Psychology A-Level
Psychology A-Level glossary
39 key terms for Psychology A-Level, A to Z, each linked to the topic pages that use it.
A
- Affectionless Psychopathy
- A clinical condition characterized by an inability to experience guilt or empathy, often linked to early maternal deprivation.Pearson Edexcel
B
- Biological Determinism vs. Environmental Influence
- The tension between physiological predispositions, such as XYY syndrome or amygdala dysfunction, and environmental conditioning through social learning or…Pearson Edexcel
- Biological vs. Psychological Etiology
- The tension between organic causes, such as neurotransmitter dysregulation (dopamine hypothesis) or genetic predisposition, and environmental factors,…Pearson Edexcel
C
- Capacity
- The amount of information that can be held in a memory store.Pearson Edexcel
- Catharsis
- A psychodynamic concept proposed by Freud involving the release of pent-up emotional tension or aggression through safe outlets.Pearson Edexcel
- Classical Conditioning
- A learning process occurring through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus; credit references to Pavlovian…Pearson Edexcel
- Classification and Diagnosis
- The systematic categorization of mental disorders using standardized manuals (DSM and ICD).Pearson Edexcel
- Concordance Rate
- The probability that a pair of individuals (usually twins) will both have a certain characteristic, given that one of the pair has the characteristic.Pearson Edexcel
- Correlation
- A research method that measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two co-variables.Pearson Edexcel
- Critical Period
- A biologically determined window (approximately 0-2.5 years) during which an attachment must form to avoid permanent developmental damage.Pearson Edexcel
D
- Duration
- The length of time information can be held in a memory store.Pearson Edexcel
E
- Ecological Validity
- The extent to which the findings of a research study are able to be generalized to real-life settings.Pearson Edexcel
- Encoding
- The format in which information is stored in the various memory stores (e.g., acoustic, visual, semantic).Pearson Edexcel
- Ethnocentrism
- The tendency to interpret and judge other cultures by the values and standards of one's own culture, often leading to bias in research.Pearson Edexcel
F
- Falsifiability
- The requirement that a scientific hypothesis must be capable of being proven false through empirical testing.Pearson Edexcel
I
- Internal Validity
- The degree to which a study ensures that the observed effects on the dependent variable are caused solely by the independent variable.Pearson Edexcel
- Internal Working Model
- A mental representation of the primary attachment relationship that acts as a template for future social and emotional interactions.Pearson Edexcel
L
- Leading Question
- A question that, either by its form or content, suggests to the witness what answer is desired or leads them to the desired answer.Pearson Edexcel
M
- Mediational Processes
- Cognitive factors (attention, retention, motor reproduction, motivation) that intervene in the learning process to determine whether a new response is acquired.Pearson Edexcel
- Models of Behavior Change
- Examination of cognitive frameworks such as the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Transtheoretical Model in predicting and facilitating health-related…Pearson Edexcel
N
- Neurotransmitter
- Chemical messengers stored in synaptic vesicles that transmit signals across the synaptic cleft.Pearson Edexcel
O
- Operant Conditioning
- A method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior; award marks for distinguishing between reinforcement (increasing behavior) and…Pearson Edexcel
P
- Physiological Mechanisms of Stress
- Analysis of the Sympathomedullary (SAM) pathway for acute stressors and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis for chronic stressors, focusing on the…Pearson Edexcel
- Pre-frontal Cortex
- The area at the front of the brain responsible for decision-making, regulating emotions, and impulse control.Pearson Edexcel
- Prefrontal Cortex
- An area of the brain located at the front of the frontal lobe, responsible for impulse control and regulating emotions.Pearson Edexcel
- Privation
- The total failure to form any attachment bond during the developmental period, distinct from the loss of an existing bond.Pearson Edexcel
R
- Reconstructive Memory
- The theory that memory is an active process of recreating past events, which can be altered by post-event information and expectations.Pearson Edexcel
- Reductionism
- The scientific approach of explaining complex phenomena (like human aggression) by breaking them down into their simplest, most basic physical components…Pearson Edexcel
- Rehabilitation and Recidivism
- Evaluation of the mechanisms of change in offender behavior, contrasting punitive measures with psychological interventions like Anger Management and Token…Pearson Edexcel
- Reliability of the Judicial Process
- Assessment of the fallibility of human memory in legal contexts and the impact of social influence and cognitive biases on jury deliberation and verdicts.Pearson Edexcel
S
- Social Releasers
- Innate 'cute' behaviors (e.g., smiling, crying) displayed by infants to stimulate caregiving responses from adults.Pearson Edexcel
- Spearman's Rho
- An inferential statistical test used to determine the strength and direction of a correlation between two co-variables.Pearson Edexcel
- Standard Deviation
- A descriptive statistic that quantifies the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values around the mean.Pearson Edexcel
- Stimulus Generalisation
- The tendency for the conditioned response to be evoked by stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus, as demonstrated in the Little Albert study.Pearson Edexcel
- Synaptic Transmission
- The process by which chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) cross the gap between neurons to pass on an electrical impulse.Pearson Edexcel
T
- The Biopsychosocial Model
- The shift from a reductionist biomedical perspective to a holistic framework that accounts for the interaction between physiological pathology, cognitive…Pearson Edexcel
- Thematic Analysis
- A qualitative research method used for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data sets.Pearson Edexcel
- Treatment and Management
- Evaluation of biological therapies, such as first and second-generation antipsychotics, against psychological interventions like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy…Pearson Edexcel
V
- Vicarious Reinforcement
- The process wherein an observer's behavior changes after viewing a model being reinforced or punished; essential for Social Learning Theory (SLT) applications.Pearson Edexcel
Where these terms come from
Each definition is one we publish on a Psychology A-Level topic page or study guide. Open a term to see how each exam board words it and which topic it belongs to. For the full course, go to Psychology revision or the glossary for every subject.
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