Page 649 - Understanding Psychology

free association a Freudian technique used to examine the unconscious; the patient is instructed to say whatever comes into his or her mind (p. 494)
frequency distribution an arrangement of data that indi- cates how often a particular score or observation occurs (p. 49)
fully functioning an individual whose person and self coincide (p. 396)
functional fixedness a mental set characterized by the inability to imagine new functions for familiar ob- jects (p. 300)
functionalist a psychologist who studied the function (rather than the structure) of consciousness (p. 16)
fundamental attribution error an inclination to over attribute others’ behavior to internal causes (disposition- al factors) and discount the situational factors contribut- ing to their behavior (p. 531)
fundamental needs biological drives or needs that must be satisfied in order to maintain life (p. 326)
G
gate control theory of pain the theory that we can lessen some pains by shifting our attention away from the pain impulses or by sending other signals to compete with the pain signals (p. 221)
gender identity the sex group (masculine or feminine) to which an individual biologically belongs; an individual’s subjective sense of being male or female (p. 117)
gender role the sex group (masculine or feminine) with which an individual feels identification; the set of behaviors that society considers appropriate for each sex (p. 117)
gender schema a set of behaviors organized around how either a male or female should think and behave (p. 122) gender stereotype an oversimplified or distorted general- ization about the characteristics of men and women
(p. 117)
general adaptation syndrome according to Selye, a series
of three stages—alarm, resistance, and exhaustion—that correspond to the three different reactions of the body to stressful situations (p. 421)
generalization in classical conditioning, the tendency for a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimu- lus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response (p. 244)
generational identity the theory that people of different ages tend to think differently about certain issues because of different formative experiences (p. 534)
generativity the desire in middle age to use one’s accumu- lated wisdom to guide future generations (p. 135)
genes the basic building blocks of heredity (p. 175) genital stage Freud’s fifth and final psychosexual stage dur- ing which an individual’s sexual satisfaction depends as
much on giving pleasure as on receiving it (p. 82) gerontology the study of aging (p. 615)
Gestalt the experience that comes from organizing bits and
pieces of information into meaningful wholes (p. 224)
Glossary free association–hospice
grammar a set of rules for combining words into phrases and sentences to express an infinite number of thoughts that can be understood by others (p. 66)
grasping reflex an infant’s clinging response to a touch on the palm of his or her hand (p. 62)
group a collection of people who have shared goals, a degree of interdependence, and some amount of com- munication (p. 545)
group polarization the theory that group discussion rein- forces the majority’s point of view and shifts group mem- bers’ opinions to a more extreme position (p. 550)
group therapy a form of therapy in which patients work together with the aid of a leader to resolve interpersonal problems (p. 489)
groupthink poor group decision making that occurs as a result of a group emphasizing unity over critical thinking (p. 551)
H
hallucinations a false sensory perception that has no direct external cause (pp. 199, 466)
hallucinogens drugs that often produce hallucinations (p. 200)
hardiness the personality traits of control, commitment, and challenge that help us reduce the stress we feel (p. 432)
hassles common,relativelyminorday-to-daystressors(p.418) health psychologist a psychologist who studies the inter- action between physical and psychological health factors
(p. 27)
heredity the genetic transmission of characteristics from
parents to their offspring (p. 174)
heritability a measure of the degree to which a character-
istic is related to inherited genetic factors (p. 355) heuristic a rule-of-thumb, problem-solving strategy that reduces the number of operations or allows us to take
shortcuts in solving problems (pp. 299, 594)
hindbrain a part of the brain located at the rear base of the skull that is involved in the basic processes of life such as sleeping, waking, coordinating body movements, and
regulating vital reflexes (p. 160)
histogram a graph similar to a bar graph except that his-
tograms show frequency distribution by means of rec- tangles whose widths represent class intervals and whose areas are proportionate to the corresponding frequencies (p. 50)
homeostasis the tendency of all organisms to cor- rect imbalances and deviations from their normal state (p. 315)
homogamy the tendency to marry someone who has sim- ilar attributes, including physical attractiveness, age, and physique, to our own (p. 538)
hormones chemical substances produced by the endocrine glands that carry messages through the body in blood and regulate specific body functions (p. 171)
hospice a type of care for terminally ill patients; an organi- zation that provides such care (p. 147)
Glossary 635