| 41. | belief bias | the tendency for one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid |
| 42. | belief perseverance | clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited |
| 43. | binocular cues | depth cues, such as retinal disparity and converge, that depend on the use of two eyes |
| 44. | Biological psychology | concerned with links between biology and behavior |
| 45. | biological rhythms | periodic physiological fluctuations |
| 46. | blind spot | the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there |
| 47. | bottom-up processing | analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information |
| 48. | brainstem | the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions |
| 49. | Broca's Area | an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech |
| 50. | bulimia nervosa | an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise |
| 51. | Cannon-Bard Theory | the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus spontaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion |
| 52. | case study | an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles |
| 53. | catharsis | emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges |
| 54. | Central nervous system (CNS) | the brain and spinal cord |
| 55. | cerebellum | the "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance |
| 56. | cerebral cortex | the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center |
| 57. | chunking | organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically |
| 58. | circadian rhythm | the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle |
| 59. | clairvoyance | perceiving remote events, ie that a friend's house is on fire |
| 60. | classical conditioning | a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) begins to produce a response that anticipates and More… |
