AP Psych Semester Review

mere exposure effect

The finding that the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more apt we are to like it

Social Facilitation

improved performance of tasks when others are present

Social Loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Group Polarization

the enhancement of a groups prevailing inclinations through discussion within a group

Groupthink

the type of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

In-group Bias

the tendency to favor our own group

Hindsight Bias

the tendency of people to overestimate their ability to have predicted an outcome that could not possibly have been predicted

Bystander Effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to aid if other bystanders are present

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Belief that leads to its own fulfillment (think you are bad at taking tests so your performance is worse than it should be)

Figure-ground

organization of visual filed into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)

Proximity

We group nearby figures together

Closure

we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; techniques used in treating psychological disorders

Id

reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives (the devil);

Ego

largely conscious "executive" part of personality that mediates amount of demands of id, superego, and reality ("decider")

Superego

voice of moral compass (conscience) that forces ego to consider not only the real, but the ideal (the angel)

Biological perspective

chemicals, hormones, genes, traits, areas of the brain

Behavioral perspective

reinforcements and punishments; observation

Cognitive perspective

mental activities: thinking, interpreting events, knowing, remembering, communicating

Evolutionary perspective

survival, advantage, natural selection

Humanistic perspective

self-love, self-actualization, meetings needs, fulfillment, uniqueness

self-actualization

the motivation everyone has to fulfill one's potential

Developmental Psychology

studies stages across human life span

Social Psychology

studies how society and the presence of others influence thought and behavior

Health Psychology

prevention and treatment of illness

Community Psychology

changes in social systems; help solve local problems BEFORE they start by creating prevention programs

Clinical

diagnose and treat mental disorders

Psychiatry

prescribe medication

Industrial/Organizational

solve problems in business and work place; Decision-making, employee morale, productivity, stress, personnel selection, marketing strategies, product design.

operational definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables.

random sample

a samples that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal change of inclusion

correlation

a measure of the extent to which 2 factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of 2 variables; used in CORRELATIONS

positive correlation

when 2 sets of scores, such as height and weight tend to rise or fall together.

negative correlation

2 sets of scores in which one set goes up as the other goes down.

Experiment

a research method in which as investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental processe

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.

random assignment

experimental and control group are chosen by chance

independent variable

the variable in the experiment that is being manipulated

dependent variable

the variable that changes because of the independent variable

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

What are the steps that must be taken to ensure that a research study does not violate APA's code of ethics?

informed consent, protect from physical and emotional harm, information is confidential, fully debrief people, have a institutional review board

Sympathetic nervous system

Increased Heartrate, increased breathing, pupils dilated, digestion slowed; fight or flight response to fear

Explain what happens if parasympathetic nervous system is activated

Heart rate slows, breathing slows, pupils constrict, digestion increases; rest and digest

Pathway from stimulus to response

receptor, sensory neuron, interneuron, motor neuron, effectors

Dendrites Function

Receive/transport neurotransmitters

Axon Function

Send messages away from neuron that originated message

Myelin Sheath Function

Insulation (increases speed),

terminal buttons

Stores/releases neurotransmitters

Define action potential

process of electrical signal being sent down neuron

refractory period

the time following an action potential during which a new action potential cannot be initiated

Explain steps in action potential process

Depolarization to threshold 2.Activation of Sodium channels and rapid depolarization- sodium rushes into cell changing it from negative to positive 3.Inactivation of sodium channels and activation of potassium channels 4.Return to normal permeability

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system. (associated with Parkinson's and Scizophrenia)

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction (associated with Alzheimer's and muscle convulsions)

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that affects hunger,sleep, arousal, and mood. (associated with depression)

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter involved in arousal, as well as in learning and mood regulation

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Endorphins

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Cerebellum

Balance and coordination, fine motor movements, and procedural memory

Pons

Sleep, Arousal, Dreams, and Facial Expressions

Medulla

Survival Functions (heart rate, breathing) and reflexes

Reticular Formation

Arousal to stimuli, sleep, attentiveness, filters incoming stimuli and relays important info; damage results in coma

Thalamus

Filters and relays sensory info (not smell) to appropriate portions of cerebral cortex

Hippocampus

explicit memory formation and learning

Amygdala

Emotions (Fear and Aggression)

Hypothalamus

Maintenance functions, hunger

Broca's area

Controls facial muscle movements required for speech production

Wernicke's area

Responsible for language comprehension and creates meaningful thoughts.

Endocrine system

controls release of hormones

MRI

Which brain imaging technique is able to generate images of soft tissue

EEG

Which brain imaging technique uses electrodes to measure electrical activity on brain's surface

PET

Which brain imaging technique uses glucose observe metabolic activity in different areas of the brain

circadian rhythm

refers to a specific type of biological rhythm in which an expected pattern occurs in the fluctuations of hormones, blood pressure, temperature, and wakefulness over a 24 hour period

narcolepsy

sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks

sleep apnea

sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

Methamphetamine

powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with sped up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels

Ecstasy (MDMA)

synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition

Tolerance

the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect

Withdrawal

the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Depressants

drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

opiates (heroine, morphine, etc) mimic which neurotransmitter?

endorphins

stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

what drug blocks dopamine from being removed from the synapse

cocaine

Hallucinogens

psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

Pineal gland

releases melatonin; maintenance of sleep-wake cycles

Absolute thresholds

minimum intensity of stimulation needed for detection 50% of the time

Just noticeable difference

smallest amount of change between stimuli that can be detected

Sensory adaptation

decline in sensitivity that is the result of exposure to a constant and unchanging stimulus

Rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and grey; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond

Cones

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina (fovea) and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Blind spot

gap within the field of vision due to where optic nerve leaves retina

Fovea

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster; region of sharpest vision

Pitch

a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on FREQUENCY

Vestibular sense

also known as equilibrium, helps us keep our balance by providing information about changes in body position in relation to gravity; transduction occurs in SEMICIRCULAR CANALS

Inattentional blindness

Failure to perceive a particular stimulus that is in the field of vision because attention is being focused elsewhere

change blindness

Failure to perceive a difference in a particular stimulus after there has been a disruption in the field of vision

Pathway of light to brain

cornea, pupil, lens, retina, rods and cones, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic nerve, thalamus, visual cortex in occipital lobe

pathway of sound to brain

auditory canal, tympanic membrane, ossicles, oval window, cochlea (basilar membrane), auditory nerve, thalamus, auditory cortex