Hi, I am Sabrina, and I'm a student to the College Lionel-Groulx. This glossary is related to my study program; Social Science. In that program, we learn about many fields and one of them is psychology. This glossary contains 22 words that can help a student in this field but that can also helps everyone that want to learn a little bit more about psychology. The definitions are from Google.com and Tutor2u.net and many examples are from lextutor.ca.
anxiety
noun
An emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.
Example: Many clinical staffs are reluctant to deal with emotional issues such as, ANXIETY and depression because they feel they lack the skills to deal with them competently.
fr: anxiété
behavior
noun
The way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others.
Example: If any of these variables affects helping BEHAVIOR, then the degrees of helpfulness can also vary widely depending on the region where the experiment is conducted.
fr: comportement
cognition
noun
The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
Example: He used his COGNITION to solve a problem.
fr: cognition
conditioning
noun
The process of training or accustoming a person or animal to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances.
Example: Now, when I tell my dog to sit, it sits down because I have used CONDITIONING to make him listen to my commands.
fr: conditionnement
congruence
noun
Describe a state in which a person’s ideal self and experience are consistent or very similar.
Example: I'm in CONGRUENCE with myself because I always wanted to be a musician and today I signed a record contract.
fr: congruence
depression
noun
A mental condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep.
Example: Self-doubt creeps in and that swiftly turns to DEPRESSION.
fr: dépression
free will
noun
The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion.
Example: I choose to eat hamburger, I made a choice by having FREE WILL.
fr: libre arbitre
hormone
noun
A substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action and to regulate physiology and/or behavior.
Example: But excessive level of phosphorus in plasma could contribute to the reduction in bone mass by increasing the parathyroid HORMONE level which in turn promotes the resorption of calcium from the bone.
fr: hormone
intelligence
noun
The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
Example: An eminent man of great INTELLIGENCE.
fr: intelligence
memory
noun
The faculty of the brain by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed.
Example: I've a great MEMORY for faces.
fr: mémoire
motivation
noun
The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.
Example: He has the MOTIVATION to commit to the programme of his own accord.
fr: motivation
neuron
noun
The fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, the cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to our muscles, and for transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between.
Example: Rates of sodium-potassium exchange are controlled by ECF sodium concentrations therefore hyponatraemia reduces the rate of exchange interrupting normal NEURON function.
fr: neurone
perception
noun
The organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment.
Example: My PERCEPTION let me understand that the oven was on when I touched the hot pan.
fr: perception
preconscious
adjective
Associated with a part of the mind below the level of immediate conscious awareness, from which memories and emotions that have not been repressed can be recalled.
Example: Beliefs and values are on a PRECONSCIOUS level.
fr: préconscient
psychiatrist
noun
A medical practitioner specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.
Example: The PSYCHIATRIST prescribed antidepressants because he diagnosed with depression.
fr: psychiatre
psychologist
noun
A person who studies normal and abnormal mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior by experimenting with, and observing, interpreting, and recording how individuals relate to one another and to their environments.
Example: The PSYCHOLOGIST discovered a new mental illness with his scientific experiment.
fr: psychologue
psychotherapist
noun
The use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction with adults, to help a person change behavior and overcome problems in desired ways.
Example: The PSYCHOTHERAPIST listened to his patient to be able to give him tips on his violent attitudes.
fr: psychothérapeute
reinforcement
noun
The process of encouraging or establishing a belief or pattern of behavior, especially by encouragement or reward.
Example: Giving a child candies after cleaning is REINFORCEMENT for reproducing this behavior.
fr: renforcement
schema
noun
A pattern of thought or behavior that organizes categories of information and the relationships among them.
Example: Associate the word ''cat'' in the category of animals is a SCHEMA.
fr: schème
sensation
noun
A physical feeling resulting from something that happens to or comes into contact with the body.
Example: SENSATION is recognized as the immediate and basic experiences which are generated as stimuli fall on our sensory systems.
fr: sensation
trait
noun
A distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person.
Example: He was a letter-of-the-law, a common TRAIT among coaches.
fr: trait
unconscious
noun
The part of the mind which is inaccessible to the conscious mind but which affects behavior and emotions.
Example: Horrific apparitions surfaced out of the recesses of his UNCONSCIOUS.