AP Pysch

John Locke

(1632-1704) Philosopher that believed the mind was a tabula rosa (blank slate) at birth and experience fills it

Francis Galton

(1822-1911) Believed intelligence and most physical and mental characteristics were inherited

Nature

Genetics

Nurture

Environment/ surroundings/ how you were raised

Eugenics

A movement that encouraged selective breeding based on desirable genetic traits

Bio-Psycho-Social Model (psych perspectives)

Considers biological, psychological, and social factors and their complex interactions in understanding health, illness, and health care delivery.

Psychodynamic Perspective

How behavior stems from one's unconscious urges (usually aggressive or sexual in nature) and/or unresolved childhood conflict

Behavioral Perspective

How we learn certain behaviors, fears, and habits through observation, reward, and punishment

Cognitive Perspective

How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

Biological Perspective

How messages are sent from the brain to the body and vice versa, how hormones and genetics influence moods and behaviors, how certain parts of the brain specialize in certain tasks

Cultural Perspective

How behavior and thinking vary across cultures, genders, and even classes

Evolutionary Perspective

How traits that enable adaptation to one's environment promote the perpetuation of one's genes

Humanistic Perspective

How we achieve personal growth and self-fulfillment

Psychologist

(Ph.D, Psy.D) Study, asses, and treat troubled people with therapy

Psychiatrist

(M.D) Medical doctors who can use therapy to treat their patients, but mainly prescribe medication for disordered individuals

Hindsight Bias

"I knew it all along"

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

False Consensus Effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Observational

Describes behavior

Correlational

Predicts behavior

Experimental

Explains behavior

Quantitative

Data that is in numbers

Qualitative

Data in the form of words

Case Study

Intensive examination of behavior and mental problems associated with a specific person or situation

-Needs to be ethically studied

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Meta-Analysis

Statistical analysis combining results from multiple studies.

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

Experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Longitudinal

Describes research that measures a trait in a particular group of subjects or an individual over a long period of time

Cross-Sectional

Type of study that measures a variable across several age groups at the same time

Positive Correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

Negative Correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

Scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables

Correlation Coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Advantages of Correlation

Predictable, easiest, large sample size, shows validity, more ethical than experiments

Disadvantages of Correlation

Can't tell cause and effect, can't control outside of study

Illusionary Correlations

Perceiving a relationship that does not exist

Survey

The tool used to collect data for a correlational study

Likert Scale

Rating scale from 1-5, 1-10, etc. It's a range

Experimentation

Only strategy that can say "this causes this" by using a hypothesis

Hypothesis

Future prediction. Use "will"

Scientific Method

AFTAD

A: ask a question

F: form a hypothesis

T: test hypothesis

Population --> Random Sample --> Random Assignment

A: analyze the data

D: draw a conclusion

Experimental Group

Receives treatment/ independent variable

Control Group

Receives placebo/ dependent variable

Placebo Effect

Changing ones behavior or feeling different because you believe you should

Independent Variable

The thing given, taken away, or changed in the experimental group

Dependent Variable

The behavior being measured

Operatonal Definition

Stating exactly how the variables are measured

Single-Blind Study

When the participants do not know whether they are receiving the treatment or not.

Double-Blind Study

When neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving a particular treatment.

Confounding Variables

Factors outside the researchers control that can affect the dependent variable

Hawthorne Effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied

4 Ethical Principles

IPCD

I- Informed Consent

P- Protect from harm or discomfort

C- Confidentiality

D- Debriefing: telling the true purpose of the study at the end

Mean

Add all variables, divide by number of variables (average)

Median

Arrange in order, choose middle number

Mode

Most common number

Percentile Rank

The percentage of scores below a specific score in a distribution of scores

Normal/Bell Curve

Mean, median, and mode are all same or similar

Skewed Distribution

When the results are not symmetrical (appears to favor one side over the other)

Negative: skewed left, deflated mean

Positive: skewed right, inflated mean

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Standard Deviation

Average distance of all the scores from the mean

Z-Score

Individual distance a score is from the mean

Statistical Significance (p-value)

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

Effect Size (Cohen's D)

The magnitude or size of the experimental treatment

Generalizability

Extent to which research results apply to a range of individuals not included in the study.

Cell Body

Cell's life support system

Dendrites

Receive messages from other cells

Terminal Buttons

Release chemicals to neighboring neurons

Myelin Sheath

Protects axons, speeds up electrical impulse

Multiple Sclerosis

A chronic disease of the central nervous system marked by damage to the myelin sheath. Plaques occur in the brain and spinal cord causing tremor, weakness, incoordination, paresthesia, and disturbances in vision and speech

Myasthenia Gravis

Autoimmune neuromuscular disorder characterized by weakness of voluntary muscles

Axons

Transmits messages down the neuron

Resting Potential

The difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's cell membrane

Action Potential (depolarization)

Na+ ions push out the K- ions

Goes off when doing anything or everything

Refractory Period

Recharge phase --> reverse of action potential (cannot fire during this)

Excitatory Signals

Alerter

Inhibitory Signals

Quiets stimulus

All-or-None Response

A neuron fires at maximum intensity or not at all

Neural Networks

Interconnected neural cells

Synapse

Gap between neurons

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers

Reuptake

When terminal buttons reabsorb any left over neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Allows movement in muscles and joints; contribute to learning and memory