AP Psychology Terms

Psychodynamic perspective

• How behavior is shaped by childhood experiences, conflicts, and unconscious drive

Cognitive perspective

• Observes mental processes

• Logic, memory, thinking, problem-solving

Biological perspective

• Studies physiological bases of behavior in both humans and animals

Behavioral perspective

• Focuses on observable behaviors

• How they are learned through interaction and environment

Evolutionary perspective

• How mental and behavior processes evolved

• Adaptions for survival + reproduction

Sociocultural perspective

• How culture, social norms, and social environment affects behavior

Humanistic perspective

• Emphasizes free will and personal growth

• Concept of self-actualization

Biopsychosocial perspective

• Combination of biological, psychological, and social factors

• How all of these affect human behavior

Confirmation bias

• People tend to look for information that already confirms their opinions/beliefs

Hindsight bias

• People believe that they knew something was going to happen

• Only after it has occurred

• They did not predict it beforehand

• “I knew it all along”

Overconfidence

• People have too much faith in their own judgements and abilities

• Think they know more than they actually do

Empirical evidence

• Information obtained through research, experimentation, or measurement

• Prevent cognitive bias

• Objective data

• Counteract natural tendencies to make biased decisions

Scientific method

• Format to generate empirical evidence

• Systemic approach to study

• Includes hypotheses, data, experiments, groups, etc.

• Conclusion based on evidence, not opinion

Hypothesis

• An educated guess

• Must be able to be proven false

• Testable prediction

• Based on previous research & observations

Falsifiable

• Hypothesis that can be proven false

• Proven false through examination + experimentation

• Formulated in a way that allows for possibility of evidence to refute hypotheses

Peer review

• Research articles are evaluated by experts

• Happens before publishing

• Peers assess quality and validity of research

• Provides feedback and recommendations

Replication

• Process of repeating/reproducing research study

• Meant to determine if findings can consistently be observed

• Same study with new subjects

• Similar conditions

Reliability

• Test that produces consistent results

• Must be repeated multiple times

• Same premise + conditions

• “RRR” → “repeated, reliable results”

Validity

• Study accurately measures what it tends to measure

• Valid if effectively assesses the construct or concept it is designed to measure

• “VET” → “valid evidence, true”

American Psychological Association (APA)

• Leading professional organization

• Specializes in psychology

• Advances field of psychology

• Founded in 1892

Research design

• Plan that outlines how a research study will be conducted

• Addresses specific questions or objectives

Methodology

• Techniques used to conduct research within a specific research design

• “How will data be measured?”

Quantitative data

• Number-based information

• Gathered from surveys, tests, or experiments

• Helps understand patterns/relationships in a precise way

Qualitative data

• Not based on numbers

• Focuses on description/quality

• Deeper insight into complex subjects

Likert scales

• Type of measurement tool

• Captures attitudes and opinions in a quantitative way

• “On a scale from 1-10…”

• “Strongly agree (5)” or “Somewhat disagree (2)”

Structured interviews

• Predetermined questions are asked to all participants in the same order

• Allows for consistent data

• Facilitates comparisons between participants

Survey technique

• Collect data through self-report

• Open-ended question about their attitudes/beliefs/opinions

• Can result in both quantitative and qualitative data

Wording effect

• Subtle changes in wording of questions

• Can influences respondent’s responses

• Can lead to biased/inaccurate data

Social desirability bias

• Tendency of individuals to respond in a way that’s socially acceptable

• Conform to social norms

• Might skew research results

Naturalistic observation

• Researchers observe and record behaviors in real-world scenarios

• Do not intervene or manipulate

• Deeper understanding of human behavior in its natural context

Case study

• In-depth examination of a single individual, group, or phenomenon

• May not be able to generalize to broader cases

Correlational research

• Scientific method used to examine relationships

• Between two or more variables

• Do not manipulate variables

• Focus on observing/measuring naturally occurring associations

Third Variable Problem

• Possibility of a third, unmeasured variable may be influencing the relationship

• Could imply that there are other factors at play

• Explains the possibile correlation between varaible

Scatterplot

• Visual representation used in correlational research

• Graph for correlation

• Assess strength & direction of correlation

• Positive (+) or negative (-)

Correlation Coefficient

• Represented by the letter ‘r’.

• Strong is r = 1 / -1

• Weak is 0.

• Meant to display how strong relationships between variables are.

Positive Correlation

• As one variable increases, the other variable also increases

• Or as one variable decreases, the other variable also decreases

• Variables moving in the same direction

Negative Correlation

• As one variable increases, the other decreases.

• Variables move in opposite direction

Experimental Method

• Research technique used to investigate cause-and-effect relationships between variables

• Manipulates one variable

• Measures effect on other variable

Independent Variable

• Variable that researcher changes/manipulates

• Factor that possibly causes changes in outcomes

• Affects other variable

Dependent Variable

• Variablethat is observed/measured for changes in an experiment

• Outcome may be changed by the independent variable

Confounding Variable

• Variable that wasn’t accounted for in the study

• But still affects the results

• Can distort the true effects of the independent variable on dependent variable

Operational Definitions

• How a researcher will measure and manipulate variables in a study

• Outlines exact procedures

• Ensures consistency and clarity in research