ap psych semester review

Three components of the scientific attitude

Curiosity, skepticism, and humility.

Scientific method

A systematic procedure for research that distinguishes psychology as a science from pseudoscience.

Case study

An in-depth analysis of a single individual or group, often used in clinical psychology.

Naturalistic observation

Observing subjects in their natural environment without manipulation.

Correlation

A statistical measure that describes the extent to which two variables are related.

Meta-analysis

A technique that combines the results of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion.

Experiment

A research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating variables.

Strongest correlation

+.79, indicating a strong positive relationship, visually represented by points clustered upwards on a scatterplot.

Random sample

A method of selecting participants where everyone has an equal chance; differs from random assignment which allocates participants to conditions.

Independent variable

The factor manipulated by the researcher in an experiment.

Dependent variable

The outcome or response measured in an experiment.

IRB approval

Institutional review board approval ensures ethical research practices are followed.

Informed consent

Participants must be made aware of the nature of the research and agree to participate.

Confidentiality

Ensuring that all participant information is kept private.

Debriefing

Explaining the study's purpose and any deceptions to participants after completion.

Percentile rank

Indicates the percentage of scores that fall below a specific score in a distribution.

Bell curve

A graph that depicts the distribution of scores, where most values cluster around the mean.

Standard deviation

A measure of variance that indicates how much individual scores differ from the mean.

Statistically significant

Results that are unlikely to have occurred by chance, indicating a real effect.

Psychology definition

Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes.

Psychological perspectives

Different approaches to understanding behavior including psychodynamic, behavioral, biological, cognitive, sociocultural, evolutionary, and humanistic.

Mean

The average score of a data set.

Median

The middle score when data is arranged in order.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in a data set.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data set.

Correlation does not imply causation

A principle stating that correlation between two variables does not mean that one causes the other.

Threshold of excitation

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

Action potential

A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon.

All-or-nothing principle

The principle that a neuron either fires completely or does not fire at all.

Reuptake

The reabsorption of neurotransmitters by the sending neuron.

Glial cells

Supportive cells that nourish and protect neurons.

Pruning

The process of eliminating unused neurons to strengthen active pathways.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to form new connections and reorganize itself.

Neurogenesis

The process by which new neurons are formed in the brain.

Dendrites

Branch-like structures that receive messages from other neurons.

Soma

The cell body that contains the nucleus of the neuron.

Axon

The long, thin structure that transmits impulses away from the neuron.

Myelin sheath

A fatty layer that insulates the axon and speeds up neural transmission.

Axon terminal

The endpoint of an axon where neurotransmitters are released.

Synaptic gap

The space between two neurons where neurotransmitters are exchanged.

Threshold of excitation

The minimum level of stimulation required to trigger a neural response.

Absolute refractory period

The period after an action potential during which a neuron cannot fire again.

Relative refractory period

The period after an action potential when a neuron can fire again but requires a stronger stimulus.

Neurotransmission

The process of transmitting signals between neurons.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A neurotransmitter involved in movement and memory.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that regulates mood and sleep.

GABA

A neurotransmitter that inhibits neural activity.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter related to arousal and alertness.

Glutamate

The primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.

Endorphins

Neurotransmitters that relieve pain and induce feelings of pleasure.

Substance P

A neurotransmitter involved in pain perception.

Agonists

Substances that enhance the effect of a neurotransmitter.

Antagonists

Substances that reduce the effect of a neurotransmitter.

Somatic nervous system

The part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for voluntary movements.

Autonomic nervous system

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary body functions.

Sympathetic nervous system

The division of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for fight or flight.

Parasympathetic nervous system

The division of the autonomic nervous system that conserves energy and promotes rest.

Motor neurons

Nerve cells that carry signals from the central nervous system to muscles.

Sensory neurons

Nerve cells that carry signals from sensory receptors to the central nervous system.

Interneurons

Nerve cells that communicate within the central nervous system.

Corpus callosum

The thick band of neural fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain.

Broca's area

Brain region involved in speech production.

Wernicke's area

Brain region involved in language comprehension.

Aphasia

A language disorder that affects speaking and understanding.

Contralateral control

The concept where one side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body.

Natural selection

The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce.

Heritability

The genetic contribution to variations in a trait within a population.

Criticism of evolutionary psychology

Challenges arise from cultural differences that dispute universal claims made by evolutionary psychologists.

Selective attention

Focusing on a specific stimulus while ignoring others, such as listening to music while studying.

Inattentional blindness

Failing to notice an unexpected stimulus in plain sight, like missing a person in a gorilla suit while focused on a ball game.

Change blindness

Not noticing large changes in a visual scene, such as a friend changing clothes between shots.

Bottom-up processing

Processing that begins with sensory input and builds up to perception, like learning a new song.

Top-down processing

Processing driven by cognition, such as recognizing a familiar tune.

Absolute threshold

The minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.

Difference threshold

The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli that can be perceived.

Amplitude (A)

The height of a wave, which determines brightness in light waves.

Wavelength (W)

The distance between waves, which affects the perceived color.

Young-Helmholtz theory

The trichromatic theory of color vision, suggesting three types of cones detect red, green, and blue.

Opponent-processing theory

A theory that proposes color perception is controlled by the activity of two opponent systems: black-white, yellow-blue, and red-green.

Feature detectors

Cells in the visual cortex that respond to specific features of a visual stimulus.

Parallel processing

The ability to simultaneously process different types of information.

Blindsight

A condition where a person can respond to visual stimuli without consciously perceiving them.

Necker cube

An optical illusion representing a 3D cube that can be perceived in multiple ways.

Ames room

A distorted room that creates an optical illusion regarding the size of objects within it.

Phi phenomenon

The optical illusion of perceiving continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession.

Visual cliff

A laboratory device used to test depth perception in infants and young animals.

Figure-ground

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

Gestalt principles

Concepts that describe how we organize sensory information into meaningful patterns, including closure, similarity, and proximity.

Binocular vision

Depth perception using both eyes to judge distances.

Context-dependent memory

The improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.

State-dependent memory

The improved recall of specific episodes or information when an individual is in the same state of consciousness during encoding and retrieval.

Mood congruent memory

The tendency to recall memories that are consistent with a person's current mood.

Kinesthesia

The awareness of body position and movement.

Vestibular sense

The sense that contributes to balance and spatial orientation.

Parapsychology

The study of paranormal phenomena, including extrasensory perception (ESP).