| A | B |
|---|
| abnormal behavior | behavior that is statistically unusual |
| abnormal psychology | study of mental and emotional disturbances, origins and treatment |
| absolute threshold | minimum amount of stimulus to which a receptor will respond 50% of the time |
| accommodation | process of changing one's cognitive view when new information dictates such a change. |
| achievement motive | desire for success |
| achievement test | test that measures the individual's present level of skill or knowledge |
| acrophobia | fear of heights |
| active processing | mental work performed by a listener in interpreting speech. -tries to recognize sounds, identify words, look for syntactic patterns, and search for semantic meaning. |
| acuity | sharpness of vision |
| adaptation | tendency of sensory apparatus to adjust to any steady and continued level of stimulation and to stop responding |
| addiction | physical dependence |
| adjustment | living in harmony with oneself and outside events |
| adrenal glands | pair of endocrine glands lying atop kidneys |
| adrenalin | (epinephrine) a hormone secreted by adrenal glands, associated with fight or flight |
| affective disorder | mental disorder characterized by abnormalities of mood, including severe depression and swings of mood from one extreme to the other |
| afferent neuron | neuron that carries impulses from the sense organs toward the central nervous system |
| affiliation motive | desire to be closely associated with other people |
| after image | visual phenomenon produced by withdrawal of stimulus |
| aggression | behavior arising from hostile motives |
| alcoholism | abnormal se of alcohol characterized by strong dependence on alcohol and loss of control over the act of drinking. |
