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r See correlation coefficient.
random assignment In experimental design, the random placement of participants in experimental versus control groups in order to insure that all groups are matched at the outset of the experiment.
random sample See sample.
range A measure of the variability contained in a set of scores, calculated by subtracting the lowest score from the highest.
rationalization In psychoanalytic theory, a mechanism of defense by means of which unacceptable thoughts or impulses are reinterpreted in more acceptable and, thus, less anxiety-arousing terms (e.g., the jilted lover who convinces herself that she never loved her fiancé anyway).
ratio scale An interval scale in which there is a true zero point, thus allowing statements about proportions (e.g., this sound is twice as loud as the other). See also categorical scale, interval scale, nominal scale, ordinal scale.
reaction formation In psychoanalytic theory, a mechanism of defense in which a forbidden impulse is turned into its opposite (e.g., hate toward a sibling becomes exaggerated love).
reasoning The determination of the conclusions that can be drawn from certain premises.
reasoning schemas A series of rules, derived from ordinary practical experience, used to guide reasoning about problems involving conditions.
recall A task in which some item must be produced from memory. See also recognition.
recency effect In free recall, the tendency to recall items at the end of the list more readily than those in the middle. See also primacy effect (in free recall).
receptive field The retinal area in which visual stimulation affects a particular cell's firing rate.
recessive gene See gene.
reciprocal altruism A pattern of helpful behavior in which one organism does something for another, and so gains the benefit that the second organism will do something for the first.
reciprocal inhibition The arrangement by which excitation of some neural system is accompanied by inhibition of that system's antagonist (as in antagonistic muscles).
reciprocity principle A basic rule of many social interactions that decrees that one must repay whatever one has been given.
recoding Changing the form in which information is stored.
recognition A task in which a participant must judge whether he has encountered a stimulus previously. See also recall.
reconditioning In classical conditioning, the presentation of further reinforced conditioning trials after a conditioned response (CR) has been extinguished.
reflex A simple, stereotyped reaction in response to some stimulus (e.g., limb flexion in withdrawal from pain).
rehearsal See elaborative rehearsal, maintenance rehearsal.
relational aggression A strategy for attaining social advantage by manipulating others' social alliances. Females are apparently more relationally aggressive, whereas males are apparently more physically aggressive.
relative size A monocular depth cue in which far-off objects produce a smaller retinal image than nearby objects of the same size.
reliability The degree of consistency with which a test measures a trait or attribute. Assuming that a trait or attribute remains constant, a perfectly reliable test of that measure will produce the same score each time it is given.
reliability coefficient The coefficient used in determining the consistency of mental tests, that is, the repeatability of their results. It is usually derived from test-retest correlations or from correlations between alternative forms of a test. See also test-retest method.
REM rebound The tendency to spend more time in REM sleep if deprived of it on previous nights. REM rebound often occurs during withdrawal from medications that suppress REM sleep (e.g., barbiturates or alcohol).
REM sleep The type of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, an EEG indicative of high cortical arousal, speeded heart rate and respiration, near-paralysis of limb muscles, and recall of highly visual dreams.
repetition priming An increase in the likelihood that an item will be identified, recognized, or recalled caused by recent exposure to that item, which may occur without explicit awareness.
replication A repetition of an experiment that yields the same results.
report bias A tendency to announce some outcomes more often than others. For example, gamblers might suffer from a report bias, boasting about their wins but keeping quiet about their losses.
representative heuristic A rule of thumb by means of which we estimate the probability that an object (or event) belongs to a certain category based on how prototypical it is of that category, regardless of how common it actually is. See also prototype.
repressed memory In psychoanalytic theory, a memory that is so anxiety-laden that it has been pushed out of consciousness where it may fester until it is "recovered."
repression In psychoanalytic theory, a mechanism of defense by means of which thoughts, impulses, or memories that give rise to anxiety are pushed out of consciousness.
resistance In psychoanalysis, a term describing the patient's failure to associate freely and say whatever enters her head.
resolution According to some authors, one of the four stages of sexual arousal.
response amplitude The size of a response, used commonly as a sign of response strength in classical and operant conditioning.
response rate The number of responses per unit of time. This is one measure of the strength of an operant response.
response suppression The inhibition of a response by conditioned fear.
resting potential The difference in voltage across a neuronal membrane when the neuron is not firing.
restitutional symptoms For Eugen Bleuler, symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations that originated in the schizophrenic patient's attempt to compensate for his increasing isolation from the world.
restructuring A reorganization of a problem that can facilitate its solution; a characteristic of creative thought.
retention interval In memory experiments, the time that elapses between the original learning and a later test.
retina The tissue-thin structure at the back of the interior of the eye that contains the photoreceptors, several layers of intermediate neurons, and the cell bodies of the axons that form the optic nerve.
retinal image The image of an object that is projected on the retina. Its size increases with the size of that object and decreases with the object's distance from the eye.
retrieval The process of searching for some item in memory and of finding it. If retrieval fails, this may or may not mean that the relevant memory trace is missing. The trace may simply be inaccessible.
retrieval cue A stimulus that helps one to recall a memory.
retrieval failure The inability to access a memory, often due to poor encoding; an alternative to erasure as an explanation for forgetting.
retrieval paths The mental connections, linking one idea to the next, that one uses in locating a bit of information in memory.
retrograde amnesia A memory deficit, often suffered after a head injury, in which the patient loses memory of some period prior to the injury. See also anterograde amnesia.
reversible figures Visual patterns that easily allow more than one interpretation, including figures that allow parsing such that what is initially figure becomes ground and vice versa.
rhodopsin The photopigment used in the rods within the retina.
rhythm The pattern of timing in the delivery of a stimulus, such as music or speech.
risky shift A pattern in which a group appears more willing to take chances, or more willing to take an extreme stance, than the individual group members would have been on their own.
rods Photoreceptors in the retina that respond to lower light intensities and give rise to achromatic (colorless) sensations. See also cones.
romantic love A state of emotion characterized by idealization of the beloved, turbulent emotions, and obsessive thoughts. See also companionate love.
Romeo-and-Juliet effect The intensification of romantic love that can occur with parental opposition.
rooting reflex In the infant, the sucking elicited by stroking applied on or around the lips; aids breast-feeding.
Rorschach inkblot technique A projective (unstructured) personality assessment that requires the examinee to look at a series of inkblots and report everything she sees in them.
rules of syntax The regular principles governing how words can be assembled into sentences, and also describing the structure of those sentences.
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