Psychology — TOEFL Academic Vocabulary
Psychology Five high-utility words with the full apparatus: pronunciation, both definitions, natural + academic examples, collocations, family, mistakes — then a 10-question set quiz.
behavior /bɪˈheɪvjər/ noun B1
Meaning: The way a person or animal acts.
Academic meaning: Observable actions and responses of an organism, studied as evidence of psychological processes.
Natural example: The teacher praised the children for their good behavior.
Academic example: Researchers observed changes in feeding behavior after the treatment.
Collocations: human behavior · behavior patterns · aggressive behavior
Synonyms: conduct, actions, manners
Word family: behave (verb) · behavioral (adjective) · behaviorism (noun)
⚠ Common mistake: 'Behavior' is uncountable in general use: say 'their behavior was surprising', not 'their behaviors were surprising', unless you mean distinct types of behavior in research.
Register: neutral; the standard term in psychology · Usage: Psychology studies behavior because it can be observed and measured, unlike thoughts, which must be inferred.
mental /ˈmɛntəl/ adjective B1
Meaning: Related to the mind or to thinking.
Academic meaning: Pertaining to cognitive and psychological processes, including perception, memory, emotion, and mental health.
Natural example: Doing puzzles is good mental exercise.
Academic example: Chronic stress can have serious effects on mental health over time.
Collocations: mental health · mental process · mental ability
Synonyms: psychological, cognitive, intellectual
Antonyms: physical, bodily
Word family: mentally (adverb) · mentality (noun)
⚠ Common mistake: Calling a person 'mental' is offensive slang in British English; in academic writing, use 'mental' only before nouns like 'health' or 'process'.
Register: neutral; formal in psychology and medicine · Usage: Pair 'mental' with 'physical' when contrasting mind and body: 'mental and physical development'.
respond /rɪˈspɑnd/ verb B1
Meaning: To say or do something as an answer to something else.
Academic meaning: To react to a stimulus, treatment, or question, producing a measurable outcome in an experiment or study.
Natural example: She did not respond to my email.
Academic example: Patients who received the new drug responded more quickly than the control group.
Collocations: respond to a stimulus · respond well to treatment · respond by doing
Synonyms: react, reply, answer
Antonyms: ignore, disregard
Word family: response (noun) · responsive (adjective) · respondent (noun)
⚠ Common mistake: Always use 'to' after 'respond': 'respond to the question', not 'respond the question'. Also note the noun is 'response', not 'respond'.
Register: neutral; academic in experimental reports · Usage: In research, participants 'respond to' a stimulus; a person who answers a survey is called a 'respondent'.
effect /ɪˈfɛkt/ noun B1
Meaning: A change or result that is caused by something.
Academic meaning: The outcome produced by a cause or independent variable, measured to test a hypothesis.
Natural example: The medicine had an immediate effect on her pain.
Academic example: The experiment measured the effect of sleep deprivation on memory.
Collocations: have an effect on · the effect of · side effect
Synonyms: result, impact, consequence
Antonyms: cause, origin
Word family: effective (adjective) · effectively (adverb) · affect (verb)
⚠ Common mistake: The classic error: 'affect' is usually the verb and 'effect' is usually the noun — 'the effect of', 'to affect'.
Register: neutral; central to scientific writing · Usage: Write 'the effect of X on Y' to state clearly what caused what in your results.
tend /tɛnd/ verb B2
Meaning: To usually do something or usually behave in a certain way.
Academic meaning: To show a regular inclination or probability toward a particular behavior or outcome across cases.
Natural example: I tend to wake up early on weekends.
Academic example: Older participants tended to answer more cautiously than younger ones.
Collocations: tend to do · tend toward · a tendency to
Synonyms: inclined to, prone to, likely to
Antonyms: avoid, resist
Word family: tendency (noun) · tended (verb, past)
⚠ Common mistake: Do not use 'tend' for a single action: 'He tends to forget names' describes a habit, not one occasion.
Register: neutral; very common in academic reporting of results · Usage: Use 'tend to' to describe a general pattern without claiming it happens every time — useful for careful academic claims.