Glossary
backpropogation: a process in connectionist modelling which involves adjusting the relation between input and output based on feedback about success
balance theory: Heider’s theory of cognitive consistency in which people strive to maintain consistency among their beliefs and cognitions. People prefer attitudes that are consistent and avoid inconsistent ones
bar chart: a graph displaying some statistical property (frequency, mean, etc.) of an outcome variable, for unordered categories of data. The statistical property is displayed as a bar (see Figure 38.8)
Barnum effect: the tendency for people to accept very general or vague characterisations of themselves and take them to be accurate
baroreceptors: receptors which detect blood pressure
basal ganglia: a group of nuclei in the brain interconnected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus and brainstem. The basal ganglia are associated with a variety of functions: motor control, cognition, emotions and learning
base rate information: the objective data that may be available when making a probabilistic judgement
Beck’s cognitive theory of depression: Beck argued that the thinking of depressed individuals was biased towards negative interpretations. In particular, he claimed that depressed people have negative views of themselves, their future and the world
Beck’s cognitive therapy: a cognitive therapy for depression devised by Aaron Beck which engages the depressed individual in an objective assessment of their beliefs, and requires them to provide evidence for their biased views of the world
behaviour analysis: this represents the behaviourist approach to psychopathology where learning theory, and particularly principles of operant conditioning, are applied to the explanation and treatment of psychopathology
behaviour modification: a form of behaviour therapy based on the principles of operant reinforcement (e.g. the token economy)
behaviour therapy: a form of therapy based on conditioning principles which stresses the need to treat symptoms of psychopathology as bona fide behavioural problems rather than the mere symptoms of some other, hidden underlying cause
behavioural bioassay: the use of an animal to mimic or model a physiological mechanism
behavioural genetics: the field of biology that studies the role of genetics in behaviour
behavioural pathogens: lifestyle factors that represent ways of living, behaving and thinking that give rise to poor health, and are more amenable to psychological interventions than physical or medical interventions (e.g. smoking)
behavioural self-control: multi-faceted behavioural programmes that can be used by any individual to control and manage their own behaviour. They are designed to deal with a variety of personal problems which include addiction, habits, obsessions and other behavioural problems
behaviourism: an early school of psychology, which is still followed as an approach in some areas of contemporary psychology. Behaviourism considers learning to be a result of the formation of links between stimuli and responses, and rejects the study of mental processes
benzodiazepines: a form of drug treatment for anxiety symptoms (e.g. Valium)
beta activity: the activity of the brain when active and alert as measured by an EEG
between-group design: see independent measures design
bimodal: a set of data is said to be bimodal if there are two values of the mode
binding: when a neurotransmitter or drug attaches itself to a receptor
binocular convergence: the convergence required of the two eyes to focus on an object
binocular cues: cues to the distance of an object involving both eyes – binocular convergence and retinal disparity
binocular vision: vision in which both eyes are used together
biological preparedness: an explanation of specific phobias that claims that we are genetically pre-wired to fear certain phobic stimuli and events
biological reductionism: biological reductionism is the belief that we can understand the behaviour of humans by investigating the behaviour of less complex animals. Examples of biological reductionist approaches include behaviourism and sociobiology
biomedical model of health: a conceptual model of health that seeks the causes of illness in physical entities such as germs and viruses, and sees the corollaries of illness – such as pain – as being caused by physical factors such as tissue damagea
biopsychosocial view of health: views of health behaviour that incorporate (1) the biological and genetic factors that are involved in many illnesses, (2) the psychological factors, such as beliefs, that may inform behaviour change, and (3) sociological and demographic factors, such as age, race, peer- or reference-group, etc.
bipolar cells: specialised sensory neurons for the transmission of senses
bi-polar depression: a form of mood disorder that is characterised by periods of mania that alternate with periods of depression
blind spot: the specific area in the visual field that corresponds to the lack of light-detecting photoreceptor cells at the point of the optic nerve
blood-brain barrier: a membrane structure that protects the brain from chemicals in the blood
bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence: control of one's bodily motions and capacity to handle objects skillfully
body dissatisfaction: a person’s negative feelings about their body and their body shape that may be a risk factor for developing an eating disorder
boredom effects: the possibility that performance at the end of a series of tasks, or one long task, is influenced by boredom
bottom-up processing: the perceptual processing of a visual (or other) object which is driven by the stimulus and which begins at the sense organ and ends in the higher centres of the brain
box whisker diagram: see boxplot
boxplot: a boxplot, or box-whisker diagram, is a graphical representation of the median, interquartile range and range of a set of observations (see Figure 38.10 for an example)
brightness constancy: the tendency to perceive a surface as having a constant brightness in spite of actual changes in the brightness of the reflected light over the surface or over time
Broadbent’s filter model: a model of auditory selective attention which posits an attentional filter early in processing which excludes input on the basis of its physical characteristics
bulimia nervosa (BN): an eating disorder characterised by recurrent episodes of binge eating interspersed with periods of purging (e.g. self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, excessive exercise, etc.), and a tendency to consider body shape and weight as overly important in all areas of self-evaluation
bystander effect: people are less likely to help others in an emergency when in the company of others than when alone. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely one person is to help
bystander-calculus model: in witnessing an emergency, people calculate the perceived costs and benefits of helping versus the perceived costs and benefits of not helping