• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Mnemonic devices—memory aids such as the method of loci and peg word systems which help to organize, encode, and more easily retrieve information from long-term memory.

Mode—most frequently occurring score in a set of research data (quick and dirty).

Modeling—process of watching and imitating a specific behavior; important in observational learning.

Monism—sees mind and body as different aspects of the same thing.

Monocular cues—clues about distance based on the image of one eye, including interposition or overlap, relative size, aerial perspective, relative clarity, texture gradient, relative height, linear perspective, relative brightness, motion parallax, and accommodation.

Monozygotic twins—identical twins; genetically identical siblings who share 100 percent of their genes because they developed from a single fertilized egg in utero.

Mood-congruent memory—tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.

Mood disorder—affective disorders characterized by significant shifts or disturbances in mood that affect normal perception, thought, and behavior; depression and bipolar disorders.

Moral development—growth in the ability to tell right from wrong, control impulses, and act ethically.

Morality principle—in Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the way the superego acts as the conscience and assigns pride and guilt for behavior which does and does not conform to its ethical guidelines.

Morphemes—the smallest unit of language that has meaning.

Motivation—need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.

Motive—a need or a want that causes us to act.

Multiple approach-avoidance—a conflict in which the individual must choose between two or more alternatives each of which has both positive and negative characteristics.

Multiple intelligences—Howard Gardner’s theory that intelligence is composed of many different factors including at least eight intelligences: logical-mathematical, verbal-linguistic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic.

Myelin sheath—a fatty covering of the axon made by glial cells which speeds up conduction of the action potential.

Narcissistic personality disorder—exaggerated sense of self-importance and demands for attention.

Narcolepsy—is a condition in which an awake person suddenly and uncontrollably falls asleep, often directly into REM sleep.

Narcotics—analgesics (pain reducers) which work by depressing the central nervous system and can also depress the respiratory system; include the opiates and synthetic opiates: codeine, heroin, morphine, opium, Percodan, Darvon, Talwin, Dilaudid, methadone, and Demerol.

Nativist perspective—human brain has an innate capacity for acquiring language (language acquisition device), possibly during a critical period of time after birth. Children are born with a universal sense of grammar (Noam Chomsky).

Naturalistic observation—research method that records behaviors of humans or other animals in real-life situations without intervention.

Nature-nurture controversy—deals with the extent to which heredity and the environment each influence behavior.

Nearsighted—too much curvature of the cornea and/or lens, focusing image in front of the retina so nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects.

Negative reinforcement—removal of an aversive consequence that follows a voluntary behavior thereby increasing the probability the behavior will be repeated; two types include avoidance and escape.

Neocortex—the cerebral cortex.

Neonate—newborn baby from birth to one month old.

Nerve (sensorineural) deafness—loss of hearing that results from damage to the cochlea, hair cells, or auditory neurons; cochlea implants may restore some hearing.

Neural network—clusters of neurons that are interconnected to process information.

Neurogenesis—the growth of new neurons.

Neuroleptics—antipsychotic drugs to reduce hallucinations, delusions, and jumbled thought processes; include Thorazine (chlorpromazine),