Psychology Glossary

20 Psychology terms

Like in all of science domain, long and complicated word are bound to come up. Psychology is no exception. This repertoire will be full of all the new word you will learn in this blog. Come take a peak when you're not sure of the definition or the pronunciation of a certain word.

Anxiety
noun
A nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks.
Example: She suffers from chronic ANXIETY.
fr: Anxiété
Cognition
noun
The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
Example: He took a philosophical approach to the study of COGNITION and the mind.
fr: Cognition
Cognitivism
noun
In psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical framework for understanding the mind that gained credence in the 1950s.
Example: COGNITIVIST argued that the way people think impacts their behavior and therefore cannot be a behavior in and of itself.
fr: Cognitiviste
Conditioning
Gerund
Train or accustom (someone or something) to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances.
Example: With the proper CONDITIONING, the horse will learn to trust and obey its handler.
fr: Conditionement
Conformity
noun
Behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards.
Example: Where the 1998 film presented a bold, strong-willed young woman fighting against the tides of CONFORMITY, the contemporary tale shows her fighting to maintain existing oppressive conditions.
fr: Conformité
Consciousness
noun
The state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings.
Example: "Was she good-looking?" "Actually, my CONSCIOUS mind no longer remembers anything about her physical appearance.
fr: Conscient
Cortex
noun
The outer layer of the cerebrum (the cerebral cortex ), composed of folded gray matter and playing an important role in consciousness.
Example: The device’s electrodes were situated in a part of Gertrude’s cortex that connected to neurons in her snout.
fr: Cortex
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: She has been undergoing treatment for severe DEPRESSION.
fr: Dépression
GENE
noun
A unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.
Example: She inherited a good set of GENES from her parents
fr: Gène
Heredity
noun
The passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another.
Example: Heredity plays no part in the disease.
fr: Hérédité
Libido
noun
Instinctual psychic energy that in psychoanalytic theory is derived from primitive biological urges (as for sexual pleasure or self-preservation) and that is expressed in conscious activity
Example: Lack of libido may be a sign of depression.
fr: Libido
Need
noun
The state of requiring help, or of lacking basic necessities such as food.
Example: Maslow's hierarchy of NEEDS is used to study how humans intrinsically partake in behavioral motivation.
fr: Besoin
Nerve
noun
A whitish fiber or bundle of fibers that transmits impulses of sensation to the brain or spinal cord, and impulses from these to the muscles and organs.
Example: The optic NERVE in the eye allows you to see.
fr: Nerf
Nervous System
noun
The network of nerve cells and fibers which transmits nerve impulses between parts of the body.
Example: The trick, then, is to slowly recondition a patient’s nervous system through careful exercises, without triggering a debilitating crash.
fr: Système Nerveux
Perception
noun
The neurophysiological processes, including memory, by which an organism becomes aware of and interprets external stimuli.
Example: Some drugs cause blurred vision and changes in color PERCEPTION, or increased tears.
fr: Perception
Phobia
noun
An extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.
Example: His fear of crowds eventually developed into a PHOBIA.
fr: Phobie
Self Esteem
noun
A confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect.
Example: To continue social interaction with people of her own age in order to keep and build on her social and communication skills and build confidence and SELF ESTEEM.
fr: Estime de soi
Stimulus
noun
A thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue.
Example: Heat and light are physical STIMULI.
fr: Stimulus
Stress
noun
A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.
Example: But the same community bonds that brought her back home have added STRESSduring the pandemic.
fr: Stress
Unconscious
noun
The part of the mind which is inaccessible to the conscious mind but which affects behavior and emotions.
Example: Empirical evidence suggests that unconscious phenomena include repressed feelings, automatic skills and more.
fr: Inconscient