AP Psychology Unit 1

Structuralism

early school of thought promoted by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Bradford Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

Functionalism

early school of thought promoted by William James and influenced by Charles Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Humanistic psychology

a historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people

Cognitive neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

Psychology

the science of behavior and mental processes

Nature-nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors - modern science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

Biopsychosocial approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

Behavioral psychology

the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

Biological approach

the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes; some biological psychologists call themselves: behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists

Cognitive approach

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Evolutionary approach

the study of the evolution of behavior and mind, using principles of natural selection

Psychodynamic/psychoanalytic approach

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

Sociocultural Approach

the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

Psychometric domain

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits (ex. reading achievement)

Basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Developmental domain

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan

Educational Domain

the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

Personality domain

the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Social domain

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Industrial-organizational (I/O) domain

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Counseling domain

a branch of psychology that assist people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

Clinical domain

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 (for example, drug) treatments as well as a psychological therapy

Positive domain

the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

Biological Domain

Humans are, first and foremost, collections of biological systems, and these systems provide the building blocks (e.g., brain, nervous system) for behavior, thought, and emotion.

Cognitive Domain

area that believes changes in thinking, memory, problem solving, and other intellectual skills can change behavior.

Experimental Domain

Studies behavior and thinking using the experimental method

Experiment

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

Correlational studies

a research method that describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or assign causation between them

Survey research

gathering primary data by asking people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, preferences, and buying behavior

Naturalistic observation

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

Case studies

studies that involve extensive, in-depth interviews with a particular individual or small group of individuals in hope of revealing universal principles.

Longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

Cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

Independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

Control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

Correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Random sample

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

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

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

Normal distribution

Also known as a bell curve. A distribution of scores or other measurement values in which most values congregate around the median, and the measurement values rapidly decline in number on either side of the median, tailing off more slowly as scores get more extreme.

Positive skewed distribution

When extreme scores or outliers pull the scores away from a bell shape."Tail" points to right, few extreme scores pull mean up from mode.

Negative skewed distribution

When extreme scores or outliers pull the scores away from a bell shape. "Tail" points to left, a few extreme scores pull mean down from mode.

Descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.

Inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Internal Review Board (IRB)

A committee that is charged with protecting human rights and ensuring that all research studies are conducted in a manner consistent with community, professional, and legal standards. The American Psychological Association only accredits colleges and universities if they have an IRB in place to evaluate all studies using human subjects.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

a committee that is charged with protecting animal rights and making sure all research studies are conducted appropriately.

Hisotgram

A bar chart or graph

Illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

Mean

average

Mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

Informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

Double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

Hindsight bias

The understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened or developed. The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Placebo effect

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Verifiable Results

Results that can be confirmed.

Reliable Results

Results that you and others can count on your procedure to produce the same results time after time.

Confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Disconfirm

Refutes - disconfirm a hypothesis: disconfirmation is the new information that decreases the likelihood of the hypothesis truth, is reason to reject it.

Theory

a statement or set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another

Hypothetical construct

An abstract concept that is not itself directly measurable or observable but that gives rise to measurable phenomena and patterns of data.

Variables

Characteristics of a situation, person, or phenomenon that may fluctuate across situations, persons, or phenomena

Experimental Condition

also known as the treatment condition; A condition in which some participants are exposed to a carefully prescribed set of circumstances.

Control Condition

a condition in which the participants receive an alternative treatment.

Representative Sample

A subset of a population that closely matches the overall characteristics of the population with respect to the distribution of males and females, racial and ethnic groups, and so on; chosen to represent the proportionate diversity of the population as a whole.

Statistical significance

A probability level agreed on by convention that helps us decide how likely it is that a result would be obtained if only chance factors were in operation

Null hypothesis

the hypothesis that there is no significant difference between specified populations, any observed difference being due to sampling or experimental error (opposing the original hypothesis).

Central tendency

a number that describes something about the "average" score of a distribution; typical value found in a set of data.

Bimodal distribution

a frequency distribution having two different values that are heavily populated with cases

Frequency distribution

shows the dispersion of values in a set of values.

p-value

The statistical quantity indicating the probability (p) that a particular outcome as extreme as that observed would have occurred as a result of random variation when the null hypothesis is true.

Experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.