Glossary / S

Psychology terms starting with S

2,962 terms with short definitions. Study these as flashcards

Sabbreviation: In factor analysis, this letter marks a specific factor, the part unique to one test.
S and Mabbreviation: Short for sadism and masochism, this describes sexual enjoyment involving consensually giving or receiving pain or humiliation.
S datanoun: Information people give about themselves, usually by answering questions on a survey or rating form.
s factorabbreviation: A mental ability that helps with one particular task rather than many different tasks.
S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)noun: A naturally occurring compound supports many chemical reactions, including neurotransmitter metabolism, and has been studied as a depression supplement.
S-shaped curvenoun: A cumulative frequency graph may rise slowly, then steeply, then slowly again as observations accumulate across values.
s-structureabbreviation: In transformational grammar, surface structure describes a sentence's expressed arrangement, derived through proposed rules from a deeper grammatical representation.
S–other: A negative discriminative stimulus signals that a particular action will receive no reinforcement under the present conditions.
S–(R–O) modelphrase: A cue can trigger the learned link between an action and its reward or punishment.
S–O associationnoun: A learned stimulus–outcome connection links a cue with the consequence available in that situation during instrumental learning.
S–O–R psychologynoun: The stimulus–organism–response approach explains behavior by considering how internal biological and psychological conditions shape reactions to outside events.
S–Rabbreviation: Shows the link between a trigger and the behavior that follows it.
S–R learning modelnoun: A stimulus–response theory proposes that learning builds direct connections between environmental cues and particular reactions.
S–R psychologynoun: The stimulus–response approach studies behavior through relationships between environmental events and the reactions they produce.
S–R–O learning modelnoun: A stimulus–response–outcome theory proposes that learning connects a situation's cue, an action, and the consequence that follows.
S–S learning modelnoun: A stimulus–stimulus theory proposes that learning connects events or cues with other events, allowing one to predict another.
S/Nabbreviation: Shows how much useful information stands out from random background variation in data or measurement.
S+other: A positive discriminative stimulus signals that a particular action can produce a rewarding consequence under the present conditions.
S1abbreviation: The brain area that first receives touch and body-position signals from the skin and muscles.
S2abbreviation: Means the variance, or average squared spread, of scores in a sample.
SAabbreviation: Short for social age, this estimate expresses social skills and role-related maturity relative to age-based expectations.
SABabbreviation: A standard application blank collects the same basic background, education, and work information from people applying for jobs.
saccadenoun: A fast jump of the eyes shifts the point of gaze between locations.
saccadic dysmetrianoun: Rapid eye movements miss their intended visual target by stopping too soon or traveling too far.
saccadic speednoun: The rate at which the eyes rotate during a rapid shift of gaze measures how fast that movement occurs.
saccadic timenoun: The duration of a rapid eye movement measures how long a single jump of gaze takes.
sacculenoun: A small inner-ear sac helps detect head orientation relative to gravity and straight-line acceleration, especially vertical movement.
sacral divisionnoun: Parasympathetic nerve fibers emerging from the sacral spinal cord help regulate pelvic organs, including the bladder and lower bowel.
sacral nervenoun: One of five paired spinal nerves exits through the sacral region and carries signals serving parts of the lower body.
sacred diseasenoun: Ancient Greeks used this name for epilepsy because some believed seizures reflected divine involvement.
SADabbreviation: A kind of depression that comes and goes with the seasons, usually during darker months.
sadismnoun: Pleasure comes from causing another person's pain, humiliation, or suffering, sometimes in a sexual context.
sadnessnoun: A feeling of unhappiness, often after losing something important, that can range from mild to very strong.
sadomasochismnoun: Sexual enjoyment involves consensually giving or receiving pain or humiliation, and a person may enjoy either or both roles.
sadomasochistic personalitynoun: An older psychoanalytic description characterized people as enjoying both directing aggression toward others and receiving aggression themselves.
SADSabbreviation: A standardized interview helps clinicians diagnose adults by asking about past and present mental health symptoms and rating their severity.
Saethre–Chotzen syndromenoun: A rare genetic condition causes skull seams to close early and can affect facial shape, fingers, toes, and sometimes development.
safe compartmentnoun: In a conditioning chamber with two sections, this section is not paired with the unpleasant event used in training.
safe sexphrase: Sexual activity that lowers chances of pregnancy or infections by limiting contact with body fluids.
safety and health educationnoun: Teaching helps people understand health risks and learn everyday practices that prevent illness and accidents.
safety behaviorphrase: Actions people use to feel safer during fear, which can keep anxiety going by blocking disproof of danger.
safety devicenoun: In Karen Horney's theory, a mental strategy protects a person against perceived threats, especially hostility from others.
safety engineeringnoun: A field designs and evaluates work equipment, systems, and procedures to remove hazards or reduce their effects.
safety neednoun: A desire for protection, stability, and predictable surroundings occupies the second level in Maslow's proposed hierarchy of needs.
safety psychologynoun: An applied field studies how behavior contributes to safety or risk, especially at work, to improve protective practices.
safety signalnoun: A cue that tells someone something unpleasant or harmful will not happen now.
sagittaladjective: An anatomical plane with this orientation separates a body or organ into portions on its left and right.
sagittal fissurenoun: A deep brain groove separates the two cerebral hemispheres, which remain connected beneath it.
Saint Dymphna’s diseasenoun: This historical name grouped mental illnesses under the name of a saint associated with people experiencing them.
Saint Vitus’s dancenoun: This outdated name describes Sydenham's chorea, a condition involving involuntary jerking movements that can follow a streptococcal infection.
salary compressionnoun: A workplace pay gap becomes unfairly small when newer employees earn nearly as much as more experienced employees.
salicylatenoun: A chemical related to salicylic acid belongs to this group, which includes aspirin and other medicines.
salicylismnoun: Poisoning from excessive salicylates, such as aspirin, can cause ringing ears, confusion, and serious disturbances in body chemistry.
salience hypothesisnoun: A proposed explanation of perception says we more readily notice things that matter to our needs or goals.
salientadjective: Easy to notice because it stands out from other things around it.
salineadjective: A substance described this way contains salt, consists of salt, or tastes salty.
saliromanianoun: Sexual interest or arousal centers on objects perceived as dirty, disgusting, or distorted in shape.
salivary glandnoun: A mouth gland makes saliva, which starts digestion and helps keep the mouth wet.
salivary reflexnoun: Saliva production changes automatically in response to a natural trigger or a cue learned through experience.
salivationnoun: Making spit in the mouth, usually automatically when food or food cues appear.
Salpêtrièrenoun: A Paris hospital became historically important for reforms in mental health care and Charcot's studies of hypnosis and nervous disorders.
salpingectomynoun: This operation removes either a single fallopian tube or both tubes, sometimes to prevent pregnancy or treat disease.
saltationnoun: In perception, repeated signals at separate locations can create sensations at intermediate places where no signal was delivered.
saltatory conductionnoun: Electrical nerve signals travel rapidly along myelin-covered fibers as impulses are renewed at gaps in the insulating covering.
saltyadjective: This taste quality arises when substances such as table salt activate taste receptors.
Salvianoun: A plant genus includes Salvia divinorum, a species containing a substance that can strongly alter perception and awareness.
SAMabbreviation: The body's fast stress system that releases adrenaline to prepare you for action.
same-sex marriagenoun: A marital union brings together partners who share the same sex, such as two women or two men.
SAMHSAabbreviation: This U.S. agency works to improve services addressing mental health needs and problems related to substance use.
samplenoun: A smaller group studied to draw conclusions about the larger population it comes from.
sample correlation coefficientnoun: A statistic, usually written r, measures the strength and direction of a straight-line relationship between two measurements in a sample.
sample distributionnoun: The pattern of values observed in one selected group shows which scores occur and how often.
sample meannoun: The average score of a smaller group taken from a larger population.
sample reliabilitynoun: In this usage, reliability describes how well a selected subset represents the larger group being studied.
sample sizenoun: The number of people, cases, or items included in a study or subgroup.
sample spacenoun: Every outcome that could occur in a chance experiment belongs to this complete set.
sample standard deviationphrase: A number that shows how spread out scores are in a sample, using s as its symbol.
sample variancenoun: This measure summarizes spread by adding squared distances from a sample's mean and dividing by one less than its size.
samplingnoun: Choosing a smaller group from a larger population so researchers can study it and draw conclusions.
sampling biasphrase: A study error where chosen participants differ in a slanted way, making results less true or less general.
sampling designnoun: A research plan sets out who or what can be selected, how selection happens, and how many cases are needed.
sampling distributionphrase: The pattern of results you'd get for a statistic across many random samples from one population.
sampling errornoun: The gap between a sample result and the true population value caused by studying only part of a group.
sampling framenoun: A list or other organized source identifies people or cases available for selection into a research sample.
sampling theorynoun: Statistical principles explain how to select subsets and use their results to draw conclusions about larger groups.
sampling unitnoun: The basic item chosen from a larger group when creating a sample for a study.
sampling variabilityphrase: The amount a sample result changes from one sample to another, causing uncertainty about the whole population.
sampling with replacementnoun: After each selection, the chosen item becomes available again, allowing it to appear repeatedly in the sample.
sampling without replacementnoun: Each chosen item is excluded from later selections, so it can appear only once in that sample.
samsaranoun: In traditions including Hinduism and Buddhism, existence involves a repeating cycle of living, dying, and being reborn.
sanatoriumnoun: Historically, this institution provided extended treatment and recovery support for people with lasting physical or mental illnesses.
sanctionnoun: A penalty from an authority meant to punish and discourage breaking rules.
Sandimmunenoun: This brand name identifies cyclosporine, a medicine that suppresses immune activity, especially to help prevent rejection of transplanted organs.
sandwich generationnoun: These adults, usually in midlife, support children who need care while also helping older family members with care needs.
Sanfilippo syndromenoun: An inherited disorder prevents proper breakdown of heparan sulfate, causing cellular buildup that progressively affects brain function and development.
sangue dormidonoun: A Cape Verdean cultural concept explains varied bodily symptoms, including pain, numbness, and trembling, through the idea of sleeping blood.
sanguine typenoun: In historical humoral theory, a cheerful temperament was attributed to blood being the dominant bodily fluid.
sanitariumnoun: This historical care facility offered long stays for treatment and recovery from ongoing physical or mental illnesses.
sanitynoun: In legal contexts, this status concerns mental abilities needed for criminal responsibility, such as understanding one's actions.
Sansertnoun: This brand name identifies methysergide, a medicine historically used to prevent migraines by affecting serotonin signaling.
Saphrisnoun: This brand name identifies asenapine, an antipsychotic medicine used for schizophrenia and manic or mixed episodes in bipolar I disorder.
sapid stimulusnoun: A chemical that activates taste cells can produce a taste sensation, such as sweetness or sourness.
Sapir–Whorf hypothesisnoun: In its strong form, this hypothesis proposes that a language's meaning system determines how its speakers organize thought.
Sapphismnoun: This older word describes romantic or sexual attraction, relationships, or sexual behavior between women.
SAR workshopabbreviation: A sexual attitude reassessment workshop uses educational media, discussion, and reflection to help participants examine beliefs about sexuality.
Sarafemnoun: This brand name identifies fluoxetine, an antidepressant that slows serotonin reabsorption, leaving more available for signaling between nerve cells.
sarcomanoun: A cancer in this category begins in tissues such as bone, muscle, or fat that support or connect body structures.
SARS-CoVabbreviation: This coronavirus causes SARS, a severe respiratory illness associated with an international outbreak that began in 2002.
SARS-CoV-2abbreviation: This coronavirus causes COVID-19 and was first identified in 2019 before spreading worldwide.
SASabbreviation: A mental control system that guides attention and helps you override automatic responses when needed.
SATabbreviation: A standardized test used in U.S. college admissions to measure reading, writing, and math skills.
Satanismnoun: Religious or philosophical traditions in this group place Satan at their center, either as a spiritual being or a symbol.
satellite clinicnoun: An outpatient care location operates separately from a larger medical facility while sharing its administration and coordinating services.
satellite malenoun: A male animal waits near rivals that attract mates, seeking mating chances without performing its own courtship display.
satiationnoun: Repeatedly giving the same reward can make it stop motivating behavior for a while.
satietynoun: Feeling full enough after eating or drinking that you no longer want more.
satiety centernoun: The ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus historically received this name because researchers believed it controlled when eating stopped.
satiety mechanismnoun: A bodily process helps regulate eating or drinking by signaling that enough food or fluid has been consumed.
satisfaction of instinctsnoun: Classical psychoanalysis proposed that meeting basic drives releases inner tension and restores psychological balance.
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)noun: A questionnaire uses five statements, each rated from one to seven, to measure people's overall judgments about their lives.
satisficeverb: Choosing an option that is good enough for the situation, instead of searching for the absolute best one.
satisficernoun: A person choosing among options accepts one that meets their needs without searching for the very best.
satorinoun: Within Zen Buddhism, spiritual awakening involves a direct experience understood as insight into reality.
saturated modelnoun: A statistical model estimates enough parameters to reproduce every observed value or summary being fitted exactly.
saturationnoun: How pure and vivid a color looks, rather than washed out toward white.
saturation scalenoun: A measurement scale describes how pure a color appears, from gray toward a fully saturated hue.
satyriasisnoun: An outdated label described sexual desire in men that was considered excessive or difficult to satisfy.
sauce béarnaise effectnoun: A learned dislike develops when a food's taste becomes associated with later illness, even if the food was innocent.
savantnoun: A person shows an exceptional, focused mental skill, sometimes alongside autism or an intellectual disability.
savings methodnoun: Researchers measure retained learning by comparing the effort needed to learn material initially with the effort needed to relearn it.
sawtooth wavesnoun: Pointed bursts of electrical brain activity appear on sleep recordings shortly before rapid eye movements during REM sleep.
saxitoxin (STX)noun: A poisonous substance blocks sodium channels at cells' outer surfaces, interfering with electrical signals in nerves and muscles.
SBabbreviation: These initials identify the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale, which uses varied tasks to measure several kinds of thinking ability.
SBSabbreviation: The abbreviation means shaken baby syndrome, describing brain injury in an infant or young child caused by violent shaking.
scaffoldingnoun: Temporary support helps a learner master a task just beyond what they could do alone.
scala medianoun: The cochlea's middle fluid chamber contains endolymph and houses the sensory structure that detects sound.
scala tympaninoun: The cochlea's lower chamber contains perilymph, lies beneath the basilar membrane, and ends at the round window.
scala vestibulinoun: The cochlea's upper chamber contains perilymph and receives sound vibrations through the oval window.
scalabilitynoun: A test item's value in showing where someone falls on an ordered scale of an underlying trait.
scalarnoun: A quantity with size only, not a direction, unlike a vector.
scalenoun: Ordered answer choices on a questionnaire let psychologists measure traits, attitudes, abilities, or perceptions.
scale attenuationnoun: A measure offers too few response options to capture real differences among people's behaviors, opinions, or beliefs.
scale developmentphrase: Creating a test to measure a hidden trait by writing, trying out, and improving questions.
scale errornoun: A young child tries to use a miniature object in a way that its small size makes impossible.
Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS)noun: Clinicians use this rating tool to assess symptoms that may indicate an increased chance of developing psychosis.
scale parameternoun: A positive numerical setting controls a probability distribution's horizontal spread without changing its underlying shape.
scalingnoun: Creating a way to measure and rank how much of a trait or quality someone has.
scalogramnoun: A cumulative measure orders statements so agreeing with a stronger statement is expected to imply agreement with weaker ones.
Scanlon plannoun: A workplace program combines employee participation in improving production with group bonuses tied to the resulting gains.
scanningnoun: Medical imaging uses technologies such as magnetic fields or radiation to examine internal body structures and help identify health problems.
scanning hypothesisnoun: One proposed explanation links the eyes' rapid movements in sleeping people to changes in their imagined viewing direction while dreaming.
scanning speechnoun: Neurological damage can produce slow speech with unusual pitch changes and unintended breaks between syllables.
scapegoat theoryphrase: People sometimes blame an innocent person or group for their troubles, then direct anger and harm toward them.
scapegoatingnoun: Blaming another person or group for your troubles to unload anger and frustration.
scapular reflexnoun: Stimulating skin over the shoulder blade triggers an automatic contraction of a nearby muscle.
scarcitynoun: People want something more when they think it is rare, limited, or may soon be gone.
SCATabbreviation: These initials identify an academic aptitude assessment using word relationships and number comparisons for students performing beyond their grade level.
scato- (scat-)prefix: This word part adds a meaning connected with feces or filth to the words containing it.
scatologianoun: An older label describes a strong preoccupation with obscene language or subjects, particularly those involving feces.
scatophilianoun: Sexual interest or arousal centers on talking about feces and using obscene language.
scatternoun: How spread out scores are from each other or from a person's average score.
scatteringnoun: Thinking that jumps to unrelated ideas, making speech hard to understand, often seen in schizophrenia.
scatterplotnoun: A graph of dots shows how two measured things change together and makes patterns or unusual points easy to see.
scavengingnoun: An animal obtains food by eating dead organisms or leftover organic material, including scraps other animals leave.
scedasticitynoun: In statistics, the spread of unexplained errors may stay similar or change across different values of a predictor.
scenario analysisnoun: Planners examine several plausible futures and their consequences to improve decisions and prepare an organization for change.
scenario-based designnoun: Designers imagine specific ways people might use a product or system to discover and fix potential problems.
scent markingnoun: An animal leaves smelling substances on surfaces, providing information about itself that can remain after it leaves.
Schachter–Singer theorynoun: This theory proposes that emotions arise through bodily arousal together with how a person interprets that arousal.
schadenfreudenoun: A person feels pleasure because something unfortunate has happened to someone else.
Schaffer collateralnoun: A nerve fiber branch carries signals from a CA3 neuron to the CA1 region within the hippocampus.
Schaie’s stages of cognitive developmentnoun: Schaie's theory proposes that people use thinking differently across life, moving from learning skills toward goals, responsibilities, and personal meaning.
Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS)noun: A standardized clinical interview assesses adults' psychological symptoms and their severity, including current and past experiences, to support diagnosis.
schedule of reinforcementphrase: In learning, a rule for when a behavior gets rewarded after it happens.
schedule-induced polydipsianoun: Excessive water drinking develops between repeated deliveries of small food portions, even though drinking does not earn the food.
scheduled awakeningnoun: A behavioral sleep treatment uses planned waking times to interrupt recurring nighttime episodes, such as nightmares or sleep terrors.
scheduled drugnoun: A substance belongs to a legal control category that restricts access or use because of concerns such as misuse or dependence.
scheduled gradual reductionnoun: A tobacco quitting approach sets planned times for use and gradually increases the waiting period between them.
Scheffé testnoun: After overall group differences appear, this very strict follow-up test compares group patterns while keeping false positive risk low.
schemanoun: A mental framework that organizes what you know and shapes how you notice, remember, and judge things.
schema therapynoun: An integrative psychotherapy helps people change deeply rooted belief and relationship patterns, often formed early, that contribute to continuing difficulties.
schematic classificationnoun: People group different kinds of things together because experience connects them within a shared situation or activity.
schematic imagenoun: A simplified mental picture highlights an object's most noticeable features and guides recognition of similar objects.
schematic representationnoun: A description presents people, things, or events through the ways they interact or could interact.
schemenoun: A mental plan that organizes what someone knows and helps guide actions in familiar situations.
schizencephalicadjective: The adjective describes brain tissue with unusual clefts or divisions, often arising during early development.
schizo- (schiz-)prefix: This word part conveys splitting or a fissure when attached to another word element.
schizoaffective disorderphrase: A disorder with schizophrenia symptoms plus major mood episodes, with psychosis also occurring for at least two weeks alone.
schizoidadjective: Describing a person who seems emotionally distant, avoids close relationships, and shows little interest in self-examination.
schizoid personality disorderphrase: Shows a lasting pattern of social distance, limited emotions, and little interest in close relationships or others' approval.
schizoid phenomenanoun: Object relations theory proposes that fears of abandonment or overwhelming closeness cause retreat into fantasy despite wanting relationships.
schizoid–manic statenoun: A historical label described psychosis combining intense excitement associated with mania and schizophrenia.
schizoidismnoun: Bleuler's historical concept grouped quietness, social withdrawal, and inward focus with a proposed tendency toward schizophrenia.
schizomanianoun: An older psychiatric label described a psychotic state with both manic excitement and excitement associated with schizophrenia.
schizophrenianoun: A severe mental disorder causing problems with thinking, emotions, behavior, and often hallucinations or fixed false beliefs.
Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT)noun: This research team evaluated schizophrenia care and developed recommendations to help treatment improve people's lives.
schizophrenic episodenoun: A period of prominent schizophrenia symptoms can include hallucinations, strongly held false beliefs, confused thinking, and changes in emotional expression.
schizophrenic reactionnoun: An obsolete diagnosis reflected Meyer's proposal that schizophrenia symptoms developed as reactions to psychological and social stress.
schizophrenic thinkingnoun: An older clinical label describes marked disruptions in thought connections associated with schizophrenia, usually inferred from speech or writing.
schizophreniform disorderphrase: A psychotic disorder with schizophrenia-like symptoms lasting 1 to 6 months, sometimes without major work or social problems.
schizophreniform psychosisnoun: Langfeldt's historical category described sudden schizophrenia-like psychosis after a clear trigger, with good earlier functioning and favorable recovery prospects.
schizophrenogenicadjective: The adjective describes an influence believed to help cause schizophrenia or contribute to its development.
schizophrenogenic mothernoun: A discredited historical stereotype wrongly blamed a mother's personality and parenting for her child's schizophrenia.
schizotaxianoun: Meehl proposed an inherited vulnerability required for schizophrenia to develop, with severe environmental stress helping activate it.
schizotypal personality disorderphrase: A personality disorder marked by odd thoughts, unusual perceptions, and social discomfort, without the full loss of reality seen in schizophrenia.
schizotypynoun: A pattern of traits resembles milder schizophrenia features, including unusual experiences, loosely connected thinking, and reduced pleasure.
Schmid–Fraccaro syndromenoun: A rare condition involving extra chromosome 22 material can affect physical development and sometimes intellectual development.
Schnauzkrampfnoun: An older clinical name describes protruding, pursed lips resembling a pout, historically associated with catatonia.
scholastic accelerationnoun: Students advance through schoolwork faster than usual, sometimes by skipping grades or moving ahead in particular subjects.
scholastic achievement testnoun: An assessment measures what a student has learned and can do within a particular school subject.
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)noun: A standardized college admission test that checks reading, math, and writing skills learned over years of school.
Scholasticismnoun: A medieval European tradition used formal reasoning to explore philosophy and Christian theology and reconcile religious faith with reason.
schoolnoun: A place or organization where people are taught and learn.
school absenteeismnoun: Students miss school without an accepted justification, especially when these absences form a repeated pattern.
School and College Ability Test (SCAT)noun: This academic aptitude test measures verbal and number reasoning to help identify students for advanced learning programs.
school avoidancephrase: A child's anxious pattern of staying away from school because going there feels overwhelming or scary.
school counselingnoun: Professional guidance helps students with learning, relationships, personal development, and career planning, sometimes involving families.
school gradenoun: A letter or number communicates how well a student has performed on academic work.
school integrationnoun: An educational process reduces racial separation by bringing students from different racial backgrounds into shared schools.
school neuropsychologynoun: A specialty connects brain functioning with students' thinking and learning patterns to guide assessment and educational support.
school phobianoun: Persistent difficulty attending school involves reluctance often linked to emotional, social, or learning problems.
school psychologyphrase: Psychologists in schools assess learning and behavior, help students and teachers, and solve education problems.
school readinessphrase: A child's level of development that lets them handle classroom routines, learning, and social demands.
school refusalphrase: A child's ongoing fear-based avoidance of school, often tied to anxiety, stress, or separation from a caregiver.
school truancynoun: A student misses school without permission from the relevant adults or school authorities.
school-ability testnoun: An educational assessment evaluates a student's achievements to guide decisions that improve learning.
school-activity recordnoun: A written record tracks a student's participation in school clubs, sports, and other organized activities.
School-Age Cognitive Batterynoun: This school-age portion of the Differential Ability Scales assesses thinking abilities, including verbal reasoning, nonverbal reasoning, and spatial skills.
school-based interventionnoun: A planned strategy delivered at school supports students' well-being or helps prevent and reduce emotional or behavioral difficulties.
schoolingnoun: Formal education in school, including how much and what kind a person has received.
Schröder staircasenoun: An ambiguous staircase drawing can appear viewed from above or below as the viewer's interpretation switches.
Schultze’s acroparesthesianoun: Unusual limb sensations, such as tingling or numbness, occur with irritable peripheral nerves but without abnormal circulation.
schwanoun: A relaxed, neutral vowel sound, written ə, commonly occurs in English syllables that receive little emphasis.
Schwann cellnoun: A support cell outside the brain and spinal cord can wrap a nerve fiber in insulation that speeds signals.
schwannomanoun: A usually noncancerous, enclosed tumor grows from Schwann cells and may press on nearby nerves.
schwannomatosisnoun: A genetic condition causes multiple Schwann cell tumors and can produce lasting pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness.
sciatic nervenoun: A large peripheral nerve carries sensory and movement signals between the spinal cord and much of the leg.
sciencenoun: A careful way of learning about the world by testing ideas and collecting evidence.
scientific explanationnoun: An account uses scientific evidence, principles, and stated assumptions to explain why or how something happens.
scientific jury selectionnoun: Social science methods help identify potential jurors whose attitudes may favor one side of a legal case.
scientific managementphrase: Using careful measurement to find the fastest work methods and reward workers for using them.
scientific methodnoun: A systematic approach tests ideas by gathering evidence, analyzing results, and checking whether findings can be repeated.
scientific psychologynoun: The study of mind and behavior builds knowledge through systematic measurement, evidence testing, and checks that findings can be repeated.
scientific rationalitynoun: Reasoning in science follows logic, weighs observable evidence, and subjects explanations to open testing and criticism.
scientific reasoningnoun: A way of thinking develops possible explanations and tests them systematically against evidence.
scientific revolutionnoun: In Kuhn's account, persistent unexplained findings can prompt a major replacement of a scientific field's guiding framework.
scientismnoun: Critics use this label for accepting one view of science without questioning it while rejecting other ways of understanding.
scientist-practitioner modelnoun: A training approach prepares psychologists to provide professional services and conduct research, using each activity to inform the other.
Scientologynoun: A religion established by Hubbard teaches that spiritual practices can free people from supposedly damaging traces left by distressing experiences.
scieropianoun: A disturbance of vision makes objects seem shaded even when their actual lighting does not explain that appearance.
SCIIabbreviation: An earlier career questionnaire, called Strong–Campbell Interest Inventory, compared someone's preferences with interests typical among people in different jobs.
scintillating scotomanoun: An area of disrupted vision contains flickering or sparkling patterns that interfere with seeing what is there.
sciosophynoun: A belief system claims to explain natural or supernatural events without support from scientific investigation.
scissors gaitnoun: A walking pattern involves the legs crossing inward past each other, sometimes occurring in people with cerebral palsy.
SCL-90–Rabbreviation: The Symptom Checklist-90–Revised uses 90 self-report questions to assess psychological distress across several symptom areas.
scleranoun: The firm white covering around most of the eye protects it and helps maintain its shape.
sclero- (scler-)prefix: This word part adds the meaning of hardness to medical and biological terms.
sclerosisnoun: Abnormal hardening of body tissue, often from disease or aging, especially in nerves or blood vessels.
SCNabbreviation: A small brain area above the optic chiasm that acts as the body's main daily clock.
scoliosisnoun: The spine curves sideways instead of following a straight alignment when viewed from behind.
scope of attentionnoun: The breadth of attention describes how many things or ideas someone can process, or is currently focusing on, at once.
scopo- (scop-)prefix: This word part contributes the meaning of watching or observing to a longer term.
scopolaminenoun: A medicine that blocks certain acetylcholine receptors helps prevent motion sickness and can affect alertness and memory.
scopophilianoun: Sexual enjoyment comes from observing people who are unclothed, removing clothing, or taking part in sexual activity.
scorenoun: A number given to a test or rating result based on set rules.
score bandnoun: A range of test results groups job applicants as equally qualified, usually allowing for uncertainty in measurement.
score equatingphrase: Makes scores from different test versions comparable so they mean the same thing for all test takers.
scorer reliabilitynoun: The consistency of scores across independent evaluators shows how similarly they judge the same people, performances, or materials.
scoringnoun: Using an answer key to turn test responses into numbers showing a person's level on a trait.
scoterythrous visionnoun: A color vision difference makes red shades look unusually dark because sensitivity to the red end of light’s spectrum is reduced.
scoto- (scot-)prefix: This word part adds a meaning involving darkness or blindness to a longer term.
scotomanoun: A particular region of someone’s view has reduced or missing vision while other regions may remain visible.
scotomizationnoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that people may unconsciously overlook memories or urges that threaten their sense of self.
scotophilianoun: A person feels a marked preference for nighttime or dark surroundings.
scotopicadjective: This describes seeing under very faint illumination, when the eye relies on light-sensitive cells called rods.
scotopic stimulationnoun: Very faint visual targets activate the eye’s rod cells, usually under conditions chosen to isolate their response.
scotopic visionnoun: Seeing under very faint illumination depends on the eye’s rod cells and does not distinguish colors.
scotopsinnoun: This rod-cell protein binds a light-sensitive retinal molecule, forming rhodopsin for vision under faint illumination.
scramble competitionnoun: In animal mating, males compete by locating available females quickly when defending territories or resources offers little advantage.
scree plotnoun: A graph ranks factors by the variation they explain, helping researchers choose how many to keep where the curve levels off.
screen defensenoun: A proposed psychoanalytic defense uses remembered or imagined scenes to unknowingly disguise whom or what troubling feelings actually concern.
screen magnifiernoun: An accessibility tool enlarges text and pictures on a computer display so people with reduced vision can see them more easily.
screen memorynoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that an ordinary childhood recollection can unconsciously conceal or blend with a more emotionally significant experience.
screen readernoun: Software that reads screen content aloud or in braille for people with limited vision.
screen touch matchingnoun: A parapsychology procedure tests claimed clairvoyance by recording symbol guesses through chosen positions while cards remain face down until checking.
screeningnoun: A quick first check used to spot likely problems or decide who should get fuller testing.
screening audiometrynoun: A quick hearing check tests groups of people using one or more tones presented at preset loudness levels.
screening experimentnoun: An early study compares many possible influences to identify which deserve closer investigation because they relate to the outcome.
screening samplenoun: A broad group answers initial survey questions so researchers can find a smaller group with the characteristic they want to study.
screening testphrase: A brief test that spots people likely to have a problem and need more detailed follow-up testing.
screening tests for young childrennoun: Brief checks identify children who may need fuller evaluation for developmental, emotional, learning, or neurological concerns.
scriptnoun: A mental guide for the usual order of actions in a familiar event or situation.
script analysisnoun: Within transactional analysis, a therapist explores a proposed unconscious life plan shaped by early experiences, attitudes, and recurring social patterns.
script theorynoun: Tomkins proposed that emotions motivate behavior and that recurring emotional scenes and their organizing patterns shape personality.
scrivener’s palsynoun: An outdated label describes writer’s cramp, where muscles tighten involuntarily and painfully during handwriting or keyboard use.
scrupulositynoun: Intense, distressing concerns about moral or religious wrongdoing can lead to repeated checking, reassurance seeking, or rituals.
scryingnoun: A divination practice involves gazing at surfaces or substances, such as mirrors or smoke, hoping to discover hidden events or knowledge.
SCUabbreviation: A special care unit is a healthcare section offering focused support for people with serious conditions such as dementia.
sculptingnoun: A family therapy activity where members place each other like statues to show relationships and feelings.
SDabbreviation: In behavior learning, this abbreviation marks the cue that signals a response will likely be rewarded.
SDATabbreviation: An older diagnostic abbreviation described dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease when symptoms first appeared after someone turned 65.
SDOabbreviation: Social dominance orientation describes a tendency to support group hierarchies and accept or prefer unequal standing between social groups.
SDSabbreviation: Two screening tools share these initials: a checklist for possible dementia and a questionnaire measuring someone's own reports of depressive symptoms.
SDTabbreviation: A model explaining how people decide whether a faint signal is present amid noise.
SEabbreviation: Abbreviation for standard error, showing how much a sample estimate would vary across repeated samples.
seamstress’s crampnoun: An occupational hand cramp causes muscle spasms that interfere with sewing tasks, such as threading needles or cutting fabric.
searchnoun: Mentally scanning memories or information to see whether a specific item or answer is there.
search asymmetrynoun: Finding a visual feature can be easier or harder than finding its absence when targets and surrounding items exchange roles.
search imagenoun: Repeated encounters help a predator learn a prey animal’s appearance or smell, making that prey easier to detect and preferentially pursue.
search of associative memory (SAM)noun: A mathematical memory model explains remembering through associations among stored items and their contexts, with temporary information helping guide retrieval.
Seashore audiometernoun: A device developed by Carl Seashore measures the faintest sound intensity that a person can detect.
Seashore Measures of Musical Talentnoun: A recorded test series assesses musical abilities by asking people to compare sounds for pitch, loudness, duration, rhythm, tone quality, and memory.
Seashore Rhythm Testnoun: A listening assessment asks people to compare rhythm pairs, helping evaluate abilities related to brain functioning.
seasicknessnoun: Travel over water can cause motion sickness, including nausea and dizziness, when movement disrupts the sense of balance.
seasonal affective disorder (SAD)phrase: A mood disorder where depression, mania, or both return at the same season each year.
seasonal mood disordernoun: Mood episodes return during particular seasons, most often involving depression during autumn or winter.
seasonal variationnoun: Behavior, mental experiences, or body processes change across seasons, sometimes responding to changing daylight.
seasonality effectnoun: Some studies find a modest excess of winter or early spring births among people who later develop schizophrenia.
seat of mindnoun: A proposed bodily location supports mental activity or, in some historical theories, connects a separate mind with the body.
Seattle Longitudinal Studynoun: A research project begun in 1956 follows adults and compares age groups to study changes in thinking abilities.
Seckel syndromenoun: An inherited condition involves unusually limited growth, a small head, distinctive facial features, and often intellectual disability.
seclusivenessnoun: A person tends to stay apart from others and limit social contact or close relationships.
second cranial nervenoun: The optic nerve carries visual signals from the retina toward the brain, reaching the crossing called the optic chiasm.
second messengernoun: An internal cell molecule or ion relays and can strengthen a signal received by a receptor.
second momentnoun: A distribution's second moment averages squared values, measured from zero for the raw moment or the mean for variance.
second quartilenoun: The median divides ordered observations into a lower half and an upper half.
second sightnoun: An alleged paranormal ability allows someone to perceive distant, hidden, past, or future events without ordinary sensory access.
second sleepnoun: The later nighttime sleeping period follows an extended waking interval in a pattern of divided sleep.
second-degree relativenoun: A biological family member, such as a grandparent or half sibling, shares an average of about 25% of inherited DNA.
second-generation antipsychoticphrase: A newer antipsychotic medicine treats psychosis and usually causes fewer movement side effects than older drugs.
second-line medicationphrase: A medicine used when the usual first choice does not work well enough for a condition.
second-order conditioningphrase: A learned response happens when a new cue is paired with an already conditioned cue.
second-order factornoun: A broader hidden dimension explains relationships among narrower factors already identified from measured scores.
second-order interactionnoun: The interaction between two predictors changes depending on the level of a third predictor.
second-order languagenoun: Words or symbols are used to describe, explain, or analyze language itself.
second-order neuronnoun: A nerve cell occupies the second position along a neural pathway, receiving signals from the first neuron.
second-order schedulenoun: A reinforcement rule counts completed smaller schedules as its units, with reinforcement depending on those completions.
second-person perspectivenoun: A person relates directly to someone else while recognizing that individual's own feelings, experiences, and point of view.
second-rank symptomsnoun: Schneider's historical classification grouped less distinctive signs of schizophrenia, including limited emotional expression and confusion, under this label.
secondary agingnoun: Age-related changes are accelerated by illness or outside influences such as stress, living conditions, and habits.
secondary amenorrheanoun: Menstrual periods stop after previously occurring, without pregnancy or menopause accounting for their absence.
secondary appraisalphrase: After judging a situation, a person estimates whether they can handle its demands and possible results.
secondary attentionnoun: Deliberately maintaining focus requires mental effort, such as carefully examining details in a picture.
secondary auditory cortex (A2)noun: Brain tissue around the primary hearing cortex further processes sound information and helps refine auditory processing.
secondary carenoun: Specialist health professionals provide focused assessment or treatment, often following a referral from a general healthcare provider.
secondary causenoun: A contributing factor helps bring about a disorder's symptoms but cannot produce the disorder by itself.
secondary circular reactionnoun: In Piaget's theory, infants repeat actions because they reproduce interesting effects on objects or events around them.
secondary controlnoun: Adjusting personal goals, beliefs, or behavior to suit existing conditions can help someone feel more able to manage life.
secondary copingnoun: A person manages stress by adjusting thoughts, expectations, or goals to live better with circumstances that resist change.
secondary datanoun: Researchers use information previously collected by someone else or obtained from an existing source.
secondary defense symptomsnoun: Freud proposed that obsessive thoughts and rituals become backup defenses when earlier defenses against repressed memories fail.
secondary deviancenoun: In labeling theory, continued rule-breaking becomes shaped by others' reactions and by adopting an identity associated with those labels.
secondary dispositionnoun: In Allport's personality theory, a relatively narrow trait influences behavior mainly in particular situations.
secondary drivenoun: A learned motivational push develops through links with an inborn drive, such as hunger or avoiding discomfort.
secondary elaborationnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, remembered dream details are reorganized into a smoother, more understandable account.
secondary emotionnoun: A feeling shaped by social learning rather than found the same way in all cultures.
secondary environmentnoun: A setting plays a minor role in someone's life, with social exchanges that are usually brief and impersonal.
secondary gainphrase: Extra benefits from having symptoms, such as attention or avoiding duties, can keep a problem going.
secondary groupnoun: A social group connects people mainly through shared activities or goals, usually with less intimacy than close personal groups.
secondary gustatory cortexnoun: An orbitofrontal brain region evaluates how rewarding tastes are and combines taste information with other senses to shape flavor.
secondary hypertensionphrase: High blood pressure caused by another health problem, such as kidney disease or a hormone disorder.
secondary identificationnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, a person takes on qualities of admired people who are not their parents.
secondary memory (SM)noun: An older name for long-term memory describes the large store of information that remains available beyond brief immediate awareness.
secondary mood disordernoun: A lasting, widespread disturbance in mood occurs alongside another disorder that may be responsible for it.
secondary motivationnoun: Personal goals or social rewards create an urge to act beyond meeting basic bodily needs.
secondary motor cortexnoun: The premotor and supplementary motor areas help prepare upcoming movements and support learning new movement patterns.
secondary narcissismnoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that emotional energy previously directed toward others becomes focused on oneself after infancy.
secondary neednoun: A learned need develops because something becomes connected with satisfying an inborn biological need.
secondary oocytenoun: An immature egg cell forms as the larger product when a primary oocyte completes its first meiotic division.
secondary personalitynoun: An older label describes an additional identity state that repeatedly takes control of behavior in dissociative identity disorder.
secondary positionnoun: Both eyes fix on a location away from straight ahead while the head and body remain upright.
secondary preventionphrase: Help given when early signs appear to stop problems from becoming a serious disorder.
secondary processnoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes rational, conscious thinking that helps the ego balance personal wishes with practical demands.
secondary qualitynoun: In Locke’s philosophy, qualities such as color arise in someone’s experience rather than existing independently within objects.
secondary reinforcementnoun: A consequence strengthens behavior after gaining its effect through learned connections with something already reinforcing.
secondary reinforcernoun: A reward that becomes wanted because it has been linked to a basic reward, like food or comfort.
secondary repressionnoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that previously conscious wishes or experiences can be pushed outside awareness.
secondary rewardnoun: A reward gains value through learning and helps someone obtain something naturally rewarding, such as food.
secondary sensory areanoun: A region of the brain’s outer layer receives signals directly from the first cortical processing area for a sense.
secondary sensory endingnoun: A branching nerve ending spreads across a muscle spindle’s thin ends and helps signal muscle stretch.
secondary sex characteristicphrase: Physical traits that appear at puberty and signal male or female development without being reproductive organs.
secondary somatosensory area (S2)noun: A parietal brain region receives body-sense signals from primary sensory cortex and passes information to sensory and movement regions.
secondary spermatocytenoun: A developing sperm cell formed after the first meiotic division contains one chromosome set and divides into two spermatids.
secondary stutteringnoun: Speech disruptions involve uncomfortable awareness and efforts to change them, often accompanied by tension or extra movements.
secondary suggestibilitynoun: In Eysenck’s proposed framework, a person responds readily to indirect or hidden suggestions.
secondary symptomsnoun: Additional difficulties accompany a disorder indirectly or develop after its earlier symptoms.
secondary tasknoun: A lower-priority activity receives the attention left after a person meets the demands of the main task.
secondary task methodologynoun: Researchers estimate a main task’s attention demands by measuring performance on an additional task while main-task performance stays steady.
secondary taste cortexnoun: An orbitofrontal brain region evaluates how pleasant tastes are and combines taste information with other senses to shape flavor.
secondary territorynoun: A person or group regularly uses a space and feels some ownership while recognizing that others may use it too.
secondary traumatizationnoun: Psychological effects can develop through close exposure to other people’s trauma or through its effects across generations.
secondary visual cortex (V2)noun: A brain region bordering primary visual cortex receives its signals and further processes shapes, movement, and locations.
secondary visual systemnoun: An evolutionarily older visual pathway passes through the superior colliculus and thalamus, supporting movement detection and location more than detailed shapes.
secondhand smokenoun: Someone breathes tobacco smoke released by another person’s smoking, including exhaled smoke and smoke from burning tobacco.
secretinnoun: A digestive hormone enters the blood when acid reaches the intestine, prompting the pancreas and liver to release digestive fluids.
secretionnoun: Cells or glands make and release substances into the blood or through tubes to other body parts.
SECsabbreviation: Stimulus evaluation checks are proposed judgments about an event’s novelty, relevance, and fit with expectations that shape emotional responses.
sectnoun: A community follows its own particular teachings and customs, sometimes forming through separation from a broader religious or political movement.
sectionnoun: A thin slice of body tissue prepared so it can be studied.
Section 504 plannoun: A written school document outlines supports for a student with disabilities to ensure educational access under U.S. Section 504 protections.
sectioningnoun: A school offers a course at several daily times, often with one teacher, to serve more students in smaller classes.
secularadjective: Not connected to religion and based on public or everyday life instead.
secular humanismnoun: A worldview emphasizes human well-being, reason, scientific inquiry, and personal growth without relying on religious authority.
secure attachmentphrase: A healthy child-parent bond where the child uses the parent as a safe base and is easily comforted after separation.
secure basephrase: A trusted caregiver gives a child safety to explore new places, then return for comfort when unsure.
secure treatment settingnoun: A locked care facility houses teenagers or adults who have committed offenses and have developmental or intellectual disabilities.
securitynoun: Feeling safe, confident, and not overly worried, often built by supportive relationships and steady success.
security blanketnoun: A comforting object a child uses to feel safe when away from a caregiver.
security operationsnoun: In Sullivan’s theory, interpersonal defenses such as anger or apparent boredom protect against anxiety or threats to self-worth.
security theoryphrase: Children explore and learn best after they feel safely supported by parents they can depend on.
SEDabbreviation: Serious emotional disturbance describes persistent emotional difficulties that substantially interfere with a young person’s learning, relationships, or daily functioning.
sedativenoun: A medicine that calms the brain and body, lowering anxiety, agitation, or excitement.
sedative occupationnoun: A repetitive activity, such as knitting, has a calming or soothing effect on the person doing it.
sedative-, hypnotic-, or anxiolytic-induced persisting amnestic disordernoun: A historical diagnosis described lasting, disabling memory problems caused by calming, sleep-promoting, or anxiety-reducing drugs.
sedative, hypnotic, and anxiolytic drugnoun: A medicine in this group slows brain activity to produce calm, encourage sleep, or ease anxiety.
sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic abusenoun: A historical diagnosis described repeated use of calming, sleeping, or anxiety medicines that caused significant problems without meeting dependence criteria.
sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic dependencenoun: A historical diagnosis described compulsive or repeated use of calming, sleeping, or anxiety medicines despite substantial problems, sometimes involving withdrawal.
sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic intoxicationnoun: Recent use of calming, sleeping, or anxiety medicines causes temporary, significant changes in behavior or thinking, alongside physical signs.
sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic withdrawalnoun: Reducing or stopping prolonged heavy use of calming, sleeping, or anxiety medicines can cause a potentially life-threatening physical and psychological reaction.
sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic withdrawal deliriumnoun: Stopping prolonged heavy use of calming, sleeping, or anxiety medicines can rapidly cause fluctuating confusion and disturbed attention beyond ordinary withdrawal.
sedentaryadjective: Spending much of the day sitting or lying down with very little physical movement.
seductionnoun: Someone uses attraction or persuasion to draw another person toward sexual activity without physical force, or toward something more generally.
SEEabbreviation: A statistic showing how far predicted scores usually miss the actual scores.
SEEKING systemnoun: In Panksepp’s framework, connected brain regions influenced strongly by dopamine support exploration and the pursuit of goals.
segmentnoun: One of the repeated body sections that form in an embryo as it develops.
segmental reflexnoun: An automatic response is controlled by nerve circuits within a single section of the spinal cord.
segmentationnoun: In language processing, a listener divides continuous speech into recognizable words and individual speech sounds.
segmented regressionnoun: A statistical method fits connected line sections with different slopes to describe changes in a relationship across ranges or periods.
segmented sleepnoun: Nighttime sleep occurs in two stretches with a lengthy waking interval between them.
segregated modelnoun: During program development, separate production and evaluation teams have equal standing and access to a distinct program director.
segregationnoun: Keeping groups or people apart so they have very little contact or influence on each other.
segregation analysisnoun: A statistical approach tests whether a trait’s pattern across families fits Mendel’s basic rules of genetic inheritance.
seismic communicationnoun: Animals send signals to one another through vibrations traveling along the ground or another supporting surface.
seizurenoun: A sudden burst of uncontrolled brain cell activity that can change movement, feelings, awareness, or behavior.
seizure disorderphrase: A condition marked by repeated seizures caused by sudden bursts of abnormal brain activity.
selected groupphrase: A research sample purposely chosen to fit the study's planned criteria.
selectionnoun: Choosing people, items, or measurements from a larger group for a specific purpose.
selection biasphrase: Happens when a study's participants are chosen in a way that makes the sample unrepresentative.
selection invariancenoun: An applicant-selection procedure correctly accepts qualified people and correctly rejects unqualified people at equal rates across groups.
selection modelnoun: A two-stage statistical approach accounts for nonrandom inclusion when estimating relationships in data, aiming to reduce selection bias.
selection pressurenoun: The strength of natural selection favors some inherited variants over others, changing their frequency across generations.
selection rationoun: A hiring fraction calculated by dividing successful candidates by all applicants who were considered.
selection researchnoun: Researchers study hiring methods to check their consistency, accuracy, fairness, and usefulness, and to improve employee selection.
selection testnoun: A test used to judge how well someone fits a job, school program, or other role.
selectionist brain theorynoun: A proposed explanation describes brain development and functioning as selection that strengthens useful groups of neurons and their connections.
selective actionnoun: A reinforcer strengthens some responses more than others, even when those responses receive the same consequence.
selective adaptationnoun: Perception adjusts to one feature of repeated stimulation while its response to another feature can remain unchanged.
selective agentnoun: An environmental condition favors organisms with certain inherited traits, influencing which organisms survive and reproduce.
selective amnesianoun: Memory loss affects particular experiences beyond ordinary forgetting, with emotional connections proposed to help explain which memories become unavailable.
selective attentionphrase: Focusing on important sights or sounds while ignoring other things happening around you at the same time.
selective breedingnoun: People choose which animals reproduce to increase the likelihood of desired inherited characteristics in their offspring.
selective cell deathnoun: During early development, some neurons die when they lack sufficient activation from sensory input and movement.
selective dropoutnoun: Participants leave a study unevenly because features of the study affect people with certain characteristics differently.
selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM)noun: A substance acts on estrogen receptors to increase estrogen effects in some tissues and block them in others.
selective inattentionnoun: A person fails to notice particular physical sensations or emotional experiences, sometimes understood as avoiding awareness of distress.
selective information processingnoun: People handle information about their attitudes with bias, often favoring material that supports what they already believe.
selective interventionphrase: A prevention effort aimed at people or groups with higher-than-average risk for a problem.
selective learningnoun: Learning favors one response or one available cue over alternatives because of biology, past experience, or how noticeable it is.
selective listeningnoun: A person focuses on one source of sound while other sound sources are also present.
selective mutismnoun: An anxiety disorder involves persistent difficulty speaking in particular social settings despite being able to speak elsewhere.
selective optimization with compensationphrase: Older adults age well by focusing on strengths and finding workarounds for losses.
selective perceptionphrase: People notice some sights or sounds and ignore others based on expectations, needs, or interests.
selective permeabilitynoun: A membrane permits certain substances to cross while limiting or preventing the passage of other substances.
selective placementnoun: An organization assigns new or existing employees to jobs that best match their qualifications.
selective potentiationnoun: Certain connected groups of nerve cells become more active or more sensitive to incoming signals.
selective rearingnoun: Researchers raise young nonhuman animals with restricted visual experiences to study how early experience shapes the visual system.
selective reminding testnoun: A memory assessment repeats only the items a participant missed before testing recall again.
selective responsephrase: A chosen action singled out from several other actions a person could make.
selective retentionnoun: People differ in what they remember and how clearly, accurately, and extensively, partly because of interests, experiences, and emotions.
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitorphrase: A medicine that raises serotonin between nerve cells by slowing how quickly it is taken back in.
selective silencenoun: A therapist deliberately stays quiet for an extended period, creating tension intended to encourage the client to begin speaking again.
selective valuenoun: A factor’s relative influence on natural selection determines how much it contributes to the evolution of traits, organs, or species.
selegilinenoun: This medication treats Parkinson’s symptoms or depression by blocking monoamine oxidase, allowing certain chemical messengers to last longer.
selfnoun: A person's whole sense of who they are, including traits, body, mind, and experience.
self as agentphrase: The active aspect of personal identity sets goals, makes plans, and directs actions a person chooses to perform.
self as knownphrase: In William James’s framework, this is the identity a person can examine, describe, and understand through reflection.
self as observerphrase: In William James’s framework, this is the experiencing perspective that notices thoughts, feelings, and knowledge about oneself.
self psychologyphrase: A psychodynamic approach that sees later problems as growing from caregivers missing a child's emotional needs.
self-abasementnoun: A person belittles themselves or submits excessively to another person’s wishes at the expense of their own standing.
self-abusenoun: A person causes injury to their own body or treats themselves in emotionally damaging ways.
self-acceptancenoun: Seeing your strengths and limits honestly, and being okay with both, supports mental health.
self-activitynoun: A person carries out actions they determine for themselves, whether or not something outside them prompts action.
self-actualizationnoun: Reaching your fullest potential after basic needs are met, with deep use of abilities and rich engagement in life.
self-administrationnoun: An individual takes a substance themselves, or a research animal performs an action that causes a drug to be delivered.
self-advocacynoun: People express their needs, make informed choices, and act to uphold their own rights.
self-affirmationnoun: Thoughts or actions reinforce a person’s sense of being capable, morally worthy, or able to handle life.
self-affirmation theorynoun: A theory proposes that people protect their overall sense of worth by affirming valued qualities when another quality is challenged.
self-alienationnoun: A person feels disconnected from themselves and may struggle to recognize or describe their inner experiences.
self-analysisnoun: A person explores their own thoughts, feelings, motives, and actions to understand themselves more fully.
self-appraisalnoun: A person's judgment about their own qualities, abilities, and overall worth.
self-assertionnoun: A person expresses their opinions, needs, wishes, or rights through words or actions.
self-assessmentnoun: Someone’s picture of themselves includes judgments about their personality, appearance, abilities, and the roles they fill.
self-assessment motivenoun: A person wants accurate knowledge about themselves and seeks informative feedback even when it is not flattering.
self-awarenessnoun: Paying attention to yourself and understanding your own thoughts, feelings, traits, and actions.
self-awareness theorynoun: A theory explains what happens when people direct attention toward themselves, including comparisons with other people or personal standards.
self-carenoun: Basic personal tasks like eating, dressing, and washing that a person can do without help.
self-care childrennoun: These children come home following the school day and manage without adult supervision while their caregivers are at work.
self-care competencenoun: A person has the skills to manage personal needs, handle everyday problems, and make effective changes in their life.
self-categorization theorynoun: A theory explains how recognizing group membership shapes personal identity and leads people to apply group stereotypes to themselves.
self-censurenoun: A person consciously blames or condemns themselves for behavior they believe violates their values or moral standards.
self-claritynoun: A person feels certain about who they are and confident about which qualities describe them.
self-compassionnoun: A person responds to their difficulties, mistakes, and limitations with kindness and understanding instead of harsh personal judgment.
self-completion theorynoun: A theory proposes that people use symbolic actions to establish desired identities, especially when they feel uncertain about having those identities.
self-complexitynoun: A person’s view of themselves contains a certain number of distinct aspects that overlap little with one another.
self-conceptnoun: A person's overall picture and judgment of who they are, including traits, abilities, roles, and appearance.
self-concept testnoun: A personality assessment examines how people see their own qualities, values, goals, abilities, body, and personal worth.
self-confidencenoun: A person's belief that they can handle tasks well and trust their own judgment.
self-confrontationnoun: A person closely examines their attitudes, actions, and weaknesses to encourage change and understand how others might see them.
self-conscious emotionphrase: An emotion felt when something affects how good or bad you or others see you.
self-consciousnessnoun: A personality trait showing how much a person thinks about their own thoughts, feelings, and actions.
self-consistencynoun: A person's actions and traits fit together and remain relatively steady across time.
self-consistency perspectivenoun: This theory proposes that conflicts with self-image cause discomfort that must be reduced by addressing that particular conflict.
self-consistency theorynoun: This theory proposes that people seek agreement among beliefs, with a workplace version emphasizing actions matching workers' self-images.
self-construalnoun: A belief about yourself shapes how you understand your identity, including your independence or connections with others.
self-contradictionnoun: Two statements, beliefs, or actions within the same argument or person conflict with each other.
self-controlnoun: Managing your actions, feelings, and urges so you choose long-term benefits over quick rewards.
self-control techniquenoun: A behavior therapy method teaches people to judge their own actions and reward themselves for desired changes.
self-control therapynoun: This behavior therapy teaches tracking actions, judging progress, setting goals, making agreements, rewarding improvement, and planning for setbacks.
self-correctionnoun: A person notices and fixes their own mistake without anyone providing a hint or instruction.
self-critical perfectionismnoun: A person demands exceptionally high performance from themselves and judges themselves harshly when they fall short.
self-criticismnoun: Judging your own actions and traits, especially noticing mistakes and weaknesses, sometimes helps growth but can become harsh.
self-debasementnoun: A person lowers their own worth through demeaning treatment of themselves or extreme surrender to another person's wishes.
self-deceptionnoun: A person convinces themselves that something untrue is correct, sometimes exaggerating their strengths while overlooking their limits.
self-defeating behaviornoun: Repeated actions work against a person's own goals or wishes, making success harder to achieve.
self-defeating personality disordernoun: A historical diagnostic proposal described a lasting pattern of avoiding enjoyment, undermining success, and accepting mistreatment.
self-definitionnoun: A person's beliefs and ideas about who they are.
self-demand schedulenoun: Feeding happens according to a child's or animal's hunger and wishes rather than at preset times.
self-denialnoun: A person holds back their desires and gives up something they would find satisfying.
self-derogationnoun: A person repeatedly puts themselves down, often making negative judgments that go beyond the facts.
self-desensitizationnoun: A person uses learned coping methods themselves to reduce anxiety when facing something that makes them anxious.
self-destructivenessnoun: A person's actions damage their own well-being, whether or not they recognize or intend the effects.
self-determinationnoun: Acting and making choices for yourself without unfair pressure or control from others.
self-determination theorynoun: This theory describes motivation ranging from outside pressure to personal choice and emphasizes freely chosen activity for well-being.
self-detoxificationnoun: A person tries to manage withdrawal from alcohol or another substance without organized treatment or support.
self-developmentnoun: A person grows or improves their abilities and personal qualities over time.
self-diagnosisnoun: A person identifies a possible physical or mental health condition in themselves, often by researching their symptoms.
self-differentiationnoun: A person seeks recognition for qualities that make them distinct from other members of their group.
self-directednessnoun: In Cloninger's personality model, this character dimension describes how purposefully and resourcefully a person works toward goals.
self-disciplinenoun: Ability to control urges and keep working toward long-term goals instead of immediate rewards.
self-disclosurenoun: Sharing private thoughts, feelings, or experiences with others can build closeness and help therapy work.
self-discoverynoun: A person explores and comes to understand their own distinctive identity.
self-discrepancynoun: Different views of yourself clash, especially who you think you are versus who you wish or feel required to be.
self-dynamismnoun: Sullivan proposed a pattern of motives organizing the self around bodily satisfaction, security, and relief from anxiety.
self-effacementnoun: A person behaves in ways that keep attention away from themselves.
self-efficacynoun: A person's belief about how well they can do a task or reach a goal.
self-enhancementnoun: A person uses strategies to improve their own opinion of themselves or how favorably others see them.
self-enhancement motivenoun: The desire for a favorable self-image and others' approval can lead people to prefer praise over less flattering accuracy.
self-enucleationnoun: This act involves removing one's own bodily organ or tumor, including an eye in some reported cases.
self-esteemnoun: How positively someone judges their own worth, abilities, and qualities.
self-esteem stabilitynoun: The steadiness of a person's sense of worth depends on how much it changes over short periods.
self-evaluationnoun: A person's overall view and judgment of who they are and what they are worth.
self-evaluation maintenance modelnoun: This model proposes that others' success supports self-worth in unimportant areas but may threaten it in personally important areas, affecting closeness.
self-evaluative emotionnoun: A feeling arises from judging what an event says about your worth or how others view you.
self-evidentadjective: Something seems immediately true without requiring a separate argument or observation to support it.
self-examinationnoun: Looking closely at your own thoughts, feelings, and actions to understand yourself better.
self-exciting circuitnoun: A network of nerve cells keeps activity going by sending some output back to excite the starting cell.
self-expressionnoun: Showing your feelings, ideas, and abilities through words, art, or everyday activities.
self-extensionnoun: Allport proposed that children begin including valued people, possessions, and ideas in their identity around age four.
self-extinctionnoun: Horney proposed a pattern in which people lose a separate sense of themselves and live through others' experiences.
self-feedingnoun: A person eats by bringing food to their own mouth, sometimes using equipment that supports independence.
self-focusnoun: Paying conscious attention to your own thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires.
self-focused copingnoun: A person responds to stress by blaming themselves for the situation and pulling away from other people.
self-fulfilling prophecyphrase: An expectation can change behavior so the expected outcome actually happens, for better or worse.
self-gratificationnoun: A person meets their own needs and experiences the satisfaction that follows.
self-guidenoun: An image of who you want or feel expected to be helps direct your behavior.
self-handicappingnoun: A person creates or claims obstacles before a performance so possible failure can be explained without questioning their ability.
self-harmnoun: Purposely hurting your own body, often to manage intense feelings, with or without wanting to die.
self-healing personalitynoun: A debated concept links certain personality traits with recovery and better health through effective coping, positive feelings, and healthy actions.
self-helpnoun: Ways people handle life problems on their own or in peer groups without professional treatment.
self-help clearinghousenoun: An organization gathers information about self-help groups and helps people find groups suited to their needs.
self-help groupnoun: People facing a shared difficulty meet regularly to exchange experience and support, usually with members leading the group.
self-hypnorelaxationnoun: A person learns to use their own suggestions during self-hypnosis to bring about relaxation.
self-hypnosisnoun: A person brings themselves into a hypnotic state, usually by giving themselves suggestions.
self-idealnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, an inner model of admirable qualities develops from valued parental examples and later influences.
self-ideal Q sortnoun: A person sorts trait descriptions twice, comparing their current self-view with the person they would like to become.
self-identificationnoun: Seeing yourself as belonging to certain groups or as having certain personal traits.
self-identitynoun: A person's self-identity is their sense of who they are, including their values, roles, and group ties.
self-imagenoun: A person's mental picture of who they are, which strongly shapes feelings, choices, and relationships.
self-image biasnoun: People tend to judge others by qualities they consider strengths in themselves.
self-inflicted woundnoun: An injury results from someone deliberately damaging their own body tissue without intending to die.
self-injurious behaviorphrase: Purposely hurting your own body, often to cope with intense feelings and not to die.
self-insightnoun: A person develops a deeper understanding of their feelings, motives, behavior, and recurring patterns.
self-instructional imagerynoun: A person mentally pictures a skill to learn it, notice mistakes, or imagine improvements.
self-instructional trainingphrase: A CBT method where people practice tasks while saying helpful steps aloud to replace harmful thoughts.
self-interestnoun: Seeking your own benefit while trying to avoid costs, danger, or harm.
self-inventorynoun: A questionnaire asks people to select descriptions they believe match their own traits or characteristics.
self-lovenoun: A person values their own existence and cares about their happiness and well-being.
self-managed reinforcementnoun: A person rewards themselves after a desired action or achievement to encourage similar behavior.
self-managementnoun: Controlling your own behavior, or a therapy plan that teaches you how to change it.
self-management therapynoun: Behavior therapy teaches people to track actions, set goals, evaluate progress, reward improvements, and plan for setbacks.
self-medicationnoun: A person uses substances, including drugs or alcohol, on their own to try to ease emotional distress.
self-monitoringnoun: Changing how you act to fit the situation, instead of always showing your inner feelings.
self-monitoring observationnoun: A person repeatedly records their own actions, attitudes, or feelings so patterns can be examined.
self-mutilationnoun: Deliberately injuring or disfiguring your own body on purpose.
self-object (selfobject)noun: In self psychology, another person is experienced as part of oneself, especially through their support for one's worth.
self-object transference (selfobject transference)noun: In self psychology, relationship needs for affirmation, idealization, or likeness become active with the therapist as support for the self.
self-objectificationnoun: In Allport's account of maturity, a person gains an objective understanding of themselves.
self-organizing systemnoun: A system develops larger patterns through interactions among its parts, without an outside organizer directing them.
self-perceptionnoun: A person's picture of their own traits, abilities, and body, which may be accurate or mistaken.
self-perception theoryphrase: People sometimes figure out their attitudes by watching their own behavior the way they judge other people.
self-presentationnoun: Actions people use to shape how others see them by showing a chosen image of themselves.
self-preservation instinctnoun: Humans and other animals tend to act in ways that protect themselves and support survival.
self-promotionnoun: A person emphasizes or exaggerates their abilities to create a favorable impression on others.
self-protectionnoun: Actions people use to avoid losing self-respect or others' respect, often by avoiding risks.
self-punishmentnoun: Hurting yourself in body or mind because you believe you did something wrong.
self-ratingnoun: Reporting your own traits, feelings, or behaviors on a measure or questionnaire.
self-rating scalenoun: An assessment tool asks people to judge their own qualities, interests, abilities, or performance.
self-realizationnoun: A person develops their abilities fully while becoming deeply engaged with and appreciative of life.
self-referencenoun: A person tends to connect information or events with their own experiences, concerns, or views.
self-reference effectnoun: People generally remember information better when they connect it with themselves or their personal qualities.
self-referralnoun: A person independently seeks professional health care without being directed or required to do so by someone else.
self-reflectionnoun: Looking closely at your own thoughts, feelings, and actions to understand yourself better.
self-regulated learningnoun: Learners guide their studying by setting goals, checking understanding, managing effort, and adjusting strategies.
self-regulationnoun: Managing your own behavior by watching it, judging it, and rewarding yourself for meeting goals.
self-regulatory resources theorynoun: A proposed model treats self-control as drawing on a shared, limited resource that demands can temporarily use up.
self-reinforcementnoun: Giving yourself a reward after good behavior or reaching a goal to strengthen that behavior.
self-relevancenoun: An activity or issue matters personally because it bears on how a person values themselves.
self-reportnoun: Information a person gives about their own feelings, thoughts, traits, or behavior, usually by answering questions.
self-report biasnoun: People's descriptions of themselves can systematically distort research findings through limited awareness, memory errors, or attempts to look good.
self-report inventorynoun: A questionnaire where people rate how much listed traits or feelings describe themselves.
self-repudiationnoun: A person denies themselves enjoyment or rights, often because of guilt or feelings of low personal worth.
self-respectnoun: A person recognizes their own worth and treats their values, character, and dignity as deserving consideration.
self-rewardnoun: A person gives themselves something enjoyable after meeting a goal or carrying out a desired behavior.
self-rightingnoun: A person recovers from difficulty by taking useful action and adapting to the limits of their situation.
self-schemanoun: An organized set of beliefs about yourself shapes what you notice, how you interpret experiences, and what you remember.
self-selected groups designnoun: A study lets participants choose their own groups or conditions, making conclusions about cause and effect less certain.
self-selection biasnoun: Study findings can be distorted when people choose conditions and their existing differences help explain the results.
self-serving biasphrase: People often credit themselves for success but blame outside causes for failure to protect their self-esteem, or sense of worth.
self-standards modelnoun: A proposed theory says discomfort about inconsistent behavior depends on whether people judge its outcomes using personal or shared standards.
self-statementnoun: A person directs words to themselves, silently or aloud, to guide actions or support constructive beliefs.
self-statement modificationnoun: A therapy technique helps people change unhelpful ideas about themselves by revising what they say to themselves.
self-statement training (SST)noun: A person regularly practices thinking or saying positive statements about themselves as a therapeutic exercise.
self-stereotypingnoun: Seeing yourself through your group's stereotype and using those group traits to describe yourself.
self-stimulationnoun: A person produces experiences or actions that increase their own level of mental or physical arousal.
self-suggestionnoun: A person offers themselves positive suggestions to encourage calm, improve mood, or support recovery.
self-synchronynoun: A person's gestures and other body movements naturally match the rhythm of their own speech.
self-systemnoun: Sullivan proposed a lasting personality pattern shaped by adults' approval, keeping accepted responses and excluding disapproved ones.
self-talknoun: The words people silently say to themselves can shape feelings, beliefs, and actions.
self-terminating searchnoun: A search stops immediately upon finding its target, without checking every remaining possibility.
self-testnoun: A person can administer this kind of test themselves without assistance from a trained specialist.
self-transcendencenoun: Looking beyond yourself to care about others and find meaning in something larger than your own needs.
self-understandingnoun: Clear awareness of your own traits, motives, habits, strengths, and weaknesses.
self-validation factornoun: In persuasion, a factor changes how much people trust the thoughts they generate while carefully considering a message.
self-verbalizationnoun: A person talks to themselves, privately or aloud, sometimes to guide behavior, learn skills, or solve problems.
self-verification motivephrase: People want others and situations to confirm the kind of person they already believe they are, good or bad.
self-viewnoun: A person's overall picture of who they are, including worth and traits they believe they have.
self-worthnoun: Seeing yourself as valuable, capable, and deserving of respect from yourself and other people.
selfish gene hypothesisnoun: A proposed evolutionary account treats genes as the main units of natural selection, favoring variants that spread copies more successfully.
selfish herdnoun: Animals cluster as each seeks a safer position with other group members between itself and danger.
selfishnessnoun: A person gives excessive priority to their own benefit, even when doing so disadvantages others.
SEMabbreviation: On tests, it shows how much a person's score may differ from their true ability.
sem-prefix: This word-building form contributes the idea of signs or meaning to a larger word.
semanticadjective: Describes the meaning carried by words, signs, or other symbols.
semantic anomianoun: A language impairment makes it difficult to understand word meanings or place words in the right conceptual categories.
semantic aphasianoun: An acquired language impairment makes choosing suitable words to express intended meaning during speech difficult.
semantic codenoun: Memory can store something through its meaning, purpose, or features rather than through a mental picture.
semantic counselingnoun: A counseling approach explores how people's interpretations of meanings relate to their difficulties and ability to cope.
semantic dementianoun: A form of frontotemporal dementia gradually reduces knowledge of word and object meanings as parts of the temporal lobes deteriorate.
semantic differentialnoun: Researchers measure reactions to a topic using rating scales whose endpoints are opposite descriptions, such as pleasant and unpleasant.
semantic dissociationnoun: In thought disorders, words may depart from their shared meanings, making speech unclear, unusual, or difficult to understand.
semantic encodingphrase: Remembering new information by thinking about its meaning, often by linking it to ideas you already know.
semantic fluencynoun: A person can quickly produce words belonging to a given meaning category, such as animals or foods.
semantic generalizationnoun: A classically conditioned response to one expression can spread to other expressions because their meanings are similar.
semantic jargonnoun: In some fluent language disorders, a person combines real words into speech that conveys little understandable meaning.
semantic knowledgephrase: Stored facts, word meanings, and general world information not linked to one specific event.
semantic memoryphrase: Stores facts, word meanings, and concepts we know without remembering when we learned them.
semantic networknoun: A model represents concepts as connected points, with links showing relationships, and can describe how knowledge might be organized.
semantic paradoxnoun: A statement creates a contradiction or puzzle through its wording, meaning, or claims about its own truth.
semantic paraphasianoun: A language error replaces an intended word with another word related in meaning, often during otherwise fluent speech.
semantic primingphrase: Seeing a related word first makes the brain recognize the next word faster.
semantic primitivenoun: A proposed basic unit of meaning helps build more complex concepts and may contribute to children's language development.
semantic satiationnoun: Repeating a word rapidly many times can temporarily make it feel unfamiliar or empty of meaning.
semantic therapynoun: A psychotherapy approach examines word habits, hidden assumptions, and emotional meanings to help people think more clearly about their lives.
semanticitynoun: Language can convey meaning because its symbols stand for things, actions, experiences, and ideas.
semanticsnoun: The meaning of words and sentences in a language.
semasiologynoun: A field of language study examines how word meanings develop and change over time.
semeiosisnoun: Words, objects, or gestures acquire meanings and work as signs within a system of communication.
semennoun: During ejaculation, the body releases a reproductive fluid containing gland secretions and usually sperm.
semenarchenoun: The first ejaculation of semen marks an event in a person's sexual development.
semi-interquartile rangenoun: A measure of spread equals half the difference between the upper and lower quartiles of a dataset.
semicircular canalsnoun: Three fluid-filled loops in each inner ear detect changes in head rotation and help maintain balance.
semiconsciousadjective: A person is partly awake or aware, with reduced or uneven responsiveness to what happens around them.
seminaladjective: Describes something that strongly shaped later ideas, events, or growth.
seminal analysisnoun: A laboratory examination evaluates fertility by measuring sperm concentration and checking sperm shape and movement in a semen sample.
seminal dischargenoun: Semen leaves the body, usually through ejaculation during sexual activity or while a person is asleep.
seminal ductnoun: A tube called the vas deferens carries sperm from the epididymis toward the passage used for ejaculation.
seminal fluidnoun: This name for semen describes the mixture of reproductive gland fluids and usually sperm expelled during ejaculation.
seminal vesiclenoun: One of two glands behind the bladder produces fluid that makes up much of semen.
seminiferous tubulenoun: A tiny coiled tube inside a testis contains cells that produce sperm and other cells that support their development.
semiologynoun: The study of signs and symbols and how people create and understand meaning from them.
semiosis (semeiosis)noun: Something becomes a sign when people connect it with meaning within a particular system of communication.
semiotic functionnoun: In Piaget's theory, children develop the ability to represent absent things mentally through images, words, imitation, and pretend play.
semiotic movementnoun: An intellectual trend promoted formal rules for visual symbol systems beyond ordinary alphabetic writing, including mathematical and logical notation.
semioticsnoun: A field studies how words, images, gestures, and other signs communicate meaning through their relationships within sign systems.
semipartial correlationnoun: A statistic measures two variables' association after removing a third variable's influence from only one of them.
semipermeable membranenoun: A thin barrier permits certain molecules to cross while preventing others from passing through.
semistructured interviewphrase: An interview with set questions plus room to ask follow-up questions based on the person's answers.
semitonenoun: A musical pitch interval separates neighboring notes in a chromatic scale, such as D and D-sharp.
semivowelnoun: A speech sound resembles a vowel but functions as a consonant, such as the initial sounds in wet and yes.
sendernoun: In telepathy experiments, one participant tries to convey information mentally to another without ordinary communication.
senescencenoun: The biological process of aging brings gradual changes in an organism as it grows older.
senileadjective: An outdated adjective describes old age, especially when historically applied to dementia or changes in thinking and behavior.
senile dementianoun: An outdated label described dementia beginning after 65, with declines in memory and other thinking abilities that disrupt everyday life.
senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (SDAT)noun: An older diagnostic name described dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease when symptoms began after the person turned 65.
senile miosisnoun: In older age, weakening of muscles that widen the pupil can leave it smaller, reducing incoming light.
senile plaquenoun: A brain deposit of beta-amyloid protein, often surrounded by damaged nerve-cell branches, is associated with Alzheimer's disease.
senilitynoun: An outdated name was used for dementia occurring in older adults, rather than for typical aging.
senior citizennoun: An older adult may receive this social designation, especially around retirement age, though the exact age varies.
seniumnoun: This seldom-used word describes old age as a stage in human development.
sensate focusphrase: A sex therapy exercise that shifts couples from performance worries to noticing touch and pleasure step by step.
sensationnoun: Basic awareness created when sense organs and the brain detect stimulation.
sensation levelnoun: The strength of a sensation describes how intense a sound or other sensory experience feels to a particular person.
sensation seekingnoun: A tendency to pursue exciting, intense experiences increases stimulation and may include activities involving risk.
sensation thresholdnoun: The weakest stimulus a person detects on half of repeated trials marks the measured boundary for noticing a sensation.
sensation typenoun: In Jung's proposed personality theory, this type primarily experiences the world through direct sensory information.
sensation unitnoun: A sensory experience counts as one distinguishable unit when someone can tell it apart from another experience.
Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS)noun: A questionnaire measures how strongly someone prefers excitement, new experiences, and intense stimulation.
sensationalismnoun: A philosophical view holds that every kind of knowledge, including abstract ideas, begins with sensory experiences.
sensenoun: A way the body takes in information, such as sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell.
sense datumnoun: A basic element of sensory experience arises when stimulation activates sensory receptors and related brain activity.
sense distancenoun: The perceived gap between two sensations can be measured along one quality, such as pitch or brightness.
sense experiencenoun: An experience enters awareness when specialized sensory cells respond to stimulation from inside or outside the body.
sense impressionnoun: A basic sensation, such as warmth or color, results from sensory stimulation and the brain's response.
sense modalitynoun: A particular sensory system, such as hearing or balance, gathers a distinct kind of information about body or surroundings.
sense of coherencenoun: A person feels that their thoughts and account of themselves are clear, consistent, and understandable.
sense of equilibriumnoun: A sensory ability helps maintain bodily balance, partly through inner ear signals about head movement and position.
sense of presencenoun: Someone experiences themselves as truly there, within a setting or moment, even when their surroundings are computer generated.
sense of selfphrase: A person's inner feeling of who they are, how they differ, and where they are headed.
sense organnoun: A specialized body structure contains sensory cells and supporting parts that receive particular kinds of stimulation.
sense-ratios methodnoun: Researchers measure perceived intensity by adjusting two stimuli until their intensity ratio seems to match that of a reference pair.
sensibilianoun: Objects or qualities that could be detected through the senses belong to this category.
sensibilitynoun: A person has the capacity to respond to emotional situations with strong or finely tuned feelings.
sensibleadjective: Able to notice sensory input from the body or environment, such as touch, heat, or pain.
sensitiveadjective: Quick to notice or react to changes, signals, or other people's feelings.
sensitive dependencenoun: In some changing systems, extremely small differences at the beginning can lead to widely different outcomes later.
sensitive periodnoun: During a developmental window, certain experiences support learning or growth especially strongly, although development remains possible afterward.
sensitive soulnoun: Aristotle proposed that nonhuman animals possess a soul capable of sensing and responding but lacking rational thought.
sensitive zonenoun: A particular spot on the body responds especially strongly to a certain kind of stimulation, such as touch.
sensitivitynoun: How well a sense, body system, or test correctly notices a real signal or condition.
sensitivity analysisnoun: Researchers check how much a model's results change when they alter inputs or assumptions that may be uncertain.
sensitivity trainingnoun: Guided group discussions and activities aim to improve self-awareness, relationships, and understanding of other people's feelings and needs.
sensitizationnoun: Becoming more reactive to many stimuli after strong or repeated stimulation, a kind of nonassociative learning.
sensornoun: A body cell or organ that detects a kind of stimulation, such as light, sound, or touch.
sensorimotoradjective: Using information from the senses together with body movement to learn about and act on the world.
sensorimotor aphasianoun: An acquired language disorder caused by brain damage affects both understanding language and expressing messages through language.
sensorimotor arcnoun: A reflex pathway carries sensory signals toward the central nervous system and motor signals outward to produce a response.
sensorimotor cortexnoun: Regions of the brain's outer layer process bodily sensations and help control movement.
sensorimotor intelligencenoun: In Piaget's theory, infants gain knowledge by sensing their surroundings and acting on objects.
sensorimotor memorynoun: Memory may be expressed through sensations and actions, including learned skills, without being put into words.
sensorimotor rhythm (SMR)noun: A brain electrical rhythm recorded near movement and body-sensation regions repeats about 12 to 14 times per second.
sensorimotor stagephrase: From birth to age two, babies learn about the world through senses, movement, and simple cause-and-effect actions.
sensorineural deafnessnoun: Hearing becomes reduced or absent when inner-ear structures or nerves carrying sound signals toward the brainstem are damaged or function abnormally.
sensorineural lesionnoun: Damage affects hearing structures along the sensory nerve route connecting the inner ear with brain regions that process sound.
sensoriumnoun: A person's sensory abilities and related mental functions are considered together, including their capacity for clear awareness and thought.
sensorium communenoun: Historical thinkers proposed a single brain location where sensory information came together to form unified perceptions.
sensoryadjective: Related to the senses or the nerves and brain parts that carry sense information.
sensory acuitynoun: A sensory ability allows someone to detect stimulation that is very small, faint, or brief.
sensory adaptationnoun: Sensory receptors or systems become less responsive when stimulation continues or repeats over time.
sensory amimianoun: A communication difficulty prevents someone from understanding the meaning conveyed by other people's gestures.
sensory amusianoun: A difficulty in musical perception limits recognition and appreciation of features in musical sounds and sequences.
sensory aphasiaphrase: A brain-language problem causing fluent speech with many errors and poor understanding of spoken words.
sensory aprosodianoun: A person cannot understand emotional information carried by speech patterns such as pitch and rhythm.
sensory areanoun: A region of the brain's outer layer receives and processes information from a particular sense.
sensory ataxianoun: Movement becomes poorly coordinated because information about the positions and movements of limbs is reduced or lost.
sensory awareness trainingnoun: Guided exercises help people notice and explore bodily sensations and feelings in therapy or athletic practice.
sensory biasnoun: An animal's sensory preferences can favor features even when those features are absent from its species' usual signals.
sensory circlenoun: Weber described a patch of skin that produces nerve activity when stimulated, linking smaller patches with finer touch discrimination.
sensory conditioningnoun: Two initially neutral cues are paired; after one gains meaning through conditioning, the other can trigger a related response.
sensory consciousnessnoun: A person is aware of sensory qualities, such as colors, sounds, textures, smells, and tastes.
sensory conversion symptomsnoun: Genuine sensory changes in functional neurological symptom disorder show clinical patterns inconsistent with recognized neurological disease.
sensory cortexnoun: Parts of the brain's outer layer receive sensory signals and process qualities such as sound, light, or touch.
sensory cuenoun: Something detected through a sense prompts a response or pattern of behavior.
sensory deficitnoun: One or more senses have substantially reduced or absent functioning.
sensory deprivationphrase: Having very little input from the senses for a while can alter thinking, mood, and even perception.
sensory discriminationnoun: A person can tell sensory experiences apart, including ones with only small differences.
sensory disordernoun: A condition disrupts the ability to detect sensations or process information from the senses.
sensory drivenoun: Mating signals can increase reproductive success by matching sensory preferences already present in potential mates.
sensory engineeringnoun: Designers study people's subjective feelings about products and use those findings to shape product features.
sensory epilepsynoun: A form of epilepsy produces seizures with unusual skin feelings, such as tingling or numbness, sometimes while awareness remains intact.
sensory evoked potentialnoun: An electrical brain response to sensory stimulation is measured using recording sensors attached to the scalp.
sensory exploitationnoun: An animal's mating signal takes advantage of potential mates' existing sensory preferences, increasing its chances of reproducing.
sensory extinctionnoun: Following brain injury, someone detects stimulation on either side separately but misses the affected side when both receive stimulation together.
sensory fieldnoun: The full collection of stimuli reaching a person or sensory receptor at one moment forms their sensory field.
sensory gatingnoun: The nervous system automatically reduces awareness of some sensory signals while attention is directed toward others.
sensory homunculusnoun: A distorted human drawing shows how much sensory cortex represents each body part, making the hands and face especially large.
sensory inattentionnoun: After brain injury, a person notices either side's stimulation alone but misses the affected side when both are stimulated simultaneously.
sensory inputnoun: Information reaches the nervous system through receptors responding to changes inside or outside the body.
sensory integrationphrase: The brain combines and organizes input from different senses to guide a useful body response.
sensory integration dysfunctionnoun: A person has difficulty organizing and making sense of incoming sensations, which can interfere with everyday activities.
sensory intensitynoun: The strength someone experiences in a sensation relates to, but need not exactly match, the physical stimulus's strength.
sensory interactionnoun: Using information from different senses together to do a task, such as keeping your balance.
sensory leakagenoun: In experiments testing claimed extrasensory abilities, ordinary sensory clues accidentally reveal information participants are supposed to identify without those clues.
sensory memoryphrase: A very brief store keeps raw sights and sounds just long enough for the brain to notice them.
sensory modalityphrase: A kind of sense system, such as seeing, hearing, touch, taste, or smell.
Sensory Modality Assessment and Rehabilitation Technique (SMART)noun: This assessment uses repeated sensory activities to detect signs of awareness in people with severely impaired consciousness and inform rehabilitation.
sensory modulation dysfunctionnoun: A person has difficulty regulating responses to sensations, reacting very strongly, very weakly, or shifting between these patterns.
sensory neglectnoun: Brain injury disrupts attention to sensory information from one side, commonly the left following damage to the right hemisphere.
sensory nervenoun: A bundle of nerve fibers carries information from sensory receptors toward the brain or spinal cord.
sensory neuronnoun: A nerve cell carries information about detected stimulation toward the brain or spinal cord, often through connections with other neurons.
sensory organnoun: A specialized body structure, such as an eye, contains cells that detect particular kinds of stimulation.
sensory organizationnoun: The nervous system arranges and combines sensory signals so they can become meaningful perceptions.
sensory overloadnoun: Incoming sensations exceed what a person can comfortably process or respond to at that moment.
sensory paralysisnoun: Sensory ability is reduced or absent, although the person may still be able to move.
sensory pathwaynoun: A connected route through nerves carries sensory signals toward brain regions that process them.
Sensory Perceptual Examinationnoun: This Reitan–Klove test evaluates how someone senses touch, sights, and sounds, comparing performance between the body's two sides.
sensory preconditioningphrase: Learning happens when two harmless cues are linked first, so later one cue triggers a response after the other gains meaning.
sensory processing disordernoun: This label describes difficulties handling and organizing sensations that can make ordinary activities challenging.
sensory projection areanoun: A region of the brain's outer layer receives and processes information associated with a particular sense.
sensory psychophysiologynoun: Researchers in this field study how bodily processes relate to sensing and perceiving the world.
sensory receptor organnoun: An organ such as an ear houses specialized cells and supporting structures that receive particular sensory inputs.
sensory registerphrase: The very brief first holding place for information coming in through your senses.
sensory rootnoun: A bundle of sensory nerve fibers enters the spinal cord through its back surface on either side.
sensory spotnoun: A small skin location is especially sensitive to a particular kind of touch, temperature, or painful stimulation.
sensory stimulationphrase: A sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell that activates a sense receptor and starts a response.
sensory substitutionnoun: Information usually received through one sense is translated into signals that another sense can use.
sensory summationnoun: The nervous system combines sensory inputs arriving close together in time or from different locations, increasing their combined effect.
sensory suppressionnoun: A person receives two sensory inputs together but becomes aware of only one of them.
sensory systemnoun: The organs, receptor cells, nerves, and brain regions supporting a particular sense work together as a system.
sensory testnoun: An assessment measures a sensory ability, such as distinguishing colors, judging depth, or detecting quiet sounds.
sensory transductionnoun: Sensory receptor cells convert stimulation, such as light or pressure, into changes in electrical activity across their membranes.
sensory-information store (SIS)noun: A brief memory store holds largely unprocessed sensory information after the original stimulation has ended.
sensualadjective: Something described this way appeals to bodily pleasure through the senses and may include erotic feelings.
sensumnoun: A basic unit of sensory experience arises when sensory receptors and related brain activity produce awareness of a quality.
sensuousadjective: Something described this way has noticeable sensory qualities or can strongly engage the senses.
sensus communisnoun: Aristotle proposed a mental ability that brings information from the five senses together into a unified perception.
sentence-completion testnoun: An assessment asks people to finish sentence beginnings, often to explore personality through their freely chosen responses.
sentence-repetition testnoun: An assessment measures memory mainly by asking someone to immediately repeat spoken sentences that become increasingly complex.
sentence-verification tasknoun: Participants quickly judge sentences, often as true or false, so researchers can study meaning, knowledge, and language understanding.
sentiencenoun: The capacity for conscious sensory experience allows a being to feel or notice stimulation without necessarily interpreting it.
sentientadjective: A being described this way can sense and recognize stimulation, with the word commonly implying conscious experience.
sentimentalitynoun: A tendency to respond with feelings judged excessive or exaggerated often centers on romance, tenderness, or sadness.
sentinel behaviornoun: One animal keeps watch for predators while other group members feed, rest, or socialize, sometimes taking turns.
sentinel eventnoun: An unexpected incident during healthcare causes death or severe bodily or emotional injury and demands prompt investigation.
SEPabbreviation: A recorded brain response after touch or body sensation is used to check sensory pathways.
separated displaynoun: A machine interface places essential information apart from secondary details so users can notice what matters most.
separation anxietynoun: Fear and upset when apart, or about to be apart, from an important caregiver or loved one.
separation anxiety disorderphrase: Extreme, ongoing fear about being away from home or loved ones that causes distress or problems in daily life.
separation distressphrase: Strong upset and anxiety when contact with an important loved one or caregiver is lost.
separation strategynoun: In an acculturation framework, people preserve their original culture while avoiding participation in the dominant culture.
separation–individuationnoun: Mahler proposed a developmental phase when infants gradually experience themselves as separate from their mothers and become more independent.
sepsisnoun: A life-threatening reaction to infection occurs when the body's response damages its own tissues and disrupts organ function.
septnoun: A smaller group within a clan shares claimed ancestry, common loyalty, or other lasting ties.
septal areanoun: A forebrain region connects with networks involved in memory, reward, and the regulation of emotional responses.
septicemianoun: A serious bloodstream infection involves microorganisms, usually bacteria, and can lead to sepsis.
septumnoun: A thin wall of tissue that separates two spaces, such as parts of the brain.
septum pellucidumnoun: A thin membrane with two layers divides the front portions of the brain's paired lateral fluid chambers.
sequelanoun: A lasting problem or aftereffect that remains after an illness, injury, or mental disorder.
sequence effectnoun: In repeated-measures experiments, a particular treatment changes responses to another treatment, making the specific arrangement matter.
sequential analysisnoun: Statistical methods use accumulating results to guide decisions about collecting more data, changing collection, or stopping a study.
sequential designphrase: A study plan that checks data in stages and can stop early for clear results, harm, or cost.
sequential effectnoun: During tasks requiring a quick choice, recent trials influence how someone responds on the current trial.
sequential processingphrase: Handling information step by step, in a fixed order, rather than all at once.
sequential regressionnoun: A statistical method adds predictors in planned stages to measure what each new group contributes to explaining an outcome.
sequential samplingnoun: Researchers examine successive groups of cases, reviewing each group's results before deciding whether to gather another sample.
Seraxnoun: A brand name identifies oxazepam, a benzodiazepine medicine used to manage anxiety and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.
serendipitynoun: An unexpected discovery proves valuable even though the person was looking for something else or had no particular search goal.
Serentilnoun: A historical brand name identifies mesoridazine, an older antipsychotic medicine associated with potentially serious heart rhythm problems.
serial anticipation methodnoun: A learning technique asks someone to predict the next item from the current item before the answer appears.
serial behaviornoun: An organized chain of actions unfolds in a fixed sequence, with each response helping trigger the next.
serial correlationnoun: Measurements of the same variable are statistically related across a chosen time gap within a series.
serial exhaustive searchnoun: A proposed memory process checks every briefly stored item individually, continuing even after finding a match.
serial interpretationnoun: A psychoanalytic technique examines consecutive dreams together to develop interpretations that might not emerge from considering one dream alone.
serial killernoun: A person commits multiple murders in separate events, sometimes showing repeated patterns in methods or victim selection.
serial learningnoun: A person learns items or actions along with the exact sequence in which they belong.
serial memorynoun: The ability to remember a series includes preserving the sequence of its individual items.
serial monogamynoun: An individual forms successive exclusive partnerships over time, with each relationship ending before the next begins.
serial position curvenoun: A graph shows how well items are remembered according to their original places in a presented list.
serial position effectphrase: People remember list items best at the beginning and end, and worst in the middle.
serial processingnoun: Information is handled through one sequence of operations at a time, with different tasks requiring shifts between sequences.
serial recallphrase: Remembering a list by giving each item back in the same order shown.
serial reproductionnoun: A memory research method passes information between successive people, each recreating what the previous person provided.
serial responsenoun: An individual action occupies a particular place within a linked sequence of actions that trigger one another.
serial searchnoun: A search proceeds by examining individual possibilities in succession rather than checking several simultaneously.
serial-exploration methodnoun: Researchers increase and decrease a comparison stimulus against a fixed standard to estimate the smallest noticeable difference.
serial-memory searchnoun: A retrieval process checks briefly stored items individually, following the sequence in which they were originally learned.
seriationnoun: Objects are arranged along one measurable feature, such as placing sticks from shortest to longest.
serious emotional disturbance (SED)noun: A classification describes persistent emotional or behavioral difficulties that substantially interfere with a young person's functioning.
SERMabbreviation: A selective estrogen receptor modulator is a substance that activates estrogen effects in some tissues while blocking them in others.
Sernylnoun: A historical brand name identifies phencyclidine hydrochloride, an anesthetic drug that can cause hallucinations and feelings of detachment.
Seroquelnoun: A brand name identifies quetiapine, an antipsychotic medicine used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
serotonergicadjective: Describes neurons, pathways, or drugs that use, affect, or release serotonin, a brain signaling chemical.
serotoninnoun: A brain chemical messenger that helps regulate mood, sleep, appetite, pain, and some other body functions.
serotonin agonistnoun: A substance activates serotonin receptors directly or, in broader usage, increases serotonin's action indirectly.
serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitorphrase: A class of antidepressant medicines that raise serotonin and norepinephrine by blocking their return into nerve cells.
serotonin antagonistphrase: A drug that blocks serotonin, a brain chemical messenger, from having its usual effects.
serotonin receptornoun: A cell docking site that reacts to serotonin and helps control body functions, mood, and thought.
serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI)phrase: A medicine that raises serotonin levels by blocking nerve cells from taking it back up.
serotonin reuptake transporternoun: A transport protein carries released serotonin back into the sending neuron, helping regulate communication between nerve cells.
serotonin syndromephrase: A dangerous reaction caused by too much serotonin, bringing fever, confusion, agitation, and a fast heartbeat.
serotonin transporter (SERT)noun: A protein moves serotonin from outside a neuron back inside, helping control how long its chemical signals remain available.
serous otitis medianoun: Fluid collects behind the eardrum without an acute infection, sometimes temporarily reducing hearing.
SERTabbreviation: Short for serotonin transporter, this protein takes serotonin back into nerve cells after release, helping control communication between cells.
Sertoli cellnoun: A supporting cell inside the testis's sperm-producing tubes nourishes and protects sperm as they develop.
sertralinenoun: A commonly used SSRI, a medicine that raises the brain chemical serotonin, can treat depression, OCD, PTSD, panic disorder, and PMDD.
service delivery systemnoun: A connected network of people, organizations, technology, and procedures provides services such as mental health care or education.
servomechanismnoun: An automatic device uses feedback to adjust its operation toward a preset target.
SESabbreviation: A person's social and economic standing based on income, education, and job level.
sessileadjective: An organism remains attached to its living surface, or a structure connects directly through a broad base without a stalk.
SETnoun: A temporary state of being ready to notice or act in a certain way.
set pointnoun: A usual level the body or mind tries to keep or return to.
set theorynoun: A mathematical field studies collections of objects as units, including their membership, properties, and relationships.
set zonenoun: A feedback system aims to keep a measured condition within an acceptable band of values.
set-level compatibility effectnoun: Responses tend to become faster and more accurate when the overall stimulus type fits the overall response type.
set/reset modelnoun: A proposed theory says context initially shapes judgments, while effortful correction can remove relevant target information and produce opposite bias.
setwise regressionnoun: A statistical method compares every possible subset of available predictors to select an equation using chosen quality criteria.
SEUabbreviation: Subjective expected utility is an option's estimated value, combining possible outcomes' personal worth with their perceived probabilities.
seven plus or minus twophrase: An early memory proposal suggested people could briefly hold roughly five to nine meaningful groups of information.
seventh cranial nervenoun: The facial nerve controls facial expression muscles and carries some taste information, while supporting tear and saliva production.
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)noun: A contagious illness caused by SARS-CoV affects breathing and can develop into serious pneumonia.
severe mental retardationnoun: An outdated, offensive diagnostic label classified intellectual disability as severe using IQ scores around 20 to 34.
severity errornoun: A judge consistently gives unfairly low ratings because their standards are too strict.
sexnoun: A person's biological status based on physical traits like chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive organs.
sex assigned at birthphrase: A newborn's sex label based on body traits seen at birth, such as genitals or chromosomes.
sex changenoun: An older expression describes changing bodily sex features to better match someone's gender identity.
sex characteristicphrase: A trait linked to being biologically male or female, especially reproductive organs or puberty-related features.
sex chromatinnoun: A tightly packed, mostly inactive X chromosome can appear as a small spot inside a body cell's nucleus.
sex chromosomenoun: One of the X or Y chromosomes that helps guide biological sex and some inherited traits.
sex counselingnoun: A therapist provides guidance about sexual concerns, including contraception, fertility difficulties, and sexual responses.
sex determinationnoun: Genetic signals establish the initial pathway for an offspring's biological sex development.
sex differencesphrase: Average differences in behavior, thinking, or development linked to biological sex, such as male-female patterns.
sex differentiationnoun: Reproductive organs and other bodily sex features develop through interacting genetic signals, hormones, and tissue responses.
sex discriminationnoun: People receive unequal or unfair treatment because of their actual or perceived biological sex.
sex distributionnoun: The proportion of males and females in a group, sample, or population.
sex drivenoun: An internal motivation creates interest in sexual activity and varies across people, situations, and time.
sex educationphrase: Classroom teaching gives young people accurate, balanced information about bodies, reproduction, relationships, and sexual feelings.
sex feelingnoun: Pleasant sensations experienced during sexual contact are described by this expression.
sex hormonenoun: A body chemical that helps control sexual development, reproduction, and related body changes.
sex hygienenoun: Health practices connected with sexual activity aim to prevent infections and maintain sexual well-being.
sex identificationnoun: In older developmental writing, children learn to notice physical sex differences and recognize society's expectations about gender.
sex identitynoun: In this usage, a person's sex classification draws on bodily characteristics, including variations described as intersex.
sex instinctnoun: An innate urge motivates sexual activity; classical psychoanalysis proposed that this drive also fuels other pursuits.
sex objectnoun: Someone is viewed mainly for sexual appeal, with their feelings, choices, and other qualities overlooked.
sex offensenoun: An act involving sexual conduct breaks the criminal law applying in a particular place.
sex preselectionnoun: People deliberately try to choose or influence a future child's biological sex before conception or during early pregnancy.
sex rationoun: Shows how many males there are compared with females in a population at a certain life stage.
sex reassignmentnoun: Physical changes, sometimes involving hormones or surgery, help bring bodily sex features into closer agreement with someone's gender identity.
sex reversal on Y (SRY)noun: The SRY gene, usually on the Y chromosome, helps start the developmental pathway that produces testes.
sex rolephrase: A society's usual beliefs and behaviors for males or females, shaped by biology and by learning from others.
sex steroidnoun: A steroid hormone, such as testosterone, estrogen, or progesterone, helps regulate reproduction and bodily sex features.
sex therapynoun: Psychological treatment helps people address sexual difficulties through education, communication, anxiety reduction, and guided exercises.
sex traffickingnoun: People are exploited in commercial sexual activity through coercion or deception, or through any involvement of children.
sex typingnoun: People learn and adopt behaviors their culture associates with the sex they were assigned when born.
sex worknoun: Adults willingly provide sexual services, performances, or related intimacy in return for payment or another agreed reward.
sex-chromosomal aberrationnoun: An older label describes conditions involving extra, missing, or partly missing sex chromosomes that can affect development.
sex-influenced characternoun: An inherited feature follows a pattern in which an allele acts dominantly in one sex but recessively in another.
sex-limitedadjective: An inherited feature appears in only one sex even though its genes occur on chromosomes other than sex chromosomes.
sex-linkedadjective: Describes a gene or trait carried on a sex chromosome, usually the X chromosome.
sex-negativitynoun: A restrictive outlook disapproves of sexual activity except intercourse within marriage intended to produce children.
sex-positivitynoun: An accepting outlook recognizes consensual sexuality as a possible source of well-being, connection, and personal expression.
sex-role reversalnoun: In animal behavior, males and females perform mating or parenting roles usually associated with the other sex.
sex-role stereotypenoun: A rigid, oversimplified belief assigns people expected social roles according to their sex assignment at birth.
sexismnoun: Unfair beliefs or actions toward someone because of their sex can happen openly, secretly, or subtly.
sexological examinationnoun: An assessment explores someone's sexual behavior through bodily processes, thoughts, relationships, inherited influences, and surroundings.
sexologynoun: A scientific field examines sexuality, including its bodily processes, psychological experiences, social influences, and connections with reproduction.
sextingnoun: People create, send, or receive sexual or suggestive messages, pictures, or videos using digital technology.
sexual abusephrase: Sexual acts forced on someone, or involving a child, exploit them without real consent.
sexual addictionnoun: A debated label describes sexual behavior experienced as difficult to control and continuing despite serious negative consequences.
sexual adjustmentnoun: People develop a satisfying sexual relationship by working through physical needs, emotional concerns, and differences between partners.
sexual aggressionnoun: In animal behavior, aggression occurs between members of different sexes, often during mating interactions.
sexual and gender identity disordersnoun: A historical diagnostic grouping combined sexual functioning difficulties, paraphilias, and diagnoses then focused on gender identity.
sexual and gender minoritiesnoun: This umbrella includes people whose sexuality, sex development, gender identity, or expression differs from dominant social expectations.
sexual anesthesianoun: A person experiences absent sexual sensation during sexual activity, sometimes including little or no pleasure.
sexual anomalynoun: An older medical label describes differences in reproductive anatomy that are present from birth or arise during development.
sexual apathynoun: A person has little or no interest in sexual experiences or activity.
sexual arousalphrase: A body and brain state sparked by sexual cues that increases genital blood flow and readiness.
sexual arousal disordernoun: Persistent difficulty developing or sustaining bodily sexual excitement causes significant distress or problems in a person's life.
sexual assaultnoun: Someone subjects another person to sexual activity without that person's freely given agreement.
sexual attitude reassessment workshop (SAR workshop)noun: A group learning session uses films, discussion, and reflection to help participants examine their beliefs about sexuality.
sexual attitudesnoun: Personal beliefs, values, and evaluations concerning sexuality develop through learning, cultural influences, family messages, and experience.
sexual attractionphrase: Feeling drawn to someone as a possible sexual partner, shaped by body, mind, and culture.
sexual aversion disordernoun: A historical diagnosis described strong negative reactions to sexual contact that prompted avoidance and significant distress or relationship difficulty.
sexual behaviorphrase: Actions, thoughts, feelings, and preferences related to sexual arousal, pleasure, intimacy, or reproduction.
sexual burnoutnoun: An informal label describes reduced sexual interest or functioning attributed to a period of overly demanding sexual activity.
sexual characteristicnoun: A bodily feature relates to biological sex, either directly supporting reproduction or developing as a secondary sex trait.
sexual conditioningnoun: Learning that certain signals predict mating opportunities can make those signals influence later sexual behavior.
sexual contactphrase: Physical touching between people involving genitals or other sexually sensitive body areas.
sexual curiosityphrase: Wanting to learn about bodies, sex, and how sexuality works.
sexual desire disordernoun: An older diagnostic category grouped lasting low sexual interest or strong sexual avoidance linked with distress or relationship difficulties.
sexual developmentphrase: Growth toward sexual maturity in body, feelings, attitudes, and behavior from infancy through puberty.
sexual deviancenoun: A culture uses this label for sexual behavior it considers far outside its accepted standards.
sexual differentiationphrase: Genes and hormones guide the body and brain to develop male or female sex traits.
sexual dimorphismnoun: Males and females within the same species show distinct differences in physical features, such as size or coloring.
sexual discriminationnoun: People receive unequal treatment because of their sex, affecting opportunities, pay, or other parts of life.
sexual disordernoun: A clinically significant problem involves sexual functioning or sexual interests and behavior associated with distress, impaired functioning, or harm.
sexual drivephrase: A person's level of desire or motivation to seek sexual activity.
sexual dysfunctionphrase: Problems with desire, arousal, orgasm, or sexual pain that disrupt normal sexual activity.
sexual erethismnoun: The sexual organs react to stimulation with unusually strong irritation or uncomfortable sensitivity.
sexual fantasynoun: An imagined sexual scene or story can involve possibilities beyond someone's actual circumstances.
sexual feelingnoun: Pleasure arises during sexual contact, including intercourse and other forms of sexual touching.
sexual functioningphrase: How well a person can take part in sexual activity or their ability to do so.
sexual harassmentphrase: Unwanted sexual behavior at work that pressures someone or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.
sexual hygienenoun: Health practices connected with sexual activity help maintain well-being, including preventing or managing infections spread through sexual contact.
sexual identificationnoun: In an older developmental account, children notice physical sex differences, then learn perceived psychological differences and cultural gender roles.
sexual identitynoun: A person's pattern of romantic or sexual attraction, such as toward men, women, both, or neither.
sexual imprintingnoun: Experiences during an especially receptive developmental period shape an animal's later preferences for mating partners.
sexual inhibitionnoun: Sexual urges are held back, or a person has difficulty experiencing sexual desire, functioning, or satisfaction.
sexual instinctnoun: An inborn drive is proposed to motivate mating or sexual expression and, in classical psychoanalysis, broader pleasure and creative activity.
sexual intercoursephrase: Usually means sex in which a penis goes into a vagina.
sexual interestphrase: Willingness to take part in sexual talk, viewing, or behaviors that may lead to sexual contact.
sexual inversionnoun: A historical theory incorrectly explained same-sex attraction as an inborn reversal of masculine and feminine traits.
sexual liberationnoun: Individuals or societies gain greater freedom from sexual rules or inhibitions they experience as restrictive.
sexual lifestylenoun: A person's overall sexual behavior pattern includes partner relationships and activities within their social and personal context.
sexual masochismnoun: A recurring sexual interest centers on experiencing pain, humiliation, restraint, or suffering.
sexual maturationphrase: When the reproductive system has developed enough for sex and pregnancy to be possible.
sexual metamorphosisnoun: A rare delusion involves a fixed, mistaken belief that one's biological sex has physically changed into another sex.
sexual objectnoun: A person, animal, or thing toward which someone's sexual desire is directed.
sexual offensenoun: A sexual act breaks the law that applies in a particular place.
sexual orientationphrase: A person's pattern of romantic and sexual attraction, and sometimes related behavior or identity.
sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE)phrase: Attempts to change a person's sexual orientation, a practice considered harmful and unethical by major mental health groups.
sexual orientation gridnoun: Fritz Klein's framework maps seven aspects of sexual orientation across someone's past, present, and preferred future.
sexual pain disordernoun: An older diagnostic grouping covers ongoing or repeated pain associated with sexual activity.
sexual perversionnoun: An outdated, judgmental label describes sexual practices a community considers unacceptable ways of seeking sexual pleasure.
sexual preferencenoun: A person's particular pattern of sexual interests identifies experiences they tend to find appealing or arousing.
sexual reassignmentnoun: Changes to sex characteristics or appearance help bring a person's body into closer alignment with their gender identity.
sexual receptivitynoun: In animal behavior, a female becomes responsive to a male's mating approaches, often around ovulation.
sexual reflexnoun: An automatic nervous-system response to sexual stimulation can involve erection, lubrication, genital swelling, or muscle contractions during orgasm.
sexual responsephrase: Body changes that happen when someone is sexually stimulated, such as increased arousal or erection.
sexual revolutionnoun: Major shifts in sexual attitudes and behavior occurred in the early twentieth century and 1960s, especially in the United States.
sexual sadismnoun: A recurring sexual interest involves arousal from causing another person pain, humiliation, or psychological suffering.
sexual selectionnoun: Inherited traits become more common when they improve mating success through partner choice or competition for mates.
sexual sensationnoun: Bodily sensations arise when the genitals or other sexually sensitive areas receive stimulation.
sexual socializationnoun: Children and teenagers learn their society's expectations, attitudes, and values concerning sexuality through everyday experiences and messages.
sexual stimulationphrase: Touching certain body areas in ways that raise sexual arousal, meaning feelings of sexual excitement.
sexual tensionnoun: Sexual desire can be accompanied by restlessness or anxiety and a wish for relief.
sexual traumanoun: An overwhelming or deeply disturbing sexual experience can affect a person's emotions, memory, and sense of safety.
sexual value systemnoun: A person's connected beliefs guide judgments about which sexual behaviors are normal, acceptable, or morally right.
sexual-response cyclenoun: Masters and Johnson's model describes sexual response through four phases: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.
sexualitynoun: A person's patterns of sexual feelings, interests, identity, attraction, and behavior.
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)noun: Founded in 1964, this American nonprofit shares sexuality information, supports sex education, and advocates people's freedom to make sexual choices.
sexualizationnoun: Giving a person, body part, or behavior a sexual meaning or value.
sexually dimorphic nucleusnoun: A cluster of neuron cell bodies in the brain or spinal cord has an average size that varies by sex.
sexually transmitted disease (STD)noun: An infection can spread between people through sexual contact, with viruses or bacteria among its possible causes.
SGAabbreviation: Smaller than expected for a baby's age in the womb or at birth.
shadenoun: A color's darkness, determined by how much black is mixed into it.
shadingnoun: In Rorschach scoring, using the card's light-dark areas to shape an answer, often suggesting distress or anxiety.
shadownoun: In Jung's theory, the hidden parts of yourself your conscious mind rejects and keeps unconscious.
shadow jurynoun: Trial consultants hire observers to follow a trial and share reactions that help lawyers adjust their strategy.
shadowingnoun: Researchers study attention by asking someone to repeat incoming speech aloud as closely as possible while listening.
shaken baby syndrome (SBS)noun: Forceful shaking of an infant or young child can cause serious brain injury and other neurological damage.
shallow affectnoun: Emotional responses are noticeably weaker or less expressive than would usually be expected in a situation.
shallow processingphrase: Paying attention only to how something looks or sounds usually creates weaker, shorter memories.
sham disordernoun: An informal label describes factitious disorder, involving deliberate illness deception about oneself or another without clear external rewards.
sham feedingnoun: In animal research, swallowed food leaves through an implanted tube in the esophagus before reaching the stomach.
sham ragenoun: Brain damage or experimental stimulation can produce sudden aggressive movements far stronger than a mild trigger would normally cause.
sham surgerynoun: A research comparison procedure imitates an operation while leaving out the specific surgical change being tested.
shamannoun: In some cultural traditions, a spiritual practitioner conducts rituals for healing or guidance through believed connections with spirits.
shamanic trancenoun: A shaman experiences a changed state of awareness during spiritual practices, sometimes supported by drumming, movement, or psychoactive substances.
shamenoun: A painful feeling that something about you is bad or wrong, often leading you to hide.
shame culturenoun: A society places strong emphasis on protecting public honor and avoiding others' disapproval as guides for behavior.
shamelessnessnoun: Behavior shows little or no apparent shame, although observers cannot always tell what someone actually feels.
shapenoun: The visible outline and form of something that lets it stand out from its background.
shape codingnoun: Designers give controls or display elements different shapes so people can recognize and distinguish them easily.
shape constancynoun: People recognize an object's shape as unchanged even when viewing it from another angle changes its visual image.
shapingnoun: Building a new behavior by rewarding small steps that get closer to the goal.
Shapiro–Wilk testnoun: This statistical test assesses whether observed numbers depart significantly from the pattern expected under a normal distribution.
shared attentionnoun: Two or more people focus on something together while each recognizes that the others are also attending to it.
shared environmentphrase: Family experiences people in the same home share that make them more alike beyond genes alone.
shared medical appointment modelnoun: Patients with similar health concerns attend an extended group visit with a physician, often supported by other care professionals.
shared mental modelnoun: Team members hold a common understanding of their work system, tasks, goals, and progress that helps coordinate their actions.
shared psychotic disordernoun: An older diagnosis described someone developing a similar delusion through a close relationship with a person already experiencing delusions.
sharpeningnoun: Over time, memory can make some details seem clearer and stronger than they really were.
Sheehan’s syndromenoun: Damage to the pituitary gland after childbirth causes a shortage of hormones that regulate other glands and body functions.
sheep–goat effectnoun: Parapsychologists have proposed that people expecting success on extrasensory perception tasks perform differently from people who believe success is impossible.
Sheldon’s constitutional theory of personalitynoun: A historical theory proposed that people's mixtures of three body builds corresponded to mixtures of three temperament patterns.
shell shocknoun: During World War I, this label described combat stress reactions, initially explained as physical effects of nearby explosions.
shelter carenoun: Children taken into protective custody receive temporary care in an unlocked setting while authorities investigate and arrange placement.
sheltered workshopnoun: A supervised workplace provides people with disabilities adapted tasks and vocational support outside the competitive employment setting.
shen-k’uei (shenkui)noun: Some men in Chinese and Taiwanese settings experience anxiety and bodily symptoms that they attribute to losing semen.
shenjing shuairuonoun: In Chinese cultural and clinical contexts, this pattern of distress includes persistent tiredness, trouble concentrating, and physical complaints.
shermnoun: A slang name describes a tobacco or cannabis cigarette treated with liquid containing phencyclidine, also known as PCP.
shiatsunoun: A Japanese bodywork practice uses pressure, massage, and stretching with the aim of easing tension and supporting well-being.
shift workphrase: Working evening or overnight hours can upset circadian rhythms, the body's daily sleep-wake clock.
shin-byungnoun: A Korean cultural experience combines emotional and bodily distress with altered awareness, interpreted as a spiritual calling to become a shaman.
shinkeishitsunoun: A Japanese concept of distress includes intense self-monitoring, health worries, perfectionism, sensitivity, and exhaustion.
Shipley Institute of Living Scale (SILS)noun: A brief cognitive assessment measures vocabulary knowledge and abstract reasoning through word choices and completion of patterned sequences.
shocknoun: A brief burst of electricity used to stimulate, punish, or treat in psychology settings.
shock phasenoun: Selye's stress theory proposes an initial alarm period when bodily temperature, pressure within blood vessels, and muscle tension fall.
shock probationnoun: A sentence combines brief imprisonment with supervised community release, intending the confinement experience to discourage further offending.
shock therapynoun: An older umbrella label covers psychiatric treatments using electricity or drugs to produce seizures or unconsciousness.
shock–shock interval (SS interval)noun: In Sidman avoidance learning, this is the scheduled gap between unpleasant stimuli when the learner makes no response to postpone them.
shoe anesthesianoun: A functional sensory symptom involves numbness covering the foot and sometimes lower calf without matching the pattern of nerve damage.
shoe fetishismnoun: A pattern of sexual interest involves shoes as a particular source of excitement.
shook yongnoun: A culturally described anxiety experience involves fear that the genitals are retracting into the body and could cause death.
Short Grit Scale (Grit–S)noun: An eight-item self-report questionnaire measures how steadily people maintain their interests and effort toward goals pursued over time.
Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ)noun: A ten-question screening tool checks orientation, memory, general knowledge, and calculation to detect possible cognitive difficulties, especially in older adults.
short-term memory (STM)phrase: Keeps a small amount of information in mind for a few seconds before it fades or moves on.
short-term psychodynamic psychotherapynoun: Time-limited therapy focuses on a central difficulty while exploring how past experiences and less conscious feelings shape current behavior.
short-term psychotherapynoun: Psychological treatment uses a limited course of sessions and clear goals to address particular emotional or behavioral difficulties.
short-wavelength pigmentnoun: A light-sensitive substance in one type of retinal cone responds most strongly to short wavelengths and helps support color vision.
shortcut keynoun: A keyboard key or key combination activates a function directly, reducing the steps needed to select it.
showupnoun: An eyewitness views a single suspect and is asked whether that person is the individual seen during a crime.
shrinknoun: A casual, sometimes joking name for a therapist or doctor who helps with emotional problems.
shrinkagenoun: When a prediction rule works less well with a new group than it did with the original group.
SHRMabbreviation: Strategic human resource management aligns employee development and well-being with an organization's mission, values, and goals.
shrunken R2noun: An adjusted measure estimates how much variation a statistical model explains while accounting for sample size and number of predictors.
shuk yangnoun: An episode of culturally shaped anxiety centers on feared genital shrinkage into the body, sometimes believed to threaten life.
shunningnoun: A group deliberately excludes someone by consistently avoiding contact, conversation, or other forms of social connection.
shuntnoun: A natural or surgically created passage redirects bodily fluid, sometimes draining excess fluid from the brain.
shuttle boxnoun: A research apparatus has two connected compartments where animals learn to avoid scheduled unpleasant stimuli by moving between sides.
shy bladder syndromenoun: Anxiety about other people being nearby makes it difficult or impossible to urinate in certain situations.
shy–bold continuumnoun: Individuals vary along a range from cautious responses to unfamiliar things to willingness to approach and explore them.
shynessnoun: Feeling nervous and holding back around other people, often with fear of being judged.
sialorrheanoun: Excess saliva collects or spills from the mouth because too much is produced or swallowing does not clear it adequately.
Siamese twinsnoun: An outdated label describes identical twins whose bodies remain physically connected during development before birth.
sibnoun: A shortened word for sibling identifies someone who shares a family relationship through one or more parents.
sib-pair methodnoun: Genetic researchers examine whether siblings’ similarities in a trait relate to how much genetic material they share.
sibilantnoun: A speech sound such as s, z, or sh has a hissing quality produced by air passing near the tongue.
siblicidenoun: An individual kills one or more siblings, a behavior studied particularly in animals competing within the same brood.
siblingnoun: A brother or sister who shares the same parents.
sibling rivalryphrase: Brothers and sisters competing for parents' attention, praise, or other rewards, often through conflict or acting out.
sibutraminenoun: An appetite-suppressing drug affects brain chemical signaling and was withdrawn in many countries because of serious cardiovascular risks.
sick headachenoun: An older name for migraine describes recurring, often intense headaches that may include nausea and sensitivity to light.
sick rolephrase: The expected way an ill person and others act, including getting help while being excused from usual duties.
sickness behaviornoun: Immune signals during illness or injury can change behavior, causing tiredness, reduced appetite, and less interest in activities.
side effectphrase: An extra effect of a medicine besides the main helpful one, sometimes unwanted or harmful.
Sidman avoidance schedulenoun: In this learning procedure, unpleasant events repeat at set intervals unless a response resets their timer, without a warning cue.
SIDSabbreviation: The sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than one year, usually during sleep.
SIECUSabbreviation: An American nonprofit promotes sexuality education, shares information, and supports people's freedom to make informed sexual choices.
Siegel–Tukey testnoun: A statistical procedure uses ranks to compare the spread of measurements in two independent groups without requiring bell-shaped distributions.
sight methodnoun: This reading approach teaches recognition of complete written words and their meanings rather than emphasizing separate speech sounds.
sight wordsnoun: These are written words a reader recognizes immediately, without needing to work through their letters or sounds.
sighting linenoun: An imaginary visual line connects the object being looked at with the retinal location that provides the sharpest vision.
sigmanoun: In statistics, it means the population standard deviation, showing how spread out scores are from the average.
sigma receptornoun: A cellular protein that binds certain chemicals helps regulate cell activity and is studied for roles in brain function.
sigmatismnoun: An older speech term describes a lisp affecting how someone produces the sounds represented by s and z.
sigmoid curvenoun: An S-shaped graph shows a pattern that changes slowly at first, speeds up, and then levels toward a limit.
signnoun: An observable clue that a condition or problem is present, noticed by others rather than only felt.
sign effectnoun: People tend to reduce the present value of future gains more sharply than they reduce the weight of future losses.
sign languagephrase: A full language using hand shapes and movements instead of speech, often used by deaf people.
sign stimulusnoun: A particular cue can trigger an animal's characteristic, largely inborn behavior sequence when the necessary conditions are present.
sign testnoun: A statistical test counts differences above and below a reference value, or between paired observations, without considering their sizes.
sign trackingnoun: Through conditioning, an individual directs behavior toward a cue repeatedly paired with a basic reward, such as food.
signalnoun: A cue or stimulus that carries information and can trigger a response.
signal amplification biasnoun: Speakers may overestimate how clearly their words or actions communicate their intentions to other people.
signal anxietynoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that anxiety warns of an emerging inner conflict or impulse, prompting unconscious defenses before greater distress develops.
signal detection tasknoun: An observer decides across repeated trials whether a target is present or absent, allowing researchers to measure detection ability.
signal detection theory (SDT)phrase: Explains how noticing a faint stimulus depends on both true sensitivity and the decision rule used.
signal wordnoun: A prominent word on a safety message communicates how serious a possible hazard is.
signal word panelnoun: A warning display presents a risk-level word with clear lettering, color, and sometimes a symbol to attract attention.
signal-to-noise ratio (S/N)noun: A measurement compares the power of a wanted signal with background noise, often using decibels.
signaled avoidancenoun: An individual learns to respond to a warning cue in time to prevent an unpleasant event.
signaturenoun: A repeated clue an offender leaves that is not needed for the crime but shows identity.
signed-ranks testnoun: A statistical test evaluates differences from a reference or between paired observations using their direction and ranked sizes.
significancenoun: Shows whether a study result is unlikely to be due to chance alone.
significance levelphrase: The cutoff for deciding a result is unlikely by chance alone, balancing the risk of a false alarm.
significance testingnoun: Statistical procedures assess how unusual results would be under a specified hypothesis, often one predicting no effect.
significant differencephrase: A result showing two groups differ enough that chance is an unlikely explanation.
significant otherphrase: A person whose opinions and actions strongly shape someone else's self-image and social behavior.
signifiernoun: The visible or audible form of a sign, such as a written word, carries meaning within a system of communication.
SIIabbreviation: A career-interest test that compares your likes with patterns from different occupations.
Silenornoun: A brand of low-dose doxepin is used to treat insomnia involving difficulty staying asleep.
siloknoun: A culturally described pattern reported in the Philippines involves unusually strong startle responses and may include automatic imitation.
SILSabbreviation: A brief assessment measures general thinking abilities through word-meaning questions and tasks that ask people to complete patterns.
Silver–Russell syndromenoun: A condition present from birth limits growth and can involve uneven body size, muscle weakness, and delayed movement skills.
Simenon’s syndromenoun: This uncommon label describes delusional certainty about receiving someone’s romantic love or sharing a sexual relationship despite contrary evidence.
similarities testnoun: An assessment asks someone to explain what items share or sort them into groups based on common features.
similaritynoun: People naturally group things that look alike and see them as belonging together.
similarity classificationnoun: Items are grouped by a shared purpose or conceptual category, such as vehicles, rather than merely by appearance.
similarity coefficientnoun: A numerical index expresses how closely samples, objects, or patterns resemble one another according to a chosen method.
similenoun: A figure of speech makes an explicit comparison between different things, often using the words like or as.
Simmonds’ diseasenoun: Damage involving tissue death in the front pituitary gland reduces hormone production, disrupting other glands and functions such as sexual desire.
Simon effectnoun: People respond faster when a stimulus appears on the same side as the required response, even when location is irrelevant.
simple causationnoun: An outcome results from one identifiable earlier event, without additional causes or processes connecting the two.
simple cellnoun: A visual cortex neuron responds best to a bar or edge with a particular orientation and position.
simple comparisonphrase: A planned check of the difference between two specific group averages within a larger study.
simple correlationphrase: Shows how two variables move together in a straight-line pattern, measured by a correlation coefficient.
simple effectnoun: In an experiment with several factors, researchers examine one factor's effect while holding another at a particular level.
simple emotionnoun: Some theories describe a basic feeling, such as fear or joy, as not being a mixture of other emotions.
simple eyenoun: An eye uses one optical opening or focusing structure to deliver light to sensitive cells, instead of many separate visual units.
simple factorial designnoun: An experiment includes every combination of levels across multiple factors, with each factor having at least two levels.
simple hypothesisnoun: A statistical claim fully specifies a population's probability distribution, leaving none of its parameters open to different values.
simple ideasnoun: In historical associationism, basic sensory experiences were proposed as the building blocks from which more complex knowledge develops.
simple partial seizurephrase: A seizure starting in one brain area while the person stays awake and aware.
simple phobianoun: An older diagnostic name describes persistent fear of a particular thing or situation, disproportionate to danger and causing significant distress or disruption.
simple random samplingphrase: A fair method picks each person from a group one by one so everyone has the same chance.
simple reaction time (SRT)noun: Researchers measure the delay between a single expected signal and the one response a person has been instructed to make.
simple regressionnoun: A statistical method uses one predictor variable to estimate or describe variation in one outcome variable.
simple schizophrenianoun: A historical schizophrenia subtype described a gradual decline in social involvement, initiative, and emotional responsiveness.
simple sentencenoun: A grammatical sentence contains one independent clause and no dependent clauses, even when it includes several subjects or verbs.
simple stepfamilynoun: A family forms when partners join and only one brings children from an earlier relationship into the household.
simple structurenoun: In factor analysis, an interpretable pattern links each measured variable strongly to one underlying factor and weakly to others.
simple tonenoun: A sound contains just one frequency, with pressure changes following a smooth sine wave.
simple universalnoun: In Lonner’s proposed classification, a psychological feature exists across cultures without specifying its forms or functions.
simple-effects analysisnoun: A statistical analysis examines one factor’s effect while holding another factor at a particular level, often to explore an interaction.
simplicity principlenoun: A proposed explanation of vision suggests people favor the interpretation that can be described most simply.
Simpson’s paradoxnoun: Combining groups of data can reveal a relationship that differs from, or reverses, relationships within the separate groups.
simulated familynoun: People act out imagined family interactions to help train professionals or explore relationships during therapy.
simulationnoun: A realistic copy of a situation used to study, train, or test how people respond.
simulation trainingphrase: People practice a difficult or risky job using a realistic copy before doing the real task.
simulatornoun: A practice setup or device that copies real conditions so someone can train safely before the real task.
simulator sicknessnoun: Viewing simulated movement can cause nausea, dizziness, or similar discomfort even while a person remains still.
simultanagnosianoun: A visual processing difficulty limits someone’s ability to perceive several objects together or understand an entire scene.
simultanapraxianoun: A movement disorder prevents someone from carrying out two purposeful actions together, despite being able to perform them separately.
simultaneous conditioningnoun: In classical conditioning, the neutral cue and the stimulus that naturally triggers a response begin at the same time.
simultaneous contrastnoun: Things experienced together can seem more different because each affects how the other is perceived.
simultaneous discriminationnoun: In conditioning, an individual learns to respond differently to two signals presented together.
simultaneous lightness contrastnoun: A surface can appear lighter against dark surroundings and darker against light surroundings, even though the surface stays unchanged.
simultaneous maskingnoun: One sensory signal makes another harder to detect when both occur together.
simultaneous processingphrase: Taking in many parts at once and putting them together into one meaningful whole.
simultaneous regressionnoun: A statistical model includes every predictor together and estimates each predictor’s relationship with an outcome while accounting for the others.
sine qua nonnoun: An essential requirement must be present for something else to happen or exist.
sine wavenoun: A smooth, repeating mathematical wave has one frequency and is described by its amplitude, frequency, and phase.
Sinemetnoun: A branded Parkinson’s medicine combines levodopa, which becomes dopamine in the brain, with carbidopa, which reduces levodopa’s breakdown elsewhere.
Sinequannoun: A brand name identifies doxepin, a tricyclic antidepressant that can also cause marked sleepiness.
single alternationnoun: An experimental sequence switches back and forth between two event types, presenting each once before switching.
single blindadjective: A study procedure keeps participants unaware of their assigned experimental condition to help limit bias.
single mothers by choicenoun: Women deliberately choose to become or remain mothers raising children without a parenting partner.
single parentnoun: A person raises a child without a partner sharing the parenting role.
single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)phrase: A brain scan using a small radioactive tracer to show blood flow, which hints at brain activity.
single-capacity modelnoun: A theory proposes that all tasks draw attention from one limited shared supply, making performance suffer when demand exceeds availability.
single-case designnoun: Researchers repeatedly measure one person or unit over time, often comparing conditions to examine change.
single-case method and evaluationnoun: Psychotherapy researchers systematically track one client across periods preceding treatment, receiving treatment, and following treatment.
single-cell recordingnoun: Researchers use a tiny electrode to measure electrical activity from an individual nerve cell.
single-channel modelnoun: A theory proposes that the mind processes information through one channel in successive steps, handling one source before another.
single-episode depressionnoun: A person experiences a major depressive episode without having experienced any earlier such episodes.
single-event learningnoun: An association forms from just one experience, without needing repeated pairings of the events involved.
single-factor designnoun: An experiment varies one independent variable to examine how it affects a measured outcome.
single-gene disordernoun: A health condition results from a disease-causing change affecting one gene, rather than requiring changes across many genes.
single-group validitynoun: A measure may support an intended interpretation for one group without supporting that interpretation for other groups.
single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)noun: A common DNA variation changes one genetic letter at a particular position and can help researchers trace inheritance.
single-participant designnoun: A research approach follows one participant or unit through repeated measurements, often comparing responses across conditions.
single-sample t testnoun: A statistical test compares one sample’s average with a specified population average, accounting for sample size and variability.
single-sample testnoun: A statistical procedure checks whether one sample’s results differ significantly from a specified population value or distribution.
single-session therapy (SST)noun: Psychological treatment takes place in one meeting, either by design or because the client chooses to stop afterward.
single-subject case designnoun: Researchers study change within one person or unit by collecting repeated observations over time and often across conditions.
single-subject designphrase: A research method tests an intervention by repeatedly measuring one person or a few people over time.
singles testnoun: A parapsychology procedure asks someone to try influencing one die’s roll through thought, testing an alleged ability.
singletonnoun: An offspring develops alone during pregnancy or is born without a twin or other multiple-birth sibling.
sinistraladjective: Someone preferentially uses their left hand for activities such as writing or throwing.
sinistralitynoun: A person preferentially uses limbs on their body's left side when carrying out physical activities.
sinistro- (sinistr-)prefix: A word part indicates a position on the left side or movement in that direction.
sinusoidnoun: A smooth repeating pattern follows a sine wave, representing a single frequency when used to describe sound.
SIPabbreviation: An abbreviation for the Interamerican Society of Psychology, a professional group for psychologists across the Americas.
SIPPAabbreviation: The abbreviation names the student division of an international association supporting scientific study and application of positive psychology.
SIQabbreviation: The Sport Imagery Questionnaire measures athletes’ use of mental imagery; another instrument sharing this name assesses imagery ability.
SISabbreviation: The abbreviation can mean sensory-information store, which briefly retains sensory input, or Stigma Impact Scale, which measures stigma’s effects.
sissy behaviorphrase: A derogatory slang label targets behavior in boys or men that others consider feminine.
SITabbreviation: A brief screening test estimates general intelligence and can be given one person at a time.
situated cognitionnoun: This perspective treats thinking and knowledge as inseparable from the activities, surroundings, and social situations in which they occur.
situated identity theorynoun: A theory proposes that people adopt different social roles across settings, changing their behavior with their surroundings and companions.
situated intelligencenoun: Intelligence is understood as inseparable from the setting and activities in which someone uses it.
situated knowledgenoun: Knowledge is understood as shaped by the knower's history, culture, language, values, and circumstances.
situated learningnoun: Learning develops within particular physical and social settings, often through participation and interaction there.
situationnoun: Behavior can be shaped by the surrounding conditions, other people, or demands present at a given time.
situation awarenessnoun: Conscious awareness involves noticing nearby events, understanding their connections, and anticipating what may happen next.
situation ethicsnoun: An ethical view judges actions by considering their particular circumstances through guiding moral principles.
situation samplingnoun: Researchers observe people across several everyday settings to study how their behavior varies.
situation testnoun: An assessment uses real or realistic stressful settings to examine someone's reactions or ability to adapt and solve problems.
situational approachnoun: An organizational approach holds that effective management depends on the task, setting, and people involved.
situational attributionphrase: Explaining behavior by outside forces, such as luck, other people's pressure, or the situation.
situational conditionsphrase: External factors in a setting that shape how a person acts, learns, or performs.
situational determinantnoun: An environmental condition present before and after a response helps influence whether that behavior occurs.
situational differencesnoun: Differences in behavior or outcomes arise from features of the setting rather than characteristics of the people.
situational homosexualitynoun: Same-sex sexual behavior occurs in a particular environment and differs from the person's usual sexual behavior.
situational interviewnoun: A job interview asks applicants how they would handle sample work situations, then rates their answers with clear behavior examples.
situational judgment test (SJT)noun: An employment assessment asks people to choose appropriate responses to realistic workplace scenarios from several possible options.
situational leadership theoryphrase: Effective leaders change how much guidance and support they give based on workers' skill, confidence, and readiness.
situational psychosisnoun: A historical clinical label describes a temporary episode of psychosis, such as hallucinations or delusions, following overwhelming circumstances.
situational restraintnoun: Care settings use environmental features to limit opportunities for dangerous behavior without directly restricting a person's body.
situational semanticsnoun: A theory of language holds that a statement's meaning and truth depend partly on the circumstances in which it occurs.
situational testnoun: An assessment examines reactions or adaptive problem solving by placing someone in a real or simulated stressful situation.
situationalismnoun: A theoretical view gives surroundings and interactions with them the main role in explaining behavior.
situationally bound panic attacknoun: A sudden episode of intense fear and physical symptoms almost always follows encountering or anticipating a particular trigger.
situationally predisposed panic attacknoun: A sudden episode of intense fear and physical symptoms is associated with a particular trigger that does not always provoke it.
situationismnoun: A theory proposes that behavior depends primarily on environmental circumstances and interactions, giving personal traits a smaller explanatory role.
SITUTsabbreviation: These thoughts arise without outside prompting and concern topics unrelated to the activity someone is currently carrying out.
Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)noun: A self-report test that measures 16 basic personality traits and five broader trait groups.
sixth cranial nervenoun: The abducens nerve carries movement signals to the eye muscle that turns the eyeball outward.
sixth sensenoun: An everyday expression describes intuitive judgment without deliberate reasoning; parapsychology uses it for a proposed ability beyond recognized senses.
size constancynoun: An object's size seems stable even as its distance changes and its image on the retina grows or shrinks.
size cuenoun: Visual information, such as distance or nearby objects, helps the brain judge how large something appears.
size discriminationnoun: A perceptual ability lets someone tell whether objects differ in size.
size principlenoun: As a muscle needs more force, smaller motor neurons usually activate before larger ones.
size-invariant neuronnoun: A visual nerve cell responds to a particular object across changes in that object's displayed size.
size–distance paradoxnoun: Misjudging how far away an object is can make its size appear larger or smaller than it really is.
size–weight illusionnoun: Two objects with equal weight can feel differently heavy, with the smaller object usually feeling heavier.
Sjögren–Larsson syndromenoun: An inherited recessive disorder typically involves scaly skin, muscle stiffness, and intellectual disability.
Sjögren’s syndromenoun: An autoimmune disease causes the immune system to attack the body's own tissues, often producing unusually dry eyes.
SJTabbreviation: A situational judgment test assesses workplace decision making by asking people to select responses to realistic job scenarios.
skeletal agenoun: A measure estimates how mature someone's bones are, which may differ from their age in years.
skeletal musclephrase: A body tissue attached to bones that usually moves joints under conscious control.
skelic indexnoun: A body proportion measure compares leg length with trunk length as a ratio.
skeptical postmodernismnoun: A philosophical perspective questions secure foundations for meaning and morality, making claims about social progress difficult to justify.
skepticismnoun: A habit of questioning claims and holding doubt until evidence is convincing.
skewnessnoun: How unevenly a group of scores stretches more to one side than the other.
skillnoun: A learned ability to do a task well through training and repeated practice.
skill learningphrase: Learning to do a task smoothly, quickly, and correctly through lots of practice.
skill theorynoun: Fischer's theory proposes that thinking develops through organized skills shaped by interactions with the environment, reaching greater complexity with support.
skilled nursing facility (SNF)noun: A licensed care center provides ongoing nursing, medical care, and rehabilitation at lower intensity than an acute hospital.
skimmingnoun: Reading quickly for the main ideas involves giving less attention to details.
skinnoun: The body's outer covering protects against germs, helps control temperature, and senses touch, pain, and heat.
skin conductancenoun: Shows how easily a tiny electric current passes through skin, usually to estimate overall bodily arousal.
skin graftnoun: A piece of skin is surgically placed over a wound to help it heal.
skin poppingnoun: A slang expression describes injecting an opioid, often heroin, beneath the skin.
skin receptornoun: A sensory structure in the skin detects stimulation that contributes to sensations such as touch or temperature.
skin resistancenoun: The skin's opposition to electrical flow can be measured to help researchers track changes in bodily arousal.
skin sensenoun: Sensory receptors within the skin allow experiences such as touch, warmth, cold, pressure, vibration, and pain.
skin stimulationnoun: Activation of sensory receptors in the skin produces experiences such as warmth, pressure, itching, tickling, or pain.
skin-picking disordernoun: Repeated skin picking causes wounds and significant distress or difficulty functioning, despite repeated efforts to reduce or stop it.
Skinner boxnoun: A laboratory chamber records an animal's actions and delivers controlled consequences to study learning through behavior.
slabbreviation: An abbreviation for sublingual indicates a location beneath the tongue, often describing where medicine is placed.
SLDabbreviation: Specific learning disability involves substantial difficulty in particular academic skills, such as reading or mathematics, rather than all learning.
SLEabbreviation: Systemic lupus erythematosus is an illness in which immune defenses mistakenly attack the body's own tissues.
sleepnoun: A daily brain state with reduced awareness, less voluntary movement, and special patterns that help the body and mind recover.
sleep apneanoun: Breathing repeatedly pauses during sleep because airflow becomes blocked or the brain does not send needed breathing signals.
sleep attacknoun: An overwhelming episode of sleepiness leads someone to fall asleep unexpectedly during waking hours, often in narcolepsy.
sleep centernoun: An outdated theory assigned control of sleep to one location within the hypothalamus.
sleep cyclephrase: A repeating pattern of sleep stages that moves from deep sleep to REM, about every 90 minutes.
sleep deprivationphrase: Getting too little sleep can harm alertness, memory, judgment, and the body's overall health.
sleep disorderphrase: An ongoing problem with sleep amount, quality, timing, or unusual behaviors during sleep.
sleep disorientationnoun: A person partly wakes from non-REM sleep feeling confused, responding poorly, and usually remembering little afterward.
sleep drivephrase: Your body's built-in pressure to sleep rises with time awake and gets strongest in early morning and midafternoon.
sleep drunkennessnoun: A partial awakening from non-REM sleep brings confusion and limited awareness, often followed by little memory of the episode.
sleep efficiencyphrase: The percent of time in bed that a person is actually asleep.
sleep enuresisnoun: Urine is released unintentionally while a person is sleeping.
sleep epilepsynoun: An epilepsy pattern involves seizures happening mainly or entirely while the person sleeps.
sleep hygienephrase: Healthy habits and routines that help a person fall asleep and sleep better.
sleep inversionnoun: A person's usual pattern favors daytime sleeping or drowsiness and nighttime wakefulness.
sleep laboratoryphrase: A clinic or research room where doctors track body and brain activity while someone sleeps.
sleep latencyphrase: The time between trying to sleep and actually falling asleep, often checked in sleep disorder diagnosis.
sleep learningnoun: Learning from information received during sleep may involve simple associations, but learning complex new material remains unproven.
sleep medicinephrase: A medical specialty that studies sleep and treats sleep problems using knowledge from many health fields.
sleep paralysisnoun: A brief episode when someone waking or falling asleep cannot move or speak, often with frightening hallucinations.
sleep patternphrase: A person's usual way of sleeping, including timing, length, naps, and problems like insomnia.
sleep psychologynoun: Licensed psychologists use this specialty to understand sleep problems and treat them through changes in thoughts and behavior.
Sleep Questionnaire and Assessment of Wakefulness (SQAW)noun: This detailed questionnaire gathers information about sleep habits and difficulties to help assess possible sleep disorders.
sleep recoverynoun: A person sleeps longer than their usual amount after getting too little sleep.
sleep restriction therapyphrase: An insomnia treatment that limits time in bed to actual sleep time, then slowly expands it as sleep becomes steadier.
sleep rhythmnoun: The brain regulates a repeating bodily pattern of sleeping and being awake.
sleep spindlesphrase: Brief bursts of brain-wave activity during Stage 2 sleep that show a person is lightly asleep.
sleep stagesphrase: The repeating levels of sleep, from light to deep to dream-filled REM, shown by brain-wave patterns.
sleep talkingnoun: A sleeping person produces speech or mumbled sounds without fully waking.
sleep terror disorderphrase: Repeated episodes of waking from deep sleep with intense panic, screaming, confusion, and little or no memory afterward.
sleep-onset insomnianoun: Having trouble falling asleep at the start of the night, even when there is time to sleep.
sleep-related hypoventilationnoun: Breathing during sleep moves too little air to remove enough carbon dioxide from the body.
sleep–wake cyclephrase: A brain-controlled daily rhythm that alternates periods of sleeping and being awake.
sleep–wake disordernoun: A condition persistently disrupts sleep amount, timing, quality, or sleep behaviors, causing distress or difficulty functioning.
sleep–wake schedule disordernoun: An older diagnostic label describes sleep difficulty or excessive sleepiness when internal sleep timing conflicts with required schedules.
sleeper effectphrase: A persuasive message can influence people more later than at first, after they forget why they doubted it.
sleepinessnoun: A state of strong drowsiness that makes a person likely to fall asleep.
sleeping sicknessnoun: An African parasitic infection spread by tsetse flies can affect the brain, disrupting sleep and causing confusion.
sleeplessnessnoun: Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep leaves someone without enough refreshing rest and may interfere with daily life.
sleepwalking disordernoun: Repeated episodes involve walking or other complex actions during deep non-REM sleep, with limited awareness and usually little later memory.
SLIabbreviation: Specific language impairment describes persistent difficulty developing spoken language that other identified conditions do not explain.
slice-of-life commercialnoun: An advertisement shows seemingly ordinary people in everyday situations endorsing a product without appearing to make a sales pitch.
slipnoun: An unplanned mistake made despite knowing better, caused by a brief loss of control.
slip of the pennoun: An unintended writing mistake is interpreted in psychoanalytic theory as possibly expressing wishes or feelings outside awareness.
slip of the tonguenoun: An occasional speaking mistake produces an unintended word or sound without necessarily indicating a language or speech disorder.
slippagenoun: Thoughts become mildly disconnected, with weaker logical links between one idea and the next.
slipped disknoun: Soft material inside a spinal disk pushes through weakened outer tissue and may press on nearby nerves.
slit viewingnoun: The mind combines successive glimpses through a narrow opening to perceive an object's complete shape.
slopenoun: The amount a graph line rises or falls for each one-unit increase on the x-axis.
Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT)noun: This brief test uses spoken questions to estimate verbal intelligence in people aged four and above.
slow euthanasianoun: Critics use this disputed label for palliative sedation when they claim comfort-focused care hastens death.
slow learnernoun: An outdated, imprecise label was applied to children considered below average in intelligence or slower in academic progress.
slow muscle fibernoun: A skeletal muscle cell contracts relatively slowly but can keep working for a long time without tiring.
slow wavenoun: A delta brain wave is a large, low-frequency pattern of electrical activity commonly associated with deep sleep.
slow-release preparationnoun: A medicine is specially formulated to deliver its active substance gradually over a longer period.
slow-wave sleepphrase: Deep NREM sleep marked by delta waves, very slow brain-wave patterns, mainly in stages 3 and 4.
slowdownnoun: Workers deliberately reduce output to pressure management while still staying within the rules of their contract.
Sly syndromenoun: An inherited enzyme shortage prevents proper breakdown of certain complex sugars, causing buildup that can affect growth and intellectual development.
SMabbreviation: Secondary memory is an older name for the system that keeps large amounts of information over extended periods.
SMAabbreviation: The supplementary motor area helps plan and learn coordinated movement sequences, especially those guided by internal intentions.
small for gestational age (SGA)adjective: A newborn weighs below the tenth percentile compared with babies of the same sex born after equally long pregnancies.
smallest space analysisnoun: A statistical method maps strongly related variables closer together using as few dimensions as adequately represent their relationships.
Smalltalknoun: An early object-oriented programming language was developed partly to make computers a medium children could use for communication.
SMARTabbreviation: A goal-setting guide meaning goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-limited.
smart housenoun: A home uses programmable or connected devices to automate tasks, coordinate controls, or support residents' independence.
smellnoun: The sense of smell lets the brain detect airborne chemicals through receptors inside the nose.
smell brainnoun: An older anatomical grouping includes smell pathways, limbic structures, and related brain areas once understood mainly as serving smell.
smell compensationnoun: A mixture of odor-producing substances smells weaker than its individual ingredients do separately.
Smell Identification Test (SIT)noun: This assessment asks people to identify 40 scratched scent patches by choosing among four answers for each odor.
smell prismnoun: Henning's historical model arranges six proposed basic odor types at a prism's corners to illustrate relationships among smells.
Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndromenoun: An inherited disorder disrupts cholesterol production and can affect body growth, physical features, and intellectual development.
smokingnoun: Using tobacco or other burned drugs by inhaling their smoke brings the chemical effects quickly.
smoking cessation treatmentnoun: Care helps people stop smoking through behavior changes, support, and sometimes nicotine replacement or other medicines.
smooth movementphrase: A steady eye-tracking motion that lets your gaze follow a moving object without jumping.
smooth musclenoun: Muscle in organs and blood vessels that works automatically and can stay tightened for a long time.
smooth-pursuit eye movementnoun: The eyes move continuously to keep a moving object in clear view, guided by visual information.
smoothed curvenoun: A graph line is adjusted to reduce irregular bumps so the overall relationship between variables becomes easier to see.
smoothingnoun: Methods that reduce random ups and downs in data so the main pattern is easier to see.
SMRabbreviation: Sensorimotor rhythm is electrical brain activity recorded over movement and sensation areas, around 12–14 cycles per second, studied in neurofeedback.
snake phobianoun: An intense, lasting fear of snakes exceeds the actual danger and causes distress or avoidance.
sneak matingnoun: Some male animals mate by intercepting females approaching competing males, instead of defending territories or displaying to attract them.
Snellen chartnoun: An eye chart measures visual sharpness using letters of different sizes read from a set distance.
SNFabbreviation: A skilled nursing facility provides ongoing nursing care and rehabilitation at a lower intensity than an acute hospital.
snownoun: In drug slang, this word usually means cocaine, though it can also mean heroin or amphetamine.
snow blindnessnoun: Excessive ultraviolet exposure, often reflected from snow, damages the eye’s surface and can temporarily disrupt vision.
snowball samplingphrase: A sampling method where current participants recruit others, useful for hard-to-find groups.
SNPabbreviation: A single-nucleotide polymorphism is a common DNA difference involving one genetic letter at a particular location.
SNRIabbreviation: An antidepressant that blocks nerve cells from taking back serotonin and norepinephrine, leaving more available.
SOAabbreviation: Stimulus onset asynchrony measures the interval separating the start of one stimulus from the start of another.
SOAP testnoun: This assessment uses four sentence patterns to examine understanding in people with acquired language difficulties and help distinguish aphasia types.
Soarnoun: A computer framework models thinking through rules, knowledge, problem solving, and learning from experience.
sobrietynoun: A period of not drinking alcohol or using drugs.
SOCEabbreviation: Attempts to change a person's sexual orientation through therapy or other interventions.
sociabilitynoun: A person's tendency and skill in enjoying company, making connections, and joining social activities.
sociability ratingphrase: A score showing how social someone is based on how much time they spend with other people.
socialadjective: About how people or animals interact with others in a group or community.
social (pragmatic) communication disorderphrase: Children have trouble using language socially, like taking turns, changing style by situation, and catching implied meanings.
social acceptancephrase: Being welcomed by a group and not rejected or looked down on by its members.
social actionnoun: People act individually or together to benefit a community or a particular part of society.
social action programnoun: An organized plan coordinates activities intended to change a particular feature of society.
social adaptationnoun: People adjust to social expectations and circumstances in ways that support cooperation and satisfying relationships.
social adjustmentnoun: Adapting to society's rules and getting along well with others in work, relationships, and daily life.
social affective neurosciencenoun: This research field examines how brain processes produce emotional experiences and help people regulate them.
social age (SA)noun: An age-based score estimates social maturity from interpersonal skills and role expectations, using ratings compared with age norms.
social agencynoun: A public or private organization provides or oversees services supporting people’s health, welfare, or rehabilitation.
social anchoringnoun: A person relies heavily on others’ positions to set their own beliefs, values, or behavior, limiting independent judgment.
social anxietyphrase: Strong fear of social situations where someone expects embarrassment, rejection, or harsh judgment from other people.
social anxiety disorderphrase: Intense fear of being judged or embarrassed in social situations causes distress or disrupts daily life.
social approvalnoun: Praise and acceptance from other people for a behavior, trait, or other personal quality.
social ascendancynoun: An individual or community rises in society’s class system or reaches a higher position through increased wealth and social standing.
social assimilationnoun: Cultural groups gradually merge, or individuals adopt a dominant group’s customs, often with one culture retaining greater influence.
social atomnoun: An individual person is considered the smallest basic unit from which society is formed.
social attachmentnoun: An emotional connection with a caregiver or another supportive person helps provide security and comfort.
social attitudenoun: A person’s outlook concerns social issues, responsibilities, or other people; the expression can also describe a group’s shared evaluation.
social behaviorphrase: Actions shaped by the real, imagined, or expected presence of other people.
social bondnoun: An emotional connection links people, as happens between friends or family members.
social breakdown syndromenoun: A historically described pattern involves withdrawal, reduced motivation, and declining daily functioning linked to prolonged social stress and inadequate support.
social caseworknoun: A professional assesses individual and family needs, then arranges, provides, and follows up on services and practical assistance.
social categorynoun: People are classified together because they share a social or economic characteristic, such as employment status.
social changephrase: A broad shift in how a society is organized, acts, or values over time.
social classnoun: A society's large group whose members have similar money, status, and power, often shaping daily experiences.
social climatenoun: The prevailing attitudes, customs, and expectations in a setting shape how people behave and adjust.
social climbingnoun: Someone tries to raise their social standing by building connections with people who hold higher status.
social clocknoun: A culture sets expectations about the ages when people should reach particular life milestones.
social codenoun: A community follows a set of rules and standards that guide acceptable behavior.
social cognitionnoun: How people notice, interpret, and judge their own and other people's social behavior.
social cohesionnoun: The strength of people’s connections to a group supports their sense of unity, belonging, and coordinated effort.
social communication disorderphrase: A condition where a person has trouble using language in social situations, despite normal basic speech skills.
social comparison theoryphrase: People judge their abilities and opinions by comparing themselves with other people, which shapes self-esteem and happiness.
social competencephrase: Being skilled with people means understanding social cues, others' feelings, and choosing behavior that fits the situation.
social competence programnoun: A structured intervention builds relationship skills, emotional awareness, and a positive sense of self through guided activities.
social conflictnoun: Disagreement develops between people when their actions, beliefs, or wishes clash and meet resistance.
social constructionismnoun: People create what counts as truth and reality through shared language, culture, and social rules, not universal facts.
social constructivismnoun: This perspective proposes that knowledge and understandings of reality develop through social interaction within cultural and historical settings.
social contagionnoun: Behaviors, feelings, or attitudes spread among people through social processes such as copying and conformity.
social contextphrase: The social setting around a person helps shape how people act, think, and feel.
social contractnoun: In moral development, the view that laws are shared agreements meant to protect rights and can be changed if unfair.
social contract orientationphrase: Judging right and wrong by fair rules people agree on, while allowing laws to change when unjust.
social controlnoun: Society’s institutions, organizations, and rules shape behavior through shared values, expectations, and consequences.
social conventionnoun: A long-established, shared practice guides everyday social behavior, often without being written down.
social copingnoun: A person manages stress by seeking emotional or practical support from other people or service providers.
social creativitynoun: In social identity theory, people favor comparisons that highlight their group’s strengths while avoiding areas where other groups perform better.
social Darwinismnoun: A discredited historical theory misused natural selection to portray social inequality and the power of wealthy groups as biologically justified.
social deathnoun: Others treat a living person as though they are absent or no longer exist, excluding them from social participation.
social decision schemenoun: A group uses an explicit or unspoken rule to turn members’ preferences into one collective choice.
social deficitnoun: An assessed difficulty with expected social activities may involve skills, judgment, or participation and may limit access to support.
social degeneracynoun: This judgment describes society’s institutions and shared rules as having lost their ability to support useful, cooperative activity.
social densitynoun: The number of people occupying a fixed area changes as people enter or leave that space.
social deprivationnoun: People lack adequate access to social resources or opportunities for social experience, often because of disadvantage or exclusion.
social desirabilityphrase: Answering questions in ways that make you look good, rather than showing what you truly think or do.
social determinismnoun: This theory holds that social events and interpersonal experiences determine how individuals behave.
social developmentphrase: The growing ability to build relationships, learn social skills, and function well with other people.
social differentiationnoun: A ranking of social status develops among people within a group or society.
social dilemmanoun: Individual rewards encourage choices that leave the group worse off when many members make them instead of cooperating.
social disability syndromenoun: A historical label describes withdrawal, low motivation, and worsening social functioning associated with prolonged stress, limited support, and restrictive environments.
social disapprovalphrase: Negative judgment and rejection from a group toward a person's behavior, trait, or identity.
social discriminationnoun: People receive different treatment because of their social background, group membership, education, or other social characteristics.
social distancenoun: The desired separation from another social group shows how willing someone is to accept its members.
social distance scalenoun: A questionnaire measures willingness to accept people from other groups in relationships ranging from distant contact to family membership.
social dominance orientation (SDO)noun: A personal tendency favors societies where some groups hold more power, resources, and status than others.
social dominance theory (SDT)noun: A theory explains how unequal group rankings persist through institutions, discrimination, and widely accepted beliefs that justify those rankings.
social drinkernoun: An informal, loosely defined label describes someone who generally drinks moderate amounts of alcohol, whether alone or with others.
social dynamicsphrase: The changing forces and interactions that shape how people in a group act over time.
social ecologynoun: Researchers study how humans or other animals relate to the social environments in which they live.
social emotionnoun: A feeling depends on considering what another person thinks, feels, or does, as with embarrassment, envy, or admiration.
social engineernoun: A person plans community policies or programs to guide development and address shared problems.
social entrepreneurshipnoun: People create and manage ventures, accepting business risks and using profits mainly to benefit society.
social equalitynoun: Members of different social groups receive equivalent treatment and opportunities regardless of their identities, backgrounds, or circumstances.
social evolutionnoun: A society's customs, relationships, and organization change gradually across time.
social exchange theoryphrase: People tend to keep relationships that feel rewarding, not too costly, and fair, with favors usually returned.
social facilitationphrase: Doing an easy or well-practiced task better when other people are nearby or watching.
social factorsphrase: Attitudes and group influences that shape how people think, act, and see themselves around others.
social feedbackphrase: Other people's reactions show how your words or actions affected them.
social fissionnoun: A larger social group divides into smaller groups, often because disagreements between its factions cannot be settled.
social forcenoun: A broad, powerful social process, such as shared expectations or group pressure, shapes how people act around others.
social functioningphrase: How well someone gets along, communicates, and keeps relationships in daily life.
social gerontologynoun: Researchers examine aging as a social process, including older adults' relationships, community contributions, surroundings, and available services.
social groupnoun: At least two individuals interact, depend on each other, and influence one another, often sharing goals, roles, or expectations.
social growthnoun: A person develops greater understanding and skill in relating to other people and groups.
social habitnoun: A well-practiced behavior during social contact happens with little conscious effort, such as automatically greeting someone.
social heritagenoun: A community's learned customs and behavioral expectations remain recognizable as they pass through successive generations.
social identityphrase: Part of your self-image that comes from belonging to groups such as family, race, or nationality.
social identity theoryphrase: People build part of their self-image from groups they belong to, which can lead them to prefer their own group.
social imagephrase: The version of yourself you show other people in public situations.
social immobilitynoun: Rigid social rules or class boundaries make changes in people's class, status, or social roles extremely rare.
social impact assessmentnoun: An evaluation predicts how a planned construction project could affect community life, livelihoods, surroundings, and access to benefits.
social impact theorynoun: A theory proposes that influence depends on sources' relative strength, closeness, and number compared with those being influenced.
social imperception disordernoun: A descriptive label covers difficulty noticing social interaction patterns and recognizing or understanding other people's emotions.
social incentivenoun: An offered social reward, such as approval or belonging, encourages a person to behave in an accepted way.
social indicatornoun: A measurable feature tracked over time offers clues about a community's conditions or quality of life.
social influencephrase: Changes in what a person thinks, feels, or does because of other people's real or imagined presence.
social information processingphrase: The mind notices, interprets, and uses social cues to guide behavior with other people.
social inhibitionnoun: People may hold back feelings or actions because they expect others to notice and disapprove.
social insectsnoun: These insects form colonies where overlapping generations cooperate in raising young and divide reproductive work among members.
social instinctnoun: A proposed natural drive encourages seeking company, forming bonds, and taking part in group activities.
social integrationnoun: Separate groups become part of a shared society through mutual acceptance, or a person becomes included within a group.
social intelligencenoun: Understanding other people's feelings and actions and getting along with them well in real life.
social intelligence quotientnoun: A historical social maturity score divides assessed social age by actual age and multiplies the result by 100.
social interactionphrase: When two or more people act and respond to each other, shaping what happens between them.
social interestphrase: A caring sense of belonging with others that motivates helpful, community-minded action.
social interferencenoun: Performance becomes worse when other people are present, especially during difficult or unfamiliar tasks.
social interventionnoun: An organized program aims to improve community well-being or increase access to useful social services.
social introversionphrase: A personality trait marked by shyness, inhibition, and pulling away from other people.
social isolationphrase: Having little or no contact with other people, by choice or not, often harms behavior and health.
social isolation syndromenoun: In animal research, growing up completely separated from the same species produces serious behavioral disturbances, including repetitive movements and mating difficulties.
social judgment theorynoun: How much a message changes your attitude depends on how far it is from what you already believe.
social justice normnoun: A social expectation says assistance should go only to people judged to deserve it.
social learningphrase: People pick up behaviors and skills by watching, copying, or interacting with other people.
social learning theoryphrase: People learn many behaviors by watching others, copying them, and noticing which actions get praise, blame, or rewards.
social limitationnoun: Social rules, structures, or attitudes restrict participation and access to opportunities, particularly for people with disabilities.
social loafingphrase: People often put in less effort on a task when working in a group than alone.
social maladjustmentnoun: A broad label describes difficulties forming or maintaining satisfying, constructive relationships, sometimes including trouble handling interactions tactfully.
social marketingnoun: Marketing methods encourage behaviors intended to benefit people or communities, such as recycling or attending health screenings.
social matching effectnoun: During group brainstorming, people tend to lower their idea output toward that of the least productive members.
social maturitynoun: Acting in ways that fit the usual social expectations for someone of a certain age.
social maturity scalenoun: An assessment measures how someone's everyday family and community skills compare with expectations for their age.
social meaning modelnoun: A model proposes that people interpret nonverbal messages through shared meanings, surrounding cues, and the situation.
social memoryphrase: Remembering people's faces, names, and past interactions helps guide later social behavior.
social mobilitynoun: A society allows varying degrees of movement between social classes, levels of status, or social roles.
social monogamynoun: Two individuals maintain a close social pair bond, even when mating is not limited to that pair.
social moresnoun: Strongly held community customs set expectations for acceptable behavior and can feel binding even without legal enforcement.
social motivenoun: A drive learned through contact with others encourages particular goals, such as belonging or achievement.
social movementnoun: People sustain a shared campaign to bring about or resist societal change, usually working outside established political institutions.
social neednoun: In Maslow's proposed hierarchy, the third level involves seeking affection, connection, and acceptance from others.
social networkphrase: The organized web of relationships a person or group has, including contact patterns and connection strength.
social network analysisnoun: Researchers use diagrams and mathematical measures to examine connections among people or groups and the patterns those connections form.
social neurosciencenoun: Researchers study how brain and bodily processes shape social behavior and how social experiences affect those biological processes.
social normnoun: A shared expectation identifies behavior people usually show or consider acceptable in a particular social setting.
social orderphrase: The shared rules and institutions that keep a society organized in its usual way.
social organismnoun: A group or society is viewed as a living whole with qualities such as shared intentions and self-preservation.
social organizationnoun: The overall pattern of relationships and behavioral rules gives a group its structure and shapes each member's position.
social ossificationnoun: Deeply established social habits remain difficult to change, even when a new setting calls for different behavior.
social penetration theorynoun: This theory proposes that relationships become closer as people share increasingly personal information about themselves.
social perceptionphrase: Using other people's behavior to guess their motives, attitudes, and values.
social phobiaphrase: Strong, lasting fear of social or performance situations causes major distress or avoidance of everyday activities.
social physique anxietynoun: A person feels worried or afraid about how other people might judge their body's appearance.
social planningnoun: Communities develop organized strategies for education, health, and support services to improve life for everyone.
social playphrase: Playing with other people for enjoyment helps children practice sharing, turn-taking, and getting along.
social powernoun: The ability to influence what other people think, feel, or do in a relationship.
social presencephrase: The feeling that another real person is there during an interaction, especially online.
social pressurephrase: Influence from other people can shape choices through facts, approval, pressure to fit in, rewards, or threats.
social promotionnoun: Schools advance students to a higher grade despite incomplete learning, aiming to keep them with their age peers.
social psychologyphrase: Studies how other people, real or imagined, shape a person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
social psychology of the experimentnoun: Researchers study how participants' and experimenters' expectations and interactions create findings that misrepresent what an experiment aims to measure.
social punishmentnoun: An unpleasant response from another person follows a behavior and makes that behavior occur less often.
social quotientnoun: A historical score compares assessed social maturity age with actual age by dividing the former by the latter and multiplying by 100.
Social Readjustment Rating Scalenoun: This questionnaire adds weighted scores for life events to estimate the amount of stressful adjustment a person has experienced.
social realitynoun: Members of a community share beliefs, opinions, and attitudes that form a common understanding of their world.
social recoverynoun: A person regains effective psychological functioning through therapy using social experiences and through stronger skills for relating to others.
social referencingphrase: Using another person's emotional cues to decide how to feel or act in an unclear situation.
social reform programnoun: An organized intervention aims to reduce problems caused by the way a social system operates.
social rehabilitationnoun: Support helps people improve independence and community participation when disability, mental health difficulties, or past offending have limited these.
social reinforcementphrase: Approval from other people that makes the behavior right before it happens more often.
social relations modelnoun: This research framework separates group, individual, partner, and unique relationship contributions to how people judge or behave toward one another.
social relationshipphrase: An ongoing pattern of how two people act toward each other, shaped by many past interactions and responses.
social representationnoun: A community's shared system of ideas and categories organizes values and behavior, helping members communicate and understand experiences.
social repressionnoun: People or groups are controlled or silenced through social influence, such as restricting information or blocking organized demands for change.
social resistancenoun: Groups oppose government actions, social policies, or the rules and values of a dominant culture.
social responsibility normnoun: A shared social expectation encourages people to help others who need assistance whenever they reasonably can.
social rewardnoun: Approval from another person follows a behavior and makes that behavior more likely to happen again.
social rolenoun: A person's position within a group carries expectations about how they should behave and what attitudes they should express.
social role theorynoun: This theory explains behavioral differences between women and men through culturally shaped roles and gender expectations.
social role valorizationnoun: This principle proposes that respected community roles can improve disabled people's social acceptance and quality of life.
social sanctionnoun: A group imposes a penalty or pressure on a member who breaks its rules.
social schemanoun: An organized mental framework stores knowledge about social rules and common group behaviors, guiding expectations and actions.
social sciencenoun: A group of sciences that study people, groups, and society using research methods.
Social Securitynoun: A U.S. government program that pays retirement, disability, survivor, and some health benefits.
social selfnoun: Parts of a person's identity develop through relationships and are shaped by how other people respond to them.
social servicesphrase: Help from public or private agencies for people with needs such as poverty, illness, disability, or old age.
social setting detoxificationnoun: A treatment setting supports someone during substance withdrawal through organized help from peers or professionals.
social skillsphrase: Learned abilities help a person act appropriately and effectively with others in different social situations.
social skills training (SST)phrase: Therapy that teaches people to handle social situations better through practice, feedback, and role-play.
social smilenoun: A smile appears in response to another person's face, voice, or other social signal, developing during early infancy.
social smokernoun: Someone smokes occasionally, especially while spending time with other people, rather than following a regular smoking pattern.
social speechnoun: Speech meant to share ideas, needs, or feelings with another person.
social staticsnoun: This sociological approach examines society's organization in general or at a particular time, rather than tracing historical change.
social statisticsnoun: Researchers use numerical data and statistical techniques to understand patterns, issues, and problems in social life.
social statusnoun: A person's standing in society based on the respect, power, and advantages others give them.
social stimulusnoun: Something meaningful about other people or social life triggers a response involving how someone relates to others.
social stratificationnoun: A society is divided into ranked layers whose members differ in status, resources, power, or opportunities.
social structurenoun: Stable patterns of relationships, roles, rules, and institutions organize how people interact within a group or society.
social studiesnoun: An educational subject combines areas such as history, geography, government, and culture to teach how human societies work.
social subordinationnoun: A person or group is placed in a lower social position with less standing or respect.
social supportnoun: Help and comfort from other people that makes stress, illness, or hard life events easier to handle.
social technologynoun: Social science knowledge is turned into practical methods for addressing conflicts and other problems within society.
social therapynoun: Treatment uses organized social settings and shared experiences to help people relate and interact more effectively.
social transmissionnoun: People pass language, customs, skills, and other cultural knowledge from older generations to younger ones.
social trapnoun: Immediate rewards or avoided costs keep people following a difficult-to-change pattern that produces worse outcomes over time.
social tunnelingnoun: During stress or intense concentration, a person overlooks other people's signals even when those signals matter for the task.
social withdrawalphrase: Pulling away from other people and seeming detached or uninterested in social contact.
social worknoun: A helping profession that assists people and families with life problems by linking them to community support.
social zonenoun: In spatial behavior research, this category describes spacing between 1.25 and 3.5 meters during fairly formal conversations.
social-adjustive function of an attitudenoun: An attitude can help someone gain acceptance, interact smoothly, and strengthen their connection with a social group.
social-cognitive theorynoun: This theory explains learning and action through ongoing mutual influences among personal thoughts, behavior, and the surrounding environment.
social-emotional leadernoun: A leader guides a group by offering emotional support, responding to members' needs, and maintaining helpful relationships.
social-inquiry modelnoun: This teaching approach uses social interaction, evidence gathering, and logical reasoning to investigate social issues and possible solutions.
social-network therapynoun: A client attends therapy sessions with important people in their life to draw on relationships as sources of support.
Social–Emotional scalenoun: This Bayley assessment component uses caregiver questionnaires to evaluate social and emotional development in infants and young children.
socialitynoun: Humans or other animals tend to live in organized groups, cooperate, and adjust to group demands.
sociality corollarynoun: Kelly proposed that interacting successfully with someone depends on understanding how that person interprets and organizes their experiences.
socializationnoun: Through family, school, and groups, people learn the rules, values, and behaviors needed to fit into society.
socialized delinquencynoun: Young people under 18 break laws through adopting the values of a subgroup that approves of unlawful behavior.
socialized drivenoun: An inborn urge becomes shaped by learning from others so that people satisfy it in socially accepted ways.
socially sensitive researchnoun: Some studies address issues that can stir controversy, strong feelings, or serious consequences for participants and communities.
Sociedad Interamericana de Psicologia (SIP)noun: This professional association connects psychologists across the Americas and Caribbean to support research and exchange ideas.
societal-reaction theorynoun: This theory proposes that labels people receive, and others’ responses to those labels, can shape their later behavior.
societynoun: A large, lasting group of people sharing a place, culture, laws, and ways of depending on each other.
Society for Neurosciencenoun: This nonprofit association brings together researchers and doctors investigating how brains and the wider nervous system work.
Society for Psychical Researchnoun: This British scholarly organization began in 1882 to investigate claims about paranormal experiences using scientific approaches.
Society for Psychotherapy Researchnoun: This international organization connects people from different fields who scientifically investigate psychotherapy and how it works.
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)noun: This nonprofit association supports research on human development, collaboration across professions, and practical use of research findings.
Society of Experimental Psychologistsnoun: This organization advances experimental psychology by arranging meetings where researchers discuss their scientific work.
Society of Experimental Social Psychologynoun: This scientific association supports progress in social psychology, especially research that tests ideas through experiments.
Society of Indian Psychologists (SIP)noun: This organization supports American Indian and Alaska Native well-being, education, and the psychology professionals serving these communities.
sociobiologynoun: This scientific field investigates how biology and evolution help explain social behavior in humans and other animals.
sociocentric biasnoun: People may judge their own group too favorably, crediting its strengths for success while explaining failures through outside causes.
sociocentric networknoun: In network research, this includes every connection among members of the particular group being studied.
sociocentrismnoun: People prioritize their group's needs and viewpoint over personal concerns, sometimes also seeing their group as better than others.
sociocognitive biasnoun: An evaluator's judgment can become inaccurate because of limits in thinking, even when their values support fairness.
sociocultural anthropologynoun: This field studies how human customs, beliefs, and institutions develop and operate across communities.
sociocultural deprivationnoun: Limited access to meaningful social contact and opportunities for intellectual learning can interfere with emotional and cognitive development.
sociocultural factorsnoun: Conditions involving culture and social life, including support and access to services, can influence behavior and mental well-being.
sociocultural perspectivenoun: This approach explains human experience by emphasizing culture, social surroundings, and interactions, including how guidance from others supports learning.
sociodemographic factornoun: A characteristic such as age, education, or income describes people or populations and may relate to their life outcomes.
sociodramanoun: People act out shared social situations to explore relationships and practice ways of interacting with others.
sociodramatic playnoun: Children jointly create pretend situations, take social roles, and develop a shared story through actions and conversation.
socioeconomic status (SES)phrase: A person's standing in society based on income, education, job status, and related life opportunities.
socioemotional rolenoun: A group member takes on responsibilities that support relationships and help members get along with one another.
socioemotional selectivity theoryphrase: As people see time as limited, they focus more on emotionally meaningful relationships than future-oriented goals.
sociofugaladjective: A physical setting has features that make social contact or conversation less likely or more difficult.
sociogeneticsnoun: This field examines how societies first emerge and change as they develop over time.
sociogenicadjective: An outcome described this way arises from social conditions or influences.
sociogramnoun: A diagram uses symbols for people and connecting lines to show relationships within a group.
sociolectnoun: A social group uses a recognizable variety of language, with distinctive vocabulary, pronunciation, or grammar.
sociolinguisticsnoun: This field examines how social settings, communities, and identities influence language use and how languages change.
sociological factorsnoun: Features of social life, such as education, income, crowding, and shared customs, help shape people's behavior.
sociological measurenoun: A formal assessment examines social relationships or structures that may influence behavior, development, or mental health.
sociological social psychologynoun: This branch of social psychology emphasizes how social positions, expected roles, and class shape people's experiences and interactions.
sociologynoun: This science investigates how societies develop and function, including relationships among people, groups, and institutions.
sociometer theorynoun: This theory proposes that self-esteem tracks how much people believe others value and accept them as relationship partners.
sociometric analysisnoun: Researchers examine a group's relationship patterns using sociometry methods, particularly to understand who likes or dislikes whom.
sociometric differentiationnoun: Over time, some relationships within a group become closer and more positive while other relationships weaken.
sociometric distancenoun: A social distance scale indicates how close or accepting individuals or groups are toward one another.
sociometric statusnoun: A person's position within a group is assessed through others' choices or ratings, often reflecting liking, disliking, and notice.
sociometric structurenoun: A group has a pattern of who likes, dislikes, accepts, or excludes whom, often examined through sociometry.
sociometric testnoun: Group members report their relationships or preferences so researchers can measure and map connections within the group.
sociometrynoun: This research field measures relationships within groups and describes their patterns through numbers and diagrams.
socionomicsnoun: In this usage, the field studies how physical surroundings, including climate and terrain, shape societies and their organization.
sociopathnoun: This outdated label was used for someone with antisocial personality disorder, involving a lasting pattern of disregarding others' rights.
sociopathic behaviornoun: Historically, this label described delinquent or criminal conduct attributed to social influences considered damaging.
sociopathic personalitynoun: An older diagnostic label described antisocial personality disorder, which involves persistently disregarding or violating other people's rights.
sociopathynoun: Historically, clinicians used this label for the condition now diagnosed as antisocial personality disorder.
sociopetaladjective: A physical setting has features that make conversation and social contact easier or more likely.
sociosexual assessmentnoun: An evaluation examines someone's understanding of sexual facts and social expectations, sexual experiences, and possible risks.
sociosexual orientationnoun: This personality dimension describes how comfortable someone feels with, and how much they prefer, sexual activity without love or commitment.
sociotechnical systems approachnoun: This approach designs workplaces by considering how people, job responsibilities, and technology affect one another.
sociotherapynoun: A supportive treatment helps people adjust by improving their relationships, social surroundings, and connections with community life.
sociotropynoun: A strong preference for relationships over independence may increase vulnerability to depression when relationships become strained or end.
sociusnoun: An individual person is viewed as the basic unit from which society is formed.
Socratic dialoguephrase: A therapist uses guided questions to help clients examine beliefs and notice thinking errors on their own.
Socratic effectnoun: Simply expressing beliefs can make a person's different beliefs fit together more logically.
sodium channelnoun: A protein passage through a cell's outer membrane lets sodium ions cross, helping nerve cells produce electrical signals.
sodium oxybatenoun: A sedating medicine related to GHB that treats narcolepsy, a disorder causing sleep attacks and sudden muscle weakness.
sodium pumpnoun: A membrane protein spends cellular energy moving sodium outward, usually exchanging three sodium ions for two incoming potassium ions.
sodium regulationnoun: The body manages sodium and water to keep blood sodium concentration within a healthy range.
sodomynoun: An older label groups certain sexual acts, often anal or oral sex, with meanings that vary across contexts.
soft datanoun: Informally gathered or subjective information, such as personal accounts, can help researchers interpret findings but may offer limited certainty.
soft determinismnoun: This philosophical view holds that causes determine events while human freedom and responsibility can still exist.
soft drugnoun: An informal label describes a mind-altering substance considered less likely to cause physical dependence or serious problems.
soft keynoun: A control button performs different actions depending on the system's current state, often with its function shown nearby.
soft neurological signnoun: A subtle finding may suggest nervous system difficulties but also occurs in people without those difficulties.
soft palatenoun: Flexible tissue behind the mouth's bony roof helps close the passage toward the nose during swallowing and some speech sounds.
soft psychologynoun: A dismissive informal label describes psychology fields that someone considers insufficiently scientific or too dependent on subjective judgments.
soft sellnoun: A sales approach uses gentle persuasion and gives potential buyers room to decide without much immediate pressure.
soft signnoun: A mild clinical observation may indicate neurological difficulty, but its meaning is uncertain because healthy people can show it too.
soft spotnoun: A membrane covers a gap between an infant's skull bones before those bones grow together.
softwarenoun: The programs and coded instructions that tell a computer or device what to do.
Sohval–Soffer syndromenoun: A rare condition described historically involves intellectual disability, underdeveloped testes, skeletal differences, and diabetes, with features present from birth.
SOIabbreviation: A shorthand for Guilford's model that describes intelligence as many separate mental abilities.
solicitation behaviornoun: An animal uses actions or signals to invite another animal to mate, often with females initiating the invitation.
solipsismnoun: This philosophical position holds that only one's own conscious existence can be known with certainty.
solitary nucleusnoun: A cluster of brainstem nerve cells receives taste and internal organ signals, supporting sensory processing and automatic bodily responses.
solitary playphrase: A young child plays alone, with little interest in joining or watching other children.
Solomon four-group designphrase: A study setup using four random groups to test treatment effects and whether taking a pretest changes those effects.
solutenoun: A substance becomes evenly dispersed when it dissolves into another substance, creating a solution.
solution-focused brief therapynoun: A short course of psychotherapy helps clients work toward specific, personally meaningful goals for improving their present lives.
solventnoun: A substance, usually a liquid, dissolves another material to create a mixture called a solution.
Somanoun: The main body of a neuron, which holds the nucleus and keeps the cell alive.
somaesthesianoun: The ability to sense the body includes feelings from skin, movement, and internal organs.
somat-prefix: This word part means body and helps form words about bodily structures, experiences, or processes.
somaticadjective: Having to do with the body, especially physical symptoms rather than thoughts or feelings.
somatic anxietynoun: The physical side of anxiety involves sympathetic nervous system activity, which can produce sweating or a racing heart.
somatic areanoun: Either of two main regions in the brain's outer layer processes sensations such as touch and body position.
somatic cellnoun: A body cell belongs to tissues rather than the germ cell line that produces eggs or sperm.
somatic concernnoun: Worry centers on bodily health, physical symptoms, or the possibility that something inside the body is not working properly.
somatic delusionnoun: A firmly held false belief concerns the body's condition or functioning and persists despite strong evidence against it.
somatic depressionnoun: During a major depressive episode, bodily symptoms such as low energy or appetite changes are especially noticeable.
somatic disordernoun: In this usage, a physical illness involves disease or changes in bodily tissues, organs, or biological processes.
somatic functionnoun: A sensory or skeletal muscle activity depends on the nerves that connect sense organs and skeletal muscles with central pathways.
somatic hallucinationnoun: A person experiences an internal bodily sensation even though the physical event they perceive is not occurring.
somatic nervous systemphrase: The branch carrying sensory information and voluntary movement signals between sense organs, skeletal muscles, and the central nervous system.
somatic obsessionnoun: Persistent, intrusive concern about the body or a particular part may lead to repeated checking, comparisons, or reassurance seeking.
somatic receptornoun: A specialized sensory structure detects stimulation in skin or deeper tissues, helping register touch, temperature, pain, movement, or position.
somatic sensenoun: A bodily sense provides information about touch, movement, position, or conditions within the body.
somatic sensory areanoun: A region of the brain's outer layer receives and processes bodily information, including touch and position signals.
somatic sensory systemnoun: A network of sensory receptors, nerves, and brain regions enables awareness of touch, vibration, temperature, pain, and body position.
somatic symptom and related disordersphrase: A DSM-5 group of disorders with distressing body symptoms or health worries that greatly disrupt daily life.
somatic symptom disorderphrase: A person has distressing body symptoms and becomes overly worried about them, disrupting daily life.
somatic therapynoun: Treatment for mental disorders uses physical methods that act on the body, including medication or electroconvulsive therapy.
somatic weaknessnoun: A proposed vulnerability present at birth could make certain organs especially likely to develop illness under emotional stress.
somatistnoun: Someone holding this view understands mental disorders as expressions of physical disease in the body.
somatizationnoun: Showing emotional distress through physical body symptoms without a clear medical cause.
somatization disordernoun: An older diagnosis described years of numerous bodily symptoms that prompted medical care without an adequate physical or substance-related explanation.
somato- (somat-)prefix: This combining form means body and appears in words describing bodily conditions, structures, and experiences.
somatoform disordernoun: An older diagnostic category grouped distressing bodily symptoms without sufficient biological explanation that were thought to involve psychological factors.
somatoform pain disordernoun: An older diagnosis described disabling, persistent pain that psychological factors influenced and physical illness alone could not adequately explain.
somatogenesisnoun: Behavior, personality features, or disorders develop through changes in the body's structure, functioning, or chemistry.
somatognosianoun: Awareness lets a person recognize their body and its parts as their own.
somatographynoun: Visual representations of human bodies help designers create equipment that fits people's sizes, shapes, and movements.
somatomedinnoun: A protein messenger produced by the liver after growth hormone stimulation helps tissues make proteins and grow.
somatometrynoun: Measuring human body features can support research exploring possible relationships between body build and psychological characteristics.
somatophrenianoun: An older label describes a tendency to imagine physical illnesses or experience them as more serious than evidence suggests.
somatoplasmnoun: The body's tissue cells are considered together, excluding cells belonging to the reproductive cell line.
somatopsychic delusionnoun: A firmly held false belief about bodily organs persists despite convincing evidence that the belief is incorrect.
somatopsychologynoun: An older field examines how physical illness or disability affects thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
somatopsychosisnoun: An older label describes psychosis involving false bodily beliefs, or psychosis arising from physical illness.
somatosensenoun: A bodily sense provides information about skin contact, movement, position, or activity inside internal organs.
somatosensory areanoun: Either of two main regions in the brain's outer layer processes sensations such as touch and body position.
somatosensory disordernoun: A disturbance in processing signals from skin or deeper tissues alters touch, pain, temperature, or position awareness.
somatosensory evoked potential (SEP)noun: A measurable electrical reaction occurs in the brain after bodily stimulation, such as touching skin or moving a joint.
somatosensory systemnoun: A network of nerves and brain regions supports sensing touch, vibration, temperature, pain, and bodily position.
somatostatinnoun: A hormone made in the hypothalamus and pancreas reduces secretion of growth hormone, insulin, and glucagon.
somatotherapynoun: Physical treatments, including medicines and electroconvulsive therapy, act directly on the body to treat mental disorders.
somatotonianoun: Sheldon's historical theory proposed that muscular builds accompany an energetic, physically courageous personality drawn to power.
somatotopagnosianoun: A recognition difficulty prevents locating and orienting body parts, including those on other people or body pictures.
somatotopic organizationnoun: The motor cortex has an orderly layout linking particular locations with movements of particular body parts.
somatotropinnoun: The front portion of the pituitary produces growth hormone, which supports tissue growth and regulates how the body uses nutrients.
somatotropin-release inhibiting factor (SRIF)noun: Another name for somatostatin describes a hormone that restrains growth hormone secretion and also limits insulin and glucagon secretion.
somatotypenoun: A category describes a person's body build, sometimes within historical theories proposing connections between physique and temperament.
somber–bright dimensionnoun: In studying responses to art, this scale describes how dark or bright an artwork's colors appear.
somesthesia (somaesthesia)noun: Bodily sensitivity allows someone to experience signals from the skin, movement-related structures, and internal organs.
somesthetic disordernoun: A disturbance of bodily sensing can affect awareness of posture or position and sensitivity to touch, temperature, or pain.
somesthetic sensenoun: A bodily sense detects skin stimulation, movement, position, or signals arising within internal organs.
somesthetic stimulationnoun: An event activates sensory receptors in skin, internal organs, or structures that detect bodily movement.
somnambulismnoun: Sleepwalking involves getting up and performing movements during deep non-REM sleep, usually with little awareness or later memory.
somniloquynoun: Speaking or mumbling while asleep can range from unclear sounds to understandable sentences and is usually harmless.
somnolencenoun: Unusually strong sleepiness or drowsiness can occur with medications, sleep disorders, or other health conditions.
somnolentianoun: A partial awakening from non-REM sleep leaves someone confused or poorly responsive, usually without later memory of the episode.
somnologynoun: This scientific field investigates sleep, including its normal processes and the disorders that can disrupt it.
somnophilianoun: An obsolete label describes sexual interest or arousal focused on intruding upon someone who is asleep.
sonantnoun: This speech sound can anchor a syllable, whether it is a vowel or a consonant made with vibrating vocal cords.
Sonatanoun: This brand name identifies zaleplon, a medicine that acts quickly and briefly to help treat difficulty falling asleep.
sonenoun: A unit measures perceived loudness so that a sound rated two sones seems twice as loud as one rated one.
songnoun: A long, patterned series of animal sounds, often used to attract mates or warn rivals away.
sonic boomnoun: A loud acoustic shock wave occurs when an object, such as an aircraft, travels faster than sound.
Sonic Pathfindernoun: A head-worn mobility device uses ultrasound echoes and changing earphone tones to help people with visual impairments detect nearby objects.
sonographynoun: An imaging method uses echoes from sound above human hearing to create pictures of structures inside the body.
sonorantnoun: A consonant such as n or l takes the vowel's role as a syllable's main sound.
soothabilitynoun: An infant's or child's capacity to settle after becoming upset describes how readily they recover calm.
sophistrynoun: Misleading arguments use clever wording or faulty reasoning to win agreement instead of seeking an accurate conclusion.
sophrosynenoun: Plato's ideal of character combines moderation, thoughtful judgment, balance, and the ability to guide one's own impulses.
sopite syndromenoun: Prolonged gentle motion can cause a motion-sickness pattern dominated by drowsiness, fatigue, reduced motivation, and sometimes irritability.
soporificnoun: A substance or other agent can bring on sleep, sometimes producing especially deep sleep.
SOPSabbreviation: The Scale of Prodromal Symptoms rates experiences and difficulties that may indicate an early stage of a psychotic disorder.
SORCabbreviation: A behavioral analysis framework connects stimuli and organismic variables with responses and their consequences.
sorcery drugnoun: A historical label groups plant-derived substances used in healing or intoxication rituals, including opium and belladonna preparations.
Sorgenoun: Heidegger used this German word for care to describe human concern and involvement with things that matter.
sort-recall tasknoun: A memory experiment lets participants arrange items into groups before testing which items they can remember later.
sorting testnoun: A test where someone groups items by rule to show flexible thinking and concept formation.
Sotos syndromenoun: A genetic condition involves unusually rapid childhood growth, a large head, distinctive facial features, and often learning or developmental differences.
soulnoun: Many traditions propose a nonphysical part of a person that carries identity and may continue after bodily death.
soul imagenoun: Jung proposed a deeply unconscious part of the mind represented by masculine and feminine symbolic patterns called animus and anima.
soul kissnoun: An intimate kiss involves open mouths and contact between the participants' tongues.
soundnoun: Waves of changing air or water pressure that can be heard by an organism.
sound cagenoun: A testing device measures how accurately someone identifies the direction or position of a sound.
sound changenoun: A language's patterns of pronunciation shift across generations, sometimes helping related languages become different from one another.
sound intensitynoun: A physical measurement describes how much sound energy passes through a unit of area each second.
sound localizationnoun: Hearing allows someone to work out where a sound originates and whether its source is moving.
sound pressurenoun: A passing sound wave produces changes above and below the surrounding pressure, measured in pascals.
sound shadownoun: An object obstructing sound creates a region where less sound arrives, often behind the head.
sound spectrographynoun: An analysis method creates a visual record showing how a sound's frequencies and their strengths change over time.
sound spectrumnoun: A representation breaks sound into its component frequencies, showing their strengths and, for a complete description, their phase relationships.
sound symbolismnoun: Some speech sounds have meaningful associations with what words describe, beyond relationships learned through language conventions alone.
sound-attenuating chambernoun: A specially built enclosure reduces incoming outside noise, providing a quieter setting for hearing tests or research.
sound-level meternoun: An instrument uses a microphone to measure sound pressure and usually displays its level in decibels.
sound-pressure level (SPL)noun: A logarithmic measurement compares sound pressure with a standard reference pressure and expresses the result in decibels.
sounding outnoun: A reading approach connects letters or letter groups with speech sounds and blends those sounds to read words.
souradjective: A taste quality produced by acids gives foods such as lemons their sharp, tart flavor.
source amnesianoun: Someone remembers information but has difficulty remembering the circumstances in which they originally learned it.
source attractivenessphrase: How physically appealing a message giver seems, which can make persuasion stronger.
source confusionnoun: Someone mistakenly assigns a remembered detail to the wrong person, event, or other origin.
source credibilityphrase: How believable a persuasive speaker seems, based on their knowledge and honesty.
source expertisenoun: An audience judges how much a person delivering a persuasive message knows about the topic.
source factorsnoun: Features of whoever delivers a message, such as apparent knowledge or honesty, can influence how persuasive it seems.
source languagenoun: A language provides the starting point for translating into another language or for learning and using another language.
source majority or minority statusnoun: A messenger's view or social group belongs to either the larger or smaller numerical share of a population.
source memoryphrase: Remembering where, when, or from whom you learned something, not just the information itself.
source monitoringphrase: Figuring out where a memory or belief came from, such as real life, television, or something overheard.
source traitnoun: Cattell proposed 16 underlying personality characteristics, identified through statistical analysis, that help explain patterns of observable behavior.
source trustworthinessnoun: An audience judges how honest a person delivering a persuasive message appears to be.
Southern blotnoun: A laboratory method separates DNA fragments, transfers them onto a membrane, and uses a labeled probe to identify a chosen sequence.
SOVabbreviation: The Study of Values questionnaire developed by Allport, Vernon, and Lindzey compares a person's priorities across six value categories.
space adaptation syndromenoun: During adjustment to spaceflight, changed gravity cues can produce motion sickness with dizziness, nausea, and difficulty sensing direction.
space factornoun: Thurstone proposed a mental ability that helps explain differences in understanding and reasoning about positions, shapes, and spatial relationships.
space motion sicknessnoun: Unfamiliar gravity conditions during spaceflight can upset the body's balance system, causing nausea, dizziness, and sometimes vomiting.
space orientationnoun: A person recognizes and adjusts their own position relative to objects in the surrounding environment.
space perceptionnoun: Sensory information helps someone experience objects' shapes, sizes, distances, and other spatial features in their surroundings.
space psychologynoun: A field applies psychological knowledge and methods to understanding and supporting people living and working in outer space.
space-based attentionnoun: Visual attention focuses on particular locations in the surrounding space, giving information appearing there priority.
spaced practicenoun: Learning sessions for the same skill or material are separated by substantial breaks or time spent on other activities.
spaced repetitionnoun: Information is reviewed repeatedly with time between encounters, usually helping it remain in memory longer.
spacing effectphrase: Remembering lasts longer when study sessions are spread out over time instead of crammed together.
span of apprehensionnoun: A person's capacity is measured by how many items they can report after seeing a display very briefly.
spandrelnoun: An evolutionary feature arises as a byproduct of other traits rather than being directly selected for its own function.
spasmnoun: A muscle suddenly tightens without deliberate control, either staying contracted or repeatedly tightening and relaxing.
spasmodic dysphonianoun: A voice disorder involves involuntary spasms in muscles controlling the vocal folds, causing breaks or strained or breathy speech.
spasmodic fixationnoun: A person cannot shift their gaze away from something until the object they are watching is removed.
spasticadjective: Describing muscles that tighten too much and may jerk or resist movement because of spasms.
spastic colitisnoun: An older name for irritable bowel syndrome describes recurring belly discomfort together with changes such as constipation or diarrhea.
spastic dysarthrianoun: A neurological speech disorder involves overly tight speech muscles, producing strained speech, limited pitch variation, and difficulty controlling breathing.
spastic dysphonianoun: An older name for spasmodic dysphonia describes a voice disorder involving involuntary vocal muscle spasms that interrupt speech.
spastic hemiparesisnoun: Muscle weakness affects one side of a person's body together with increased muscle tightness and resistance to stretching.
spastic paralysisnoun: Damage to upper motor nerve pathways causes loss of voluntary movement together with increased muscle tightness and unusually strong reflexes.
spastic paraplegianoun: Paralysis affecting the legs and lower trunk occurs together with increased tightness and stiffness in the leg muscles.
spasticitynoun: Damage to upper motor pathways makes muscles resist passive stretching, especially when stretched quickly, and can exaggerate reflexes.
spatial abilitynoun: A mental skill helps someone understand positions, shapes, and relationships among objects, including the position of their own body.
spatial attentionphrase: Focusing mental resources on one area of what you see while paying less attention elsewhere.
spatial autocorrelationnoun: A statistical measure shows how values of the same feature relate across locations, including nearby similarities or differences.
spatial cognitionnoun: Mental processes gather, organize, and revise information about locations and spatial relationships to guide thinking and action.
spatial coherencenoun: A measure describes how consistently the cycles of waves match at different points in space.
spatial contrast sensitivitynoun: Visual sensitivity allows someone to detect small brightness differences within patterns whose details vary in size.
spatial datanoun: Observations or measurements include information connecting them to particular places or geographic regions.
spatial densitynoun: The concentration of people changes when available space changes while the group size stays fixed.
spatial discriminationnoun: A perceptual ability lets someone distinguish where different sights, sounds, or other sensory signals occur.
spatial disordernoun: Difficulty understanding spatial relationships can affect navigation, location memory, distance judgments, and arranging objects, often following parietal brain damage.
spatial frequencynoun: A pattern's repetition rate describes how many complete cycles fit within a set distance or visual angle.
spatial intelligencenoun: A mental ability allows people to imagine objects changing position, orientation, or arrangement in space.
spatial learningnoun: Experience builds knowledge of where things are and how their locations relate to each other.
spatial memorynoun: The ability to remember where things are and how places connect for finding your way.
spatial neglectphrase: After certain brain injuries, a person may ignore one side of space, usually the left side.
spatial orientationphrase: Knowing where your body is in space and how it is positioned around nearby objects.
spatial relationshipsphrase: How objects are arranged in space, including their distance, direction, and position compared with each other.
spatial summationnoun: Electrical inputs arriving together at different connections on one neuron combine and may trigger the neuron to fire.
spatial thresholdnoun: The minimum separation between two skin contacts allows someone to feel them as distinct touches.
spatial updatingnoun: As people move, they revise their mental estimates of where previously sensed objects are relative to themselves.
spatial visionnoun: The visual system processes how light is arranged across space, allowing perception of patterns and forms.
spatial-temporal reasoningnoun: A thinking ability lets people imagine three-dimensional objects and follow how their positions or shapes change over time.
spayingnoun: A surgical procedure prevents reproduction in a female mammal by removing its ovaries, sometimes together with its uterus.
SPCabbreviation: Statistical process control uses performance measurements to monitor work processes, identify changes, and guide improvements.
speaking in tonguesphrase: Speechlike vocal sounds lack generally understandable word meanings and may occur during religious experiences or trance states.
Spearman correlation coefficientnoun: A statistic from minus one to plus one measures how consistently two sets of rankings rise together or move oppositely.
Spearman–Brown prophecy formulanoun: A formula estimates how a test's reliability would change if its length changed using comparable questions.
Spearman’s Gnoun: Spearman proposed a general mental ability that contributes to performance across different kinds of intelligence tests.
Spearman’s Snoun: Spearman proposed a task-specific mental ability that contributes to one test's performance alongside general intelligence.
special aptitudenoun: In intelligence theory, a specialized skill contributes to one mental task independently of abilities involved in other tasks.
special care unit (SCU)noun: A dedicated section of a healthcare facility provides specialized support for people with serious conditions such as dementia or brain injuries.
special childnoun: This outdated label described a child whose disability called for adapted teaching, healthcare, or support with everyday activities.
special educationphrase: Schools provide tailored teaching and support for students with disabilities so they can learn and function more independently.
special factornoun: In intelligence theory, a proposed specialized ability contributes to particular mental tasks alongside a broader general ability.
special needsnoun: An older, sometimes unwelcome expression describes individualized support requirements related to disability or limited access to resources.
special needs childnoun: This outdated expression described a disabled child needing adjustments to education, healthcare, or assistance with daily tasks.
special psychiatric rapid intervention team (SPRINT)noun: A U.S. Navy team brings together several professions to provide brief emotional and mental health support soon after crises.
special schoolnoun: An educational setting offers individualized teaching and support for students whose needs require specialized provision, including disability support.
special-ability testnoun: A focused assessment checks whether a student has an unusually strong or uncommon skill or talent.
specialty carenoun: Care from experts with extra training for complex, long-lasting, or uncommon health problems.
speciationnoun: New species develop when populations become reproductively separated and accumulate inherited differences over generations.
speciesnoun: A group of living things that can mate with each other and have babies that can also reproduce.
species recognitionnoun: An animal identifies whether another individual belongs to its own species using signals such as appearance, sounds, or smells.
species specificity of languagenoun: A theory proposes that the capacity for language is inborn and belongs uniquely to humans.
species-specific behaviornoun: A characteristic action pattern appears in nearly every member of a species and takes a broadly similar form.
species-specific defense reaction (SSDR)noun: An unlearned response to unpleasant or threatening events is typical of a species and can shape escape learning.
speciesismnoun: Prejudice or unequal treatment favors humans over other animals based on species membership, often assuming human superiority.
specific abilitynoun: Within intelligence theory, an existing skill supports a particular mental task independently of skills measured by other tasks.
specific aptitudenoun: A person's potential to develop skill through practice or instruction applies to a particular area.
specific developmental disordersnoun: An older grouping describes early difficulties developing a limited skill area that are not explained by another condition.
specific explorationnoun: Investigating something unfamiliar helps reduce uncertainty, fear, or anxiety and lowers arousal.
specific factor (s factor)noun: A mental skill used in one kind of thinking task, unlike general intelligence across many tasks.
specific hungernoun: A biological shortage creates an appetite for foods supplying a particular nutrient the body needs.
specific language disabilitynoun: A significant difficulty affects one particular part of language learning or use, rather than language functioning broadly.
specific language impairment (SLI)noun: A historical diagnosis described persistent spoken-language learning difficulties without another identified condition or circumstance sufficient to explain them.
specific learning disability (SLD)noun: A substantial learning difficulty affects particular academic skills, such as reading or mathematics, without extending across every learning area.
specific learning disorderphrase: A neurodevelopmental disorder causing lasting trouble learning reading, writing, or math despite normal chances to learn.
specific nerve energiesnoun: A historical principle proposes that the sensory pathway activated determines the kind of sensation experienced.
specific phobiaphrase: A strong, lasting fear of one object or situation causes avoidance or intense distress out of proportion to danger.
specific thalamic projection systemnoun: Dedicated pathways carry vision, hearing, and body-sensation signals through the thalamus to their corresponding regions of the cerebral cortex.
specific transferphrase: Using what you learned in one task to do a very similar task better.
specific variancenoun: In factor analysis, systematic differences belong uniquely to one measured variable, excluding shared influences and random measurement error.
specific-attitudes theorynoun: A historical theory proposed that particular attitudes are linked with particular physical disorders involving psychological influences.
specific-energy doctrinenoun: A historical principle proposes that the sensory pathway activated determines what kind of sensation someone experiences.
specific-reaction theorynoun: A historical theory proposes that inherited patterns of automatic bodily responses to stress explain certain physical symptoms.
specific-status characteristicnoun: A quality relevant to a group's task helps members judge someone's competence and assign standing within that group.
specificitynoun: The degree to which something applies to one exact target, condition, cue, or response.
specificity of behaviornoun: Some actions occur only in response to particular cues or situations and do not carry over to other settings.
specificity theorynoun: A historical pain theory proposes dedicated receptors and nerve pathways that carry injury signals directly to a specialized brain center.
specious presentnoun: The experienced present is a brief stretch of awareness that feels like one moment despite time continuing to pass.
SPECTabbreviation: A brain scan that tracks blood flow using a small radioactive tracer.
spectator effectnoun: Being watched can change task performance, often helping when confidence is high and hindering when confidence is low.
spectator rolephrase: Watching yourself and worrying during sex can block arousal and make natural sexual responses shut down.
spectator therapynoun: Group members may benefit from watching others receive therapy for difficulties similar to their own.
spectral absorptionnoun: Substances absorb different amounts of light depending on its wavelength, a property also studied in the eye's light-sensitive pigments.
spectral colornoun: A color produced by light of one visible wavelength belongs to the range that a prism can separate.
spectral densitynoun: A measurement describes how a sound's amplitude or power is distributed across frequency, expressed per hertz.
spectral envelopenoun: A smooth outline shows the overall pattern of strength across a sound's frequencies, leaving out small individual peaks.
spectral scalenoun: A scale arranges visible colors by wavelength or frequency in steps small enough that neighboring colors are just distinguishable.
spectral sensitivitynoun: The eye's light-sensitive pigments absorb some wavelengths more readily than others, giving each receptor type a characteristic sensitivity pattern.
spectrally opponent cellnoun: A visual neuron becomes more active for some light wavelengths and less active for others.
spectrogramnoun: A visual chart displays how the frequencies within a sound and their strengths change over time.
spectroscopynoun: Scientists study how matter interacts with different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation to learn about its composition and structure.
spectrumnoun: A continuous range of related traits or conditions, with many possible points in between.
spectrum levelnoun: An acoustic measure gives sound power per hertz at a particular frequency, usually stated in decibels relative to a reference.
spectrum of consciousnessnoun: In transpersonal psychology, this range includes psychological and spiritual experiences associated with different states of mind.
speculationnoun: An idea or explanation based on guessing, not on solid scientific evidence.
speculative psychologynoun: An explanation of mental life rests on guesses or theories without supporting observations or research findings.
speechnoun: Speaking sounds and words by moving the mouth, tongue, and other muscles to express language.
speech actnoun: An utterance performs an action, such as requesting or promising, understood through the speaker's purpose and its effect on listeners.
speech amplification systemnoun: A microphone and amplifier make someone's voice louder when a voice or breathing difficulty limits speaking volume.
speech and language disordernoun: A communication condition affects speech production, understanding language, or expressing meaning through spoken or written words.
speech and language pathologyphrase: The clinical field that studies, tests, and treats problems with speaking, understanding language, voice, and hearing.
speech and language therapynoun: Professional treatment, guided practice, and counseling help people improve speech production and their ability to understand or express language.
speech anxietynoun: Fear about speaking before an audience involves expecting criticism, embarrassment, or other negative judgments from listeners.
speech aphasiaphrase: After brain damage, a person understands language better than they can speak it.
speech apraxianoun: A difficulty planning and sequencing speech movements makes speaking challenging even when the necessary muscles can move.
speech areanoun: A region of the brain's outer layer contributes to producing or understanding language, including speech and writing.
speech audiometrynoun: A hearing assessment measures how someone detects or understands spoken words presented at carefully controlled sound levels.
speech communitynoun: People form a group through their shared use of a language or a particular variety, such as a dialect.
speech derailmentnoun: A pattern of disorganized speech involves frequent shifts between ideas with weak or unclear connections.
speech developmentphrase: The gradual growth of a child's ability to make speech sounds and use spoken language.
speech discrimination testnoun: A hearing test uses words selected to balance speech sounds and measures how accurately a listener recognizes them.
speech errornoun: An occasional, unintended mistake in speaking briefly changes the sounds or words a person meant to say.
speech functionsnoun: Spoken language serves different purposes, including sharing information, expressing feelings, and building or maintaining relationships.
speech impairmentnoun: A difficulty producing speech may affect its sounds, voice quality, flow, or ease of production.
speech impedimentnoun: An older everyday label describes a difficulty with producing speech, such as problems with sounds or fluency.
speech intelligibilitynoun: The clarity of speech determines how successfully listeners identify and understand it in a given listening setting.
speech lateralizationphrase: Most people produce speech mainly with brain areas in the left hemisphere.
speech originnoun: Theories explore how spoken language first emerged and developed during human evolution, with many details remaining uncertain.
speech perceptionphrase: Turning a stream of speech sounds into recognized words and their sound pattern in the mind.
speech processornoun: A device transforms sound input into electrical stimulation patterns, as in a cochlear implant that supports hearing.
speech productionphrase: Using brain, mouth, and breath systems to create spoken words and sentences.
speech recognition systemnoun: Computer software identifies spoken input so people can enter text, give instructions, or operate devices by voice.
speech rehabilitationnoun: Training helps a person regain speech abilities that have been lost or reduced.
speech sound disorderphrase: A childhood condition where a person has ongoing trouble making or hearing speech sounds clearly.
Speech Sounds Perception Testnoun: A neuropsychological test asks people to match spoken invented words containing an ee sound with their written forms.
speech synthesizernoun: An electronic system generates artificial spoken output from text, typed messages, or other inputs.
speech therapynoun: A professional uses tailored treatment, practice, and counseling to support clearer speech and stronger language understanding or expression.
speech-activated controlnoun: Spoken commands trigger actions or enter information into a device.
speech-reception threshold (SRT)noun: A hearing measure identifies the quietest sound level at which a listener can begin to understand speech.
speech-to-noise rationoun: A measurement compares the power of speech with surrounding noise, usually expressing the comparison in decibels.
speech-tolerance levelnoun: The measured sound level marks when a listener finds ongoing speech uncomfortably loud.
speech, language, and hearing centernoun: A clinic brings together specialists who assess and treat difficulties involving speech, language, and hearing.
speechreadingnoun: A person uses visible mouth movements, often alongside facial cues and context, to help understand spoken language.
speednoun: How fast something happens or how quickly a person can think, move, or finish a task.
speed datingphrase: A dating setup where people meet many possible partners briefly and later privately choose whom to see again.
speed testnoun: Measures how many items a person can finish correctly within a set amount of time.
speed–accuracy tradeoffnoun: Working faster often increases mistakes, while taking more time often improves accuracy on the same task.
speedballnoun: A slang name describes heroin combined with a strong stimulant, such as cocaine or an amphetamine.
spellnoun: A strong, hard-to-explain influence one person seems to have over another's thoughts or actions.
spelling dyslexianoun: An acquired reading difficulty makes people identify individual letters before recognizing words, even when spelling and writing remain intact.
spermnoun: A male reproductive cell can join an egg during fertilization, contributing half the resulting offspring's chromosomes.
sperm analysisnoun: A laboratory examination assesses fertility by measuring sperm concentration and checking sperm shape and movement.
sperm competitionnoun: After a female mates with multiple males, their sperm compete for opportunities to fertilize her eggs.
spermarchenoun: The first release of semen through ejaculation marks a milestone in male reproductive development during puberty.
spermatic ductnoun: A reproductive tube carries sperm away from the epididymis toward the ejaculatory duct.
spermatocytenoun: An immature reproductive cell in a testis undergoes specialized divisions as part of developing into sperm.
spermatogenesisnoun: The testes produce sperm through a series of cell divisions and maturation steps within tiny tubes.
spermatorrheanoun: Semen leaves the body involuntarily without the person experiencing an orgasm.
spermatozoonnoun: A single sperm cell carries one chromosome set and can combine with an egg to begin fertilization.
spherical aberrationnoun: A lens's spherical curvature brings light passing through different regions into focus at different distances, blurring the image.
spherical lensnoun: An optical lens has at least one curved surface shaped like part of a ball.
sphericitynoun: A repeated-measures analysis assumes equal variances for score differences across every pair of conditions.
sphincternoun: A ring of muscle that opens and closes a body opening, like the anus or pupil.
sphincter controlphrase: Being able to tighten and relax the muscles that hold in or release urine and stool.
sphincter moralitynoun: Historical psychoanalytic theory linked rigid orderliness, stubbornness, and reluctance to spend with childhood pleasure in holding back bowel movements.
sphingomyelinnoun: A fatty molecule helps build animal cell membranes and is abundant in the brain.
sphingomyelin lipidosisnoun: An inherited fat-storage disorder causes sphingomyelin to accumulate in cells, especially in Niemann–Pick disease types A and B.
sphygmographnoun: An instrument records pulse patterns, including how quickly and strongly the pulse beats.
sphygmomanometernoun: A device measures arterial blood pressure, usually using an inflatable cuff around the upper arm.
spicenoun: A drug mixture contains plant material coated with manufactured chemicals that act on cannabinoid receptors in the brain.
spicyadjective: Describes food that creates a hot, sharp feeling mainly through the trigeminal nerve, not taste buds.
spider phobiaphrase: An intense, unreasonable fear of spiders that causes avoidance or severe anxiety.
spikenoun: A sudden brief burst, such as a neuron's electrical firing or a sharp jump in data.
spike potentialnoun: A brief electrical change travels along a nerve or muscle cell membrane, carrying a signal.
spike-and-wave dischargesnoun: An electrical brain recording shows repeated sharp peaks followed by slower waves, often associated with absence seizures.
spike-wave activitynoun: A displayed recording of a neuron's electrical impulse shows a sharp peak, a brief undershoot, and recovery.
spina bifidanoun: A birth defect where the spine does not close fully, often causing leg weakness and problems with sensation or bladder control.
spinal animalnoun: A research animal has a surgically divided spinal cord, allowing study of spinal activity disconnected from brain control.
spinal canalnoun: A passage inside the backbone houses and protects the spinal cord.
spinal columnnoun: A flexible stack of vertebral bones forms the backbone, supporting the body and surrounding the spinal cord.
spinal cordnoun: Carries messages between the brain and body through nerves inside the backbone.
spinal cord diseasenoun: A disorder affecting the spinal cord can disrupt movement, sensation, or automatic body functions.
spinal cord injuryphrase: Damage to the bundle of nerves in the back can disrupt movement, feeling, and body control.
spinal ganglionnoun: A cluster of sensory nerve cell bodies lies along a spinal nerve's rear root.
spinal gatephrase: A spinal cord pathway can open or close to change how much pain reaches the brain.
spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)noun: An inherited disorder damages nerve cells controlling muscles, leading to muscle weakness and shrinking muscle tissue.
spinal nervenoun: One of 31 paired nerves connects the spinal cord with the body, carrying sensory input and movement commands.
spinal reflexnoun: An automatic response is organized by spinal nerve circuits without requiring the brain to initiate it.
spinal rootnoun: A short nerve branch connects a spinal nerve with the cord, carrying either incoming sensory signals or outgoing motor signals.
spinal shocknoun: After spinal cord injury, reflexes temporarily disappear or weaken in body regions below the damaged area.
spinal stenosisnoun: Spaces within the backbone become abnormally narrow, potentially pressing on nerves or the spinal cord.
spinal tapnoun: A clinician inserts a needle between lower back vertebrae to collect fluid surrounding the spinal cord for testing.
spindle cellnoun: A neuron has a cell body that bulges centrally and narrows toward both ends.
spindle wavesnoun: Brief bursts of rhythmic electrical brain activity grow and fade during stage 2 non-REM sleep.
spinenoun: The backbone consists of connected vertebrae that support the body while protecting the spinal cord.
spinocerebellar tractnoun: A nerve pathway carries information about body position and movement from spinal circuits into the cerebellum.
spinocerebellumnoun: A central cerebellar region uses body feedback to help regulate posture and coordinate ongoing movements.
spinomesencephalic tractnoun: A nerve pathway carries sensory information, especially pain signals, upward from spinal circuits into the midbrain.
spinoreticular tractnoun: A nerve pathway carries sensory signals, including pain information, from spinal circuits into the brainstem's reticular formation.
spinothalamic tractnoun: An ascending nerve pathway delivers information about pain, temperature, touch, or pressure from spinal circuits into the thalamus.
spiral ganglionnoun: A cluster of hearing nerve cell bodies inside the cochlea sends fibers that form the cochlear nerve.
spiral testnoun: An intelligence test interweaves questions from different ability areas while increasing difficulty as testing progresses.
spiritnoun: A person's nonphysical core, including mind, feelings, values, and sense of self.
spirit photographynoun: A historical practice attempted to photograph deceased people's spirits, with supposed images often created through photographic techniques.
spiritismnoun: A belief holds that deceased people's spirits continue existing and can communicate with living people through mediums.
spiritual factornoun: A belief about right and wrong, faith, or mystical experiences helps shape a person's thoughts, feelings, or actions.
spiritual healingnoun: An approach seeks relief from physical or psychological illness through religious practices or faith in a healer.
spiritual selfnoun: In William James's psychology, this aspect of self consists of one's most personal inner experiences and mental capacities.
spiritualismnoun: A belief holds that people survive death as spirits and can communicate with living people through mediums.
spiritualitynoun: A person's sense of connection to sacred or deeply meaningful things, with or without organized religion.
spirographnoun: An instrument measures and records how quickly someone breathes and how much air moves with breathing.
spirometernoun: A device measures how much air someone can breathe in or out, sometimes helping assess breathing during speech.
SPLabbreviation: Sound-pressure level expresses a sound’s pressure relative to a standard reference, using decibels.
splanchnicadjective: This adjective describes something connected with internal organs, especially those inside the abdomen.
splanchnic nervenoun: One of several nerves carries automatic control signals and sensory information between internal organs and the nervous system.
spleennoun: An abdominal organ helps defend against infection, filters blood, and removes worn-out red blood cells.
spleniumnoun: A rounded, bulky section forms the back of the brain’s main fiber bundle linking its left and right halves.
spline functionnoun: A mathematical function joins separate polynomial pieces at chosen points to fit a relationship that changes across ranges.
split brainnoun: A brain has reduced communication between its halves because the corpus callosum has been partly or completely severed.
split personalityphrase: An informal label for dissociative identity disorder, where one person has two or more distinct identity states.
split recoverynoun: A legal requirement directs part of a plaintiff’s punitive award to state funds intended to serve public needs.
split runnoun: An advertising test compares customer groups receiving different advertisements, or an advertisement versus none, to assess effectiveness.
split treatmentnoun: Two or more professionals or services coordinate assessment, treatment planning, and progress monitoring for the same person.
split-ballot techniquenoun: Researchers randomly divide participants into two groups receiving slightly different surveys to test how the versions affect answers.
split-brain techniquenoun: A surgical procedure cuts some or all corpus callosum fibers to limit seizure spread between the brain’s halves.
split-half reliabilityphrase: Shows whether two halves of the same test give similar scores, suggesting the items measure one thing consistently.
split-litter designnoun: Researchers place animals born in the same litter into different experimental groups to reduce genetic differences between groups.
split-plot designnoun: An experiment assigns one factor to larger groups and varies other factors within smaller units inside those groups.
split-span testnoun: A task presents different word or number lists simultaneously to each ear and asks participants to recall as many as possible.
splittingnoun: A defense keeps opposing feelings separate, leading someone to view themselves or others as entirely good or entirely bad.
SPMSQabbreviation: A ten-question screening tool checks memory and other thinking abilities, most often among older people.
spongiform encephalopathynoun: A fatal brain disease caused by abnormal prion proteins progressively damages nerve tissue, leaving tiny spaces resembling a sponge.
spongioblastnoun: An immature cell from an embryo’s outer tissue layer can develop into certain supporting cells of the nervous system.
spontaneity testnoun: A group therapy assessment uses improvised everyday scenes with emotionally connected members to explore relationships beyond reported liking or rejection.
spontaneity trainingnoun: A program uses gradually progressing practice sessions to help someone respond more naturally and freely in everyday situations.
spontaneous abortionnoun: A pregnancy that ends on its own before the fetus can survive outside the womb.
spontaneous alternationnoun: An individual naturally switches between available options across successive choices or periods of exploration, without being instructed to alternate.
spontaneous dischargenoun: A neuron produces an electrical impulse without an outside stimulus directly triggering it.
spontaneous imagerynoun: Mental pictures or other sensory experiences arise without deliberate effort, sometimes while a person is drifting toward sleep.
spontaneous memorializationnoun: People quickly and voluntarily create public tributes after an unexpected, violent death, often leaving flowers, notes, or meaningful objects.
spontaneous movementnoun: A bodily action arises from an immediate impulse rather than advance thought or preparation.
spontaneous neural activitynoun: Neurons generate electrical signals even when no observable outside stimulus appears to set them off.
spontaneous recoveryphrase: A learned response comes back after seeming gone following extinction, in either classical or operant conditioning.
spontaneous regressionnoun: A person unexpectedly experiences an earlier life event as if happening again and may behave as they did at that age.
spontaneous remissionphrase: Symptoms lessen or disappear on their own without treatment, sometimes for good and sometimes only briefly.
spontaneous speechphrase: Talking that starts on its own instead of answering a question or following a prompt.
spontaneous trait inferencenoun: Someone automatically forms an impression of another person’s personality from their behavior, without deliberately deciding to judge them.
spoonerismnoun: An accidental speech error swaps sounds between words, often their opening consonants, producing an unexpected expression.
sportnoun: A rule-governed physical contest between people or teams, watched over by officials, with only one winner.
sport and exercise psychologynoun: A field studies thoughts, emotions, and behavior in sports and exercise, applying findings to performance, participation, and well-being.
Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ)noun: A questionnaire assesses how often athletes use mental imagery for skills, strategies, goals, arousal, and confidence.
sport psychologynoun: A field studies and applies psychological knowledge to understand athletes’ behavior, support well-being, and improve sporting performance.
sport sciencenoun: A field combines biological, physical, psychological, and social research to understand sporting activity and improve performance.
sport self-talk lognoun: An athlete keeps a record of sleep, eating, emotions, anxiety, and exercise to monitor patterns related to training.
sport socializationnoun: Participation in sport helps people learn social expectations and skills, such as cooperation, commitment, and respect for rules.
sport sociologynoun: A field examines how sports are organized in society and how sporting activities and culture influence each other.
sport-related life skillsnoun: Psychological abilities developed through sport, such as cooperation or goal setting, can also be used in other settings.
sports hypnosisnoun: Hypnosis is used with athletes to try to change mental patterns that hinder performance or strengthen helpful ones.
sports imagerynoun: Athletes mentally recreate sporting experiences to practice skills, prepare for performance, and manage emotions.
sportsmanshipnoun: Fair, respectful behavior toward rules, opponents, and officials while taking part in a sport.
spotlight model of attentionnoun: A theory proposes that visual attention selects a fixed-size area for focused processing while leaving other areas outside that focus.
Spranger’s typologynoun: Eduard Spranger proposed grouping people by their leading values: knowledge, practical gain, beauty, caring, power, or religion.
spreadnoun: How spread out scores are in a group, showing how much they differ from each other.
spread of effectnoun: A learned response extends to cues that differ from the cue involved in the original learning.
spreading activationnoun: A memory theory proposes that activating one idea makes connected ideas more available, with activation continuing through the network.
spreading depressionnoun: A wave of reduced electrical activity travels through brain tissue, accompanied by a large change in electrical potential.
spree murdernoun: Multiple people are killed at two or more separate places during a brief period.
SPRINTabbreviation: A U.S. Navy group brings several professions together to provide immediate, temporary emotional and mental health support after crises.
spurious correlationnoun: Two variables appear connected because other variables influence both, even though neither directly causes the other.
SQ3Rabbreviation: A reading study method follows five steps: surveying, questioning, reading, reciting from memory, and reviewing.
SQAWabbreviation: A detailed questionnaire gathers information about sleeping patterns, daytime wakefulness, and possible sleep problems.
square matrixnoun: A rectangular arrangement of numbers has equally many rows and columns, as in a three-by-three grid.
square-root transformationnoun: A data adjustment replaces every nonnegative number with its square root, sometimes making statistical assumptions easier to satisfy.
squared correlation coefficientnoun: Multiplying a correlation by itself gives the share of outcome variation accounted for by a straight-line relationship with one predictor.
squared multiple correlation coefficientnoun: Squaring the multiple correlation gives the share of outcome variation accounted for by several predictors combined in a linear model.
squeeze techniquephrase: A partner briefly squeezes the penis during sex practice to delay ejaculation and build better control.
SQUIDabbreviation: A superconducting quantum interference device detects extremely weak magnetic signals, including those produced by brain activity.
squintnoun: A persistent misalignment makes the eyes point in different directions, potentially disrupting how their views work together.
SRAabbreviation: Short for Satanic ritual abuse, this label describes claims that people were mistreated during ceremonies associated with Satan worship.
SRCDabbreviation: A nonprofit professional society connects researchers across fields to advance understanding of child development and put findings into practice.
SRIabbreviation: A serotonin reuptake inhibitor slows nerve cells' reabsorption of serotonin, increasing its availability between cells.
SRIFabbreviation: Somatotropin-release inhibiting factor, also called somatostatin, is a hormone that reduces growth hormone release and regulates other hormones.
SRTabbreviation: Simple reaction time measures the delay between one expected signal and the single response a person has been instructed to make.
SRYabbreviation: The sex-determining region Y gene usually lies on the Y chromosome and helps start testis development before birth.
SSabbreviation: The sum of squares adds up squared differences between observed values and a reference, such as an average.
SS intervalabbreviation: The shock–shock interval is the scheduled gap between shocks in an avoidance experiment when the participant makes no postponing response.
SSAabbreviation: Smallest space analysis maps variables using as few dimensions as adequate, placing more strongly correlated variables nearer each other.
SSDRabbreviation: A species-specific defense reaction is an unlearned protective response typical of a species that can influence how avoidance is learned.
SSEabbreviation: The sum of squared errors adds the squared gaps between observed outcomes and model predictions, measuring variation left unexplained.
SSregressionabbreviation: The regression sum of squares totals squared differences between model predictions and the outcome average, measuring variation the model accounts for.
SSRIabbreviation: A medicine that treats depression and some anxiety problems by keeping more serotonin, a brain messenger, available.
SSSabbreviation: The Sensation-Seeking Scale is a questionnaire measuring preferences for excitement, novelty, adventure, and varied experiences.
SSTabbreviation: Self-statement training teaches people to practice supportive statements about themselves as part of learning to guide their thoughts and actions.
SSWabbreviation: An auditory processing test presents overlapping words across both ears, using words whose two syllables receive equal stress.
St. John’s wortnoun: A flowering herb, Hypericum perforatum, is used in preparations studied for depression and can interact with other medicines.
stabilitynoun: How much a person's trait or standing stays similar over time compared with other people.
stability coefficientnoun: A correlation between the same people's scores on two occasions estimates how consistently a test preserves their relative standing over time.
stabilized imagenoun: An image held at one retinal location despite eye movement tends to fade because the visual system adapts to unchanged stimulation.
stabilizing selectionnoun: Natural selection favors intermediate versions of a trait over extremes, tending to preserve the population's average across generations.
Stablonnoun: A brand name identifies tianeptine, a medicine used as an antidepressant in some countries.
Stadolnoun: A brand name identifies butorphanol, an opioid pain medicine that acts on opioid receptors and can cause dependence.
staff turnovernoun: The number or proportion of employees leaving an organization during a specified period describes how much its workforce changes.
staffing theorynoun: An ecological psychology model examines how having too many or too few participants for available roles affects behavior and relationships.
stagenoun: A distinct period when how a person or system works differs in important ways from other times.
Stage 1 sleepnoun: The lightest phase of non-REM sleep marks the transition from wakefulness, with slower brain activity and relaxing muscles.
Stage 2 sleepnoun: A phase of non-REM sleep includes brief rhythmic brain activity called sleep spindles and distinctive larger waves called K complexes.
Stage 3 sleepphrase: A deep stage of non-REM sleep marked by slow delta brain waves, sometimes mixed with sleep spindles.
Stage 4 sleepnoun: An older sleep classification identified this deepest non-REM phase by large, slow delta waves dominating the brain recording.
stage frightnoun: Anxiety before or during a public performance can cause physical tension, worry, or difficulty remembering what to say or do.
stage samplingnoun: Researchers select a sample through successive levels, first choosing larger groups and then smaller groups or individuals within them.
stage theoryphrase: A model that says development happens in separate steps, each bringing a new way of thinking or acting.
stage theory of strategy developmentnoun: A developmental account proposes that children move through stages in which more efficient problem-solving strategies replace earlier, less efficient ones.
stages of changephrase: People often change unhealthy habits through five steps: not ready, thinking, getting ready, doing it, and keeping it up.
stages of griefphrase: A common model describes grief as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, often in no fixed order.
staggered entry designnoun: A study of time until events allows participants to join at different dates, tracking each person's time from their own start.
Staggered Spondaic Word Test (SSW)noun: An auditory processing assessment asks listeners to recognize words with equally stressed syllables while portions overlap across the two ears.
stagnationnoun: In adulthood, getting stuck in self-focus and not helping, creating, or guiding the next generation.
STAIabbreviation: The State–Trait Anxiety Inventory uses self-reported answers to measure both current anxiety and a person's general tendency to feel anxious.
stainnoun: A colored chemical that makes tissue slices easier to see under a microscope.
staircase illusionnoun: An impossible drawing makes stairs seem to rise or descend continuously while returning to their starting point.
staircase methodnoun: A sensory testing procedure raises or lowers stimulus strength according to responses, reversing direction to locate a detection threshold.
staircase phenomenonnoun: Repeated stimulation can produce stepwise changes in physical or bodily responses, such as progressively stronger contractions in a rested muscle.
stakeholdernoun: A person or group invested in a program or affected by how it is judged.
Stalevonoun: A branded Parkinson's medicine combines levodopa with carbidopa and entacapone to increase brain dopamine availability and prolong levodopa's effects.
stalkingnoun: Repeated unwanted following, monitoring, or contact intrudes on another person's life and can cause fear or serious distress.
stammeringnoun: Speech flow is interrupted by repeated sounds, stretched sounds, or blocks that make words difficult to begin or continue.
stance reflexnoun: Automatic muscle responses help maintain a stable standing position or a particular standing posture without deliberate control.
standard application blank (SAB)noun: A uniform job application form collects comparable background information from applicants, including education, qualifications, and previous work.
standard Cox regression modelnoun: A statistical model links predictors to event timing while assuming their effects multiply the event's instantaneous rate consistently over time.
standard deviationnoun: Shows how spread out scores are around the average in a group.
standard errorphrase: The typical amount a sample-based estimate changes from the true population value because of random sampling.
standard error of estimatephrase: Shows how far a regression prediction usually is from the real score, with smaller values meaning better prediction.
standard error of measurementphrase: Shows how much a test score might change from chance error, helping estimate a person's true score.
standard error of the meanphrase: Shows how much a sample's average is expected to differ from the true population average by chance.
standard gamma distributionnoun: A gamma probability distribution with scale one and location zero uses a positive shape parameter to describe nonnegative values.
standard languagephrase: The widely accepted form of a language used in school, media, and other formal settings.
standard normal distributionnoun: A normal probability distribution has an average of zero and a standard deviation equal to one.
standard normal variablenoun: A random quantity follows a normal probability distribution with average zero and standard deviation one.
standard observernoun: A mathematical model represents average human color responses measured under specified laboratory viewing conditions.
standard stimulusnoun: A reference item provides a comparison point when researchers measure how people experience sights, sounds, or other sensations.
standard treatment controlnoun: A comparison condition gives participants usual care so researchers can evaluate an experimental treatment against it.
standardizationnoun: Using the same testing steps and scoring rules for everyone so scores can be fairly compared to norms.
standardization groupnoun: A representative group takes a test to establish reference scores for interpreting results from later test takers.
standardized coefficientnoun: A numerical index describes relationships among variables after their measurements have been converted to a common scale.
standardized distributionnoun: A normal distribution is rescaled so its average becomes zero and its standard deviation becomes one.
standardized interviewnoun: An interview follows questions with wording and order set beforehand, allowing consistent comparisons across people's answers.
standardized scorephrase: A test score changed to show how far it is from average using standard deviation, a spread measure.
standardized testphrase: A test given and scored the same way for everyone, with norms showing how a score compares.
standards of practicephrase: Professional guidelines for using proven treatment steps in the right order for certain client problems.
standpoint theorynoun: This theory proposes that social position shapes knowledge, with a standpoint developed through actively examining those influences.
Stanford Achievement Testnoun: A standardized school assessment measures students' learning across subjects including reading, mathematics, language, science, and social studies.
Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scalenoun: A standardized assessment uses twelve suggested tasks to measure how readily someone responds during hypnosis.
Stanford prison studynoun: A controversial 1971 experiment assigned participants prison roles to investigate behavior, but ethical and research flaws limit its conclusions.
Stanford v. Kentuckynoun: A 1989 United States Supreme Court decision allowed execution for crimes committed at ages sixteen or seventeen.
Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale (SB)noun: A standardized intelligence test assesses reasoning, knowledge, visual and spatial skills, and working memory across a wide age range.
staninenoun: A standardized test score scale from 1 to 9, with 5 as average.
stanolonenoun: A manufactured form of the hormone dihydrotestosterone has been used as a medicine for certain breast cancers.
stapedius musclenoun: A tiny muscle inside the middle ear limits stapes movement, reducing vibration transmission during the acoustic reflex.
stapesnoun: A small, stirrup-shaped ear bone passes vibrations from the incus to the inner ear's oval window.
starnoun: In sociometry, a way to map group choices, this person is picked most often as liked or preferred.
star compassnoun: An animal uses the positions or patterns of stars to find direction while navigating at night.
startle responsephrase: A fast, automatic protective reaction to a sudden strong stimulus, such as a loud noise or bright flash.
starvationnoun: A long period of extreme lack of food that weakens the body and slows thinking.
stasisnoun: A condition stays stable or inactive, showing little or no change over a period of time.
STATabbreviation: The Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test measures analytical, creative, and practical thinking through varied research tasks.
statenoun: A temporary overall condition of a person, system, or situation at a given time.
state anxietyphrase: Temporary anxiety caused by a specific situation seen as threatening, and its strength can change over time.
State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)noun: An earlier name for CHIP identifies publicly funded United States health coverage for eligible children beyond usual Medicaid income limits.
state orientationnoun: A response style involves lingering over feelings and choices during difficulties, which can delay decisions and action.
state self-focusnoun: A temporary shift of attention makes a person consciously observe and evaluate themselves as an object of awareness.
state spacenoun: A model maps possible problem situations and the moves connecting them, including starting points and goals.
state theories of hypnosisnoun: These explanations propose that hypnosis produces a special condition of awareness different from ordinary waking consciousness.
State v. Macknoun: A 1980 Minnesota Supreme Court decision excluded eyewitness testimony involving hypnotically retrieved memories because hypnosis was considered unreliable.
state-dependent behaviornoun: A person's actions vary with the emotions they are experiencing at that moment.
state-dependent learningphrase: Memories learned in a certain mood or body state are easier to recall when that same state returns.
state-dependent memorynoun: Remembering can improve when someone's internal physical or mental condition matches the condition present during learning.
state-specific sciencenoun: Charles Tart proposed that different states of consciousness might support different forms of scientific observation and knowledge.
State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)noun: A questionnaire separately measures anxiety felt in a particular situation and a person's general tendency to experience anxiety.
statement validity analysisnoun: A set of assessment methods examines accounts given during investigations to judge credibility, though its accuracy remains debated.
states versus transformationsphrase: Piaget's theory distinguishes children's attention to how things appear from their attention to the changes producing those appearances.
static ataxianoun: Difficulty keeping the body or a limb steady causes swaying or loss of balance while holding a position.
static marriagenoun: A historical relationship label describes a marriage with little personal change that relies on legal commitment for permanence and exclusivity.
static responsenoun: An automatic posture adjustment positions the body to resist gravity or another force acting on it.
static sensenoun: The ability to sense balance helps maintain body position during stillness or movement, using information partly from the inner ear.
stationaritynoun: A time series has stable statistical features, including its average, spread, and relationships between observations separated by fixed intervals.
statisticnoun: A number from a sample that describes something and helps estimate the whole group.
statistical analysisphrase: Using math to examine data, test ideas, and draw conclusions about a larger group.
statistical conclusion validitynoun: The strength of statistical evidence determines how justified conclusions about the presence and size of relationships are.
statistical controlnoun: Researchers use mathematical adjustments to account for other measured factors when examining a relationship between variables.
statistical decision theorynoun: A mathematical framework uses evidence, uncertainty, and the costs of possible outcomes to choose among actions.
statistical dependencenoun: Learning the outcome of one event changes the probability assigned to another event.
statistical determinismnoun: This position holds that probability rules can predict likely event totals across a population under specified conditions.
statistical errornoun: A wrong conclusion from data analysis, often caused by chance, bias, or poor measurement.
statistical hypothesisnoun: A claim about a population or probability model is stated in a form that data can statistically test.
statistical independencenoun: Learning the outcome of one event leaves the probability assigned to another event unchanged.
statistical learning theorynoun: A theoretical approach uses mathematical probability models to explain how learning develops through experience.
statistical modelphrase: A math-based description showing how two or more variables are probably related rather than perfectly linked.
statistical predictionnoun: Measured relationships among variables are used to estimate future events or unknown outcomes.
statistical process control (SPC)noun: Organizations analyze performance measurements over time to detect unusual variation and guide improvements in ongoing work.
statistical psychologynoun: Psychologists apply statistical tools to summarize evidence and investigate patterns in thinking, feeling, and behavior.
statistical significancephrase: Shows a study result is unlikely from chance alone, based on a chosen probability cutoff.
statistical stabilitynoun: Research findings remain reasonably consistent when examined using different samples, study designs, or analysis methods.
statistical testphrase: A math method that shows whether study results are likely real or just due to chance.
statisticsnoun: Methods for collecting, organizing, and analyzing number data to answer questions and draw conclusions.
statoconiumnoun: A tiny calcium particle in the inner ear helps the body detect gravity and changes in head movement.
statokinetic dissociationnoun: Following damage to the visual system, a person may detect moving lights while failing to see still ones.
statusnoun: A person's or group's rank, respect, or standing compared with others in a social setting.
status differentiationnoun: Over time, some group members gain authority while others lose influence within that group.
status epilepticusphrase: A dangerous condition in which seizures keep happening without stopping and need emergency treatment right away.
status generalizationnoun: People may receive greater respect in a new setting because of prestige gained elsewhere, even when it is irrelevant.
status incongruencenoun: A mismatch occurs between someone's social standing, qualifications, role, or the status others expect them to hold.
status offensenoun: An act breaks a rule of law because of the person's age or legal category, rather than being universally prohibited.
status planningnoun: Governments deliberately change a language's public standing or official uses, such as its place in schools.
status relationsnoun: Patterns of respect and prestige shape who has authority and whose lead others follow in a group.
status symbolnoun: A possession, activity, or membership signals someone's social prestige, sometimes suggesting more standing than they actually have.
status-quo biasnoun: People tend to favor their current situation or option simply because it is already in place.
statutory rapenoun: Sexual intercourse is a criminal offense when a participant is below the legally permitted age for consent.
STDabbreviation: These letters stand for sexually transmitted disease, meaning an illness caused by an infection passed through sexual activity.
steady statenoun: A system stays relatively stable over time, even when ongoing changes balance one another.
stealing thunderphrase: An attorney reveals unfavorable information before the opposing side does, hoping to lessen its effect on jurors.
stealth jurornoun: A juror deliberately hides personal biases during selection, often hoping to influence the verdict or gain personal benefits.
steatopygianoun: A body feature involves a particularly large accumulation of fatty tissue around the buttocks.
Steele–Richardson–Olszewski syndromenoun: A progressive brain disorder affects eye movements and balance, and can also change speech, swallowing, thinking, and personality.
Steinert’s diseasenoun: An inherited disorder causes muscle wasting and difficulty relaxing muscles, sometimes alongside problems affecting the eyes and heart.
Steinzor effectnoun: During group discussions, people tend to speak next after someone seated across from them has spoken.
Stelazinenoun: A brand name identifies trifluoperazine, an antipsychotic medicine that mainly works by blocking certain dopamine receptors.
stellate cellnoun: A neuron has branches spreading outward in a pattern that gives it a star-shaped appearance.
stem cellnoun: An unspecialized cell can make more cells like itself and develop into specialized cells, including some nerve cells.
stem-and-leaf plotnoun: A number display groups values by shared leading digits and lists their final digits alongside, preserving individual values.
stem-completion tasknoun: Participants finish words from their opening letters, allowing researchers to study memory and the influence of earlier experiences.
steno-prefix: A word part added at the beginning conveys narrowness or a contracted condition.
stenosisnoun: An internal opening or channel is unusually tight, which can block movement through it or press on nearby tissues.
stenosis of aqueduct of Sylviusnoun: Narrowing of the brain's cerebral aqueduct can obstruct fluid movement and cause fluid buildup called hydrocephalus.
stepdown selectionnoun: A regression method starts with all candidate predictors and removes them individually according to a chosen statistical rule.
stepdown testnoun: Researchers assess rodent memory by timing hesitation before leaving a platform where stepping down previously led to a brief shock.
stepfamilynoun: A family formed when adults join households and one or both already have children.
stepping reflexphrase: Newborns briefly make walking-like leg movements when held upright with their feet on a surface.
stepup selectionnoun: A regression method adds predictors individually, choosing the strongest improvement at each stage until a preset stopping rule applies.
stepwise regressionphrase: Builds a prediction equation by adding or removing predictors one at a time using preset rules.
stereoacuitynoun: A person's vision can distinguish small differences in depth using differences between the images received by their eyes.
stereoblindnessnoun: A person cannot use differences between their two eyes' images to perceive depth, although other depth cues may remain useful.
stereochemical smell theorynoun: A historical proposal explains smells through odor molecules fitting receptors according to their three-dimensional shapes.
stereocilianoun: Tiny projections on inner ear sensory cells bend with movement, helping convert sound and balance information into electrical signals.
stereognosisnoun: A person recognizes an object's shape through touch without needing to look at it.
stereogramnoun: A picture creates apparent depth when the viewer combines slightly different views presented to the two eyes.
stereoisomersnoun: Molecules share the same atoms and connections but differ in how those atoms are arranged in three-dimensional space.
stereopsisnoun: The brain uses small differences between the eyes' views to produce a sense of depth.
stereoscopenoun: A viewing device gives each eye a slightly different picture, allowing the images to combine into apparent depth.
stereoscopic acuitynoun: Visual sensitivity determines how small a depth difference someone can detect by comparing the eyes' different views.
stereoscopic depth perceptionnoun: Small differences between what each eye sees allow the brain to judge objects' relative depth.
stereoscopic motion picturenoun: A film creates apparent depth by showing each eye a moving view recorded from a slightly different position.
stereoscopic visionnoun: The brain combines the eyes' slightly different images to perceive how objects are spaced in depth.
stereotaxisnoun: An organism actively changes location in response to touching a solid surface or object.
stereotaxynoun: A technique uses three-dimensional coordinates to locate precise points inside the body, often to guide instruments in the brain.
stereotropismnoun: An organism changes its orientation in response to physical contact with an object or surface.
stereotypenoun: An oversimplified belief about what people in a group are like.
stereotype accuracynoun: A perceiver correctly judges which traits someone shares with a group stereotype and how closely those traits match.
stereotype threatphrase: Worry that others will judge you through a negative group stereotype can hurt your actual performance.
stereotyped behaviornoun: Behavior follows a fixed pattern and changes little even when the surrounding situation changes.
stereotyped movementnoun: A bodily action or gesture occurs repeatedly in a similar form, such as rocking or waving a hand.
stereotypic movement disordernoun: A developmental disorder involves repetitive, apparently purposeless movements that significantly disrupt everyday activities or cause injury.
stereotypynoun: A repeated pattern of speech, movement, or other behavior persists with little variation.
steric theory of odornoun: A historical theory proposes that smells depend on how molecules’ shapes fit particular receptors in the nose.
sterilitynoun: An organism lacks the ability to reproduce and produce offspring.
sterilizationnoun: A procedure or physical change removes an organism’s ability to reproduce sexually.
Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test (STAT)noun: A research intelligence test gives separate scores for analyzing problems, creating ideas, and handling practical situations.
steroidnoun: A family of body chemicals built from four linked rings, including sex hormones and cholesterol.
steroid hormonephrase: A hormone made from cholesterol that passes into cells, including sex hormones and stress hormones.
steroid usenoun: People take anabolic-androgenic steroids to build muscle, improve physical performance, or change their appearance.
stethographnoun: An instrument records breathing by tracking respiratory movements or changes in lung volume.
Stevens lawnoun: A mathematical rule models perceived intensity as physical stimulus intensity raised to a power, multiplied by a constant.
Stevens–Johnson syndromenoun: A serious reaction, often triggered by medication, causes blistering and damage to skin and moist body linings.
Stewart–Morel syndromenoun: A historically described syndrome links thickening of the skull’s frontal bone with obesity, headaches, and possible neurological or cognitive changes.
sthenic typenoun: A historical body classification describes people as physically strong and vigorous, resembling the athletic category in Kretschmer’s system.
sthenometernoun: An instrument measures how much force a person’s muscles can produce.
STIabbreviation: Short for sexually transmitted infection, this names an infection that can spread through sexual contact.
stick shakernoun: A device makes a control stick vibrate to alert its operator to particular operating conditions.
stiffnessnoun: Muscles or joints resist movement, making bending or stretching more difficult.
stigmanoun: A harmful social label that brings disapproval and unfair exclusion over a trait or condition.
Stigma Impact Scale (SIS)noun: A questionnaire measures how negative attitudes about a health condition affect people’s lives and their families.
stigmatophilianoun: Sexual attraction or arousal centers on a partner’s tattoos or scars, or on being tattooed oneself.
Stiles–Crawford effectnoun: Light can appear different in brightness or color depending on where it enters the pupil.
Stilling Color Vision Testnoun: An early color vision test used numbers formed from colored dots to identify difficulties distinguishing colors.
stim testnoun: A demonstration before polygraph testing aims to persuade examinees that the examiner can reliably uncover lies, sometimes using trickery.
stimulantnoun: A drug that speeds up central nervous system activity, increasing alertness, energy, or movement.
stimulant intoxicationphrase: A pattern of recent stimulant use causing behavior changes and body signs like alertness, fast heart rate, or agitation.
stimulant use disorderphrase: A harmful pattern of using stimulant drugs that causes cravings, problems in life, and sometimes tolerance or withdrawal.
stimulant withdrawalphrase: Unpleasant physical and mood symptoms that happen after heavy stimulant use stops or sharply decreases.
stimulateverb: To cause a person, sense organ, or nerve cell to become more active or alert.
stimulating occupationnoun: An activity involving bodily movement raises someone's level of alertness or excitement.
stimulationnoun: Causing a body part, sense cell, or neuron to become more active and respond.
stimulation effectsnoun: A stimulus changes electrical conditions across a nerve or muscle cell’s membrane, producing activity such as signaling or contraction.
stimulatornoun: A device delivers controlled electrical signals to activate a sensory receptor.
stimulusnoun: Anything inside or outside you that causes a response or activates a sense organ.
stimulus codingnoun: An experienced stimulus is stored in memory in a particular form, such as a mental map.
stimulus continuumnoun: A set of stimuli varies along one shared feature, such as pitch, brightness, or color.
stimulus controlphrase: When cues in the situation strongly guide whether, how often, or how a behavior happens.
stimulus control therapyphrase: A treatment for insomnia that retrains bedtime cues so bed triggers sleep instead of worry or wakefulness.
stimulus differentiationnoun: An organism learns to tell stimuli apart by developing different responses to them.
stimulus discriminationphrase: Recognizing that similar cues are not the same and reacting differently to each one.
stimulus elementnoun: One feature, such as color or shape, forms part of a more complex stimulus.
stimulus equivalencenoun: Different stimuli become interchangeable in learned relationships, including matching themselves, reversing learned matches, and linking through shared matches.
stimulus evaluation checks (SECs)noun: In Scherer’s appraisal theory, people assess an event’s features and importance in ways that shape their emotional response.
stimulus filteringnoun: Specialized sensory and nervous structures favor biologically important signals while limiting transmission of less relevant information.
stimulus functionnoun: A stimulus plays a particular role in bringing about an organism’s response.
stimulus generalizationphrase: A learned response happens to similar cues, not just the exact cue used during training.
stimulus gradientnoun: A stimulus varies in degree along a particular feature, such as loudness or brightness.
stimulus objectnoun: Something in the environment, including a person or condition, acts as a stimulus that prompts an organism’s response.
stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA)noun: An interval separates the beginning of one stimulus from the beginning of another.
stimulus overloadphrase: Feeling stressed because too many sights, sounds, or demands hit at once, leading a person to pull back.
stimulus propositionnoun: In bioinformational theory, a unit of information describes features of a situation represented in mental imagery.
stimulus saliencephrase: How much something stands out in importance, strength, or noticeability, often speeding learning.
stimulus samplingnoun: Researchers use several examples from a stimulus category so findings are less dependent on one example’s unusual features.
stimulus sampling theory (SST)noun: Estes’s mathematical theory proposes that each learning trial involves only some of the hypothetical elements making up a stimulus.
stimulus setnoun: In reaction time studies, a person prepares to notice an expected stimulus by concentrating on it.
stimulus situationnoun: The combined features of an event form a whole that an organism responds to.
stimulus strengthphrase: How strong a cue is and how likely it is to produce a response.
stimulus substitutionphrase: In classical conditioning, a learned cue acts enough like the natural trigger to produce a similar response.
stimulus valuenoun: A stimulus has a measurable physical strength, expressed in units appropriate to its type.
stimulus-boundadjective: Behavior or perception depends strongly on the immediate stimulus, with limited flexibility or interpretation.
stimulus-element approachnoun: This approach proposes that people perceive each component of a combined signal just as they perceive that component separately.
stimulus-independent and task-unrelated thoughts (SITUTs)noun: Thoughts arise independently of current sensory input and concern topics unrelated to the task being performed.
stimulus-intensity dynamismnoun: Hull’s historical learning theory proposes that increasing a stimulus’s intensity increases the strength of the response it produces.
stimulus–response (S–R)noun: A psychological approach explains behavior by studying relationships between events that stimulate an organism and its resulting actions.
stimulus–response chainnoun: A sequence unfolds when each response creates a new cue that prompts the next response.
stimulus–response compatibilitynoun: The fit between a stimulus and its required response affects how quickly and accurately someone responds.
stimulus–response theorynoun: A behavioral theory explains actions through connections between stimuli and the responses they produce.
stimulus–stimulus learning modelnoun: A learning model emphasizes forming mental associations between stimuli, such as connecting a signal with an expected outcome.
stirrupnoun: The stapes is a tiny middle ear bone that passes sound vibrations to the inner ear’s oval window.
STMabbreviation: Short-term memory briefly holds a small amount of information, usually for seconds unless it is actively maintained.
stochasticadjective: A process described this way involves chance, so probabilities describe its possible outcomes without guaranteeing a particular result.
stochastic independencenoun: Two events or processes are statistically independent when knowing about one does not change the probabilities for the other.
stochastic modelnoun: A mathematical representation includes chance variation to estimate possible outcomes and how likely each outcome is.
stochastic processnoun: A sequence of changing values includes randomness and is described using probabilities across time or ordered steps.
stochastic variablenoun: A numerical quantity takes different possible values depending on the outcome of a chance process.
Stockholm syndromenoun: A disputed label describes apparent affection or loyalty that some people held captive may develop toward their captors.
stocking anesthesianoun: A functional sensory symptom involves lost feeling over the foot and lower leg in a pattern resembling a stocking.
stomach loadingnoun: Researchers experimentally fill an animal's stomach with water, inactive material, or an expanding balloon to study responses to stomach fullness.
stopnoun: A speech sound made by fully blocking airflow and then releasing it, like p or t.
stop-signal tasknoun: Participants begin responding to a cue, then sometimes receive a delayed signal to stop, allowing researchers to measure response inhibition.
storagenoun: The keeping of information in memory after learning and before later recall.
storage capacityphrase: How much information a memory system can hold at one time or over the long term.
storage-and-transfer model of memorynoun: A theory proposes that information moves between separate memory stores that hold it for different lengths of time.
storm-and-stress periodnoun: A historical description portrays adolescence as a time of strong emotional turmoil and conflict.
story modelnoun: A theory proposes that jurors build stories from trial evidence to understand, remember, and evaluate what happened.
story-recall testnoun: A memory assessment asks someone to repeat details from a story they have heard or had read aloud.
storytellingnoun: A client's telling of life events and problems gives clues to hidden motives and conflicts.
stottingnoun: Some hoofed animals leap with stiff legs and all feet airborne, possibly signaling alertness and fitness to predators.
STPabbreviation: The initials name DOM, or dimethoxymethylamphetamine, a manufactured hallucinogenic drug that can strongly alter perception.
strabismic amblyopianoun: During visual development, eye misalignment can lead the brain to favor one eye, weakening vision in the other.
strabismometernoun: An eye examination instrument measures how far the eyes deviate from proper alignment with each other.
strabismusnoun: The eyes point in different directions, which can interfere with coordinated vision and sometimes cause double images.
straightadjective: Describing someone sexually attracted to the other sex, meaning heterosexual.
strainnoun: Feeling overloaded when demands on a person or system become too great to handle.
straitjacketnoun: A garment with long sleeves that secure the arms was historically used to physically restrain people in psychiatric institutions.
Strange Situationphrase: A lab test watches how babies respond to separation and reunion to judge whether attachment to a caregiver is secure.
strange-hand signnoun: A neurological disturbance makes someone unable to recognize their own hand through touch, often involving disrupted connections between brain hemispheres.
stranger anxietyphrase: Young children's fear or upset around unfamiliar people, usually starting near 8 to 9 months.
stranger distressnoun: An infant shows upset around an unfamiliar person, without the behavior necessarily revealing which specific emotion the infant feels.
strangulated affectnoun: An early psychoanalytic idea proposed that emotion prevented from being expressed could instead appear as physical symptoms.
stratanoun: Separate layers or subgroups within a population, often used for sampling or comparing test scores.
strategic family therapyphrase: Uses planned therapist actions to change family behaviors directly instead of exploring hidden causes.
strategic human resource management (SHRM)noun: An organization coordinates employee development and well-being with its values and long-term goals to improve overall performance.
strategic intervention therapynoun: A family therapy approach uses targeted, creative interventions to change behavior and interaction patterns that keep problems going.
strategic therapyphrase: A family therapy approach that changes problem behaviors by altering failed solution patterns instead of exploring inner conflicts.
strategynoun: A planned way of acting to reach a goal or handle a task.
strategy choice modelnoun: A theory proposes that children choose among competing problem-solving methods, increasingly favoring efficient ones while retaining less efficient options.
stratificationnoun: People or things are organized into layers, often with higher and lower social status.
stratified samplingphrase: Choosing people from each subgroup in a population so every subgroup is included in the sample.
stratumnoun: One subgroup within a population or sample, often used to keep test groups balanced.
stream of consciousnessnoun: Conscious experience is understood as an ongoing flow of changing thoughts, images, feelings, and sensations.
stream olfactometernoun: A smell research instrument introduces odor into steadily flowing air to control what reaches a person's nose.
streamingnoun: Grouping students by measured school ability into separate classes, each with work matched to that level.
streaming medianoun: Audio or video plays while it is being delivered, allowing use before the entire recording arrives.
street hustlernoun: In this historical usage, the label describes a male sex worker who seeks male clients in public street settings.
street intelligencenoun: Practical thinking skills help people solve everyday problems in familiar settings, even when formal tests do not capture those abilities.
strength of associationnoun: A statistical measure shows how closely variables are related, such as how strongly differences in one accompany differences in another.
strength trainingnoun: Exercise uses resistance, such as weights or body weight, to develop muscles' ability to produce force.
strephosymbolianoun: A historical label describes reading or writing difficulty involving reversed letters or changes in their order.
stressnoun: Mind and body changes triggered by challenges or pressures that affect feelings, behavior, and health.
stress appraisal and coping modelnoun: A theory explains stress responses through judgments about a situation's threat, available coping resources, and efforts to manage it.
stress casualtynoun: A military designation describes a service member whose reactions to operational stress prevent them from carrying out their duties.
stress hormonephrase: A body chemical released during stress that prepares you for action, such as cortisol or adrenaline.
stress immunitynoun: A person shows unusually strong tolerance for emotional strain or little apparent response to stressful events.
stress immunizationnoun: A proposed process suggests that manageable stress early in life can improve a person's ability to handle later stress.
stress incontinencenoun: Urine leaks unintentionally when coughing, laughing, exercising, or similar actions increase pressure on the bladder.
stress interviewphrase: A job interview that intentionally creates pressure to see how well someone handles stress.
stress managementphrase: Using methods like relaxation and slow breathing to handle stressful situations and the strain they cause.
stress reactionnoun: The body and mind make coordinated changes to respond to a challenge or something experienced as threatening.
stress spillovernoun: Stress affecting one family member changes their interactions with another, reducing the other person's well-being.
stress testphrase: A planned evaluation that checks how well someone handles a complex task under pressure.
stress tolerancenoun: A person can continue functioning effectively under pressure while keeping anxiety at a manageable level.
stress trainingnoun: Structured activities teach people to recognize stress, understand its causes, and practice ways to manage demanding situations.
stress-buffering theorynoun: A theory proposes that supportive relationships reduce stress's negative effects by providing comfort, practical help, and better ways to cope.
stress-decompensation modelnoun: A proposed explanation suggests that intense stress can progressively overwhelm coping, leaving behavior increasingly disorganized and daily functioning impaired.
stress-induced analgesianoun: Intense stress can temporarily reduce sensitivity to pain through changes in the body's pain-regulating systems.
stress-inoculation training (SIT)noun: A cognitive behavioral program teaches stress awareness and coping skills, then guides practice in increasingly demanding situations.
stress–diathesis modelnoun: A theory proposes that an underlying biological susceptibility combines with stressful experiences to increase the likelihood of illness.
stress–vulnerability modelnoun: A theory proposes that biological susceptibility and psychological or social stress together influence whether episodes of mental health symptoms occur.
stressornoun: A demand or change inside or outside a person that triggers body or emotional strain.
stressor aftereffectsnoun: Changes in mood, motivation, or behavior can linger after exposure to a stressful environmental condition has ended.
stretch marksnoun: These skin streaks can develop during rapid growth, pregnancy, or certain hormone changes and often fade over time.
stretch receptornoun: A sensory receptor detects stretching, especially within muscles, and sends information about it to the nervous system.
stretch reflexnoun: An automatic response makes a stretched muscle tighten, helping maintain posture and support the body.
stria atrophicanoun: A stretch mark is a streak of changed skin that may appear during growth or pregnancy and gradually become paler.
stria terminalisnoun: A bundle of nerve fibers carries amygdala signals toward brain regions involved in emotional and bodily responses.
stria vascularisnoun: A tissue strip rich in blood vessels forms part of the wall surrounding a fluid channel in the inner ear.
striate cortexnoun: A region at the brain’s back begins cortical processing of visual information arriving through the thalamus.
striated musclenoun: In this usage, skeletal muscle moves bones and has fibers that look striped under a microscope.
striatumnoun: A group of deep brain areas that help control movement, habits, reward, and attention.
strict scrutinynoun: This demanding U.S. constitutional test requires certain laws to be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest.
stridor dentiumnoun: Repeated teeth grinding or clenching can happen during sleep or waking hours and may accompany emotional tension.
stridulationnoun: Some animals, including crickets, make communication sounds by rubbing one body part against another.
stringnoun: A series of words or parts of words arranged in order for language analysis.
striving for superiorityphrase: A built-in push to grow toward wholeness and excellence, not to dominate other people.
stroboscopenoun: A device rapidly flashes light or presents successive pictures, allowing researchers to study how people perceive movement.
stroboscopic illusionnoun: Brief, repeated views can make separate images seem moving or make moving objects appear still or reversed.
strokenoun: A sudden block or bleed in the brain cuts off oxygen and damages brain tissue.
strong egonoun: In psychoanalytic theory, this capacity helps someone balance desires, moral demands, and reality while handling stress.
Strong Interest Inventory (SII)phrase: A career interest test that matches people's likes with patterns seen in satisfied workers.
strong law of effectnoun: Thorndike initially proposed that pleasant outcomes strengthen connections between situations and responses, whereas unpleasant outcomes weaken those connections.
strong law of large numbersnoun: Under suitable conditions, averages of repeated random observations converge to their expected value with probability one as observations continue indefinitely.
strong methodsnoun: Problem-solving approaches use detailed knowledge of a particular subject to guide solutions within that area.
Stroop Color–Word Interference Testnoun: This assessment compares reading words, naming colors, and naming ink colors while ignoring conflicting color words to examine attention and inhibition.
Stroop effectnoun: People usually name ink colors more slowly when printed color words conflict with those colors.
structural analysisnoun: An approach examines the proposed parts of mind or personality and how those parts fit together.
structural approachphrase: Views personality as three parts, id, ego, and superego, which often pull in different directions.
structural coefficientnoun: In structural equation modeling, this number estimates outcome change per unit of predictor change, with other predictors held constant.
structural commitmentnoun: In Johnson’s relationship model, people stay together because leaving would bring external costs, such as financial losses or disrupted connections.
structural constraint theorynoun: This theory proposes that much knowledge is inborn and biological limits guide how thinking develops.
structural disordernoun: A health condition results from damaged or unusually formed body tissue or organs.
structural equation modelingphrase: A statistical method tests how hidden traits are linked using patterns among several measured variables.
structural family therapyphrase: A family treatment that changes unhealthy interaction patterns by reshaping roles, rules, and closeness between family members.
structural groupnoun: A therapy group deliberately combines people with differing characteristics, aiming to make their interactions helpful for everyone’s treatment goals.
structural hypothesisnoun: Freud proposed that personality involves the id’s desires, the ego’s practical balancing, and the superego’s moral standards.
structural integrationnoun: A deep massage approach aims to improve posture and ease tension, based on proposed links between body alignment and well-being.
structural interventionphrase: A public health action lowers risk by changing community rules, laws, or social conditions.
structural matrixnoun: In structured interactional group therapy, a therapist’s framework organizes discussion, usually around a different participant each session.
structural modelphrase: Freud's view splits personality into id, ego, and superego, which manage urges, reality, and morals.
structural neuroimagingphrase: Methods that make pictures of the brain's physical structure, not how active it is.
structural psychologynoun: An early psychological school studied conscious experience by training people to describe its basic elements through careful self-observation.
structural therapyphrase: A family treatment that changes roles, rules, and boundaries so the household works in a healthier way.
structural zeronoun: A table entry must be zero because the outcome it represents is impossible under the study’s design or rules.
structuralismnoun: An early psychology movement sought to identify basic elements of conscious experience using trained self-observation.
structuralistnoun: A therapist using this approach seeks better interactions by changing how a family or another social system is organized.
structurenoun: The way parts are arranged into a stable whole, rather than what that whole does.
structure coefficientnoun: A correlation measures how closely an observed variable relates to a score predicted or constructed from several variables.
structure of an attitudenoun: An attitude’s organization includes its mental contents, their number, and the patterns and strengths of connections among them.
structure of intellect model (SOI)noun: Guilford’s disputed theory organized intelligence into many separate abilities by combining information types, mental processes, and kinds of results.
structure wordnoun: A word such as “and” or “the” mainly organizes grammar rather than naming an object, action, or quality.
structured autobiographynoun: A client writes about their life using a counselor’s questions or topics to explore experiences, feelings, and behavior patterns.
structured groupphrase: In chemistry, a set of connected atoms gives a molecule its basic shape and behavior.
structured interactional group psychotherapynoun: A therapist organizes group conversations, usually choosing a different participant as the main focus at each meeting.
structured interviewphrase: Uses the same planned questions and scoring for every applicant, making answers easier to compare fairly.
structured learningnoun: A psychotherapy method builds life skills through observing examples, acting out situations, receiving feedback, and practicing between sessions.
structured learning groupnoun: Participants follow guided activities and assignments together to understand themselves better, build social skills, and work through relationship problems.
structured observationnoun: Researchers arrange a controlled situation and record clearly specified behaviors using consistent rules for identifying and counting them.
structured playnoun: An adult organizes or guides a play activity that follows rules.
structured Q sortnoun: A person sorts statements or other items into categories, with a fixed number required in each category.
structured stimulusnoun: A clear, organized stimulus tends to guide perception mainly through its own features, leaving less room for personal interpretation.
structures of the wholenoun: In Piaget’s theory, mental operations belong to coordinated systems that connect logical actions, including actions that can be mentally reversed.
structuringnoun: An early therapy talk that explains goals, rules, fees, time limits, and each person's role.
struggle for existencenoun: Organisms compete when they need the same limited resources, a process that helps shape natural selection.
strychninenoun: A poisonous plant substance blocks glycine’s inhibitory action in the nervous system and can trigger severe muscle spasms.
student counselingnoun: Counselors help students plan their education, choose courses or schools, improve study habits, and handle difficulties affecting learning.
student–teacher evaluationnoun: Students give feedback about an instructor’s teaching, often through questionnaires, to help assess and improve instruction.
student’s diseasenoun: After learning about an illness or mental disorder, someone may believe they have its symptoms.
Student’s t distributionnoun: A probability curve used in statistics accounts for uncertainty when estimating population variability from sample data.
Student’s t testnoun: A statistical test uses the t distribution to evaluate claims about averages, with variability estimated from samples.
Studentizationnoun: A statistical procedure divides a statistic by its estimated standard error to reduce dependence on unknown population variability.
Studentized range statisticnoun: A statistic expresses the largest gap among sample averages relative to estimated sampling variability when comparing several groups.
Studentized residualnoun: An observed value's prediction error is divided by its estimated standard deviation to help assess a regression model.
Students of the International Positive Psychology Association (SIPPA)noun: This student branch of IPPA supports interest in research about well-being and how people thrive.
students’ evaluation of teaching (SET)noun: Students provide feedback about an instructor's teaching, often through questionnaires that can guide improvements.
studynoun: A planned research project gathers information to describe, explain, or predict something psychologists want to understand.
Study of Valuesnoun: A personality questionnaire compares how strongly someone prioritizes knowledge, practical gain, beauty, helping others, influence, and religion.
study skillnoun: A method helps someone learn material through activities such as organizing ideas, making notes, or practicing recall.
study-phase retrieval theorynoun: A proposed explanation of spaced learning suggests that encountering material again strengthens memory by bringing back its earlier presentation.
stupornoun: A near-unconscious state where a person barely responds, moves little, and seems confused.
Sturge–Weber syndromenoun: A condition present from birth involves unusual blood vessels and may cause facial birthmarks, seizures, eye problems, and developmental difficulties.
Sturm und Drang periodnoun: A historical description portrays adolescence as a time of strong emotional upheaval, a pattern that is not universal.
stutteringnoun: A speech problem with repeated or stretched sounds and pauses that disrupt smooth talking.
stuttering gaitnoun: A walking pattern involves hesitant, interrupted steps and can occur with different neurological or psychological conditions.
STXabbreviation: Saxitoxin is a toxin that blocks certain sodium channels, preventing normal electrical signaling in nerves.
stylistic ratingsnoun: Evaluations judge artwork by technical features, including its lines, shapes, arrangement, and textures.
stylus mazenoun: A maze task requires guiding a pointed instrument along paths using sight or touch.
subacute spongiform encephalopathy (SSE)noun: Another name for Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease describes a rapidly worsening brain illness caused by misfolded prion proteins.
subarachnoid hemorrhagephrase: Bleeding into the space around the brain, often causing sudden headache, pressure, and possible loss of consciousness.
subarachnoid spacenoun: A fluid-filled gap lies between the arachnoid and pia membranes surrounding the brain and the spinal cord.
subcallosal gyrusnoun: A small brain fold sits underneath the front of the corpus callosum, the bundle connecting the brain’s two halves.
subceptionnoun: Information is registered without conscious awareness, sometimes described in Rogers's theory as detecting experiences that threaten one's self-image.
subcommissural organnoun: A small cluster of fluid-lining brain cells releases substances near the cerebral aqueduct, with functions still incompletely understood.
subconsciousnoun: An everyday, imprecise label describes mental activity or contents outside a person's current awareness.
subcorticaladjective: Describes brain structures or activity located beneath the cerebral cortex, the brain's outer layer.
subcortical aphasianoun: Language difficulties result from damage to deeper brain regions beneath the cortex, such as the basal ganglia.
subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathynoun: Also called Binswanger's disease, this condition damages deep brain white matter through blood vessel disease, progressively affecting thinking and behavior.
subcortical centernoun: A region beneath the brain's cortex carries out particular tasks, such as regulating thirst, movement, or sleep.
subcortical dementianoun: A pattern of declining mental abilities linked to deeper brain dysfunction often includes slower thinking, memory difficulties, and mood changes.
subcortical learningnoun: Learning relies on brain structures beneath the cortex, as happens with some simple habits and associations.
subcultural delinquencynoun: Young people's lawbreaking is explained as following peer-group values that encourage or approve such behavior.
subculturenoun: A group within a broader society shares distinctive interests, practices, or beliefs that help shape its identity.
subculture of violencenoun: A criminological theory proposes that some groups develop shared norms approving violence in certain situations.
subcutaneous injectionnoun: A substance is delivered into the tissue layer just under the skin using an injection.
subcutaneous sensibilitynoun: Nerve endings located under the skin detect stimulation, including pressure and vibration.
subdelirious statenoun: An early state preceding delirium may involve restlessness, irritability, heightened sensitivity, headache, and shifting emotions.
subduraladjective: Something lies beneath the dura, the tough outer membrane protecting the brain and the spinal cord.
subdural hematomanoun: A collection of blood beneath the brain's tough outer covering can press on brain tissue and affect thinking or movement.
subdural hemorrhagenoun: Blood escapes from vessels beneath the brain's tough outer membrane, often following an injury to the head.
subfecunditynoun: A population has a lower capacity to produce offspring than the average used for comparison.
subfornical organnoun: A small brain structure beneath the fornix detects signals such as angiotensin II and helps regulate thirst and drinking.
subgoalnoun: A smaller objective serves as a step toward reaching a larger objective.
subgranular zonenoun: A narrow region bordering the dentate gyrus's granule cell layer can produce new neurons in adult mammals.
subiculumnoun: A region within the hippocampal formation connects with nearby memory structures and helps carry signals to other brain areas.
subitizeverb: To recognize the exact number of a few objects immediately, without counting them individually, is to subitize.
subjectnoun: The person or animal whose behavior, answers, or test scores are being studied or judged.
subject biasnoun: Participants' knowledge or beliefs about a study influence their responses and may distort its findings.
subject historynoun: A participant's background information includes experiences and circumstances, such as schooling, employment, and social surroundings.
subject matchingnoun: Researchers pair or group participants with similar relevant characteristics to make study conditions more comparable at the start.
subject maturationnoun: Participants change naturally over time through growth, aging, tiredness, or similar processes that may affect study results.
subject of consciousnessnoun: The experiencing self is the observer who notices thoughts, feelings, and perceptions from a first-person viewpoint.
subject rolenoun: A study participant adopts a pattern of behavior based on what they believe the research situation expects.
subject sophisticationnoun: Familiarity with research methods can shape how participants behave, including whether they look for hidden purposes or deception.
subject variablenoun: A participant's existing characteristic or experience may influence study findings even when it is not the researcher's main focus.
subject-matter expertnoun: A team member provides detailed knowledge or advanced skills in a particular area needed for the group's work.
subjectionnoun: A person or group lives under another's control, often experiencing that control as restrictive or oppressive.
subjectiveadjective: Based on personal feelings or opinions rather than facts other people can directly check.
subjective attributenoun: A perceived quality, such as sweetness or brightness, depends on the particular person experiencing it.
subjective colorsnoun: Illusory colors can appear when a patterned black-and-white disk spins, despite the disk having no colored areas.
subjective competitive situationnoun: A person interprets and accepts a situation as competition involving comparison of performance with others or a standard.
subjective contournoun: An observer sees a boundary that surrounding visual clues suggest, even though no actual line marks it.
subjective expected utility (SEU)noun: A decision model assigns choices value by weighting each possible outcome's personal usefulness by its estimated likelihood and adding the results.
subjective expected valuenoun: An option's personal worth combines how desirable its outcome seems with how likely the person believes that outcome is.
subjective fatiguenoun: A person feels tired or worn out, whether or not testing shows a matching decline in performance.
subjective idealismnoun: A philosophical position holds that perceiving minds partly or entirely create what people regard as the outside world.
subjective normphrase: A person's sense of whether important others think they should do a certain behavior.
subjective organizationnoun: A learner creates personal connections or groupings among material to make it easier to remember.
subjective priornoun: A researcher assigns probabilities to possible unknown values using personal knowledge and judgment before examining the current data.
subjective probabilitynoun: A person estimates how likely something is using their own experience, knowledge, and judgment.
subjective psychologynoun: An approach to studying the mind emphasizes people's descriptions of their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
subjective responsibilitynoun: In Piaget's proposed account of moral development, children increasingly judge actions by the person's intentions as well as consequences.
subjective scoringphrase: Scoring that depends on a judge's opinions rather than fixed rules or one correct answer.
subjective testphrase: Answers are scored using a rater's judgment rather than a fixed answer key or strict rules.
subjective tonenoun: A person hears a tone that is absent from the sound entering their ears.
subjective visual fieldnoun: The area visible while the eyes remain fixed is considered as the particular observer experiences it.
subjective well-being (SWB)noun: A person's own judgment of life satisfaction and their usual balance of pleasant and unpleasant feelings.
subjective-equality pointnoun: At this comparison setting, a person has equal chances of rating a stimulus higher or lower than a reference stimulus.
subjectivismnoun: A philosophical view holds that judgments about truth or value depend on individual perspectives rather than independent facts.
subjectivitynoun: Letting personal feelings or beliefs shape research judgments instead of sticking to objective evidence.
subjects-to-variables rationoun: A study compares its participant count with its variable count to help assess whether its sample size is adequate.
subjects’ rightsnoun: Research participants have protections involving informed choice, privacy, study information, and freedom to stop participating without penalty.
subjunctivenoun: A grammatical verb mood expresses imagined situations, wishes, demands, or possibilities rather than stating something as an established fact.
sublimationnoun: Unwanted sexual or aggressive urges are unconsciously turned into safer, socially approved activities.
Sublimazenoun: A brand name identifies injectable fentanyl, a powerful opioid medicine used for pain relief and as part of anesthesia.
subliminaladjective: Describes sights or sounds too faint to notice consciously but that may still affect behavior.
subliminal consciousnessnoun: Mental processing can allow an unnoticed stimulus to influence responses without the person consciously experiencing that stimulus.
subliminal learningnoun: Information or response patterns are acquired through signals presented too faintly or briefly to be consciously noticed.
subliminal perceptionnoun: The brain registers sensory information that is too faint or brief for the person to consciously detect.
subliminal persuasionnoun: Messages presented outside conscious detection may influence attitudes, although their effects are limited and depend on the situation.
subliminal primingnoun: An undetected stimulus changes how someone later processes or responds to the same or related information.
subliminal processnoun: Mental activity occurs without explicit awareness and generally without the person deliberately directing it.
subliminal propagandanoun: Persuasive images or words promoting a cause are flashed too briefly to notice consciously, with possible but limited influence.
subliminal stimulationnoun: Sensory input falls below the intensity needed to produce a specified response, often conscious detection.
submissionnoun: Giving in to another person's demands or control instead of acting on your own will.
submissive signalnoun: A lower-ranking animal communicates that it will stop competing with a higher-ranking animal for resources, often reducing aggression.
submissivenessnoun: A habit of giving in to other people's wishes or orders.
subnormaladjective: An older descriptive word indicates that a measurement or level falls below what is usual or expected.
subnormal period of neuronnoun: After firing, a nerve cell briefly becomes less excitable than usual, sometimes following a phase of increased excitability.
suboccipital puncturenoun: A medical procedure uses a needle near the skull's base to access a fluid-filled space and collect cerebrospinal fluid.
subordinatenoun: A worker who is under a supervisor's authority in an organization.
subordinate categorynoun: A specific grouping sits within a familiar everyday category, such as mountain bikes within bikes.
subordinate clausenoun: A group of words containing a subject and verb depends on a main clause to form a complete sentence.
subordinationnoun: Someone or something is placed in a lower position of rank, authority, or importance relative to others.
Suboxonenoun: A medicine sold under this name combines buprenorphine and naloxone to treat opioid use disorder.
subpopulationnoun: A smaller group within the full population of interest shares a defining feature relevant to a study.
subsamplenoun: A smaller group taken from a study sample for separate analysis or comparison.
subscalenoun: A section of a larger assessment provides a separate score for one particular ability, trait, or area.
subspeciesnoun: A naturally occurring division within a species has recognizable inherited features that distinguish it from other populations of that species.
substancenoun: A drug, medicine, or poison taken into the body that can change behavior or cause harm.
substance abusephrase: A harmful pattern of alcohol or drug use that causes repeated problems in life.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)noun: Established in 1992, this United States agency supports services for preventing and treating substance use problems and mental health conditions.
substance abuse treatmentphrase: Programs that help people stop harmful alcohol or drug use and build recovery.
substance dependencenoun: A historical diagnosis described persistent substance use despite serious problems, involving impaired control and sometimes tolerance or withdrawal.
substance intoxicationnoun: Recent substance use produces temporary, clinically significant changes in thinking or behavior together with physical effects.
substance intoxication deliriumnoun: Substance intoxication causes rapidly developing disruptions of attention, awareness, and thinking that exceed its usual effects.
substance Pnoun: A small protein messenger helps nerve cells communicate and contributes to pain processing, with possible roles in mood regulation.
substance use disorderphrase: A mental disorder marked by ongoing alcohol or drug use despite harm, with loss of control, cravings, or risky use.
substance withdrawalphrase: Unpleasant body, behavior, and thinking changes that happen after stopping heavy, long-term use of a drug.
substance-induced anxiety disordernoun: Significant anxiety results directly from a substance's physical effects, including effects of medication, intoxication, withdrawal, or toxin exposure.
substance-induced mood disordernoun: A historical diagnosis described substantial, lasting mood disruption caused directly by a substance, medication, or toxin.
substance-induced persisting amnestic disordernoun: A historical diagnosis described substance-caused memory difficulties that persisted beyond immediate drug effects and substantially disrupted daily functioning.
substance-induced persisting dementianoun: An older diagnosis described lasting memory problems and other thinking difficulties caused by substance use, continuing beyond its immediate effects.
substance-induced psychotic disordernoun: This disorder involves hallucinations or firmly held false beliefs caused by a substance’s effects on the brain.
substance-related disordernoun: This category includes harmful patterns of substance use and conditions caused by substances, including intoxication and withdrawal.
substantia gelatinosanoun: A group of spinal cord neurons that helps control incoming pain signals.
substantia nigranoun: A midbrain area that sends dopamine cells to movement circuits and is damaged in Parkinson's disease.
substantive rationalitynoun: A decision is judged by how reasonable the choice itself is, separately from how someone reached it.
substantive significancenoun: A research finding matters substantively when its effects make a meaningful difference in everyday life.
substantive universalnoun: A proposed shared feature of every human language is tested by comparing what different languages contain.
substitute formationnoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that hidden wishes or conflicts can find indirect expression through bodily or behavioral symptoms.
substitutes for leadership theorynoun: This theory proposes that some team qualities or work arrangements can provide guidance or support otherwise supplied by leaders.
substitutionnoun: Using one thing in place of another, such as swapping a hard goal for a reachable one.
substitution hypothesisnoun: This memory theory proposes that later misleading details change or replace an earlier memory, producing inaccurate recall.
substitution pharmacotherapynoun: Prescribed medication replaces a substance involved in dependence to manage withdrawal and help reduce harmful use.
substitution testnoun: An assessment asks people to replace symbols, numbers, or words with alternatives according to a given rule.
substratenoun: An underlying base or support on which something else depends or develops.
subtestnoun: A smaller section of a test that measures one specific skill or type of content.
subthalamic nucleusnoun: A small cluster of neurons below the thalamus works within brain circuits that regulate movement.
subthalamusnoun: A small area below the brain’s thalamus helps other connected regions adjust body movements.
subtherapeutic dosenoun: A medication amount is too low to produce a particular treatment effect, though it may produce other effects.
subthreshold potentialnoun: A local electrical change in a neuron is too small to trigger a nerve impulse and weakens with distance.
subtotal hysterectomynoun: This operation removes the main body of the uterus while leaving the cervix in place.
subtraction methodnoun: Researchers estimate one mental step’s duration by subtracting response times for tasks assumed to differ only in that step.
subtractive bilingualismnoun: A second language increasingly takes over the uses of a community’s first language, weakening its continued use.
subtractive mixturenoun: Combining pigments changes color because the mixture absorbs some wavelengths, leaving others available to reach the eyes.
subtractive principlenoun: This color rule states that absorbing selected wavelengths makes the remaining color appear complementary to the light absorbed.
subtypenoun: A smaller category within a disorder diagnosis that groups people by a specific pattern or trigger.
Subutexnoun: This brand name identifies buprenorphine without naloxone, a medication used to treat opioid dependence.
subventricular zonenoun: A region beside the brain’s lateral fluid spaces contains cells that can produce neurons, with activity varying by age and species.
subvocal speechnoun: Silent speech involves tiny movements of speech muscles without producing audible words.
successful agingphrase: Growing older with good health, steady thinking, active involvement, and smart adjustment to age-related changes.
successful intelligencenoun: Sternberg's view emphasizes using analytical, creative, and practical abilities to meet personally meaningful goals within one's cultural setting.
successive contrastnoun: An earlier stimulus changes how a later one is experienced, making their differences seem stronger.
successive discriminationnoun: In conditioning, an organism distinguishes cues presented one after another by responding differently to them.
successive inductionnoun: Opposing reflex movements follow one another in a coordinated pattern, such as alternating bending and straightening during walking.
successive reproductionnoun: Researchers study memory by asking the same person to recall the same material repeatedly across time.
successive-approximations methodnoun: A behavior is shaped by rewarding early attempts, then requiring increasingly close matches to the target behavior.
successive-intervals methodnoun: People sort stimuli into ordered categories according to how strongly each seems to have a particular quality.
succinimidenoun: In drug terminology, this names a family of medicines used for absence seizures that may also affect alertness and behavior.
succinylcholinenoun: This medication temporarily blocks skeletal muscle movement during anesthesia or electroconvulsive therapy, without itself providing sleep or pain relief.
succorance neednoun: In Henry Murray’s personality theory, people have a need to receive help, comfort, and protection from others.
succubusnoun: In folklore, a female supernatural being is believed to visit sleeping men for sexual encounters.
sucker effectnoun: People reduce their group effort because they expect others to judge them negatively for contributing too much.
sucking reflexnoun: Infants automatically use their lips and mouth to create suction that draws in milk during feeding.
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)phrase: An unexplained death of a healthy-looking baby, usually during sleep, most often in early infancy.
sudden insightnoun: Understanding of a problem or situation appears abruptly, often when its parts suddenly fit together in a new way.
sudden unexpected nocturnal-death syndromenoun: This syndrome involves unexpected death during sleep in apparently healthy people, historically reported among Southeast Asian populations, including Hmong refugees.
sufentanilnoun: This potent opioid medicine reduces pain and is used as part of anesthesia during medical procedures.
sufferingnoun: Severe physical or emotional pain caused by injury, threat, loss, or other deeply upsetting events.
sufficient conditionnoun: A condition is sufficient when its presence guarantees a particular conclusion or outcome.
sufficient estimatornoun: A sample-based calculation retains all information the sample provides about a population quantity under a specified statistical model.
suffixnoun: A meaningful word part attaches after a word or stem to change its meaning or grammatical form.
suffix effectnoun: An extra item heard after a spoken list can make its final items harder to remember, even when irrelevant.
suggestibilitynoun: Easily accepting other people's ideas or actions without questioning them much.
suggestionnoun: Subtly leading someone to accept an idea or choose an action without direct pressure.
suggestion therapynoun: This psychotherapy approach uses direct suggestions and reassurance to try to reduce distressing symptoms.
sui jurisadjective: A person has legal capacity to manage their own affairs and exercise civil rights independently.
suicidal crisisphrase: A person is in immediate danger of self-harm because suicide is being considered, threatened, or attempted.
suicidal gesturenoun: This older label described suicide attempts or similar self-harming acts judged to have a low likelihood of causing death.
suicidal ideationphrase: Having thoughts about ending your own life, often linked to severe depression.
suicidalitynoun: Risk that someone may attempt or die by suicide, often shown by thoughts, intent, or a detailed plan.
suicidenoun: Deliberately causing your own death, sometimes linked to mental illness, substance use, or severe life stress.
suicide attemptphrase: A nonfatal act of self-harm done with at least some intent to die.
suicide by copnoun: A person intending to die deliberately seeks to cause police to use lethal force against them.
suicide-prevention centernoun: A service provides crisis support to people experiencing suicidal thoughts or behavior and may offer community education and bereavement support.
suicidologynoun: Researchers and professionals across several fields study suicide, suicidal behavior, and ways to prevent them.
suk-yeongnoun: Another name for koro describes intense, culturally shaped fear that genital organs are retracting into the body and may cause death.
sukra pramehanoun: A cultural pattern of distress described in Sri Lanka links anxiety and bodily symptoms to fears about losing semen.
sulcusnoun: A groove in a body surface, especially the brain’s outer layer, separates neighboring folds.
sulcus centralisnoun: A prominent brain groove separates the frontal and parietal lobes on each side.
sulcus principalisnoun: A groove in monkey brains separates upper and lower lateral frontal regions, beside tissue involved in perception and working memory.
Sullivan’s interpersonal theorynoun: Sullivan proposed that relationships shape personality, including how people understand themselves, find security, and manage anxiety.
sum of cross-productsnoun: A statistical total adds products formed by multiplying each paired score’s difference from its own variable’s average.
sum of productsnoun: A total is calculated by multiplying the numbers within each pair and adding those results.
sum of squared errorsnoun: A measure of unexplained variation adds the squared differences between observed scores and their predicted values.
sum of squaresnoun: A statistical total adds squared distances between data values and a reference, such as an average.
sum strategynoun: A child solves addition by counting every item in both groups, beginning with one.
sumatriptannoun: A migraine medicine activates certain serotonin receptors, helping narrow brain blood vessels and reduce migraine symptoms.
summary statisticsphrase: Numbers that briefly show the main features of a set of data, such as center and spread.
summated rating scalenoun: An assessment combines agreement ratings across several statements about the same topic into an overall score.
summating potentialnoun: Sound produces a slowly varying electrical shift that can be measured in the cochlea of the inner ear.
summationnoun: Small incoming signals combine in a neuron and may together become strong enough to trigger an electrical impulse.
summation effectnoun: Stimulation through both eyes can produce stronger visual neuron activity than one eye; both ears can similarly increase perceived loudness.
summation timenoun: The maximum gap between two successive stimuli still allows them to be experienced as one continuous event.
summative evaluationphrase: Judging how well a training or education program met its goals after it has finished.
summer depressionnoun: A seasonal pattern of depression involves major depressive episodes that repeatedly develop during summer.
sun compassnoun: An animal uses the sun’s position together with an estimate of time to find its direction.
sunburst mazenoun: A maze with 20 outward branches was used by Tolman to investigate whether rats could choose routes using mental maps.
sundown syndromenoun: Confusion or other difficulties with mental functioning worsen toward evening, particularly for some older adults with dementia.
sunk-costs effectnoun: People keep pursuing an option because of unrecoverable past investments, even when continuing is no longer worthwhile.
suo yangnoun: A culturally shaped anxiety syndrome involves fear that genitals are retracting into the body and could cause death.
superbugnoun: A bacterial strain resists several antibiotics, making infections caused by it harder to treat.
superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID)noun: An extremely sensitive detector uses superconductivity to measure tiny magnetic fields, including those generated by brain activity.
superconsciousnoun: Some spiritual and psychological traditions propose an expanded awareness associated with profound insight, inspiration, or experiences beyond ordinary selfhood.
superegonoun: The mind's inner moral voice that judges behavior by learned rules, ideals, and conscience.
superego anxietynoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that unconscious moral demands create anxiety through guilt and a felt need to make amends.
superego resistancenoun: Psychoanalytic theory proposes that unconscious guilt obstructs improvement in therapy because continued symptoms feel like deserved punishment.
superego sadismnoun: Classical psychoanalysis proposed a harsh, punishing side of conscience powered by aggressive unconscious drives.
superficialadjective: Describes something shallow, dealing with appearances rather than deeper meaning or substance.
superioradjective: Higher in rank, status, or quality than someone else, or seen that way.
superior canal dehiscencenoun: An opening in bone covering an upper inner-ear balance canal can cause unusual sound sensitivity and dizziness.
superior colliculusnoun: A paired midbrain structure helps direct the eyes and head toward sights and other sensory events.
superior functionnoun: Jung proposed that a person’s dominant mental function leads conscious activity and helps determine their psychological type.
superior intelligencenoun: Some intelligence tests use this classification for scores well above average, historically including IQ scores of 120 or higher.
superior longitudinal fasciculusnoun: A large bundle of nerve fibers links frontal brain regions with regions farther back within the same hemisphere.
superior obliquenoun: An eye muscle turns the eyeball inward around its viewing axis and helps move it downward, especially when looking toward the nose.
superior olivary complex (superior olivary nucleus; superior olive)noun: A group of brainstem nuclei in the pons processes signals from both ears and helps locate sounds.
superior rectusnoun: An external eye muscle primarily raises the eyeball, with its movement also depending on the eye’s starting position.
superior sagittal sinusnoun: A large venous channel along the brain’s upper midline collects blood draining from brain tissue.
superior temporal gyrusnoun: A raised strip along the upper temporal lobe helps process sounds and supports understanding and producing speech.
superiority complexnoun: Adler proposed that an inflated view of one’s abilities or achievements can compensate for underlying feelings of inadequacy.
supermannoun: Nietzsche proposed an ideal person who embraces life creatively and courageously while developing values beyond inherited moral conventions.
supernaturaladjective: Something is described this way when it is believed to go beyond nature’s laws, often involving spiritual forces.
supernormaladjective: An ability, score, or other characteristic exceeds the usual range, especially in descriptions of psychological test performance.
supernormal stimulusnoun: An exaggerated version of a natural cue produces a stronger behavioral response than the usual cue does.
superordinate categorynoun: A broad mental grouping contains several more familiar categories whose members may look quite different from one another.
superordinate goalnoun: A shared aim requires different groups to combine their efforts and resources to succeed.
superpositionnoun: In a linear system, responses to separate inputs add together to equal the response when those inputs are combined.
supersaturated designnoun: An experiment screens more potential influencing factors than it has runs, seeking a small number that strongly affect the outcome.
supersensitivitynoun: Nervous tissue responds more strongly than usual to a particular chemical messenger, sometimes after prolonged receptor blocking.
superstitionnoun: A belief or related practice assigns special luck, meaning, or magical influence to events or objects without adequate evidence.
superstitious behaviorphrase: Repeated actions can develop when a behavior is accidentally rewarded, making the person or animal keep doing it.
superstitious controlnoun: A person mistakenly believes certain actions can influence outcomes despite lacking a real causal connection.
superstitious ritualnoun: A repeated routine is believed to determine performance or results despite lacking evidence of that causal connection.
supertasternoun: A person who detects some tastes at unusually low levels and experiences them especially strongly.
supervalent thoughtnoun: An intense preoccupation with one line of thinking takes up attention and leaves little room for other thoughts.
superveniencenoun: A philosophical relationship means a higher-level property cannot change unless some underlying properties also change.
supervised analysisnoun: A trainee provides psychoanalytic treatment with expert guidance on treatment choices and personal emotional reactions to the client.
supervisionnoun: Guidance and close review from an experienced person while someone learns skills or does work.
supervisory analysisnoun: An experienced psychoanalyst guides a trainee's treatment work, including understanding emotional reactions that arise toward clients.
Supervisory Attentional System (SAS)noun: A proposed mental system directs deliberate choices and problem solving when familiar routines cannot handle a situation.
supervisory controlnoun: A human oversees an automated system, interprets its activity, makes decisions, and steps in when needed.
superwoman syndromenoun: An informal label describes a woman trying to meet the full demands of several major work and family roles.
supinationnoun: A body movement rotates the forearm to direct the palm upward or turns the foot's sole inward.
supineadjective: A person in this position rests on their back with their face directed upward.
supplementary motor area (SMA)noun: A region of the motor cortex helps plan and learn movement sequences, especially those guided by internal intentions.
supplicationnoun: A person presents themselves as needing help or being dependent to encourage others to offer care or assistance.
supply reductionnoun: An approach to reducing substance use limits how much of a substance is available or how easily people obtain it.
support groupphrase: People with the same problem meet with a professional leader to give each other comfort, advice, and encouragement.
supported employmentphrase: A rehab approach that quickly places disabled people in regular paid jobs with ongoing coaching and support.
supported housingphrase: Provides permanent community housing plus support services to help people live independently and fit into the community.
supported livingnoun: An arrangement provides people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities with personalized help managing everyday life in community homes.
supported retirementnoun: A regular program helps older adults with intellectual disabilities enjoy social contact and recreation during retirement.
supportive psychotherapynoun: A therapist uses reassurance, encouragement, and practical guidance to ease distress and strengthen coping without deeply exploring unconscious conflicts.
supportive servicesnoun: Practical programs help people participate in treatment, recovery, employment, or everyday life, such as through transportation or child care.
supportive-expressive psychotherapynoun: A brief psychodynamic therapy combines support with exploring a recurring relationship pattern involving the therapist and people outside therapy.
supportivenessnoun: A therapist communicates acceptance, encouragement, or reassurance through their attitude and responses to a client.
suppositorynoun: A solid medicine preparation is inserted into the rectum or vagina, where it dissolves or melts to release medication.
suppressed anger syndromenoun: The Korean cultural syndrome hwa-byung involves emotional distress and bodily symptoms understood as connected to holding in anger.
suppressionnoun: Deliberately pushing upsetting thoughts or feelings aside, or holding back unwanted emotional expression.
suppressive therapynoun: A psychotherapy approach strengthens psychological defenses and encourages keeping distressing feelings or experiences from being expressed or fully faced.
suppressor effectnoun: A third variable weakens the observed correlation between two other variables.
suppressor variablephrase: A third variable tied to a predictor makes its link with the outcome look weaker than it really is.
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)phrase: A tiny spot in the hypothalamus, a brain control center, uses light signals to set the body's daily clock.
supraliminaladjective: A stimulus or difference between stimuli exceeds the level needed for detection.
supraliminal perceptionnoun: Sensory information above a detection threshold is processed, including information that receives little or no attention.
supramarginal gyrusnoun: A fold in the lower parietal cortex helps process speech sounds and coordinate their production.
supranuclear palsynoun: A progressive brain disorder affects eye movements, especially looking downward, and can also affect balance, speech, swallowing, and thinking.
supraoptic nucleusnoun: A cluster of hypothalamic neurons above the optic chiasm produces oxytocin and vasopressin for release through the posterior pituitary.
suprarenal glandnoun: An adrenal gland sits near a kidney and produces hormones involved in stress responses, metabolism, and salt balance.
suprasegmentaladjective: Speech features such as pitch, emphasis, and boundaries extend across individual speech sounds.
suprasegmental reflexnoun: An automatic response requires brain involvement rather than relying entirely on circuits within the spinal cord.
surdnoun: A consonant sound is produced without the vocal folds vibrating, as with the sounds represented by p, t, and f.
surface agraphianoun: A spelling disorder especially affects words with irregular or ambiguous spellings while leaving regular words and invented words relatively spared.
surface colornoun: A perceived color seems to belong to an object's outer surface rather than filling its volume or floating without location.
surface dyslexianoun: A reading difficulty involves relying heavily on ordinary letter-sound rules, making words with unusual pronunciations especially challenging.
surface structure (s-structure)noun: In Chomsky's transformational grammar, a sentence's spoken or written arrangement results from rules transforming a proposed underlying structure.
surface therapynoun: Psychotherapy targets current symptoms and distress through reassurance and direct changes in attitudes or behavior, without deeply examining unconscious motives.
surface traitnoun: In Cattell's theory, a personality characteristic appears as related, observable behaviors thought to reflect deeper traits.
surgencynoun: A personality style marked by cheerful, spontaneous, responsive, social behavior, but milder than strong extraversion or mania.
surplus energy theorynoun: One proposed explanation suggests that vigorous play lets human children and other young animals spend energy left after meeting basic needs.
surprisenoun: A feeling that happens when something unexpected or new suddenly grabs your attention.
surprisingnessnoun: In the psychology of art, this measures how much an artwork goes against what someone expected.
surrogatenoun: A stand-in person who takes on the caregiving role of an important family member.
surrogate decision makingnoun: An authorized person makes specific healthcare decisions for someone who cannot make those decisions themselves.
surrogate fathernoun: Someone other than a person's biological father takes a fatherly role, offering care and becoming a figure of attachment or identification.
surrogate mothernoun: A woman who carries and gives birth to a baby for someone else to raise.
surrogate variablenoun: A measured variable stands in for another that is difficult to measure because the two are substantially related.
sursumvergencenoun: One eye turns or sits higher in its direction of gaze than the other eye.
surveynoun: A research method that asks a sample of people questions to estimate what a larger group is like.
survey errornoun: Survey findings differ from the values they aim to measure because of sampling, question design, responses, or other measurement problems.
survey knowledgenoun: A mental picture of an area's overall layout represents where places are in relation to one another.
survival analysisnoun: Statistical techniques examine waiting times before specified events, accounting for observations that end before those events happen.
survival instinctnoun: An inborn tendency leads humans and other animals to protect themselves and act in ways that support continued life.
survival of the fittestphrase: Organisms whose inherited traits suit their environment tend to survive and reproduce more successfully, passing those traits onward.
survival ratenoun: This statistic estimates the fraction of a group still alive, or free of a specified event, after a stated interval.
survival rationoun: A statistical value compares the waiting time before an event with the full period being studied.
survival valuenoun: A trait’s usefulness depends on how much it helps an organism reproduce successfully in its environment.
survivor guiltphrase: Feeling guilty for staying alive or being spared when others were harmed or died.
survivorshipnoun: The experience of continuing life during or after serious illness, trauma, or disaster can involve lasting adjustments.
susceptibilitynoun: Being easy to influence or more likely to develop a problem or condition.
susceptibility genenoun: An inherited DNA variant raises the chance of a condition or trait without guaranteeing that it will develop.
susceptibility rhythmsnoun: The body's tendency to develop an infection or react to an allergen changes in recurring patterns.
SUSOPSabbreviation: The abbreviation means sustained operations, demanding work that continues for long periods and can reduce performance through fatigue.
suspended rootogramnoun: A graph hangs bars showing square roots of observed counts from an expected curve to reveal mismatches.
suspensory ligamentnoun: Fine fibers attach the eye’s lens capsule to nearby ciliary structures, helping hold and adjust the lens.
suspicious jealousynoun: Someone fears losing an important relationship to another person despite having no factual evidence supporting that fear.
suspiciousnessnoun: A lasting tendency to doubt other people's honesty or intentions, often expecting harm or deceit without enough proof.
sustained attentionphrase: Keeping your focus on one task for a long time without getting distracted.
sustained operations (SUSOPS)noun: Demanding work continues over an extended period, with fatigue and insufficient sleep potentially reducing how well people perform.
sustained-release preparationnoun: A medicine is formulated to deliver its active substance gradually over a longer period.
sustonoun: In some Latin American and Latino communities, distress after fright is understood as involving the soul leaving the body.
swallowingnoun: Moving food or liquid from the mouth to the stomach through automatic muscle actions.
swarm intelligencenoun: Animals of the same species can collectively solve problems through their interactions as a group.
SWBabbreviation: The abbreviation means subjective well-being, combining people’s pleasant and unpleasant feelings with their judgments about how satisfying life is.
sweatingnoun: Release of sweat from skin glands helps cool the body and can rise with stress or drugs.
sweetadjective: Having the sugar-like taste that people usually find pleasant and energy-rich.
swingingnoun: A slang word for very open sexual behavior, including changing partners or trying unusual sexual activities.
switch costnoun: Changing tasks can temporarily slow performance or increase mistakes as attention shifts to the new task.
switch devicenoun: An input mechanism lets someone activate assistive equipment that controls features of their surroundings.
switch processnoun: In bipolar disorder, a person moves from an episode of major depression into mania, or in the reverse direction.
switchback designnoun: Researchers alternate conditions for the same participants in planned patterns to account for individual differences and changes over time.
switchingnoun: Changing the topic in therapy, by client or therapist, often to avoid pain or reach useful issues.
SWLSabbreviation: A questionnaire uses five statements rated from one to seven to measure how satisfied someone feels with life overall.
Sydenham’s choreanoun: A complication following streptococcal infection causes irregular, involuntary movements, particularly in the face and limbs.
syllabarynoun: A writing system uses individual symbols to stand for syllables, which are spoken word parts containing a vowel sound.
syllablenoun: A beat of spoken language built around a vowel sound, often counted to judge language development.
syllogismnoun: A deductive argument combines two statements about categories through a shared term to propose a conclusion.
Sylvian aqueductnoun: A narrow channel through the midbrain carries cerebrospinal fluid between the brain’s third and fourth ventricles.
Sylvian fissurenoun: A deep groove on each brain hemisphere separates the temporal lobe below from frontal and parietal areas above.
sym-prefix: This word beginning adds the meaning of togetherness, joining, or union to the word containing it.
symbiosisnoun: In relationships, excessive dependence on another person can become mutually reinforced and limit both people’s independence.
symbiotic infantile psychosisnoun: An obsolete childhood label described extreme maternal dependence, intense distress about separation, and delayed development.
symbiotic marriagenoun: A marriage or partnership involves partners depending entirely on each other to meet particular emotional or psychological needs.
symbiotic psychosisnoun: A historical, now obsolete label grouped childhood developmental delays with extreme dependence on the mother and severe separation distress.
symbiotic relationshipnoun: A relationship reinforces one person’s excessive reliance on another, restricting independence and making unmet needs especially disruptive.
symbolnoun: A mark, picture, object, or word that stands for something else.
symbol groundingnoun: People connect mental symbols, such as words, with the real objects and sensory experiences those symbols represent.
symbol-substitution testnoun: A person uses a provided code to replace symbols from one set with corresponding symbols from another.
symbol–digit testnoun: A timed task asks someone to write the correct numbers beside symbols using a supplied matching key.
Symbolicnoun: In Lacan's theory, the world of language, rules, and shared meanings that shapes the self.
symbolic actionnoun: In classical psychoanalysis, a seemingly ordinary or purposeless action is interpreted as expressing a hidden wish, feeling, or idea.
symbolic attitudenoun: Someone evaluates a person, idea, or thing according to how well it matches their beliefs about right and wrong.
symbolic displacementnoun: A response, often an emotion, shifts from its original trigger to something that stands for that trigger.
symbolic functionphrase: The ability to think about things not present using words, images, or pretend play.
symbolic interactionismnoun: A sociological theory proposes that people develop their sense of self by interpreting meanings exchanged during social encounters.
symbolic learning theorynoun: A theory proposes that imagining an action improves performance by strengthening mental codes that organize its steps.
symbolic logicnoun: A formal system uses precisely defined symbols and rules to examine whether conclusions follow from given statements.
symbolic matching to samplenoun: A learner chooses an option linked to a sample by an assigned rule, rather than by physical resemblance.
symbolic modenoun: In Bruner’s theory, people represent knowledge through symbols such as words, instead of relying only on actions or pictures.
symbolic modelingnoun: Someone learns by watching behavior demonstrated through media, without practicing that behavior as part of the procedure.
symbolic playphrase: During make-believe play, a child uses one object to stand for something else.
symbolic processnoun: Thinking works through mental stand-ins, such as ideas or images, that represent things and help connect thoughts.
symbolic representationphrase: Using words, sounds, or pretend objects in the mind to stand for real things and experiences.
symbolic rewardnoun: An acknowledgment or object is valued for what it represents rather than for usefulness or worth of its own.
symbolic stagenoun: In Piaget’s theory, children around ages two through seven increasingly use symbols while reasoning remains largely intuitive.
symbolic thinkingnoun: People use words, images, signs, and concepts to think about things beyond what they can currently see or experience.
symbolismnoun: People use objects, signs, or images to carry meanings beyond their immediate appearance in thought, communication, and culture.
symbolizationnoun: Classical psychoanalysis proposes that a symbol can replace an unacceptable wish, feeling, or idea to evade inner moral censorship.
SYMLOGabbreviation: A theory and observation method describes group interactions through dominance versus submission, friendliness versus unfriendliness, and accepting versus rejecting authority.
Symmetrelnoun: This brand name identifies amantadine, a medicine used for Parkinson’s disease and certain medication-related movement problems, with antiviral uses too.
symmetrical distributionphrase: A spread of scores where values above and below the mean mirror each other.
symmetrynoun: Matching arrangements around a center can help people see separate visual parts as a single organized whole.
symmetry compulsionnoun: A person feels driven to arrange things precisely, often to ease distress about unevenness, disorder, or imperfection.
symmetry testnoun: A statistical check examines whether parts of a graph match when reflected across an axis or through its center.
sympathectomynoun: A procedure interrupts sympathetic nerve activity by cutting, removing, or otherwise disabling selected nerve tissue.
sympathetic chainnoun: Each of two linked rows of nerve cell clusters beside the spine relays signals for sympathetic body responses.
sympathetic divisionnoun: This branch of the automatic nerve network mobilizes bodily resources during activity or stress, including fight or flight.
sympathetic ganglionnoun: A cluster of nerve cell bodies relays sympathetic signals, including within the paired chains beside the spine.
sympathetic inductionnoun: Someone's outward expression of a feeling brings about a similar feeling in another person.
sympathetic nervous systemphrase: This autonomic body system readies you for stress by speeding arousal and shifting energy for fight or flight.
sympathetic–adrenal–medullary axis (SAM)noun: A rapid stress pathway links sympathetic nerves with the adrenal medulla, which releases hormones including adrenaline into blood.
sympathomimetic drugnoun: A substance produces sympathetic effects by imitating or strengthening the actions of adrenaline or noradrenaline.
sympathynoun: Caring concern for another person's suffering, often without fully feeling exactly what they feel.
sympatricadjective: Species described this way live in habitats that overlap or occupy the same geographical area.
symphorophilianoun: An unusual sexual interest involves arranging a disaster and becoming aroused by watching the event.
symptomnoun: A sign of physical or mental illness shown by changes in feelings, thoughts, behavior, or body.
symptom bearernoun: A group member, often within a family, is singled out for treatment although wider relationship patterns may contribute.
symptom checklistphrase: A self-report list rates how severe a person's mental health symptoms are across one or more disorders.
Symptom Checklist-90–Revised (SCL-90–R)noun: This questionnaire uses 90 self-reported items to assess psychological distress across nine symptom areas and three overall measures.
symptom clusternoun: A set of related signs or complaints that often show up together in one condition.
symptom complexnoun: A recognizable grouping of symptoms and observable signs occurs together and can indicate a particular health condition.
symptom formationnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, symptoms are proposed to develop as bodily or behavioral expressions of hidden wishes or conflicts.
symptom removalnoun: Psychotherapy directly eliminates symptoms without exploring possible deeper conflicts or unconscious motives behind them.
symptom specificitynoun: A hypothesis proposes that stress-related physical symptoms repeatedly involve one particular organ or body system within a person.
symptom substitutionnoun: Classical psychoanalysis proposed that treating a symptom without resolving its unconscious cause could lead to a replacement symptom.
symptom-context methodnoun: Researchers or therapists record symptoms as they happen during therapy and examine the surrounding events to understand their meaning.
symptomatic actnoun: In psychoanalytic theory, an apparently ordinary or accidental action is interpreted as expressing a hidden wish, feeling, or intention.
symptomatic epilepsynoun: This older label describes recurrent seizures caused by an identified brain condition, such as injury or structural disease.
symptomatic treatmentnoun: Care focuses on easing a condition's troublesome symptoms without necessarily changing the cause producing them.
symptomatologynoun: The full pattern of signs and symptoms seen in a disorder.
Symptoms of Dementia Screener (SDS)noun: This screening questionnaire uses 11 yes-or-no items to help someone notice possible dementia signs in a person they know.
syn- (sym-)prefix: This word beginning adds the meaning of togetherness, joining, or combination to the word that follows.
Synanonnoun: A historical residential addiction program used confrontation and group pressure before becoming an authoritarian community that eventually dissolved.
synapsenoun: A tiny gap where one neuron passes signals to another using chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.
synapse rearrangementnoun: Nerve connections are reorganized as some synapses disappear and others form during development or after damage.
synaptic boutonnoun: A small swelling at an axon's ending releases chemical messengers that carry signals to a nearby cell.
synaptic cleftnoun: A tiny gap between one neuron's end and the next cell, where chemical messages cross.
synaptic depressionnoun: Communication across a synapse becomes weaker, reducing how effectively one nerve cell influences another.
synaptic junctionnoun: A specialized contact allows a nerve cell to communicate with another cell through chemical or electrical signaling.
synaptic knobnoun: A rounded axon ending sends chemical signals by releasing neurotransmitters toward a neighboring cell.
synaptic pruningphrase: During development, the brain removes weaker neuron connections so important pathways work more efficiently.
synaptic transmissionphrase: Messages cross the tiny gap between neurons when chemicals are released and received.
synaptic transmitternoun: A chemical released by a nerve cell carries a message across a synapse by acting on another cell's receptors.
synaptic vesiclenoun: A tiny membrane pouch inside a nerve ending stores chemical messengers and releases them during signaling.
synaptogenesisnoun: During development, brain cells create new synapses, the tiny connection points used to send signals.
syncheiria (synchiria)noun: Touch or pain applied to one body side is experienced on both sides instead of only where stimulation occurred.
synchronic linguisticsnoun: Language is studied as it functions at a particular time, without tracing how it developed historically.
synchronicitynoun: Jung proposed that simultaneous events could share special meaning despite having no explainable causal connection.
synchronismnoun: Two or more events or conditions occur or exist at the same moment.
synchronizationnoun: In brain recordings, electrical activity shows coordinated timing across groups of nerve cells.
synchronized sleepnoun: This alternative name for non-REM sleep highlights coordinated brain activity, especially the slow waves found in deeper stages.
synchronous broodnoun: A group of young animals, usually birds, hatches together or within a short shared period.
synchronous correlationnoun: In a study following participants over time, this measures how variables relate when recorded at the same measurement occasion.
synchronynoun: A parent and infant matching timing and responses helps build secure attachment and later social-emotional growth.
syncopenoun: A brief faint happens when too little blood suddenly reaches the brain.
syncretic thoughtnoun: Piaget proposed an early thinking pattern in which children connect experiences through personal impressions or coincidence rather than logical relationships.
syncretismnoun: Ideas or practices from different traditions are blended into a new system, even when their origins seem incompatible.
syndromenoun: A group of signs and symptoms that appear together and point to one disorder or cause.
syndrome Xnoun: This name for metabolic syndrome describes grouped metabolic problems that raise the likelihood of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
synecdochenoun: A figure of speech uses a part to represent something whole, or the whole to represent a part.
synectics modelnoun: An educational approach develops creative problem solving by encouraging unusual comparisons, analogies, and metaphorical thinking.
synergic marriagenoun: A marriage or partnership grows stronger as each partner contributes positively to meeting the other's psychological needs.
synergismnoun: Different elements interact to produce an effect larger than their separate effects added together.
synergistic musclesnoun: Two or more muscles cooperate to carry out a particular movement, such as bending a limb.
synergynoun: When parts work together so their combined effort helps reach a goal.
synesthesia (synaesthesia)noun: When one sense is triggered, another sense automatically happens too, such as seeing colors for letters.
synkinesis (synkinesia)noun: Neurological dysfunction causes a deliberate action involving certain muscles to produce unwanted movement involving other muscles too.
synonymnoun: A word can share the same or nearly the same meaning with another word in its language.
synopsianoun: Hearing particular tones automatically brings consistent experiences of particular colors in this form of synesthesia.
syntacticsnoun: The rules and patterns of language determine how words fit together into grammatical structures.
syntaxnoun: The grammar rules that tell how words and phrases go together to make correct sentences.
syntaxic modenoun: Sullivan proposed a mature way of experiencing life through logical thinking, shared language, and checking perceptions with others.
synthesisnoun: Combining separate parts, ideas, or findings into one meaningful whole.
synthetic approachnoun: Learning or understanding develops by joining simpler parts into a more complicated whole.
synthetic cannabinoidnoun: A laboratory-made substance acts on cannabinoid receptors, including manufactured THC such as dronabinol.
synthetic languagenoun: In this usage, a language combines grammatical meanings within word forms whose meaningful pieces cannot easily be separated.
synthetic opioidphrase: A fully man-made painkiller that acts on opioid receptors and can strongly raise overdose risk.
synthetic speechnoun: A machine generates spoken language, with results that differ in clarity and how natural they sound.
synthetic validitynoun: A hiring test's usefulness is estimated by combining evidence about how well it predicts performance on separate job tasks.
syntonianoun: A person shows strong emotional responsiveness to what is happening in their surroundings.
syphilisnoun: A bacterial infection usually spreads through sexual contact and can affect the brain and other organs if untreated.
syringe exchange programnoun: A community service provides sterile injection equipment to reduce infections linked to sharing or reusing needles.
syringomyelianoun: A fluid-filled space develops inside the spinal cord and may expand, causing weakness and reduced pain or temperature sensation.
syrinxnoun: Birds produce vocal sounds using a specialized organ near where the windpipe divides toward the lungs.
systemnoun: A group of connected parts that work together to do a job in the body or brain.
System 1noun: In dual-process theories, one mode of thinking produces quick, automatic judgments using associations and requiring little conscious effort.
system flow diagramnoun: A workplace chart uses connections and arrows to show how people, materials, or information move through a system.
system model of evaluationnoun: An organization is judged by how it uses resources, adapts, and maintains healthy operations for continued survival.
systematic approachphrase: An organized, step-by-step way of studying or solving a problem so decisions are based on evidence.
systematic behavioral universalnoun: A proposed psychological principle describes behavioral sequences or organizational structures expected to remain consistent across different cultures.
systematic desensitizationphrase: A therapy that pairs relaxation with gradually scarier triggers to weaken learned fear.
systematic errornoun: A consistent mistake that pushes results in the same direction, making them differ from the true value.
systematic multiple level observation of groupsnoun: This framework studies groups by observing how members show dominance, express friendliness, and respond to authority.
systematic observationphrase: A planned way of watching behavior using clear recording rules so different observers collect the same unbiased data.
systematic processingnoun: A person evaluates a persuasive message by carefully examining its relevant information and the strength of its arguments.
systematic random samplingphrase: A sample chosen by picking every nth person after a random starting point.
systematic rational restructuringnoun: This psychotherapy approach combines imagining situations that cause anxiety with realistic discussion intended to make those situations feel less threatening.
systematic replicationphrase: Repeating a study with planned changes to test whether findings hold in new conditions.
systematic samplingphrase: Selecting every nth person from an ordered list after a random start.
systematic variancephrase: Variation in scores that follows a real pattern, usually from the factor a study is testing.
systematicsnoun: Scientists classify living things into organized groups to describe their similarities, differences, and relationships.
systematized delusionnoun: A firmly held false belief is developed into an organized explanation whose details fit together despite conflicting evidence.
systemicadjective: Affecting or involving the whole system rather than only one part.
systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)noun: An autoimmune illness causes the immune system to attack the body's tissues, potentially affecting several organs, including the brain.
systemic mucopolysaccharidosisnoun: An inherited condition, also called Maroteaux–Lamy syndrome, affects connective tissues and bone growth and sometimes causes hearing loss.
systemic thinkingnoun: Understanding involves examining individual parts and how they combine, interact, and influence the whole system.
systems analysisnoun: A method examines a system's parts, relationships, and purposes to understand its operation and identify possible improvements.
systems engineeringnoun: Specialists combine knowledge from different fields to design systems whose people, equipment, and processes work safely and efficiently together.
systems of supportnoun: A framework identifies services an individual with intellectual disability needs by considering abilities, emotions, health, and surroundings.
systems theorynoun: Behavior is best understood by seeing how parts of a person, family, or workplace affect one another.
systolic blood pressurenoun: The higher blood pressure reading measures pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts to pump blood.
SΔabbreviation: In operant learning, this symbol marks a cue signaling that a particular action will receive no reinforcement.

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