Index

A
Alpha bias: Assumes real differences between males and females. 
Amygdala: A small part of the brain which processes emotions. 
Anonymity: Being without identity.
Attention: Notice taken of a behaviour. 

B
Beta-endorphin: An opiate neurotransmitter.
Beta bias: Assumes there are no real differences between men and women, or that any differences are trivial. 
C
Concordance: The degree of similarity in pairs of twins with respect to a trait. 
Contagion: The spread of a behaviour pattern. 
Cortex: A part of the brain important for the role of consciousness. 
Cortisol: A hormone important in the stress response. 
Crowd Theory: Individuals are more likely to be aggressive when a part of a large, anonymous group. 
Cultural Relativism: The idea that all cultures are different and equally worth studying. 

D
Determinism: The extent to which one's behaviours/actions are predetermined. 
Dizygotic: Non-identical twins - share 50% of their genes. 
Dopamine: The neurotransmitter chemical associated with rewards e.g. sex, food, drugs etc.

E
Emic analysis: Behaviour is culturally specific. 
Endorphins: Opiate neurotransmitters. 
Enkephalin: An opiate neurotransmitter. 
Environmental determinism: Behaviour is determined by the environment. 
Environmental reductionism: Relates to behaviourist approach and tries to explain all human behaviour in terms of simple conditioning. Ignores cognitive processes. 
Etic Analysis: Behaviour is universal and cultural differences can be ignored. 
Ethnocentrism: The idea that research findings from one culture can be generalised to all cultures. 
Eurocentrism: The generalisation of results from Europe and America. 
Evolutionary reductionism: Behaviour must have been adaptive and inherited. Ignored cultural variations.

F
Free Will: The extent to which one has complete control over their actions/behaviours. 
G


H
Holism: When an approach takes into consideration every extraneous factor thinkable and is well-rounded. 
Hostile Aggression: Generally caused by being provoked/upset and the primary purpose is to harm someone.
Hypothalamus: A region of the brain which controls body temperature, thirst, hunger, sleep and emotional activity.


I
Idiographic: The approach of investigating in personal, in-depth detail in order to obtain a unique understanding of them. 
Instrumental Aggression: Primary goal is to gain a reward. Not usually provoked by anger or emotion. 


J


K


L


M
Mental Representations: Creating a representation of something subconsciously. 
Methodological Reductionism: Certain variables are identified and ten studied in a controlled experiment. 
Monozygotic: Identical twins - share all of their genes. 
Motivation: Expectancy of reward for behaviour. 

N
Nature: The impact genetics have on behaviour. 
Nomothetic: The approach of investigating groups of people in order to try to find general laws of behaviour that apply to everyone. 
Nurture: The impact upbringing and environment have on behaviour. 
O
Observational Learning: Learning by watching others.
Opiate: Drugs such as heroin and morphine. Also naturally occurring neurotransmitters in the brain, involved in feelings of pleasure and pain reduction. 

P
Pro-Social Aggression: Aggression performed to prevent greater harm.


Q


R
Reciprocal Determinism: The theory that that a person's behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment.
Reductionism: Over-simplifying a complex theory. 
Relative Deprivation: The perceived difference between what you have and what you think you should have. 
Reproduction: Recreating behaviour. 
Retention: Ability to hold information. 
Reward System: A system of pathways that control feelings of reward and pleasure. 

S
Self-awareness: Being aware of one's own behaviour. 
Self-efficacy: An individual's belief in one's own capacity.
Self-fulfilling prophecy: When a person feels as though they have to adapt their behaviour to live up to how they're perceived.  
Serotonin: The neurotransmitter chemical responsible for happiness and depression.
Soft determinism: If our actions are voluntary and in line with our conscious desired goals then they are free. 
Suggestibility: Being inclined to act on others' decisions. 

T
Testosterone: A male sex hormone / androgen hormone.  
Tryptophan: An amino acid found in food that is essential to the production of serotonin.  U
Unconscious determinism: Our behaviour is controlled by forces of which we are unaware.
V
Vicarious Reinforcement: Witnessing others receiving reinforcement and taking on favourable behaviour.

W


X
XYY Karyotype: When males have an extra Y chromosome and are seen as more aggressive. 
XY: Male chromosomes. 
XX: Female chromosomes. 
Y


Z