Glossary / U

Psychology terms starting with U

263 terms with short definitions. Study these as flashcards

U fibernoun
A short nerve fiber curves beneath the brain's outer layer to connect nearby areas of the cerebral cortex.
U testnoun
A nonparametric test compares two separate groups by ranking scores instead of assuming normal data.
U-shaped distributionnoun
A pattern of data has many observations near both extremes and relatively few around the middle.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)noun
A U.S. government agency that provides health care, benefits, and support to military veterans and families.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)noun
A federal agency within the United States Justice Department enforces laws concerning controlled drugs and other regulated substances.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)noun
A United States agency reviews medicines for approval and regulates drugs, food, medical devices, and other health-related products.
UCLA Loneliness Scalenoun
A self-report questionnaire measures loneliness by asking people how often they experience companionship, exclusion, or missing connections.
UCRabbreviation
An unconditioned response is an automatic reaction to a stimulus that occurs without needing to be learned.
UCR feesabbreviation
Healthcare reimbursement benchmarks use local charges to judge whether a provider's fee is usual, customary, and reasonable.
UCSabbreviation
A stimulus that naturally triggers a reflex or emotion without prior learning.
UGabbreviation
Universal grammar is a theory proposing that humans are born with underlying grammatical principles that help them learn language.
ulcernoun
An open sore forms when a surface layer of body tissue breaks down, including in the digestive tract.
Ullrich–Noonan syndromenoun
A genetic condition, also called Noonan syndrome, can affect growth, heart development, hearing, and sometimes learning.
ulnar nervenoun
A nerve running through the arm supports hand movement and sensation around the little finger and part of the ring finger.
ultimate attribution errorphrase
People explain outgroup bad acts as who they are, but excuse their own group's faults and praise its successes.
ultimate causenoun
An underlying cause begins or shapes a chain of events even though its effects occur much later or elsewhere.
ultimate explanationnoun
An evolutionary account explains a behavior by how it may have helped ancestors survive or reproduce.
ultimate opinion testimonynoun
An expert witness gives a conclusion about the central question the court must decide.
ultimatum gamenoun
One player proposes a money split, and the other accepts it or rejects it so both receive nothing.
Ultivanoun
A brand name for remifentanil identifies a very short acting opioid used for pain control during anesthesia.
ultrabrief screening scalenoun
A validated questionnaire with usually one to four items quickly flags possible mental health concerns needing closer assessment.
ultradian rhythmnoun
A recurring change in body activity or behavior follows a cycle lasting less than one full day.
ultrasonic communicationnoun
Some animals exchange information using sounds above about 20,000 hertz, beyond the usual upper limit of human hearing.
ultrasonic irradiationnoun
A historical form of brain surgery used focused, high frequency sound through skull openings to destroy selected brain tissue.
ultrasoundnoun
Sound above the usual human hearing limit can produce echoes used to create images of structures inside the body.
ultraviolet (UV)noun
Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than visible violet light is invisible to humans but detectable by some animals.
ululationnoun
A high, wavering vocal cry expresses strong feelings and takes part in ceremonies across various cultures.
umamiadjective
Describing a basic savory taste, this word applies to sensations produced by glutamate in foods such as mushrooms and cheese.
umbilical cordnoun
A flexible structure containing blood vessels joins a developing fetus to the placenta, supporting nutrient, oxygen, and waste exchange.
UMP testabbreviation
A uniformly most powerful test maximizes detection probability for every specified alternative while keeping false positives within a fixed limit.
Umweg problemnoun
A problem requires an indirect solution because the straight route to the goal is blocked or does not work.
Umweltnoun
In existential psychology, this concept describes a person’s lived engagement with their immediate physical surroundings.
unaspirated soundnoun
A speech sound, especially a stop consonant, is produced without a strong puff of air following its release.
unattended inputnoun
Information reaches the senses while attention is directed elsewhere, so it is outside the person’s current focus.
unbalanced bilingualnoun
A person uses two languages with greater skill in one than the other.
unbalanced designnoun
A research design has unequal numbers of observations across the conditions being compared.
unbiasedadjective
Not favoring one side over another when judging, choosing, or sharing information.
unbiased estimatornoun
A calculation from sample data gives estimates whose average across repeated samples equals the population quantity being estimated.
unbiased samplingnoun
A selection process avoids systematically overrepresenting or underrepresenting parts of the population a study aims to describe.
uncal herniationnoun
Increased pressure inside the skull pushes the inner temporal lobe across a nearby tissue opening, potentially compressing the brainstem.
uncertaintynoun
A situation where what is true or what will happen is not known clearly.
uncertainty analysisnoun
Researchers examine possible errors to estimate how much confidence to place in measurements or model predictions.
uncertainty avoidancenoun
People or cultures prefer familiar beliefs and clear rules when unclear situations feel uncomfortable.
uncertainty factornoun
In art psychology, a proposed dimension describes artistic style through ratings of complexity, lack of clarity, and disorder.
uncertainty orientationnoun
A tendency to explore unfamiliar ideas and seek information makes uncertainty something to investigate and understand.
uncertainty principlenoun
Quantum physics sets a fundamental limit on how narrowly a particle’s position and momentum can both be specified.
uncertainty reduction theory (URT)noun
A social theory proposes that people communicate to learn about others and make their behavior easier to predict.
uncertainty-arousal factornoun
In art psychology, a proposed response dimension links perceived complexity, unclear meaning, and disorder with automatic bodily arousal.
uncinate fasciculusnoun
A hooked bundle of brain fibers links anterior temporal regions with lower frontal areas and may support memory and emotion.
unconditional positive regardphrase
Warm acceptance of a person without judging their behavior, central to Rogers's therapy and healthy self-growth.
unconditioned reflexnoun
An automatic response occurs naturally when a particular stimulus appears, without requiring earlier learning through conditioning.
unconditioned reinforcementnoun
A consequence strengthens the behavior it follows without prior learning being needed to give that consequence its reinforcing effect.
unconditioned reinforcernoun
A consequence, such as food when hungry, increases the behavior it follows without training to establish its reinforcing value.
unconditioned response (UCR; UR)phrase
A natural reflex, like salivating to food, that happens without any learning.
unconditioned stimulus (UCS; US)phrase
A thing that naturally triggers a reflex or automatic reaction without any learning first.
unconditioned stimulus devaluation (US devaluation)noun
Researchers reduce an unconditioned stimulus’s appeal by providing enough to satisfy the organism or associating it with something unpleasant.
unconditioned stimulus preexposure effect (US preexposure effect)noun
Earlier exposure to an unconditioned stimulus can slow later learning that a new cue predicts it.
unconscious (Ucs)noun
A hidden part of the mind that stores repressed feelings and wishes and still shapes thoughts and behavior.
unconscious cognitionnoun
Mental activities such as processing language or using memories happen without awareness of those activities.
unconscious contextnoun
Background beliefs, memories, and mental processes shape conscious experience without themselves entering awareness.
unconscious homosexualitynoun
A historical label describes proposed same-sex attraction that a person does not recognize or acknowledge.
unconscious inference theorynoun
A theory proposes that perception uses past experience to make automatic interpretations of sensory information without conscious reasoning.
unconscious intentionnoun
A goal or motive guides someone’s thinking and behavior without being consciously chosen or recognized.
unconscious knowledgenoun
Practical understanding develops through experience and guides performance, even when a person cannot clearly explain what they know.
unconscious learningnoun
People acquire skills or patterns without deliberately trying to learn them or clearly recognizing what they have learned.
unconscious motivationphrase
Hidden wishes and drives can steer behavior even when the person does not know they exist.
unconscious perceptionnoun
The brain processes sensory information even though the person does not consciously notice the stimulus.
unconscious plagiarismnoun
Someone mistakes a previously encountered idea for their own invention because they have forgotten where it came from.
unconscious processphrase
A mental activity happens without awareness and mostly outside a person's deliberate control.
unconscious resistancenoun
Psychoanalytic theory proposes that unnoticed defenses can interfere with exploring difficult thoughts or feelings during therapy.
unconscious transfernoun
A memory error assigns familiar information or a familiar person to the wrong earlier situation.
uncontrollable turnovernoun
In some workforce classifications, employee departures such as retirement or job elimination are grouped as beyond ordinary retention control.
uncontrolled variablenoun
A factor can vary during a study because researchers have not held it steady or otherwise accounted for its influence.
unconventional therapynoun
A treatment approach falls outside what health professionals generally accept as standard care in a particular setting.
uncoveringnoun
In therapy, looking past symptoms and defenses to find the deeper causes of a person's problems.
uncriticalnessnoun
A therapist maintains an accepting, nonjudgmental attitude that helps clients explore their experiences without feeling personally condemned.
uncrossed disparitynoun
The two eyes receive position differences indicating that an object lies beyond the surface of corresponding retinal points.
uncued panic attacknoun
A sudden surge of intense fear and bodily symptoms happens without an obvious trigger.
uncusnoun
A small, curved region on the inner temporal lobe connects with brain pathways involved in smell.
underachievernoun
An outdated label describes someone whose repeated results fall below what their demonstrated abilities suggest they could achieve.
underageadjective
Not old enough by law or rules to do something, such as consent or buy alcohol.
underclassnoun
A contested social label describes people facing persistent poverty or exclusion from important resources and opportunities.
underconfidencenoun
A judgment bias leads someone to rate their ability or performance lower than evidence supports.
underconfidence-with-practice effectnoun
During repeated learning attempts, people may shift from slight overconfidence to predicting poorer recall than they actually achieve.
underdognoun
The excuse-making side of a person that softens guilt for not living up to strict inner rules.
underextensionnoun
A child's word is used too narrowly, applying it to fewer things than it should.
underidentificationnoun
A statistical model lacks enough independent information to determine unique values for all its unknown quantities.
underintensitynoun
A person's alertness, commitment, effort, assertiveness, or focus falls below the level best suited to the task.
underloadnoun
Tasks demand so little from a person that boredom, tiredness, or other distress develops.
underlying distributionphrase
The expected pattern of scores in the whole population being studied.
undermatchingnoun
Choices shift toward better rewarded options less strongly than their relative rewards predict under the matching law.
undernutritionnoun
The body receives or uses too little energy or essential nutrients to support healthy functioning.
underpayment inequityphrase
Feeling that your pay is unfairly low compared with what you do or what coworkers get.
undershootnoun
After a nerve impulse, the voltage across a cell's membrane briefly becomes more negative than its usual resting value.
understaffingnoun
A workplace or program has fewer people available than it needs to keep its activities running adequately.
understandingnoun
Grasping what something means, or how parts fit together, shows real comprehension.
undescended testiclenoun
A testicle has not completed its usual movement into the scrotum during development.
undifferentiated schizophrenianoun
A historical schizophrenia subtype described clear psychotic symptoms that did not fit the other recognized subtype categories.
undifferentiated somatoform disordernoun
A historical diagnosis covered physical symptoms lasting at least six months, without adequate medical explanation or deliberate production.
undue hardshipnoun
Under disability accommodation law, significant difficulty or expense can justify an employer declining a requested workplace adjustment.
undulatio reflexanoun
Descartes used this historical concept for automatic bodily responses to surroundings within his proposed separation of body and mind.
unemploymentnoun
A person lacks a paid job despite actively seeking employment and being available to start working.
unexpected panic attacknoun
An episode of intense fear and physical alarm begins unexpectedly, with no clear situation or event triggering it.
unexplained variancephrase
The part of score differences a model cannot account for, often due to chance or missing causes.
unfair labor practicesnoun
Employer or union actions violate U.S. labor law protections governing workers' organizing, representation, or collective bargaining.
unfalsifiableadjective
A claim has this quality when no possible observation or experiment could demonstrate that it is wrong.
unfinished businessphrase
Unresolved emotional experiences or avoided tasks that keep bothering someone until they are faced and worked through.
unfinished storynoun
An assessment activity asks someone to finish a story, with the aim of exploring personal concerns through their response.
unfitnessnoun
A lack of sufficient physical or mental health or capacity limits functioning in a particular context.
unfoldingnoun
A method that uses people's item choices to place their preferences on one attitude line.
unidimensionalitynoun
A test or scale measures one underlying quality rather than several distinct qualities.
unified positivismnoun
Arthur Staats proposed uniting psychology by connecting findings and theories through a shared commitment to observable scientific evidence.
unified theory of cognitionnoun
A theory attempts to explain all thinking processes through one organized framework, potentially covering people, other animals, or machines.
Unified Tri-Service Cognitive Performance Assessment Battery (UTCPAB)noun
Developed in 1984, this computerized test collection quickly assesses nervous system functioning through thinking and movement tasks.
Uniform Crime Reportsnoun
A U.S. crime reporting system gathers law enforcement records using shared categories to support comparisons of recorded crime.
uniform distributionnoun
All values within a fixed range have the same chance of happening.
Uniform Guidelines for Employee Selection Proceduresnoun
U.S. federal guidelines help employers evaluate hiring and selection methods for discrimination and evidence that they measure job requirements.
uniformly most powerful test (UMP test)noun
At a fixed false positive limit, a statistical test has maximum detection power for every possibility in the specified alternative.
unilateraladjective
Happening on only one side of the body or brain.
unilateral couple counselingnoun
A counselor works with just one partner while keeping the couple's relationship as the main focus.
unilateral descentnoun
A kinship system traces family membership or inheritance through either the mother's line or the father's line alone.
unilateral lesionnoun
Damage affects only one side of an organ or structure, such as one half of the brain.
unilateral neglectnoun
Following brain damage, a person has difficulty noticing or responding to one side of their body or surrounding space.
unilineal descentnoun
Family membership or inheritance follows a single parental line, continuing through mothers or through fathers across generations.
unimodal distributionnoun
A pattern of data frequencies has one peak, showing a single region where values occur most often.
unimodel of persuasionnoun
This theory proposes that persuasion uses one process of drawing if-then conclusions from evidence, with varying amounts of mental effort.
uniocularadjective
Something described this way involves or uses just one eye.
unionnoun
A group of workers joins together to bargain with an employer about pay, benefits, and work rules.
union shopnoun
An employment arrangement requires newly hired workers to join a union within a specified period after starting work.
uniparousadjective
In this usage, the adjective describes a person who has given birth on one occasion.
unipolar disordernoun
A depressive condition involves significant depression without a history of manic or hypomanic episodes.
unipolar manianoun
A proposed clinical pattern involves manic episodes without observed major depressive episodes over the person's illness course.
unipolar neuronnoun
A nerve cell has one projection leaving its cell body, which may branch to carry incoming and outgoing signals.
unipolar rating scalenoun
A response scale measures how much of one quality is present, ranging from none to a high amount.
unipolar stimulationnoun
Electrical stimulation uses one electrode at the target tissue and another positioned outside that tissue.
unique huenoun
A perceived color appears purely red, yellow, green, or blue, without seeming to contain another of these basic hues.
unique traitnoun
A personal characteristic is understood through its distinctive meaning and expression in one individual's life.
uniquenessnoun
In factor analysis, the part of a variable's differences not shared with other variables.
Unit Manning Systemnoun
A U.S. Army program promoted during the 1980s aimed to keep soldiers together in stable units to strengthen teamwork and readiness.
unit normal distributionnoun
A normal probability distribution is centered at zero and has a standard deviation equal to one.
unit normal variablenoun
A random variable follows a bell-shaped normal distribution centered at zero, with a standard deviation equal to one.
unit of analysisnoun
The person, group, object, or other entity chosen as the focus of a study determines what its conclusions describe.
unit schedulenoun
A smaller reinforcement schedule must be completed as one counted step toward reinforcement under a larger schedule.
unitary-resource modelnoun
A theory proposes that all tasks draw attention from one limited shared supply, making simultaneous demanding tasks compete.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Personsnoun
A United Nations statement adopted in 1971 affirmed that people with intellectual disabilities have human rights deserving protection.
unitynoun
The number 1, especially when a statistic is said to move closer to it.
unity in varietynoun
A proposed principle holds that people prefer things combining strong overall coherence with great diversity among their parts.
unity of commandnoun
A management principle says each worker should receive direction from, and answer directly to, just one supervisor.
unity of consciousnessnoun
The idea holds that simultaneous thoughts, feelings, and sensations are experienced together as one connected moment of awareness.
unity of sciencenoun
A philosophical view proposes that every scientific principle can ultimately be explained through physical laws.
univariateadjective
A description applies to data or methods involving just one measured characteristic.
univariate analysisnoun
A statistical examination focuses on one characteristic, such as its average or how widely its values vary.
univariate distributionnoun
A pattern shows how often different values of one random variable occur or are expected to occur.
univariate researchnoun
A study examines just one outcome variable, even when several factors might help explain that outcome.
universalnoun
A human trait, behavior, or experience that appears in all cultures and groups.
universal designphrase
Designing tests and environments so people of many ages and abilities can use them comfortably and fairly.
universal grammar (UG)noun
A debated theory proposes that humans are born with grammatical principles that support learning language.
universal interventionphrase
A prevention effort offered to everyone in a group, not just people already at high risk.
universalismnoun
A philosophical position holds that some essential features of thinking, behavior, or morality remain shared across cultures and eras.
universalitynoun
In therapy groups, realizing others share your struggles helps you feel less alone and ashamed.
universality of emotionsnoun
Research finds similarities across cultures in some emotional expressions, interpretations, and responses, although their extent remains debated.
universalizabilitynoun
An ethical principle holds that a moral judgment should apply to anyone facing the same relevant circumstances.
universalsnoun
Philosophers use this concept for properties or kinds that multiple individual things can share, such as roundness.
universenoun
The whole group of people or scores that a test or study is meant to represent.
universe of discoursenoun
A framework of ideas and language sets the boundaries for what can meaningfully be discussed about a subject.
University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT)noun
This standardized assessment checks smell recognition through 40 scratchable scent patches, with four answer options for each.
unlearningnoun
Reducing or erasing a learned response after it is no longer rewarded.
unmyelinatedadjective
Describes a nerve fiber without myelin, the fatty coating that helps signals travel faster.
unnumbered graphic rating scalenoun
A person rates an experience by marking a continuous, number-free line with descriptive words at its ends.
unobtrusive measurenoun
Researchers collect information without interrupting people or making them aware of the measurement, aiming to avoid changing their behavior.
unplanned comparisonnoun
Researchers compare groups or values after collecting data without having decided beforehand to make that particular comparison.
unpleasantnessnoun
An uncomfortable emotional quality can arise when something causes pain or gets in the way of personal goals.
unpleasurenoun
Classical psychoanalysis proposed that conscious tension and distress arise when the ego prevents instinctive needs or wishes from being satisfied.
unprepared learningnoun
An association is learned without an inherited tendency that especially favors or resists forming that connection.
unresolvedadjective
Not yet worked through emotionally or understood well enough to stop causing problems.
unrestricted modelnoun
A statistical model includes all relevant variables or freely estimated parameters under consideration before narrower restrictions are imposed.
unsaturated modelnoun
A statistical model estimates fewer independent quantities than a fully saturated model, imposing restrictions that permit assessment of fit.
unshared environmentnoun
Environmental experiences that differ between people raised together can contribute to differences in their behavior or psychological characteristics.
unsociableadjective
A person described this way has little inclination to spend time interacting or developing relationships with others.
unspecified mental retardationnoun
An outdated diagnostic label described suspected intellectual disability when available assessment methods could not establish its severity.
unstandardized scorenoun
A test result remains in its original form before conversion into a percentage, standardized value, or other transformed measure.
unstructuredadjective
Lacking a clear plan, fixed format, or organized pattern.
unstructured autobiographynoun
A client writes their life story for counseling without being given specific questions or topics to follow.
unstructured interviewphrase
Allows the interviewer to change questions freely and judge answers more flexibly than a set format.
unstructured stimulusnoun
An unclear or loosely organized image, sound, or other input leaves considerable room for the observer's interpretation.
unsystematic variancenoun
Measurements fluctuate unpredictably rather than following a consistent pattern related to the factors being studied.
unthought knownnoun
Object relations theory proposes that early relationships leave wordless awareness that influences later thoughts and actions.
Unusual Uses Testnoun
An assessment of divergent thinking asks people to invent uncommon purposes for everyday objects, scoring how numerous and original responses are.
unvoicedadjective
A speech sound is produced without the vocal folds vibrating, as happens with the consonants in pin or fin.
unweighted means analysisnoun
An analysis of variance gives group averages equal influence despite unequal group sizes by using a common adjusted sample size.
up throughphrase
A historical test of claimed clairvoyance asks participants to guess hidden Zener card symbols starting with the bottom card.
up-and-down methodnoun
A testing procedure uses each previous response to move the next item or stimulus up, down, or to the same level.
up-regulationnoun
A cell produces or makes available more receptors for a particular signal, potentially strengthening its response.
uppernoun
A slang word for stimulant drugs that speed up the brain and body, like amphetamines.
upper hingenoun
A summary value near the third quartile marks the boundary between roughly the highest quarter of observations and the rest.
upper motor neuronnoun
A brain nerve cell helps control movement by signaling circuits that act on lower motor neurons.
upper quartilenoun
The third quartile marks the point around which 75 percent of ordered observations fall below and 25 percent above.
upper real limitnoun
The upper boundary of a rounded measurement's interval lies halfway between that recorded value and the next possible recorded value.
upper thresholdnoun
The strongest level of a stimulus that someone can experience without pain marks this sensory boundary.
UPSITabbreviation
The abbreviation names the University of Pennsylvania's Smell Identification Test, which assesses recognition of 40 odors through multiple-choice answers.
upward appraisalnoun
Workers evaluate the performance of supervisors or managers who hold authority over them.
upward communicationnoun
Information travels from workers with less organizational authority to people in positions with more authority.
upward grade homogenizationnoun
Grades rise over time even though the quality of students’ work does not improve enough to justify them.
upward mobilitynoun
A person or group moves into a position with greater social standing or economic advantage.
upward Pygmalion effectnoun
Followers’ expectations can shape a leader’s behavior so that the leader acts in ways that match those expectations.
upward social comparisonnoun
People judge themselves against someone they believe is doing better in a particular area.
URabbreviation
A natural reaction that happens without learning when a trigger appears.
ur-prefix
This word part indicates a connection with urine or the organs that produce, store, and release it.
uracilnoun
A chemical base represented by U helps form RNA, taking the place that thymine usually occupies in DNA.
uranoschisisnoun
An opening present at birth remains in the mouth’s roof because its developing parts did not join completely.
urban behaviornoun
People’s actions in cities may reflect adjustments to crowding, a fast pace, and many competing demands for attention.
urban ecologynoun
Researchers study how city environments and population patterns interact with the organization of people’s lives.
urban legendnoun
A striking story set in modern life spreads as fact even though reliable evidence for it is missing.
Urban’s weightsnoun
Numerical adjustments help estimate a precision measure called h by fitting observations to a normal, bell-shaped curve.
urbanismnoun
A city’s characteristic way of living includes its everyday routines, relationships, and shared social expectations.
urbanizationnoun
The shift of people and communities toward city living, changing daily life, stress, and social experiences.
Urecholinenoun
A brand name for bethanechol identifies a medicine that stimulates bladder muscles to help release retained urine.
urethranoun
A tube carries urine out of the bladder and body, and in people with a penis also carries semen.
urethral eroticismnoun
In psychoanalytic writing, this describes sexual pleasure associated with the act of urinating.
urethritisnoun
Inflammation affects the tube that releases urine from the body and may cause discomfort or discharge.
urge incontinencenoun
Urine leaks involuntarily with a sudden, intense need to urinate, often because the bladder contracts unexpectedly.
urinary incontinencephrase
Losing control of urination because of a physical problem, like nerve damage or bladder changes.
urinationnoun
Passing urine from the bladder happens when a valve muscle relaxes and the bladder squeezes.
urn modelnoun
An imagined container of colored objects represents possible outcomes, letting researchers calculate the chances of different random draws.
uro- (ur-)prefix
This word part signals that a word concerns urine or the body’s system for making and releasing it.
urogenitaladjective
This describes structures associated with the body’s urinary and reproductive systems considered together.
urolagnianoun
A person experiences sexual interest involving urine or the act of urinating.
URTabbreviation
Uncertainty reduction theory proposes that people communicate to learn about others and better predict their behavior.
urticarianoun
Temporary raised patches appear on the skin and may itch or burn, sometimes following allergies or psychological stress.
USabbreviation
In classical conditioning, something that naturally triggers a response without any learning first.
US devaluationabbreviation
Unconditioned stimulus devaluation deliberately makes a naturally rewarding stimulus less appealing, such as through fullness or learned dislike.
US preexposure effectabbreviation
Prior experience with an unconditioned stimulus can slow later learning that a new cue predicts that stimulus.
us-versus-them effectnoun
People divide others into their own group and outside groups, often favoring those they see as belonging with them.
usability engineeringnoun
Specialists apply knowledge about people’s abilities and limits to build and test systems that are easy to use.
usableadjective
Built so people can use it easily with few mistakes, hassles, or frustrations.
use-and-disuse theorynoun
A historical theory proposed that body changes caused by use or disuse could pass from parents to offspring.
useful field of viewnoun
A brief computerized test measures attention to peripheral visual information and helps estimate driving crash risk.
user-centered designnoun
Designers base product decisions on the needs, abilities, and circumstances of the people who will use the product.
user-friendlyadjective
Easy for people to understand, learn, and use without much confusion or effort.
Usher syndromenoun
An inherited condition combines hearing loss with progressive retinal damage that reduces vision, sometimes also affecting balance.
usual, customary, and reasonable fees (UCR fees)noun
Health care reimbursement amounts are judged against typical charges for similar services within a particular geographic area.
UTCPABabbreviation
This computerized test collection checks thinking and movement skills to help assess how well someone's nervous system works.
uterine orgasmnoun
A disputed historical classification proposed an orgasm type involving uterine contractions triggered by deep vaginal penetration.
utero- (uter-)prefix
This word part indicates a connection with the uterus, the organ also known as the womb.
uterusnoun
A hollow organ with muscular walls supports an implanted embryo and later a fetus during pregnancy.
utilitarian function of an attitudenoun
An attitude serves a practical purpose when it helps someone gain benefits or avoid unwanted consequences.
utilitarianismnoun
An ethical view judges choices by their consequences, favoring those that produce the greatest overall happiness or well-being.
utilitynoun
The practical value or benefit of something, often judged by how well it works or pays off.
utility standardsnoun
Evaluation criteria require findings to meet intended users’ information needs through relevant questions and clear, timely reporting.
utility theorynoun
A framework describes rational choices by comparing how much a person values the possible outcomes.
utilization deficiencynoun
A person uses a strategy they have learned but gains little or no improvement in task performance.
utilization review (UR)phrase
A formal check of whether treatment is needed, good quality, and at the right level for a person's problem.
utilization-focused evaluationnoun
An evaluation is planned and carried out around how its intended users will apply the findings.
utopianoun
An imagined society represents a perfect social arrangement in which life meets an ideal vision.
utopianismnoun
A belief holds that people can build an ideal society through reason and moral principles.
utriclenoun
A sensory sac inside the inner ear detects head tilt and changes in straight-line motion, helping maintain balance.
utterancenoun
A piece of spoken language marked by a speaker's turn or a clear pause.
UVabbreviation
Ultraviolet radiation has wavelengths shorter than visible violet light and can be detected by some animals but normally not humans.
uveal tractnoun
The eye’s middle tissue layer contains the iris, ciliary body, and choroid, supporting several functions needed for vision.
uvulanoun
A small piece of soft tissue hangs at the rear of the mouth’s roof and contributes to producing speech sounds.
uvularadjective
This describes something connected with the uvula, the small tissue projection hanging near the back of the mouth.
uxoricidenoun
An act of murder in which a husband kills his own wife falls into this category.
uxorilocaladjective
A married couple lives with or near the wife's mother or other relatives under this living arrangement.

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