whole year ap psych terms

09.18 --> all summer and unit 0

empiricism

you learn from experience, so science has to be based upon observations

empirical evidence

psychologists rely on observable and measurable data ; they conduct experiments, surveys, and case studies to gather such evidence

structuralism

where an individual analyzes components of an experience to relate it to a greater whole

functionalism

school of thought focused on the “why?” behind behavioral and biological functions

experimental psychology

studying processes and reflecting on them based on empirical data

behaviorism

psychology should not involve emotional investment + behavior is independent of mental processes

humanistic psychology

idea that humans have potential from childhood

cognitive neuroscience

type of study where the brain’s activity is connected to the senses and other external factors

psychology

field of science that focuses on mental and behavioral processes

nature-nurture issue

debate on whether or not behaviors are inherent or developed

natural selection

those with the most advantageous traits will survive to pass them on to their offspring

levels of analysis

differing scientific perspectives — from biology, mental, and sociocultural approaches — that all are a factor in phenomena

biopsychosocial approach

an approach using all those different scientific perspectives

behavioral psychology

branch of psychology that focuses on the behavior resulting from external stimuli

biological psychology

branch of psychology that focuses on what biological influences trigger reactions (e.g., hormones, neurotransmitters)

cognitive psychology

branch of psychology that focuses on the brain and how it process emotion and stimuli (e.g., perception, memory, and problem solving)

evolutionary psychology

branch of psychology that focuses on the inheritance of traits facilitating the processing of emotions

psychodynamic psychology

branch of psychology that focuses on how behaviors are influenced by external influences

Social-cultural psychology

branch of psychology focusing on how society and culture affects behavior and thinking

psychometrics

study of the measurement of human traits (e.g., abilities and attitudes)

basic research

research that aims to increase a field’s base of knowledge

developmental psychology

branch of psychology that studies the changes in an individual’s changes throughout their life (e.g., physical, cognitive, social)

educational psychology

branch of psychology that studies how psychological processes affect our education

personality psychology

branch of psychology studying how an individual’s characteristics affect their way of thinking, feeling, and acting

social psychology

branch of psychology studying the way in which humans act and think around each other

applied research

research on specific problems aiming to solve said problems

industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology

where psychological research and concepts are applied to an industrial setting to boost results

human factors psychology

branch of I/O psychology that focuses on the human aspect of the environment and machinery

counseling psychology

branch of psychology mediating conflicts within relationships or environments

clinical psychology

branch of psychology focusing on those with specific disorders

psychiatry

similar to clinical psychology except they have the authority to prescribe medicine (branch of medicine)

positive psychology

branch of psychology focusing on the positive aspects of human behavior (part of humanistic psychology)

community psychology

branch of psychology studying human interactions in a greater community

testing effect

phenomenon where an individual can remember information after reading

SQ3R

study method

S —> survey

Q —> question

3R —> read, retrieve, review

human behavior

observable reactions that come from individuals or groups

(physical —> movements ; emotional —> facial expressions ; social —> interactions ; learned behaviors —> requires education like driving)

mental process

internal operations of the brain that cannot be seen (cognition —> thinking, perception, memory, decision making ; emotion —> feelings able to influence thought and behavior patterns ; perception —> where the brain processes and interprets the information from the outside to understand the environment ; motivation —> the internal drives and needs that influence the behavior performed to reach a goal)

main goals of psychology experiments

1. describe —> thoughts and behavior to understand better

2. explain —> conduct research to understand and explain the behaviors people carry out

3. predict —> after understanding human behavior, we can predict how they’ll behave in the future

4. change —> can change habits, educaiton, and approaches in teh real world after learning new things

scientific method

involves creating theories, making hypotheses, conducting research, and refining hypotheses to ensure valid findings

three elements of scientific attitude

1. skepticism —> need to question (as many psuedo-sciences could have been prevented with more skepticism)

2. curiosity —> why?

3. humility —> scientists need to accept that sometimes their findings can be wrong

critical thinking 

way of thinking that realizes one’s biases and doesn’t immediately accept what the other person is saying (drives scientific attitude)

• question assumptions —> don’t take anything at face value

• analyze evidence —> look at the data’s credibility + quality and presented logic (even stats can be biased because of the statician)

• recognize bias —> critical thinking can be sabotaged because of bias

cognitive bias

systematic errors in thinking (from our brains taking shortcuts that lead to bad conclusions or bad decisions)

availability heuristic

judging the likelihood of an event based on the knowledge that first comes to mind

representative heuristic

judging based on prior knowledge of a specific group of people (e.g., female nurses)

hindsight bias

occurs when an event has already occurred and we think that we predicted the event’s outcome ; increases arrogance and overconfidence 

ex: after a winning game “I knew we’d win!” nope.

confirmation bias

tendency to seek out information that already confirms what you think ; leads to poor decision making as we don’t seek out information or viewpoints that conflict with ours 

ex: only seeking out news from political sites that align with your views

perceiving order in random events

our brains love patterns to the point where our brains concoct patterns in events that have barely any connection ; makes us draw false conclusions and see meaning in randomness

ex: streaks in coin tosses can lead us to believe that the coin is rigged when it’s still 50/50

non-experimental research

type of research that can explore and prove a correlation but not a causation

naturalistic observation

observing something in its natural habitat (pros —> behavior is less feigned and able to observe in a natural habitat ; cons —> not able to control for variables)

ex: Jane Goodall and her observation of the chimpanzees

correlational

looks at the relationship between two variables (pros —> can identify correlations and make predictions + variables can be manipulated + can be conducted in natural settings + can provide insight into causal relationships ; cons —> cannot determine causations and can be subject to confounding variables)

ex: relationship between hours of sleep and academic performance

case study

looks at a specific case or individual (pros —> can provide detailed insights ; cons —> may not be generalizable and cannot provide causation)

meta-analysis

looks at multiple studies compounded together(pros —> increases statistical power, provides comprehensive review of available research, and identify patterns and overall trends ; cons —> dependent on the studies’ qualities, publication bias, and requires a high degree of complexity as it requires understanding of complex statistical techniques)

ex: analyzing multiple studies on the effectiveness of a new therapy

survey

type of information gathering that is not considered a research methodology (pros —> can gather a large amount of info quickly from a large group ; cons —> not everyone fills out the survey and there can be inherent bias)

sample

small portion of the larger population that, when done right, can be used to represent the population accurately

ex: population is American high schoolers, so the sample is 200 high schooler from different high schools

population

whole group that the researcher is interested in studying (defines the group when findings are generalized 

ex: all US high school students

random sample

where every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen (reduces bias and increases representation)

ex: using a random number generator to select participants

representative sample

accurately reflects the characteristics of a broader population (enhances the generalizability of a study’s findings)

ex: ensuring a study has a mix of ethnicities, genders, and socioeconomic statuses

convenience sample

selecting participants that are readily available (not always recommended)

ex: surveying classmates

self-report bias

when participants provide inaccurate information on themselves (can account for these by providing “trick” questions on surveys)

social desirability bias

where participants skew their responses to look more favorable (can also be a type of self-report bias)

ex: underreporting smoking habits in a health survey

experimenter bias

where experimenters’ expectations influence the study’s outcome (can also be experimental)

ex: Robert Rosenthal’s “self-fulfilling prophecy” and the Pygmalion Effect

undercoverage bias

where people are excluded from a study because of a technique

ex: putting an ad for subjects via cell phone (excludes those who don’t have phones)

sampling bias (skewed selection)

where the sample is not representative of the population (leads to unrepresentative and unreliable results)

ex: surveying only AP students on their study habits

correlation + types

statistical relationship between two variables (one of the techniques available to researchers)

• positive (one goes up, other goes up ; +1)

• negative (one goes up, other goes down ; -1)

• perfect (all values form a perfect slope)

• none (none of the values have any relationship with each other)

correlation coefficient

numerical value ranging from -1 to +1

illusory correlation

when people perceive a correlation that does not exist

ex: full moons cause odd behavior

regression towards the mean

in case of an exemplar event, the next event should be more towards the average

non-experimental methodology

includes observing and measuring variables sans manipulation

• no causation

• harder to control for extraneous variables

• easier + cheaper than experiment

experimental

researchers manipulate variables to establish causation

extraneous variable

anything that can cause the difference in the dependent variable except the independent variable (can be controlled for through random assignment)

ex: smoking and rate of car accidents (bad and good drivers get randomly assigned to control or experimental)

confounding variable

type of extraneous variable that is correlated with independent and dependent variables (makes it hard to establish a clear cause and effect relationship)

• harder to establish validity in results (can lead to illusory correlations)

• ex: drownings and ice cream sales (weather influences both)

control

group that does not receive the treatment (can also be in experimental)

random assignment

where participants are randomly put into either experimental or control groups

single-blind

where the participants don’t know if they are in the experimental or control group

double-blind

where both the researchers and the participants don’t know if they are in the experimental or control group

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

a committee that reviews and approves research proposals to ensure that they meet ethical standards

• assesses potential risks and benefits of the research

• ensures informed consent and confidentiality

• reviews procedures for protecting vulnerable populations

informed consent

participants have to be fully informed about the research and its potential risks and benefits before agreeing to participate

informed assent

for minors and people who are not able to fully give consent (obtained in addition to consent from a legal guardian)

protect from harm

• minimize risk —> researchers take steps to minimize any physical or psychological harm to participants

• right to withdraw —> participants have the right to withdraw from the study at any time without a penalty (example of violation is Stanley Milgram’s study)

confidentiality

participant information has to be kept private and secure

ex: people’s names are known through their initials like H.M

anonymity

data should be collected without any identifiers

research confederates

individuals who act as participants but are actually part of the research team, sometimes used in deception studies

deception

researchers deceive the participants either to create a realistic situation or to avoid demand characteristics

debriefing

participants must be fully informed about the research (including any deception used) and given the opportunity to ask questions)

• ESPECIALLY if deception was used

demand characteristics

where participants reactions/behaviors are influenced by what they are told

ex: someone is studying obedience and the participants either act accordingly or the opposite

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

reviews and approves research proposals involving animals

• have to minimize pain and distress

• provide appropriate housing and care

• have to justify the use of animals in the research

qualitative research

focuses on in-depth understanding and rich descriptions of phenomena

• subjective experiences and attitudes through observations or interviews

• aims to produce detailed descriptions and uncover new insights about the studied phenomenon

• ex: interviews, focus groups, observations, and case studies

quantitative research

emphasizes numerical data and statistical analysis (used to test hypotheses)

ex: Likert scales (puts numbers to qualitative data), psychological tests, and surveys

measures of central tendency

how close a data set’s values are to each other (mean, median, and mode)

measures of variation

how spread apart data values are (range and standard deviation)

normal curve

mean, median, and mode are all equal and located at the center of the curve

• symmetrical around the mean

• tails of the curve extend indefinitely in both directions but never touches the x-axis

• 68% (1), 95% (2), 99.7% (3)

percentile curve

the percentage of scores in a distribution that are equal to or lower than a given score 

ex: if you are in the 90th percentile, you scored higher than 90% of the people who took the test

skewed distribution

a measure of the asymmetry of a distribution (mean can no longer be used and median is more reliable)

statistical significance

probability that the results of a study are not due to chance

p-value

represents the possibility of obtaining results as extreme (or more) as those observed in the study, assuming that the null hypothesis proves true)

common threshold

p<0.05

less than 5% probability that the results are because of chance

interpretation

if p <0.05,

null hypothesis is rejected and we conclude there is a statistically significant effect

effect size

measures the magnitude or strength of the relationship between variables or the difference between groups

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

part of the nervous system that is everything but the brain and the spinal cord

Central Nervous System (CNS)

other part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord