This glossary provides a clear and concise overview of key terms used in psychology. It is designed to help students and readers understand fundamental concepts related to human behavior, mental processes, and emotional functioning. Covering topics such as learning, memory, personality, and social interaction, this collection serves as a useful reference for building a strong foundation in psychology.
Affect
Noun/Verb
In psychology, affect is the underlying, immediate experience of feeling, emotion, or mood. It represents the subjective "feeling tone" (such as joy, anger, or sadness) and is often displayed externally through facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice. It is considered one of three core components of the mind, alongside cognition and conation.
Example: This study investigated the AFFECT new peer group had over eating by measuring insecurity felt amongst new friends.
fr: Affect
Attachment
Noun
A lasting psychological connectedness, crucial for emotional and social development, such as a child’s bond with parents. Examples include secure attachment (feeling safe) or insecure attachment.
Example: These include a human infants dependence on their caregivers for warmth, shelter, protection and food, hence they have the innate need to form an ATTACHMENT to their caregiver.
fr: Attachement
Bias
Noun
A bias is a tendency, inclination, or prejudice toward or against something or someone. Some biases are positive and helpful—like choosing to solely eat foods considered healthy or staying away from someone who has knowingly caused harm. But biases are often based on stereotypes, rather than actual knowledge of an individual or circumstance. Positive or negative, such cognitive shortcuts can lead to prejudgments and rash decisions, or discriminatory practices.
Example: There are some points that should be noted here though, Malinowski was a very male-orientated person and his views can be seen to have an andocentric side formed from his male BIAS.
fr: Biais
Conformity
Noun
Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms, driven by a desire to fit in, avoid punishment, or follow perceived correct behavior. It involves aligning with social expectations—often due to peer pressure—and is a key concept in social psychology, covering both public compliance and private acceptance.
Example: Arguably social forms establish expectations and thus CONFORMITY upon the individual.
fr: Conformité
Consciousness
Noun
Consciousness in psychology is the subjective, moment-to-moment awareness of oneself and the environment, encompassing thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions. It operates on a continuum from alertness to sleep, allowing for information processing, decision-making, and adapting to new situations.
Example: he frontal lobe Known as the memory centre of the brain, this area is responsible for our autobiographical memory, language, logical thinking and abstract thought - all qualities which we associate with CONSCIOUSNESS.
fr: Conscience
Dissociation
Noun
Dissociation is a mental process involving a disconnection between a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity, often acting as a coping mechanism for stress or trauma. It ranges from mild, everyday detachment (daydreaming, "highway hypnosis") to severe, chronic conditions like dissociative disorders, where reality feels unreal or detached.
Example: This again illustrates the DISSOCIATION between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies.
fr: Dissociation
Empathy
Noun
Empathy in psychology is the ability to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts, emotions, and perspectives of another person, often described as "feeling into" or walking in someone else's shoes. It is crucial for building social connections, fostering compassion, and driving prosocial behavior, such as helping others.
Example: While I believe that certain skills of persuasion and EMPATHY cannot be learnt by just anyone, the emergence of a charismatic leader depends largely on the situation and the belief of his of her followers.
fr: Empathie
Heuristic
Noun/Adjective
A heuristic is a practical, "rule of thumb" method or mental shortcut used to solve problems or make decisions quickly and efficiently when finding an optimal solution is impossible or impractical. It focuses on speed and "good enough" results over perfect precision, often relying on experience or intuition.
Example: The decision-making HEURISTIC for Utilitarianism is derived from the perspective of a sole impartial ``perfect legislator'', which conflates the many diverse desire systems present in a society and imposes a single desire system by which to measure utility.
fr: Heuristique
Metacognition
Noun
Metacognition is "thinking about thinking"—the awareness, understanding, and control of one’s own cognitive processes. It involves monitoring how you learn, evaluating your understanding, and regulating your strategies for problem-solving. It enables individuals to plan, assess, and adjust their mental approaches to improve performance.
Example: By METACOGNITION I mean knowledge about cognition itself and control of one's own cognitive processes.
fr: Métacognition
Schema
Noun
A schema (plural: schemata or schemas) is a structured framework, blueprint, or pattern that organizes information, experiences, or data to help understand, interpret, and process new stimuli. It acts as a mental, conceptual, or data-driven map for organizing knowledge. Common synonyms include pattern, structure, model, framework, template, and blueprint.
Example: The complexity of these SCHEMA formations means that objects stimuli reactions get organised into different 'schemes', so that when they recur, they offer a framework of knowledge and organising influence, which can be used as a guide to reaction (Bartlett, 1961) .
fr: Schéma
Self-efficacy
Noun
Self-efficacy is an individual's personal belief in their capacity to execute behaviors necessary to reach specific goals and succeed in tasks. Developed by psychologist Albert Bandura, it shapes how people approach challenges, motivate themselves, and persevere, directly influencing their choices, effort, and resilience.
Example: The differential role of alcohol expectancies, drinking refusal SELF-EFFICACY, and coping resources in predicting alcohol consumption in community and clinical samples.
fr: Auto-efficacité
Socialization
Noun
Socialization is the lifelong sociological process through which individuals learn and internalize the norms, values, behaviors, and social skills necessary to function as members of a society. It shapes personal identity and maintains cultural continuity, beginning in infancy through family and expanding to schools, peers, and media.
Example: An example of this is provided by Carlson and Kangun (1988) who suggest that birth order affects SOCIALIZATION because eldest children are socialized by adults while youngest children receive less attention from their parents and are socialized by their older siblings instead.
fr: Socialisation
Stimulus
Noun
A stimulus (plural: stimuli) is any agent, event, or change in the environment that directly influences an organism or system, causing a response, reaction, or increased activity. It acts as an incentive or activator in biological, behavioral, and economic contexts. Common synonyms include incentive, catalyst, prompt, prod, incitement, and stimulant.
Example: Classical conditioning is "a form of learning in which a hitherto neutral STIMULUS, the conditioned STIMULUS is paired with an unconditioned STIMULUS regardless of what the animal does."
fr: Stimulus
Stressor
Noun
A stressor is any physical, psychological, or environmental agent/event that triggers a stress reaction, challenging a person's homeostasis or ability to cope. These stimuli can be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term), causing emotional, behavioral, and physiological changes such as increased cortisol or anxiety.
Example: However, it remains unclear whether the effect is a function of alcohol's impact on tension per se or cognisance of the STRESSOR (Hull, 1981), and some studies have found that alcohol actually serves to increase self-reported anxiety.
fr: Facteur de stress
Subconscious
Noun/Adjective
The subconscious refers to the part of the mind containing thoughts, memories, feelings, and impulses that are not currently in focal awareness but influence actions and behaviors. It operates below the threshold of conscious perception, storing automatic habits, past experiences, and emotions.
Example: Emma's nose was operated on resulting in massive haemorrhaging which Freud said was due to her SUBCONSCIOUS desire for him!
