Starting with psychology

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Starting with psychology

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Browse the glossary using this index

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C

Cognitive psychology:

The branch of psychology that studies the mental processes involved in perception, learning, memory, and thinking

Collectivist culture:

A culture where group needs take precedence over individual needs and in turn the group takes responsibility for the wellbeing of the individual

Concept formation:

The process of making a mental representation of a group of objects or events that share similar properties

Conformity:

The tendency for members of a group to behave in a similar way to other members of the group

Corpus callosum:

A bundle of nerve cells which connect one hemisphere with another

Cortex:

The outer layer of the brain

D

Dependent variable:

A variable that changes as a result of the manipulation of the independent variable and is measured by the experimenter

E

Et al:

Translates as ‘and others’ and is often used when a number of people have been involved in a piece of research. You can just give the name of the main researcher and use ‘et al’ to indicate that there were a number of other researchers

G

genetic predisposition

an inherited genetic pattern that makes one susceptible to a certain disease

Group pressure:

The demand by group members that individuals in the group conform to certain group standards/behaviours

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