Glossary / J
Psychology terms starting with J
108 terms with short definitions. Study these as flashcards
- J curvenoun
- A graphed value falls briefly and then rises enough to create a pattern shaped like the letter J.
- J-curve hypothesisnoun
- A proposed pattern predicts that most people closely follow social rules, while progressively fewer people depart greatly from them.
- J-shaped distributionnoun
- A graph pattern shows values falling briefly before rising steadily, creating a shape resembling the letter J.
- jabberwockynoun
- Speech or writing follows grammatical rules but does not communicate a meaningful message.
- jackknifenoun
- A statistical method estimates uncertainty by repeatedly recalculating a result with different observations left out.
- Jackson’s lawnoun
- A historical principle proposes that neurological decline first affects complex mental abilities that developed more recently.
- jacksonian marchnoun
- During a focal motor seizure, repeated muscle jerks spread in sequence from one body area to neighboring areas.
- Jacobson relaxation methodnoun
- A relaxation technique builds awareness of muscle tension and releases it gradually across different muscle groups.
- Jacobson’s organnoun
- A specialized sensory organ detects chemical signals affecting behavior in many animals, but its function in humans remains unestablished.
- jactatio capitis nocturnisnoun
- Some children repeatedly roll their heads from side to side while settling down to sleep.
- jactitationnoun
- Severe restlessness involves frequent tossing, shifting, and other repeated body movements.
- Jakob–Creutzfeldt diseasenoun
- A rare brain disease caused by misfolded prion proteins rapidly worsens thinking, coordination, and movement.
- James–Lange theorynoun
- A theory proposes that emotions arise when the brain senses bodily reactions that occur first.
- Janet’s testnoun
- An examiner checks touch sensitivity by asking someone whether they can feel contact from the examiner’s fingers.
- Janis–Feyerabend hypothesisnoun
- A persuasion hypothesis proposes challenging an opponent’s supporting arguments before responding to criticisms of your own position.
- jargonnoun
- Special words used by a job or group can make talk clear to insiders but confusing to others.
- jargon aphasianoun
- An acquired language difficulty produces easily flowing speech that listeners cannot understand because words or sentences lack clear meaning.
- JASabbreviation
- The Jenkins Activity Survey uses multiple-choice self-reports to assess Type A tendencies, including competitiveness, impatience, and urgency.
- jaundicenoun
- Excess bilirubin, a pigment from broken-down red blood cells, makes skin and the whites of eyes appear yellow.
- jaw jerknoun
- A tap on the chin can trigger reflex jaw closure, whose strength helps clinicians assess nervous system function.
- JCAHOabbreviation
- These former initials identify the Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that checks healthcare providers against standards for safe, quality care.
- JDIabbreviation
- The Job Descriptive Index measures employees’ satisfaction with their duties, pay, advancement opportunities, supervisors, and colleagues.
- JDSabbreviation
- The Job Diagnostic Survey asks employees about five work features proposed to influence motivation.
- jealousynoun
- A painful feeling that happens when someone fears a rival may take away an important relationship.
- Jehovah complexnoun
- A historical label describes grandiose delusions in which someone believes they possess divine powers or qualities.
- Jellinek’s alcoholism speciesnoun
- A historical classification divides problematic drinking into five patterns based on dependence, control, health effects, and timing.
- Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS)noun
- A multiple-choice questionnaire asks people about Type A behavior tendencies such as competitive striving, impatience, and feeling rushed.
- Jensenismnoun
- A disputed historical theory attributes racial IQ differences partly to inheritance and claims environmental efforts have limited success in raising IQ.
- jet lagnoun
- Body clock disruption after crossing time zones quickly, causing sleep, hunger, and energy to mismatch local time.
- jiggle cagenoun
- A research enclosure supported by springs measures an animal’s movements through the small vibrations those movements produce.
- jigsaw methodnoun
- Students study assigned topics with peers covering the same material, then return to teach their original group.
- jimsonweednoun
- A poisonous plant, Datura stramonium, contains chemicals that block acetylcholine signaling and can cause confusion, hallucinations, and memory loss.
- jinjinia bemarnoun
- A culturally shaped episode of intense anxiety involves fear that genitals are retracting into the body, sometimes with fear of death.
- jiryannoun
- A culturally shaped pattern of distress described in India links anxiety and bodily complaints to feared semen loss.
- jitteringnoun
- A graphing technique shifts plotted points by small random amounts so overlapping observations become easier to see.
- JLOabbreviation
- The Judgment of Line Orientation test assesses how accurately someone matches lines according to their angles.
- JND (jnd)abbreviation
- The smallest change in a stimulus that a person can notice half the time.
- job analysisphrase
- Gathering and studying details about a job to identify its tasks, tools, conditions, and needed skills.
- job criterionphrase
- A standard used to judge how well a worker performs one part of a job.
- job descriptionnoun
- A written outline of a job's title, purpose, duties, and who the worker reports to.
- Job Descriptive Index (JDI)noun
- A questionnaire measures how employees feel about their work duties, compensation, promotion prospects, managers, and coworkers.
- job designnoun
- Planning a job's tasks and duties to improve worker satisfaction and how well the organization performs.
- Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)noun
- An employee questionnaire measures skill range, task completeness, impact, independence, and performance information as potential sources of motivation.
- job dimensionsnoun
- Broad categories describe a job’s main responsibilities or the personal qualities considered important for performing it.
- job enlargementphrase
- Making a job include more tasks, and sometimes more responsibility or freedom, for the same worker.
- job enrichmentphrase
- Making work more varied and self-directed so employees feel more interested, satisfied, and motivated on the job.
- job evaluationphrase
- Comparing jobs to decide how much each should be paid within an organization.
- job interviewnoun
- A planned conversation employers use to judge whether an applicant seems suited for a job.
- job involvementnoun
- The extent to which someone sees their work role as an important part of who they are varies between people.
- job performancenoun
- How well a worker's job behaviors meet set standards, such as work quality, amount, or other goals.
- job placementnoun
- An organization assigns new or current employees to positions that fit their abilities and qualifications.
- job previewnoun
- Information for applicants about what a job will really be like, including both good and bad parts.
- job redesignphrase
- Changing tasks, tools, or the workplace on purpose to make jobs more efficient, satisfying, or easier to do.
- job requirementsphrase
- The skills and personal qualities needed to do a job safely and well.
- job rotationphrase
- Workers regularly switch duties to build skills and stay more interested in the job.
- job satisfactionphrase
- How much a worker likes or dislikes their job, including the work, rewards, and setting.
- job sharingnoun
- Two employees agree to divide one full-time role, with each receiving pay according to their share of the work.
- job specificationnoun
- A written list states the qualifications, abilities, experience, and other attributes required of someone applying for a position.
- job tenurephrase
- How long a worker has stayed in a particular job or position.
- job-characteristics modelnoun
- A theory proposes that skill range, complete tasks, meaningful impact, independence, and performance feedback can improve work motivation.
- job-component methodnoun
- A pay-setting approach compares job content, assuming similar work demands justify similar compensation.
- job-component validitynoun
- Using the Position Analysis Questionnaire, this method combines evidence about job elements to estimate how well tests predict overall suitability.
- job-placement stagenoun
- This rehabilitation phase begins when someone with a disability is considered ready to seek employment in the regular job market.
- job-safety analysisnoun
- A structured review breaks work into steps, identifies hazards, and recommends ways to remove or reduce them.
- Jocasta complexnoun
- A historical psychoanalytic concept proposes a mother’s excessively close attachment to her son, sometimes involving sexual feelings.
- Johari windownoun
- A four-part model organizes personal information according to whether you know it and whether other people know it.
- John Henry effectnoun
- A control group’s extra effort to compete with an experimental group can distort a study’s comparison.
- Johnson v. Louisiananoun
- A 1972 Supreme Court ruling held that a nonunanimous state jury conviction did not itself violate constitutional due process.
- joint attentionnoun
- People focus on the same thing while each recognizes that the others are also paying attention to it.
- Joint Commissionnoun
- A private nonprofit evaluates healthcare organizations, including mental health services, and awards accreditation when they meet established standards.
- joint distributionnoun
- A probability pattern describes how combinations of values across several random variables are distributed.
- joint probabilitynoun
- A probability measures how likely it is that two or more events both happen within the situation being considered.
- jokenoun
- A funny story or comment meant to make people laugh.
- joking manianoun
- An unusually persistent urge to make inappropriate jokes or tell pointless stories can occur after frontal brain damage.
- JOLabbreviation
- A judgment of learning estimates how well you have learned something and how likely you are to remember it.
- Jonah complexnoun
- Maslow proposed that fear of unfamiliar challenges can lead people to hold back from developing their full potential.
- Jost’s lawnoun
- A historical learning principle proposes that equally strong learned connections fade faster when newer than when older.
- jouissancenoun
- Lacan proposed a kind of intense enjoyment that exceeds ordinary satisfaction and can unsettle a person's usual balance.
- joynoun
- A strong feeling of happiness and well-being that can be calm or eager to share.
- judge-made lawnoun
- Legal principles develop through court decisions that guide how later, similar cases are decided.
- judgmentnoun
- The ability to weigh evidence, see connections, and decide what something means or what to do.
- judgment of learning (JOL)noun
- A learner estimates how securely material has been learned, often to predict whether it will be remembered later.
- Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO)noun
- A brain function test measures how accurately someone matches the angles of lines to numbered examples.
- judgment samplingnoun
- Researchers choose participants using their own views about who best represents the population they want to study.
- Jukenoun
- A family pseudonym appeared in Dugdale's historical research, later misused to support discredited claims about inherited social problems.
- jumping Frenchmen of Maine syndromenoun
- A historically reported startle syndrome among French Canadian lumberjacks involved sudden jumping, shouting, copying others, and automatically following commands.
- jumping standnoun
- An old learning apparatus tested whether rats could distinguish visual cues by jumping toward different doors to obtain food.
- juncturenoun
- Speech cues, including pauses and emphasis, help listeners locate boundaries separating words or parts of words.
- Jungian psychologyphrase
- A therapy and theory by Carl Jung focused on the unconscious, symbols, and personal growth.
- Jungian typologynoun
- Jung proposed personality categories combining inward or outward orientation with preferred thinking, feeling, sensing, or intuitive ways of responding.
- junk sciencenoun
- Research presented as scientific may earn this critical label when its findings are invalid, misleading, or fraudulent.
- junkienoun
- An offensive slang label targets people with substance use disorders, particularly those involving opioids.
- jurisprudential teaching modelnoun
- A teaching approach uses discussion of case examples to help students examine social issues and weigh different viewpoints.
- jury consultantnoun
- An expert in human behavior helps lawyers assess possible jurors, prepare people to testify, and develop courtroom strategies.
- jury nullificationnoun
- Jurors return a not guilty verdict despite believing the defendant broke the law, often because they consider conviction unjust.
- jury poolnoun
- A group of community members is assembled as potential jurors from whom a trial jury may be selected.
- just noticeable difference (JND; jnd)phrase
- The smallest change in a sight, sound, or other stimulus a person can notice half the time.
- just noticeable durationnoun
- A comparison event lasts just long enough, or briefly enough, to be perceived as different from a reference event.
- just-noticeable-differences methodnoun
- Researchers increase and decrease a comparison stimulus against a fixed reference to estimate the smallest difference people can detect.
- just-world hypothesisnoun
- People may believe life generally rewards or punishes everyone fairly, which can encourage blaming people for undeserved suffering.
- justicenoun
- Fair treatment and decisions that settle conflicts without favoritism and with fitting consequences.
- justificationnoun
- Giving reasons to support a belief or action, sometimes to excuse behavior that feels wrong.
- juvenile delinquencyphrase
- Criminal acts committed by someone under 18, such as theft, assault, or destroying property.
- juvenile justice systemnoun
- Courts and government agencies handle young people's alleged offenses, generally placing more emphasis on rehabilitation than adult justice systems.
- juvenile periodnoun
- An animal's development includes a stage after dependence on parents for survival ends but before sexual activity begins.
- juvenile transfer hearingnoun
- A court examines facts to decide whether a young person's case should move into the adult court system.
- juvenile-onset diabetes (juvenile diabetes)noun
- An older name for type 1 diabetes describes a condition in which the body produces little or no insulin.
- juvenilismnoun
- An uncommon label describes sexual attraction directed toward children or adolescents.
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