Glossary
naïve scientist: characterising people as being rational and using cause-effect type analyses to understand their social world
narcolepsy: a neurological condition most characterised by excessive daytime sleepiness
nativist: a person who believes that the strongest effect on development is from our genes
natural concepts: natural concepts, such as ‘dog’, have fuzzy boundaries which blur the distinction between examples and non-examples of the concept. Contrast with logical concepts
nature: the influence of inherited or biological processes on development
negative reinforcement: when a reinforcer that increases the probability of a behaviour is the removal of an aversive stimulus
negative skew: a property of a distribution of scores indicating that scores cluster at the higher end and the distribution tails off towards the lower scores (see Figure 38.4) negative state relief theory: proposes that helping others is one mechanism we use to relieve the distress caused by witnessing another in need
negative symptoms in schizophrenia: symptoms of schizophrenia that represent the absence of normal behaviour, and include withdrawal from social contact, flat affect and lack of emotional expression
negative triad: a set of negative beliefs proposed by Beck (1976) to underlie depression. They are negative views of the self (e.g. ‘I am unattractive’), negative views of the future (e.g. ‘I will never achieve anything’) and negative views of the world (e.g. ‘the world is a dangerous and unsupportive place’)
nerve growth factor (NGF): a protein which induces the differentiation and survival of particular target neurons
neural tube: in neurodevelopment, this is the embryo's precursor to the central nervous system
neurogenetic determinism: the view that behaviour and human nature are determined by brain structures and genetic inheritance
neuromuscular junction (NMJ): the synapse at which neural messages communicate with muscles
neurons: the main cells of the brain that are electrically excitable and that process and transmit information
neuropeptide y (NPY): a type of peptide that is involved feeding behaviours
neurosecretory cells: neurons that transport hormones from hypothalamus to the posterior pituitary gland
new paradigm research: new paradigm research rejects the use of the hypothetico-deductive method, and the notion of objectivity. New paradigm researchers emphasise the use of qualitative methods to gather rich information about individuals; the collaborative role of research participants; and the subjective interpretation of the investigator
nicotine: a chemical found in tobacco and the principal agent for maintaining smoking
nociception: pain perception
nodes of ranvier: gaps in the myelin sheath
nominal data: where numbers merely represent names. For example, the numbers on sports players’ shirts: a player with the number 1 on her back is not necessarily worse than a player with a 2 on her back
nomothetic: any theory that looks at general or abstract laws (rather than looking at the individual or unique – see ideographic). The term tends to be associated with the acquisition of knowledge through experimentation (because the aim of experimental methods is to generate generalisable results)
nomothetic: of or relating to the general case, especially in relation to the search for general laws or traits in the study of personality
non-common effects: part of correspondence inference theory. Effects of behaviour that are specific and exclusive to that behaviour and not to other behaviours
non-competitive drugs: drugs that do not act at the same site as the neurotransmitter
non-scientific statements: statements that cannot be empirically tested non-verbal communication: the process of transferring information from one person to another using means other than the spoken or written language. For example, gestures, body posture and facial expressions
normal distribution: a probability distribution of a random variable that is known to have certain properties, namely, it is perfectly symmetrical and so has skew and
normal distribution curve: the symmetrical curve that represents the distribution of scores on many psychological attributes; allows researchers to judge how unusual an observation or result is kurtosis = 0. Technically, it is described by a hideously complicated equation, but it is more easily thought of graphically as a bell-shaped curve (see Figure 38.3)
normally-distributed data: a set of scores for which the frequency distribution is a normal distribution normative social influence: an influence type to conform to the expectation of others so as to gain social approval and avoid social disapproval
normative test: a type of test, assessment or evaluation in which the tested individual is compared to a sample of his or her peers (referred to as a ‘normative sample’)
nucleotides: the chemicals which make up DNA
nucleus accumbens (NAcc): part of the mesolimbic system
nucleus of the solitary tract: part of the medulla
nucleus: a subunit in the cell that contains genetic information
null hypothesis: the reverse of the alternative hypothesis, that is, that your prediction is wrong and that the predicted effect does not exist. Incidentally, this hypothesis is never true, despite what people might have you believe
nurture: the influence of experience and/or culture on development