ATTENTIONAL NARROWING
the restricting of attention in high-stress situations to a small set of critical displays. If critical information occurs outside this…
ATTITUDE OBJECT
any targets of judgment, including people, places, and things, that have an attitude or opinion associated with it.
ATTRIBUTE 1
n. refers to a particular quality, property of a person, sensation, or object. For example, the tonal attribute of a…
ATYPICAL EATING DISORDER
in the DSM-lll, this represented a category of eating disorders. In the DSM-IV-TR these are labeled eating disorder not otherwise…
AUDIENCE EFFECT
the influence of the presence of other people on an individual's behavior. Also refers to the belief that other people…
AUDITORY ACUITY
the ability to detect and discriminate between different, sometimes similar-sounding sounds. For example, auditory frequency acuity is the ability to…
AUDITORY HALLUCINATION
the perception of sound in the absence of any kind of auditory stimulus. Hallucinations may, for example, be accusatory or…
AUDITORY SYSTEM
the entirety of the biological structures and processes responsible for hearing. Overall, the peripheral auditory system, or auditory periphery, includes…
AUTISTIC FANTASY
a specific type of defense mechanism in which a person deals with emotional stress by retreating into excessive daydreaming as…
AUTOENUCLEATION
n. an act of self-mutilation, whereby an individual excises an organ or tumor from his or her own body. For…
AUTOMATED LEARNING
one method of acquiring knowledge through the used of electronic or mechanical devices. It is sometimes outside the scope of…
AUTOMATICITY
a process that can be carried out rapidly and without effort or intention (an automatic process). This often occurs when…
AUTONOMIC BALANCE
the complementary and reciprocal interactions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system, which together, create a…
AUTOSEXUALITY
refers to any form of sexual arousal or stimulation that occurs while alone for example, masturbation, sexual dreams, autoerotic activities,…
AVERSIVE RACISM
refers to a form of prejudice felt by individuals who endorse egalitarian attitudes and values but experience negative emotions in…
AVOIDANT PERSONALITY
a personality style characterized by feeling uncomfortable when psychologically close to others, fearing potential rejection, and not engaging in peer…