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this glossary contains 15 essentials terms used in psychology. Each entry includes a clear definition, and in some cases, examples or explanations to show how the term is used in real-life situations. To create this glossary I selected terms from course materials, textbooks and reliable academic sources such as psychology websites. This resource is designed to support your learning and deepen your understanding of psychology.
Anxiety
noun
A feeling of worry, nervousness, or fear about furture events.
Example: Anxiety can interfere with daily life if it becomes intese.
fr: Anxiété
behavior
noun
Any observable action or reaction of a person or an animal.
Example: The teacher observed the student's behavior during the group activity.
fr: comportement
Cognition
noun
The mental processes involved in thinking, learning and understanding.
Example: Memory and attention are important parts of cognition.
fr: Cognition
Conditioning
noun
A learning process in which behavior is influenced by rewards or punishements.
Example: Dogs learn through conditioning when trained with treats.
fr: Conditionnement
Consciousness
noun
Awareness of oneself and the environment.
Example: Consciousness can be altered by sleep or mediaction.
fr: Conscience
Development
noun
The process of growth and change throughout a person's life.
Example: Child development includes physical, cognitive, and emotional changes.
fr: Développement
Emotion
noun
A complex psychological state involving feelings, thoughts, and physical responses.
Example: Fear is a a basic emotion hat help us respond danger.
fr: Émotion
Habituation
noun
A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure.
Example: After a while, she no longer noticed the loud noise due to habituation.
fr: Habituation
Kinesthesia
noun
The sense that allows us to perceive the position and movement of our body parts.
Example: Kinesthesia helps you touch your nose even with your eyes closed.
fr: Kinesthésie
Memory
noun
The ability to store, retain, and recall information.
Example: Memory allows us to remember past experiences.
fr: Mémoire
Motivation
noun
The internal process that drives a person to act toward a goal.
Example: Motivation helps students stay focused on their studies.
fr: Motivation
Perception
noun
The process of interpreting sensory information from the environment.
Example: Two people can have different perceptions of the same event.
fr: Perception
Social-influence
noun
The focus of social influence outlines the ways people change their behavior, attitude or belief because of the actions of others, or their presence around them.
Example: Someone of younger age may dress in a certain way in order to ‘fit in’ with a particular group.
fr: Influence sociale
Stressor
noun
A stressor is any event, condition, or stimulus that physically or psychologically triggers stress.
Example: These can be short-term or acute, like an important exam, or long-term and chronic, like persistent problems with one’s finances.
fr: facteur de stress
unconditioned-stimulus
noun
An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that does not require any prior learning or conditioning to trigger a response. It was first described by Ivan Pavlov in the context of classical conditioning, a learning process.
Example: For example, in humans, a common reflexive response might be a startle response to an unexpected loud noise, or a blink response to a stream of air directed at the eyes.
