Glossary / K

Psychology terms starting with K

168 terms with short definitions. Study these as flashcards

kabbreviation
In statistics, this letter often stands for the number of people or groups being studied.
K complexnoun
A brief, large brain wave with a sharp change and rebound commonly appears during stage 2 non-REM sleep.
K-R 20abbreviation
A reliability formula estimates how consistently test items scored in two categories work together, allowing their difficulty levels to differ.
K-R 21abbreviation
A simplified reliability formula estimates consistency among test items scored in two categories, assuming the items have equal difficulty.
K-strategynoun
A traditional evolutionary model describes producing relatively few offspring while investing substantial care in each, near an environment's population limit.
K2noun
A street name describes products containing synthetic chemicals that act on cannabinoid receptors, often sprayed onto dried plant material.
KABCabbreviation
A child intelligence test designed to reduce cultural and language bias in assessment.
KAEabbreviation
A kinesthetic aftereffect occurs when earlier movement experience changes how a later movement feels, without necessarily changing actual performance.
KAIabbreviation
A questionnaire measures whether someone prefers solving problems by adapting existing approaches or developing more unconventional ones.
kainate receptornoun
A type of glutamate receptor forms an ion channel that helps nerve cells respond to chemical signals.
kainic acidnoun
A chemical originally obtained from red seaweed strongly excites neurons and is used experimentally to study brain damage.
kairosnoun
Existential psychology describes a heightened moment when someone recognizes the personal meaning of an important experience.
KAITabbreviation
An intelligence test for people aged 11 and older assesses reasoning with unfamiliar problems and knowledge gained through experience.
Kalischer syndromenoun
An alternative name for Sturge–Weber syndrome describes a condition involving unusual blood vessels that can affect skin, brain, and eyes.
Kallikaknoun
A family pseudonym featured in Goddard's discredited study claiming that intellectual disability and moral character followed inherited family patterns.
Kallmann’s syndromenoun
A genetic condition combines reduced reproductive hormone activity, often delaying puberty, with a reduced or absent ability to smell.
Kamin effectnoun
Learning that one cue predicts an outcome can limit learning about another cue added alongside it later.
kangaroo carenoun
A caregiver holds an infant against their bare chest, providing skin contact that supports warmth and closeness, especially after premature birth.
Kanizsa figurenoun
An arrangement of separate shapes makes viewers perceive an outlined surface that is not actually drawn and may seem brighter.
Kanner’s syndromenoun
A historical name for childhood autism describes developmental differences involving social communication, focused interests, and repetitive patterns of behavior.
Kansas v. Hendricksnoun
A 1997 Supreme Court ruling upheld Kansas's civil commitment process for certain sexually dangerous people with qualifying mental conditions after imprisonment.
kansei engineeringnoun
Designers study people's feelings about product features and use those findings to guide how future products look, feel, or work.
Kantianismnoun
Kant's philosophy proposes that built-in mental concepts organize experience, limiting knowledge to how things appear rather than their underlying reality.
Kaposi sarcoma (KS)noun
A cancer caused by human herpesvirus 8 produces abnormal tissue growths, often appearing as colored skin patches when immunity weakens.
kappanoun
A statistic showing how much two raters agree on categories after subtracting agreement expected by chance.
kappa effectnoun
A larger stimulus can seem to last longer than a smaller one even when their actual durations match.
kappa opioid receptornoun
A cell receptor responds to certain opioids and contributes to pain relief, unpleasant mood, and some changes in perception.
kappa wavenoun
An electrical rhythm historically described during thinking has about 8–12 cycles per second and weaker amplitude than alpha rhythms.
karezzanoun
A sexual practice involves intercourse during which the male partner does not reach orgasm.
karmanoun
In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, actions have moral consequences, with intention especially important in Buddhist understandings.
karyotypenoun
The complete set of a cell's chromosomes, including their number, shape, and any unusual changes.
katnoun
Another name for khat, this plant contains cathinone, a stimulant that can increase alertness and lead to dependence.
kata-prefix
This word beginning can mean downward, underneath, reversal, or degeneration, depending on the word it forms.
Katz Index of Activities of Daily Livingnoun
An observer rates how independently someone manages six basic tasks, including washing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, and controlling bladder and bowels.
Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT)noun
An intelligence assessment for people aged eleven or older measures reasoning through unfamiliar problems and using knowledge gained through experience.
Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC)phrase
A child intelligence test that measures step-by-step and whole-pattern thinking in ages 3 to 18.
kavanoun
A preparation from a Pacific shrub's roots has calming effects, but claimed benefits vary and supplements can carry serious risks.
KBSabbreviation
A knowledge-based system is a computer program that uses stored expertise and rules to reason through problems.
keep-awake pillnoun
An older informal name describes a caffeine tablet taken to temporarily increase wakefulness without requiring a prescription.
Kegel exercisesphrase
Exercises that strengthen pelvic-floor muscles to improve bladder control, reduce pain during sex, and increase sexual pleasure.
Keller plannoun
An educational approach lets students learn mainly from written materials at an individual pace, mastering each unit before moving forward.
Kemadrinnoun
A brand name identifies procyclidine, a medicine that blocks acetylcholine activity to treat Parkinson's symptoms and some medication-related movement problems.
Kempf’s diseasenoun
An obsolete diagnosis attributed sudden intense anxiety to feared same-sex desires, unwanted same-sex contact, or losing a same-sex partner.
Kendall’s coefficient of concordancenoun
A statistic called W measures agreement across several sets of rankings, ranging from zero for none to one for complete agreement.
Kendall’s taunoun
A statistic measures how consistently two ranked variables order pairs of observations in the same or opposite directions.
Kendall’s Wnoun
A ranking agreement statistic gives values from zero to one, with one meaning all raters place items in identical order.
Kennard principlenoun
A proposed principle suggests younger brains recover better after injury because they reorganize more readily, but this does not always hold.
keratitisnoun
Inflammation affects the cornea, the clear covering at the front of an eye, and may interfere with vision.
keratoconusnoun
A usually noninflammatory eye condition thins and distorts the cornea into a cone-like shape, making vision less clear.
keratometernoun
An eye examination instrument measures corneal curvature to help assess uneven focusing, including astigmatism.
kernel sentencenoun
In early generative grammar, a basic sentence served as the starting form for creating questions, negatives, and other variations.
kernel-of-truth hypothesisnoun
A hypothesis proposes that some stereotypes contain limited accurate group information, even though they exaggerate and overlook individual differences.
kernicterusnoun
Excess bilirubin can damage a newborn's brain, causing lasting problems with movement, hearing, or other nervous system functions.
Kernig’s signnoun
During an examination, a bent hip combined with painful, resisted knee straightening may suggest inflammation of the nervous system’s coverings.
ketaminenoun
A dissociative drug, meaning it can detach people from reality, that may quickly ease treatment-resistant depression.
ketoconazolenoun
An antifungal medicine also affects steroid production and drug breakdown, prompting research into depression treatment without established evidence of benefit.
key-word methodnoun
A memory technique connects an unfamiliar word to a familiar sound-alike, then uses an imagined scene to link their meanings.
keyboardnoun
A board of keys used to enter letters, numbers, and commands into a computer.
khat (chat; kat; qat)noun
Leaves from the Catha edulis shrub contain cathinone, which stimulates the nervous system and can produce alertness and dependence.
KHOSabbreviation
The Krantz Health Opinion Survey measures how much people prefer health information and active involvement in their own care.
kibbutznoun
An Israeli community traditionally organizes living and work around shared resources, collective decisions, and sometimes communal child care.
Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS)noun
A guided clinical interview helps assess psychiatric symptoms and diagnose a range of mental health conditions in children and teenagers.
kids’ culturenoun
Children create shared games, customs, spaces, and social rules that form a social world partly separate from adults.
Kilner screennoun
A colored viewing filter was historically claimed to reveal human auras and health information, without established scientific support.
kilocalorienoun
An energy unit equals one thousand small calories and is commonly used to describe how much energy food supplies.
kin recognitionnoun
An individual identifies relatives using clues such as appearance, smell, sounds, or familiarity developed while growing up.
kin selectionnoun
Evolution can favor helping relatives reproduce because relatives carry some of the same inherited gene variants as the helper.
kinasenoun
An enzyme transfers a phosphate group onto another molecule, often changing how that molecule works.
kindlingnoun
Repeated mild electrical or chemical stimulation makes brain circuits increasingly responsive, eventually producing abnormal electrical activity and sometimes seizures.
kindnessnoun
Someone intentionally acts with care to benefit another person, often without expecting a reward.
kindrednoun
An extended family includes relatives across generations and branches, allowing researchers to trace inherited traits.
kinematicsnoun
The study of movement describes positions, speeds, and changes in speed without explaining the forces producing them.
kinesalgia (kinesialgia)noun
Pain occurs when a person uses or exerts their muscles.
kinesianoun
Another name for motion sickness describes nausea, dizziness, and related discomfort when movement disrupts the sense of balance.
kinesicsnoun
The study of how body movements, like gestures and eye contact, communicate meaning.
kinesics techniquenoun
An observer analyzes gestures, posture, facial movements, and other body signals to explore communication, particularly during interviews.
kinesimeternoun
An instrument measures how far a movement extends; historically, the name also described a device for testing skin sensation.
kinesiologynoun
A field studies human movement, connecting body structure and function with exercise, sport, and practical applications.
kinesiotherapynoun
A treatment approach uses planned, gradually adjusted movement and exercise to improve physical abilities and support well-being.
kinesisnoun
An organism changes its activity level as stimulation strengthens or weakens, without steering toward or away from the source.
kinesthesisnoun
A bodily sense uses signals from muscles, tendons, and joints to help track and coordinate movement.
kinesthetic aftereffect (KAE)noun
An earlier movement experience changes how a later movement feels, creating a misleading impression of its speed or effort.
kinesthetic feedbacknoun
Sensory signals from muscles, tendons, and joints report how body parts are positioned, moving, or under tension.
kinesthetic hallucinationnoun
A person experiences bodily movement even though the movement they sense is not actually happening.
kinesthetic imagerynoun
A person mentally recreates how movement feels, either while staying still or while physically rehearsing it.
kinesthetic receptornoun
A specialized sensor in a muscle, tendon, or joint detects changes that help the brain track bodily position and movement.
kinesthetic sensenoun
An internal sense tracks bodily movement through signals from muscles, tendons, and joints, helping actions stay coordinated.
kinestheticsnoun
A person has awareness of where their body parts are and how those parts are moving.
kinetic anamorphosisnoun
A moving object's shape appears distorted when the viewer sees it only through repeated interruptions.
kinetic depth effectnoun
A visual pattern appears to have depth when its parts move, even if its still image looks flat.
kinetic informationnoun
Movement provides perceptual clues about objects, while a person's gestures and posture can also provide information during assessment.
kinetic tremornoun
An involuntary rhythmic shaking occurs while a person deliberately moves a body part.
kingdomnoun
A broad biological classification groups related divisions of living things below domains and above phyla.
kinkeepernoun
A family member helps relatives stay connected by maintaining contact, arranging gatherings, or supporting their relationships.
Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproductionnoun
This research organization brings together experts from different subjects to investigate sexuality, reproduction, and gender.
Kinsey Scalenoun
A historical seven-point rating describes sexual interests and behavior from exclusively other-sex at zero to exclusively same-sex at six.
kinshipnoun
Family connection based on birth, marriage, adoption, or shared ancestors, with different cultures drawing the family line differently.
kinship migrationnoun
People relocate nearer relatives, especially in later life, or family members move to another area together or in stages.
kinship networkphrase
An extended family's web of relationships shaped by blood, marriage, adoption, and culture.
Kirlian photographynoun
A photographic technique captures glowing electrical discharges around objects in a strong electric field, sometimes misinterpreted as spiritual auras.
Kirton Adaption–Innovation Inventory (KAI)noun
A questionnaire assesses whether someone prefers solving problems by improving existing approaches or developing approaches that challenge them.
kissingnoun
People touch someone with their lips, often to express affection, friendship, or sexual interest, depending on context and culture.
klazomanianoun
A person experiences repeated or compulsive shouting that can occur as a symptom of several conditions.
Kleeblattschädel syndromenoun
A condition present at birth produces a cloverleaf-shaped skull through early fusion of skull bones and may affect brain development.
Kleine–Levin syndromenoun
A rare disorder causes recurring periods of unusually prolonged sleep, often accompanied by changes in thinking, mood, or eating.
Kleinianadjective
An approach follows Melanie Klein's psychoanalytic theories, emphasizing early relationships, unconscious feelings, and how people mentally represent others.
kleptolagnianoun
A historical concept links compulsive urges to steal with sexual excitement, although that proposed connection is disputed.
kleptomanianoun
An impulse-control disorder involves repeatedly stealing unneeded items, with mounting tension beforehand and pleasure or relief while stealing.
Klinefelter’s syndromenoun
A chromosome condition, usually involving an XXY pattern in males, can affect sexual development, fertility, and some learning abilities.
klinotaxisnoun
An organism guides its movement by sampling a stimulus repeatedly over time, adjusting its direction using those comparisons.
Klippel–Feil syndromenoun
A condition present at birth involves fusion of neck vertebrae and may cause a short neck with limited movement.
klismaphilianoun
A sexual interest involves arousal associated with enemas, which introduce liquid into the rectum.
Klonopinnoun
A brand name identifies clonazepam, a benzodiazepine medicine used for certain seizure disorders and panic disorder.
Klüver–Bucy syndromenoun
Damage involving both temporal lobes can produce unusual mouth exploration, increased sexual behavior, reduced fear, and recognition or memory difficulties.
knee-jerk reflexnoun
A tap just below the kneecap stretches a tendon and automatically triggers the lower leg to kick forward.
knockdownnoun
Researchers reduce a selected gene's activity to study its effects while leaving the gene itself present.
knockoutnoun
Researchers remove or disable a selected gene to discover what changes when its normal function is absent.
knockout dropsnoun
A historical slang name describes chloral hydrate mixed with alcohol and secretly given to make someone lose consciousness.
know thyselfphrase
An ancient Greek saying encourages people to examine their own thoughts, feelings, motives, abilities, and limits.
knowingnoun
Feeling something is familiar in a memory test without recalling details of when you learned it.
knowledgenoun
What someone knows or understands from learning, experience, or being aware of something.
knowledge basephrase
A person's store of general knowledge that affects how well they do many thinking tasks.
knowledge elicitationnoun
Researchers use interviews, observations, and other methods to uncover what users know and how they reason about products or systems.
knowledge function of an attitudenoun
An attitude helps someone organize information and make sense of situations that could have several interpretations.
knowledge of performance (KP)phrase
Feedback about how your body moved while doing a task, not just whether it worked.
knowledge of results (KR; KOR)phrase
Feedback telling someone how well their response matched the goal, especially right after acting.
knowledge representationnoun
An artificial intelligence program organizes facts, meanings, and relationships into structures it can use for reasoning.
knowledge-based system (KBS)noun
A computer program uses explicitly stored knowledge and reasoning rules to solve problems that often require human expertise.
knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs)phrase
The qualities a job needs, such as what a person knows, can do, and is suited for.
Kocher–Debré–Sémélaigne syndromenoun
A rare childhood condition linked to low thyroid hormone causes muscles to appear enlarged despite weakness and may affect development.
Kohlberg’s theory of moral developmentnoun
A proposed stage theory describes moral reasoning progressing from personal consequences through social rules toward independently chosen ethical principles.
Köhler effectnoun
A less capable group member sometimes works harder when collective success depends on everyone completing their share.
Kohnstamm testnoun
A demonstration uses automatic arm rising after sustained muscle pressure, sometimes to increase a person's expectations of responding to hypnosis.
Kohs Block Design Testnoun
An intelligence assessment asks a person to arrange colored blocks to match pictured patterns, drawing on visual and spatial reasoning.
kola nut (cola nut)noun
A seed from certain African Cola trees contains caffeine, a stimulant that can increase alertness.
Kolmogorov–Smirnov goodness-of-fit testnoun
A statistical test checks how far one sample's cumulative distribution departs from a specified reference distribution.
Kolmogorov–Smirnov two-sample testnoun
A statistical test uses the largest gap between two samples' cumulative distributions to assess evidence that their underlying distributions differ.
König barsnoun
Alternating dark and light stripes provide a way to test how clearly someone can distinguish fine visual details.
Kopfermann cubesnoun
Certain cube drawings look flat because their arrangement makes two-dimensional shapes stand out more strongly than depth.
kopro-prefix
This word part adds a meaning involving feces, filth, or obscene language.
koprolagnianoun
An unusual sexual interest involves becoming sexually aroused by seeing or thinking about feces.
koprophemianoun
A person uses obscene words or expressions to create sexual excitement.
KORabbreviation
Feedback tells a learner how the result of an action compares with the intended goal.
koronoun
A culturally shaped episode of intense anxiety involves fearing that genitals are retracting into the body, sometimes with feared death.
Korsakoff’s syndromenoun
Severe vitamin B1 deficiency causes brain damage that greatly disrupts learning new information and remembering past events.
Korte’s lawsnoun
These principles describe how brightness, spacing, and timing influence whether successive stationary images seem to move.
KPabbreviation
Feedback describes the movements a learner made while carrying out an action toward a goal.
KRabbreviation
Information telling someone how well they performed after a response or action.
Kraepelin’s theorynoun
A historical proposal described what became known as schizophrenia as beginning early and causing progressively worsening thinking abilities.
Krantz Health Opinion Survey (KHOS)noun
A 16-statement questionnaire measures how much people prefer receiving health information and taking an active role in their care.
Krause end bulbnoun
A small sensory nerve ending has an enclosing capsule and was historically associated with sensing temperature.
Kretschmer typologynoun
A disputed historical classification proposed that body build predicts personality tendencies through biological influences.
krigingnoun
A statistical method estimates values at unmeasured locations by weighting observed values according to their spatial relationships.
Kruskal–Shepard scalingnoun
A statistical method maps items so that distances reflect the ranked differences people judge between them.
Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variancenoun
A statistical test uses ranked observations to check whether independent groups differ in their distributions.
KSADSabbreviation
A guided clinical interview helps assess mental health symptoms and diagnoses in children and teenagers.
KSAOsabbreviation
The qualities a job needs: what someone knows, can do, and other useful traits.
Kuder Preference Recordnoun
An interest questionnaire compares preferred activities to identify employment areas a person may find appealing.
Kuder–Richardson formulasnoun
Two statistical formulas estimate how consistently test items work together when each item has two possible scored outcomes.
Kugelberg–Welander diseasenoun
An inherited form of spinal muscular atrophy, type III, causes muscle weakness through loss of movement-controlling nerve cells.
Kumho Tire Co. v. Patrick Carmichaelnoun
A 1999 Supreme Court decision extended judges' responsibility to assess reliability beyond scientific testimony to other expert testimony.
Kundt’s rulesnoun
These perception rules describe apparent lengthening from dividing marks and noseward errors when locating a horizontal midpoint with one eye.
kurtosisnoun
A statistical measure describes a distribution's tendency toward extreme values using the standardized fourth power of distances from its mean.
kurunoun
A fatal brain disease caused by misfolded proteins historically spread through funeral practices involving consumption of infected human tissue.
Kurzweil Personal Readernoun
An assistive computer system converts printed material into artificial speech for people who have difficulty accessing print.
kwashiorkornoun
A severe form of malnutrition involves tissue swelling and can disrupt growth, organ function, and brain development.
kymographnoun
A recording instrument traces changing measurements onto paper wrapped around a rotating drum.
kyphosisnoun
An outward curve of the upper spine can produce a rounded back when excessive.

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