AP psych Unit 1

Introspection

The process of inspecting one's own thought processes

Structuralism

An approach that focused on uncovering the basic structures of the mind using introspection. Created by Wilhelm Wundt

Functionalism

An approach that focused on how mental processes/behaviors are adaptations to our environment. Created by William James

Wilhelm Wundt

Known as the "father of psychology". Created structuralism and set up the first psychology laboratory

Margaret Floy Washburn

First woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology. Became second female president of the APA

William James

Wrote the first psychology textbook: The Principles of Psychology. Created functionalism

Mary Whiton Calkins

First female president of the APA. Became a distinguished memory researcher. Denied Ph.D. by Harvard

G. Stanley Hall

First American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology. First president of the APA. Created the first American lab for psychology and studied child development

Gestalt Psychology

Unit 1: Early psychological approach that looked at how our experiences are more than the sum of the parts that has little influence in modern psychology. Unit 3: Principles that explain how we interpret and group sensory information into cohesive wholes (Closure, Proximity, etc)

Max Wertheimer

Created gestalt psychology

Psychoanalysis

Unit 1: Theory that our unconscious mind influences our thoughts and behaviors. Unit 7: Freud's theories about personality and associated treatments. Unit 8: A therapeutic technique created by Sigmund Freud that focused on allowing patients to gain insight into repressed feelings using techniques like free association

Sigmund Freud

Created the psychoanalytic approach. His theories mostly focused on the power of the unconscious.

Behaviorism

An approach that focused on observable behaviors, ignoring any underlying cognitive factors. Created by John B. Watson

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist who created operant conditioning. Associated with his experiments with the skinner box/operant chamber.

John B. Watson

Created behaviorism

Humanistic approach

An approach that focused on an individual's ability to grow. Stressed free will and choice. Supported by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

Biological approach

An approach that focused on how our biology impacts our psychology

Evolutionary approach

An approach influenced by Darwin that looks at how human thought and behaviors are shaped by natural selection

Behavioral approach

An approach that looks at observable behaviors (See behaviorism)

Sociocultural approach

An approach that looks at how culture influences how people behavior and think

Socio-cultural approach

An approach that looks at how culture influences how people behavior and think

Jean Piaget

Unit 1: Studied child cognitive development. Unit 6: Created a cognitive-development theory with 4 stages (Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational)

Psychodynamic approach

An approach that looks at how the unconscious mind influences human thought and behaviors (See psychanalysis/Freud)

Psychoanalytic approach

An approach that looks at how the unconscious mind influences human thought and behaviors (See psychanalysis/Freud)

Developmental approach

An approach that looks at how people change over time

Psychometric psychologists

Psychologists that study human traits and abilities

Psychometrics

The study of human traits and abilities

Basic research

Research that answers questions which do not have immediate practical purposes

Applied research

Research that answers questions which apply to real-world situations

Operational definition

How a variable in an experiment will be measured

Validity

Accurately measured what it was supposed to measure

Reliability

Results are consistent and able to be repeated

Sampling

The process of selecting research participants

Population

The entire group of people that could be selected as participants

Random selection

A process of selecting participants where each individual in a population has an equal chance of being selected

Random sampling

A process of selecting participants where each individual in a population has an equal chance of being selected

Stratified sampling

A process of selecting participants where a population is divided into subcategories and individuals are randomely selected from each subcategory

Experiment

Research conducted in a highly controlled environment, usually a lab

Confounding variables

Variables other than the independent variable that may affect the dependent variable

Assignment

The process of assigning participants to the experimental group or the control group

Random assignment

A process of assigning participants where every participant has an equal chance of being In the experimental group or the control group

Participant-relevant confounding variables

When participants are not randomely assigned

Situation-relevant confounding variables

When the situations presented to the control and experimental group are somehow biased

Experimenter bias

Any bias that may arise due to the experimenters

Single-blind procedure

When the participants in a study do not know if they are in the control or experimental group

Double-blind procedure

When both the participants and the researchers in a study do not know who is assigned to the control group and the experimental group

Social desirability bias

The tendency for people to answer questions in ways that make them look better

Pseudopsychology

False psychological practices that are not scientifically proven

Confirmation bias

The tendency to easily accept information that conforms to our world view and to reject or discredit information that conflicts with it

Plato

Ancient greek philosopher who believed that knowledge is innate

Aristotle

Ancient greek philosopher who believed that knowledge was gained through experience

Socrates

Ancient greek philosopher who believed that knowledge is innate

Rene Descartes

French philosopher who believed that some ideas were innate. Correctly guessed that nerves were important in reflexes.

Wolfgang Kohler

Gestalt psychologist who studied insight learning

Cognitive neuroscience

A field that studies how the brain creates our mental processes

Cognition

Mental processes such as perception, thoughts, memories, and sensations

Clinical view

An emphasis on treating mental illness and maintaining mental health

Scientific method

A method of experimentation that involves forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, gathering and analyzing data, and then publishing the results to be replicated

Ex post facto

A quasi-experiment where subjects are chosen based on a pre-existing condition

Correlational study

Research that measures how two variables correlate. CANNOT prove cause and effect.

Survey

Research where questions are given to subjects. Allow for a lot of data to be collected, but can be subject to bias results

Naturalistic observation

Research where subjects are observed in their natural environment

Longitudinal study

Research where one group of subjects are observed/followed for an extensive period of time

Cross-sectional study

Research where different age groups in a population are tested or surveyed at the same time.

Independent variable

A variable being changed in an experiment. The "cause" being tested.

Dependent variable

A variable being measured in an experiment. The "effect" that is measured.

Hypothesis

A possible answer to a scientific question or a possible explanation to a scientific phenomenon.

Theory

A testable explanation that can predict behaviors or events

Institutional Review Board

An ethical committee that approves or rejects research proposals

IRB

An ethical committee that approves or rejects research proposals involving people

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

An ethical committee that approves or rejects research proposals involving animals

IACUC

An ethical committee that approves or rejects research proposals involving animals

Frequency distribution

A way of displaying data that shows how often certain results occur

Histogram

A bar graph showing a frequency distribution where the bars are touching

Descriptive statistics

Numerical data that describes group characteristics

Inferential statistics

Numerical data that helps to infer if a result is generalizable to the population

Mean

The mathematical average of a group of scores

Median

The middle number of all score listed from least to greatest

Mode

The most common score in a group of scores

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest value of a group of scores

Standard Deviation

The average distance of every score from the mean

Measures of Central Tendency

Mean, median, mode

Measures of Variation

Range, standard deviation

Normal curve

A bell-shaped symmetrical curve that describes many types of data

Normal distribution

A bell-shaped symmetrical curve that describes many types of data

Correlation coefficient

A measure of how well two variables correlate.

Cohort

A group of people from a given time period

Statistical signficance

Means that a result has a p-value of 0.05 or below, or that the result measured has less than a 5% chance of being due to random chance.

Statistically significant

Means that a result has a p-value of 0.05 or below, or that the result measured has less than a 5% chance of being due to random chance.

P-value

A measure of how likely a result is due to chance.

Z-score

Measure of Standard Deviation

Dorothea Dix

Advocated for better treatment of the mentally ill

Psychiatry

A medical field dealing with psychological disorders

Psychiatrist

Trained physicians that are licensed to prescribe drugs

Counseling psychologist

Psychologista that help people adjust to life changes. They often conduct therapy

Clinical psychologist

Psychologists that promote psychological health

Human factor psychologist

An type of I/O psychologist that specficially how machines and physical environments can be optimized

Industrial-organizational psychologist

Psychologists that look at how people interact with their working environments

Community psychologist

Psychologists that promote mental health in communities

Case study

A research technique that involves following one individual in depth