AP Psych

Cognitive Psychology

Study of mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem-solving.

Behavior Genetics

The perspective of psychological science that deals with how much our genes, and our environment, influence our individual differences.

Psychodynamic Perspective

The perspective of psychological science that deals with how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts.

Behavioral Perspective

The perspective of psychological science that deals with how we learn observable responses.

Cognitive Perspective

The perspective of psychological science that deals with how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.

Social-Cultural Perspective

The perspective of psychological science that deals with how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures.

Basic Research

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Applied Research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Clinical Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

Psychiatry

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Operational Definition

A statement of the procedures used to define research variables.

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants and circumstances.

Case Study

An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

Survey

A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample.

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Population

All the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study.

Random Sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

Correlation Coefficient

A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together.

Scatterplot

A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables.

Illusory Correlation

The perception of a relationship where none exists.

Experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process.

Placebo

An inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent.

Double-Blind Procedure

An experimental procedure in which both research participants and research staff are ignorant about whether participants received the treatment or a placebo.

Placebo Effect

Any effect on behavior caused by a placebo.

Experimental Condition

The condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment.

Control Condition

The condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance.

Independent Variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated.

Dependent Variable

The experimental factor that is being measured.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in a distribution.

Mean

The arithmetic average of a distribution.

Median

The middle score in a distribution.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Standard Deviation

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

Statistical Significance

A statistical criterion for rejecting the assumption of no differences in a particular study.

Culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people.

Biological Psychology

Concerned with links between biology and behavior.

Neuron

Building blocks of the nervous system.

Dendrite

Branches designed to receive/send/and transport information.

Axon

Transports messages to different muscles/glands in the body.

Action Potential

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Myelin Sheath

A layer of fatty tissue encasing the fibers of many neurons.

Threshold

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

Synapse

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons.

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that triggers muscle contraction.

Endorphins

Natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Nervous System

The body's speedy, electrochemical communication system.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

The sensory and motor neurons connecting the CNS to the rest of the body.

Nerves

Neural