AP Psychology Cram Terms

Structuralism

The goal of psychology is to study the structure of the mind and consciousness

Functionalism

The goal isn’t to study just stucture, but also the purpose of the mind and consiousness

Gestalt Psychology

Emphasize that organisms perceive patterns not individual components

Behavioral

Focuses on behavioral reactions to stimuli, learning as a result of experience

Psychoanalysis

How unconscious conflicts and motives as well as childhood experiences define or influence behavior

Humanistic

Focus on self-growth and reaching self-actualization

Cognitive

Focuses on how we receive, store, and process information; think/reason: and use language

Biological

Explains behavior by studying physiological structures (brain, nervous system, and genetics)

Evolutionary

Looks at how natural selection contribute to our behaviors

Sociocultural

Looks how cultural differences affect behavior

Eclectic Approach

Using ideas from a variety of psychological perspectives

Case Study

Investigation of the behavior associated with a specific person or situation

Longitudinal Study

Evaluates and follows the same group of people over a long period of time.

Cross-Sectional Study

Researchers assess changes with respect to a particular factors by evaluating different age groups of people at the same time

Naturalistic Observation

Recording behaviors as they occur in their natural setting

Survey

A questionnaire or interview to investigate opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of a particular group

Experimental Research

Evaluating cause & effects by manipulating one variable to change another variable

Confounding Variable

A factor or variable other than the ones being studied that affect the outcomes of an experiment

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to think that one could have anticipated the outcome of an event or experiment after it already occurred

False Consensus Effect

When individuals overestimate how many others share their opinions or ideas

Confirmation Bias

When individuals focus on only specific information that aligns with their viewpoint and ignore conflicting information

Experimenter Bias

When researchers unknowingly influence the outcome of the research

Positive Correlation

Variables vary in the same direction

Negative Correlation

Variables vary in opposite directions

Neuron

Basic cell of the Nervous System

Parts of the Neuron

* Dendrites
* Soma
* Axon
* Myelin Sheath
* Terminals
* Synapse

Dendrites

Receive incoming signals

Soma

Cell Body (includes nucleus)

Axon

Action potential travels down this

Action Potential

Movement of sodium and potassium ions across a membrane sends an electrical change down the axon

Myelin Sheath

Speeds up signal down axon

Terminals

sends signal onto next neuron

Synapse

The places where neurons connect and communicate with each other

All or None Law (Action Potential)

Stimulus must trigger the Action Potential past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity of the response

Refractory Period

Neuron must rest and reset before it can send another Action Potential

SAME Neurons

Sensory, Afferent, Motor, Efferent

Sensory Neurons

Receive signals

Afferent Neurons

Accept signals

Motor Neurons

Send signals

Efferent Neurons

Signal exits

Central Nervous System

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

Nervous system excluding the brain and spinal cord

Somatic Nervous System

Voluntary movement

Autonomic Nervous System

Involuntary movement (heart, lungs, etc.)

Sympathetic Nervous System

Arouses the body for fight/flight (generally activates)

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Established homeostasis after sympathetic response, predominates in quiet “rest and digest” conditions

Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

Helps with sleep, movement, and slows down your nervous system

Glutamate

involved with long term memory and learning

Dopamine

Helps with movement, learning, attention, and emotions

Serotonin

Impacts an individual’s hunger, sleep, arousal, and mood

Acetylcholine (ACH)

enables muscle action, learning, and helps with memory

Epinephrine

helps with the body’s response to high emotional situations and helps form memories

Endorphins

help with pain control and impacts individual’s pain tolerance

Oxytocin

Love & bonding

Agonist

A drug that mimics a neurotransmitter

Antagonist

A drug that blocks a neurotransmitter

Hindbrain

Controls the body’s vital autonomic functions, such as respiration and heart rate

Cerebellum

Allows you to maintain balance and manage your coordination

Medulla

Controls autonomic functions such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure

Pons

Helps coordinate movement, sleep, and dreams

Midbrain

Helps with sending visual and auditory information to the appropriate structures of the brain

Reticular Formation

Responsible for sleep-wake cycle, mediating levels of alertness

Forebrain

Higher though processes; receiving/processing sensory information, thinking, perceiving, understanding language, controlling motor function

Limbic System

Involved with behavioural and emotional responses; feeding, reproduction and caring for young, fight or flight

Amygdala

Processing fearful and threatening stimuli, emotion/fear, emotional reactions

Hippocampus

Where memories are created, learning and creating

Broca’s Area

Area in left frontal lobe that is associated with the ability to speak

Brainstem

Includes medulla, pons, and midbrain. Controls autonomic functions.

Cerebrum

Where brain processes that are not just for survival occur

Corpus Callosum

Connect two cerebral hemispheres, allows hemispheres to talk and communicate with one another

Prefrontal Cortex

Deals with foresight, judgment, speech, complex thought

Motor Cortex

Responsible for voluntary movement

Parietal Lobe

Main function is to receive sensory information. lets you understand different senses such as touch, pain, temperature, and spatial orientation.

Somatosensory Cortex

Allows you to register touch and movement sensations

Occipital Lobe

part of the brain that allows you to see

Temporal Lobe

Helps recognize faces, smells, hear noise, balance, and assists with memory.

Thalamus

Takes all sensory information and sends that information to the forebrain to be interpreted.

Hypothalamus

Maintains homeostasis, controls drives (thirst, hunger temperature, sex)

Unconditioned Stimulus

brings about response w/o needing to be learned (food)

Unconditioned Response

response that naturally occurs w/o training (salivate)

Neutral Response

stimulus that normally doesn’t evoke a response (bell)

Conditioned Stimulus

once neutral stimulus that now brings about a response (bell)

Conditioned Response

response that, after conditioning, follows a Conditioned Stimulus (salivate)

Spontaneous Recovery

After a period of time the Conditioned Response comes back out of nowhere

\+ Reinforcement

ADD something nice to increase a behavior

\- Reinforcement

TAKE AWAY something bad/annoying to increase a behavior (put on seatbelt to take away annoying sound)P

\+ Punishment

Add something bad to decrease behavior

\- Punishment

TAKING AWAY something good to decrease a havior (take away car keys)

Primary Reinforcers

innately satisfying (food & water)

Secondary Reinforcers

Not innate satisfying things (high-fives

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Reward every X amount of time passed (every 2 weeks get a paycheck)

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

Reward every X number of response (every 10 envelopes stuffed get $)

Variable Interval Schedule

rewarded after random amount of time as passed (fishing)

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Person is generally anxious, all the time, for no reason

Panic Disorder

Person is prone to frequent panic attacks

Phobias

Irrational fear that disrupts your life

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)

person is overwhelmed with both - Obsessions (persistent unwanted thoughts) and Compulsions (senseless rituals)

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Flashbacks, problems w/ concentration, anxiety following a traumatic event (war)

Hypochondriasis

person interprets normal symptoms as a major disease - must disrupt their life

Dissociative Identity Disorder

formerly multiple personalities - person fractures into several distinct personalities who normally have no awareness of each other