an obvious stressful event or social circumstance that explains its onset.
autonomous stagephrase: In later childhood, kids see rules as changeable agreements and judge acts more by intent than punishment.
autonomous states of mindnoun: In attachment research, these are ways of understanding childhood relationships coherently while recognizing the value of care and emotional bonds.
autonomous syntaxnoun: A language theory proposes that rules for arranging sentences operate separately from what sentences mean or accomplish in communication.
autonomous work groupsnoun: Small employee teams manage their own work methods, production, and quality within an organization.
autonomynoun: Having the freedom to choose and direct your actions instead of feeling pushed by others.
autonomy versus shame and doubtnoun: Erikson's proposed second developmental stage describes toddlers building independence or developing shame and uncertainty about their abilities.
autopagnosianoun: A neurological difficulty makes someone unable to identify or correctly point to parts of their own body.
autophagynoun: In older behavioral usage, this means chewing or consuming one's own flesh; another usage describes consuming bodily tissues for nourishment.
autophonynoun: A person hears their own voice as unusually loud or echoing inside their head, often because of an ear condition.
autoplastynoun: A person adapts to circumstances by changing their own thinking or behavior instead of changing the surroundings.
autopoesisnoun: A system maintains itself through components that continually support and sustain one another, sometimes in models of thinking.
autopsynoun: An examination of a dead person's body to find the cause, and sometimes time, of death.
autopsychic delusionnoun: A firmly held false belief concerns one's own personality and persists despite strong evidence against it.
autopsychosisnoun: This historical label describes a delusional condition involving fixed, false beliefs about one's own identity, importance, or abilities.
autoradiographynoun: A laboratory imaging method uses radiation from labeled chemicals to show their locations within tissue samples or other testing materials.
autoreceptornoun: A receptor on a sending neuron detects that neuron's own neurotransmitter and helps regulate how much it makes or releases.
autoregressionnoun: Measurements collected across time show a relationship in which earlier values help predict later values of the same variable.
autoregressive model (AR model)noun: A statistical model predicts a variable's value using its earlier measurements from the same sequence over time.
autoscopenoun: An instrument makes tiny muscle movements easier to observe by enlarging or recording them.
autoscopophilianoun: Sexual enjoyment comes from seeing oneself undressed, undressing, or engaged in sexual activity, directly or through images.
autoscopynoun: A person experiences seeing an apparent duplicate of their own body located outside their physical body.
autosexualitynoun: In this usage, sexual arousal or stimulation occurs alone, including through fantasies, dreams, or masturbation.
autoshapingnoun: An animal learns to approach or act on a reward-predicting cue even though that action is unnecessary for receiving the reward.
autosomaladjective: Describes a gene trait carried on non-sex chromosomes rather than on X or Y.
autosomal aberrationnoun: A condition involves changes in the number or structure of chromosomes other than sex chromosomes, potentially affecting health or development.
autosomal dominantphrase: Describes a trait caused by one changed gene on a non-sex chromosome.
autosomal recessivephrase: Describes a trait or disorder that appears only when both copies of a nonsex gene are recessive.
autosomal trisomy of group Gnoun: An older chromosome classification describes an extra copy of chromosome 21 or 22, with trisomy 21 being more common.
autosomenoun: Any chromosome that does not determine biological sex.
autostereogramnoun: A flat picture with repeating patterns can appear to have depth when the eyes align the patterns in a particular way.
autostereotypingnoun: A person uses general beliefs about a group they belong to as part of how they understand themselves.
autostimulation theorynoun: A proposed explanation suggests that newborns' rapid eye movement sleep supplies internal stimulation that helps their visual systems develop.
autosuggestibilitynoun: A person's readiness to be influenced by suggestions they give themselves can shape experiences such as self-hypnosis.
autosuggestionnoun: A person gives themselves encouraging suggestions to influence feelings or bodily experience, often aiming for confidence or relaxation.
autotomynoun: In animal behavior, an animal sheds a body part, such as a tail, often as an escape response.
autotopagnosianoun: A brain-related recognition difficulty prevents someone from reliably identifying or locating parts of their own body.
auxiliaryadjective: Something serves a supporting role by helping a main person, process, or system carry out its work.
auxiliary egonoun: In psychodrama, a participant other than the therapist portrays someone important in the central client's life.
auxiliary inversionnoun: In grammar, a helping verb moves before the subject, commonly turning a statement into a question.
auxiliary organnoun: An organ provides supporting help while another organ leads the body's response to something it detects.
auxiliary therapistnoun: A therapist works alongside another therapist to provide treatment for the same person, couple, family, or group.
auxiliary verbnoun: A helping verb combines with another verb to express grammatical information such as timing, possibility, or whether an action is received.
avanoun: Another name for kava, this preparation from a Pacific shrub's roots has sedating effects and traditional social and ceremonial uses.
availabilitynoun: Information has been stored in memory, even if you cannot bring it to mind right now.
availability heuristicnoun: People judge how likely something is by how easily examples come to mind.
available-case analysisnoun: A statistical approach uses participants with the measurements needed for each calculation, even when they lack measurements required for other calculations.
avalanche conductionnoun: A small sensory input spreads through many neurons, producing a much larger response than the original input.
avatarnoun: A digital character or image represents a person in an online setting.
Aventylnoun: This brand name identifies nortriptyline, a medicine belonging to the tricyclic antidepressant family.
averagenoun: A number found by adding all scores and dividing by how many scores there are.
average childnoun: In peer ratings, this child receives middle-range scores for both overall acceptance and how often classmates mention them.
average deviationphrase: The average distance of scores from the mean, ignoring whether they are above or below.
average errornoun: This measure describes how far observations typically differ from a chosen standard or comparison value.
average evoked potential (AEP)noun: Repeated brain responses to identical sensory events are averaged to reveal their shared electrical pattern amid random activity.
aversionnoun: A strong feeling of dislike that makes someone avoid a person, thing, or experience.
aversion conditioningnoun: Learning links an unwanted behavior with an unpleasant experience, making that behavior less appealing.
aversion therapyphrase: A behavior treatment that pairs an unwanted habit with something unpleasant to reduce or stop it.
aversive conditioningphrase: A learning method that pairs a behavior with something unpleasant so the behavior happens less often.
aversive controlnoun: Behavior is influenced by unpleasant consequences, including their delivery, removal, or prevention.
aversive eventphrase: An unpleasant experience or stimulus that a person or animal tries to avoid or escape.
aversive racismnoun: Showing hidden racial bias despite believing in equality, especially when a situation is unclear or open to excuse.
aversive stimulusphrase: An unpleasant event or signal that makes a person or animal want to avoid or escape it.
aversive systemnoun: Gray proposed a system linking neuroticism to sensitivity toward unpleasant signals and tendencies to avoid them.
aversive therapynoun: This behavioral treatment pairs an unwanted behavior with unpleasant experiences to reduce its occurrence.
Aveyron boynoun: Victor was a child discovered near Aveyron around 1800 whose lessons with physician Itard influenced education for children with disabilities.
avian influenzanoun: This viral infection mainly affects birds, although some forms can also infect humans and other mammals.
aviation clinical psychology programnoun: This program at Alabama's Fort Rucker Aeromedical Research Laboratory supported Army aviation through research and training for aviation psychologists.
aviation psychologynoun: This applied field studies how people's thoughts, feelings, and actions affect flying and the operation of aircraft systems.
aviophobianoun: A lasting, excessive fear of air travel can cause strong distress or avoidance of flying.
AVLTabbreviation: The Auditory Verbal Learning Test measures learning and memory by asking someone to recall repeatedly presented spoken word lists.
AVMabbreviation: An arteriovenous malformation is a tangled connection between arteries and veins without the tiny vessels normally separating them.
avoidancenoun: Staying away from people, places, or actions to escape feared harm or painful feelings.
avoidance behaviorphrase: Actions used to stay away from expected unpleasant or painful situations, events, or cues.
avoidance conditioningphrase: Learning to act so a warning signal helps you prevent something unpleasant from happening.
avoidance copingnoun: A person manages stress by turning attention away from the problem or withdrawing from the situation.
avoidance gradientnoun: In Miller's theory, the urge to withdraw generally grows stronger as an unpleasant event or object gets closer.
avoidance learningphrase: Learning to do something that prevents an unpleasant event from happening or continuing.
avoidance of intimacynoun: A person tends to pull away from emotional or physical closeness in relationships, often because closeness feels uncomfortable.
avoidance responsephrase: A learned action taken before something unpleasant happens, to keep it from occurring or reaching you.
avoidance trainingnoun: An individual learns an action that keeps an unpleasant event from happening or delays its arrival.
avoidance without warning signalnoun: Without advance cues, unpleasant events recur at set intervals unless a learned response postpones the next event by a set time.
avoidance–avoidance conflictnoun: A person must choose between two options that seem equally undesirable.
avoidant attachmentphrase: An insecure infant attachment pattern where a baby avoids a caregiver after separation and seems little upset.
avoidant attachment stylenoun: An adult relationship pattern involves discomfort with emotional closeness and a tendency to keep others at a distance.
avoidant marriagenoun: A lasting marriage features few arguments because partners accept their differences without ongoing bitterness.
avoidant paruresisnoun: Anxiety about other people being nearby makes it difficult or impossible to urinate in shared or public bathrooms.
avoidant personalityphrase: Having a lasting pattern of avoiding close relationships because being emotionally near others feels uncomfortable.
avoidant personality disorderphrase: A long-term pattern of avoiding people because of fear of criticism, despite wanting closeness and feeling inadequate.
avolitionnoun: A marked lack of motivation that makes it hard to start or keep working toward goals.
AVPabbreviation: Arginine vasopressin is a hormone that helps conserve body water and participates in stress responses, memory, and social behavior.
awarenessnoun: Noticing or knowing something, sometimes even without being fully conscious of it.
awareness trainingphrase: A teaching or therapy approach that builds self-understanding and sensitivity to other people's feelings.
awenoun: A feeling of wonder and admiration arises when something seems extraordinarily vast, beautiful, skilled, or good and challenges understanding.
awfulizeverb: To exaggerate how bad a situation is or imagine its consequences as disastrous is to awfulize.
AWOLabbreviation: The abbreviation means absence without leave, describing someone being away without required permission or notice.
Axenfeld–Rieger syndromenoun: This genetic developmental condition affects eye structures, increases glaucoma risk, and may also affect teeth and facial bones.
axialadjective: Describing the body's central line or the long direction running through a body part.
axial gradientnoun: Tissues differ in growth or energy use depending on their position along a body's length or another axis.
axiomnoun: A statement is accepted without proof within a reasoning system and serves as a starting point for further conclusions.
axisnoun: A central line or linked set of parts used to organize body, brain, stress, or graph information.
axis cylindernoun: The inner portion of an axon contains its cellular material and the membrane enclosing that material.
axo-axonal synapsenoun: At this neural junction, one neuron's axon sends a signal directly to another neuron's axon.
axolemmanoun: The membrane enclosing an axon separates its internal contents from the surrounding environment.
axonnoun: A neuron's long extension carries electrical signals toward other nerve cells, muscles, or glands.
axon collateralnoun: A side branch extends from an axon, providing an additional route for a neuron's outgoing signals.
axon hillocknoun: A cone-shaped region on a neuron's main body marks the point where its axon begins.
axon reflexnoun: Stimulation sends signals through peripheral nerve branches to nearby endings, triggering chemical release without a central nervous system relay.
axonal bundlenoun: Several axons run alongside one another as a group of nerve fibers.
axonal myelinationnoun: Supporting cells build a fatty insulating layer around an axon, helping its electrical signals travel efficiently.
axonal transportnoun: Materials move inside an axon toward its endings or back toward the neuron's main body.
axonal varicositiesnoun: Swollen sections along an axon hold small sacs of chemical messengers and release those messengers to nearby cells.
axoplasmnoun: The cellular material inside an axon provides the internal setting through which supplies are transported.
axoplasmic flow (axoplasmic transport)noun: Cellular supplies travel through an axon's interior in either direction between its endings and the neuron's main body.
axosomatic synapsenoun: At this junction, one neuron's axon communicates with the main body of another neuron.
axotomynoun: An axon is cut, disconnecting part of a neuron's signaling pathway, sometimes for experimental research.
ayahuascanoun: A plant-based psychedelic drink from Amazonian traditions alters perception and consciousness and has longstanding spiritual and healing uses.
Ayurvedanoun: A traditional Indian healing system with Hindu roots combines practices involving diet, herbs, body, mind, and spiritual life.
azapironenoun: A non-benzodiazepine anti-anxiety medicine class that works slowly and usually causes less sleepiness and misuse risk.
azathioprinenoun: This medicine reduces immune system activity and is used for organ transplants and certain illnesses involving excessive immune reactions.
azoospermianoun: A reproductive condition involves having no sperm cells present in semen.

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