SEASONAL VARIATION
Often attributed to photoperiodism, changes which occur in behavioral, psychological, and physiological patterns as seasons vary or in reaction to…
SECONDARY CONTROL
Behavior pattern which does not directly control the environment, but is intended to alter oneself to be more compatible with…
SECOND-ORDER CONDITIONING
Use of a previously successfully conditioned stimulus as the unconditioned stimulus for further conditioning, employed in Pavlovian conditioning. See: higher…
SEGREGATION ANALYSIS
Enumeration of progeny according to distinct and mutually exclusive phenotypes; used as a test of a putative pattern of inheritance…
SELECTIVE CELL DEATH
Process in initial development wherein neurons which are not stimulated by sensory or motor experience wither and die.
SELECTIVE VALUE
Comparative significance of any aspect in assessing the evolution of internal organs, characteristics, or species by means of natural selection.…
SADISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER
Personality disorder which is marked by a pervasive pattern of cruel, demeaning, and aggressive behavior. Satisfaction is gained in intimidating,…
SALICYLATES
Class of medications based on salicin (obtained from the bark of the willow tree) or its compounds; employed as analgesics,…
SAMPLING VARIABILITY
Degree to which the importance of a statistic varies across a variety of samples from the median importance for any…
SCAFFOLDING
Epistemological method of embodied cognition , wherein the environment that an agent functions within is observed as a sine qua…
SCAPEGOAT THEORY
Social psychological term that relates to prejudice. According to this theory, people may be prejudice toward a group in order…
SCHEDULE OF REINFORCEMENT
Any type of guideline used in conditioning which outlines which responses will be reinforced. Also known as: reinforcement schedule. See…
SCHIZOPHRENIA
Psychotic disorder (or a group of disorders) marked by severely impaired thinking, emotions, and behaviors. Patients are typically unable to…
SCHOLASTIC ACHIEVEMENT TEST
Any examination which assesses a pupil's comprehension and aptitude within core subjects of education, such as history, science, mathematics, or…
SCHWANN CELL
Any of the cells of the peripheral nervous system which wraps around a nerve fiber and covers the axons to…
SCIENTIST-PRACTITIONER MODEL
Principle for the graduate instruction of doctoral clinical (or various other applied) psychology professionals in the US, which is designed…