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H See heritability ratio.
habituation A decline in the tendency to respond to stimuli that have become familiar. While short-term habituation dissipates in a matter of minutes, long-term habituation may persist for days or weeks.
habituation procedure A widely used method for studying infant perception. After some exposure to a visual stimulus, an infant becomes habituated and stops looking at it. The extent to which a new stimulus leads to renewed interest and resumption of looking is taken as a measure of the extent to which the infant regards this new stimulus as different from the old one to which he became habituated.
hair cells The auditory receptors in the cochlea, lodged between the basilar membrane and other membranes above.
hallucinations Perceived experiences that occur in the absence of actual sensory stimulation.
heritability ratio (H) This refers to the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining the observed variation of a particular trait. More specifically, H is the proportion of the variance of the trait in a given population that is attributable to genetic factors.
hertz (Hz) A measure of frequency in number of cycles per second.
heterosexuality A sexual orientation leading to a choice of sexual partners of the opposite sex.
heuristics In problem solving, a procedure that has often worked in the past and is likely, but not certain, to work again. Heuristics typically sacrifice accuracy or guarantee of success in order to gain efficiency. See also algorithm.
hierarchy of needs According to Maslow and other adherents of the humanistic approach, human needs are arranged in a hierarchy with physiological needs such as hunger at the bottom, safety needs further up, the need for attachment and love still higher, and the desire for esteem yet higher. At the very top of the hierarchy is the striving for self-actualization. By and large, people will only strive for the higher-order needs when the lower ones are fulfilled. See also self-actualization.
higher-order invariants Aspects of the stimulus input, usually involving ratios or relationships, that remain unchanged despite changes in viewing circumstances. For example, if a viewer walks toward a car, the retinal image cast by that car grows larger as the viewing distance shrinks. Even so, there is no change in the relationship between the car's image size and, say, the image size of the person standing next to the car. Some have hypothesized that by attending to this unchanging ratio, the viewer can gain a more accurate perception of the car's size.
hindbrain The rearmost portion of the brain just above the spinal cord, which includes the pons, medulla, and cerebellum.
histogram A graphic rendering of a frequency distribution which depicts the distribution by a series of contiguous rectangles. See also frequency distribution.
hit A response indicating that a signal is present when it is in fact present. See false alarm.
homeostasis The body's tendency to maintain the conditions of its internal environment by various forms of self-regulation.
homogamy The tendency of like to mate with like.
homosexuality A sexual orientation leading to a choice of partners of the same sex.
hormone A chemical released by one of the glands. Hormones travel through the bloodstream and control a number of bodily functions, including metabolic rate, arousal level, sugar output of the liver, and so on.
hue A perceived dimension of visual stimuli whose meaning is close to the term color (e.g., red, blue).
humanistic approach Asserts that what is most important about people is how they achieve their selfhood and actualize their potentialities. See also psychodynamic approach, situationism, sociocultural approach.
Huntington's disease A progressive hereditary disorder that involves degeneration of the basal ganglia and that results in jerky limb movements, facial twitches, and uncontrolled writhing of the body.
hypnosis A temporary, trancelike state that can be induced in normal persons. During hypnosis, various hypnotic or posthypnotic suggestions sometimes produce effects that resemble some of the symptoms of conversion disorders. See also conversion disorder.
hypochondriasis A disorder in which the sufferer believes he has a specific disease and typically goes from doctor to doctor to be evaluated for it.
hypomania A mild manic state in which the individual seems infectiously merry, extremely talkative, charming, and indefatigable.
hypothalamus A small structure at the base of the forebrain that plays a vital role in the control of the autonomic nervous system, of the endocrine system, and of the major biological drives.
hysteria An older term for a group of presumably psychogenic disorders including conversion disorders and dissociative disorders. Since DSM-III, it is no longer used as a diagnostic category, in part because of an erroneous implication that the condition is more prevalent in women (Greek hystera — womb). See also conversion disorder, dissociative disorders, glove anesthesia.
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