affect
Subjective conscious experience such as affinity, pleasantness or unpleasantness. Affect, in contrast with emotion, does not include uncontrolled physiological changes that prepare the body for immediate action. (Pronounced with an emphasis on the first syllable.)

algorithm
A sequence of events with a clearly defined beginning followed by a set of steps or operations and a clearly defined ending.

cognition
Activities such as reasoning, thinking, and the process of perceiving and knowing.

complex
Consisting of two or more parts, composed from two or more different substances.

emotion
Subjective experience involving physiological change that prepares the body for immediate action. Emotion is not subject to conscious control. Emotional memory may or may not be consciously accessible.

function
An action or event that is dependent upon the action of one or more independent variables.

hypermnesia
An increase in memory that occurs after exposure to the stimulus has ended. Hypermneisia is measured with repeated testing.

image
A representation or model of something or someone.

imagery
Representations of people or things including photographs, sound recordings, and the perceivable environment as well as mental representations such as visual, auditory, and conceptual representations.

learn
To gain knowledge or skill.

mind
The faculty of conscious understanding. Compare to emotion.

memory
The faculty that supports recognition, recollection, reminiscence, remembering, and knowing.

operating system
A set of processes that are designed to operate and interact continually. An operating system provides the necessary framework and support for functions, procedures, and processes.

p
An abbreviation for the probability that an effect cannot be attributed to a factor in the experiment or that the variation in two distributions of data is coincidental. By example, the statement, “p < .0001”, indicates the odds that the result of an experiment can be attributed to unconsidered or random events, or that two distributions in a correlation analysis are similar, are less than one in ten thousand.

primitive
Basic, fundamental.

procedure
An identifiable routine that is composed of zero or more functions.

process
A method of doing something that involves several steps. Functions and procedures may be used in the composition of processes.

semantic
Of or pertaining to meaning.

semantics
The study of meanings.

simple
Consisting of only one substance; not compounded or complex. A simple equation in which the expressions of the unknown are stated in the first power only: x + y = z is a simple equation, x² + y² = r² is not.

stimuli
Plural form of stimulus. Anything that stimulates or directly influences the activity of a living organism.

syntax
1. The orderly or systematic arrangement of words, symbols, or items. 2. The set of rules that specify how the elements of a language can be arranged to form grammatically correct statements.

system
1. A group of items taken together that interact and are subject to common influences. By example, the limbic system, or the digestive system.
2. A set of things that are reasonably classified or arranged in an orderly form so as to show a logical plan linking the various parts. By example, the real number system or the solar system.

true
Being in accordance with the actual state of things. Essential reality.