AP Psychology: Unit 1

introspection

first began in laboratory set up by Wilhelm Wundt; process of reporting on one's own conscious mental experiences

structuralism

idea proposed by Wundt and Titchner that the mind operates by combining subjective emotions and objective sensations; aimed to uncover the basic structures that make up mind and thought

functionalism

theory presented by William James; emphasizes adaptiveness of the mental or behavioral processes

Wilhelm Wundt

set up first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879; known for training subjects in introspection and for a later theory of structuralism developed by his student Titchner

Margaret Floy Washburn

first woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology

William James

Published The Principles of Psychology, the science's first textbook; started psychology program at Harvard; responsible for theory of functionalism

Mary Whiton Calkins

studied with William James and went on to become president of the American Psychological Association

G. Stanley Hall

student of William James who pioneered he study of child development and was the first president of the APA

Gestalt psychology

theory that states that the whole experience is often more than just the sum of the parts, because the way we experience the world is more than just an accumulation of various perceptual experiences; relatively little influence on current psychology

Max Wertheimer

Gestalt psychologist who argued against dividing human thought and behavior into discrete structures

psychoanalysis

Theory that states a part of our mind over which we do not have conscious control determines, in part, how we think and behave. Developed by Freud.

Sigmund Freud

revolutionized psychology with his psychoanalytic theory; believed the unconscious mind must be examined through dream analysis, word association, and other psychoanalytic therapy techniques; criticized for being unscientific and creating unverifiable theories

behaviorism

theory that states psychologists should look at only behavior and causes of behavior, and not concern themselves with describing elements of consciousness; dominant school of thought in psychology from the 1920s through the 1960s. Associated with Skinner, Watson, and Pavlov.

John Watson

psychologist who believed the science must limit itself to observable phenomena; wanted to establish behaviorism as the dominant paradigm of psychology

B. F. Skinner

behaviorist who expanded the basic ideas of behaviorism to include the idea of reinforcement- environmental stimuli that either encourage or discourage certain responses

humanism

modern psychological viewpoint that stresses individual choice and free will; suggests that we choose most of our behaviors and these choices are guided by physiological, emotional or spiritual needs; not easily tested by the scientific method; includes theorists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

biopsychology

modern psychological perspective that explains human thought and behavior strictly in terms of biological processes (e.g. genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters)

evolutionary perspective

also known as Darwinian; modern psychological perspective that examines human thoughts and actions in terms of natural selection; similar to biopsychology

behavioral perspective

modern psychological perspective that explains human thought and behavior in terms of conditioning; looks strictly at observable behaviors and what reaction organisms get in response to specific behaviors

cognitive perspective

modern psychological perspective that examines human thought and behavior in terms of how we interpret, process, and remember environmental events

sociocultural perspective

modern psychological perspective that looks at how our thoughts and behaviors vary from people living in other cultures; emphasizes the influence of culture on the way we think and act

Jean Piaget

came up with a cognitive developmental theory, which focuses on how our cognitions develop in stages as we mature

developmental perspective

modern psychological perspective emphasizing that change occurs across a lifespan

Positive Psychology

a branch of psychology focused on the character strengths and behaviors that allow individuals to build a life of meaning and purpose—to move beyond surviving to flourishing

basic research

explores questions that are of interest to psychologists but are not intended to have immediate, real-world applications; also referred to as experimental psychology

operational definitions

a researcher's explanation how the variable of an experiment will be measured

valid

research that measures what the researcher set out to measure; accurate

reliable

research that can be replicated and is consistent

participants

individuals on which research is conducted

sampling

the process by which participants for research are selected

population

includes anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be in the sample for research

random selection

every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected as a participant in research

stratified sampling

process that allows a researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population on some criteria

laboratory experiments

experiments conducted in a lab, a highly controlled environment; advantage of being easily controlled

confounding variables

any difference between the experimental and control conditions, except for the independent variable, that might affect the dependent variable

assignment

the process by which participants are put into a group, experimental control

random assignment

each participant has an equal chance of being placed into any group

situation-relevant confounding variables

when the situations into which the different groups of an experiment are put are not truly equivalent; can create invalid experiment results due to the situation rather than the independent variable

experimenter bias

the unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis

double-blind procedure

when neither the participants nor the researcher are able to affect the outcome of the research

response bias

the tendency for subjects to behave in certain ways; can alter validity of experiment

social desirability

the tendency of participants to try to give answers that reflect well upon them

confirmation bias

the tendency to attend to evidence that complements and confirms our beliefs or expectations, while ignoring evidence that does not

Plato

ancient Greek philosopher who studied areas like cognition; was first philosopher credited with the study of gaining knowledge

Aristotle

ancient Greek philosopher who developed theories of sensation, perception, cognition, memory, problems olving, and ethics

René Descartes

17th century French philosopher who asserted that human sensations and behaviors are based on activity in the nervous system

neuroscience

field devoted to understanding how the brain creates thoughts, feelings, motives, consciousness, memories and other mental processes

cognitions

mental processes, such as thinking, memory, sensation, and perception

cognitive neuroscience

an interdisciplinary field emphasizing brain activity as information processing; involves cognitive psychology, neurology, biology, computer science, linguistics, and specialists from other fields who are interested in the connection between mental processes and the brain

psychodynamic psychology

modern clinical viewpoint emphasizing the understanding of mental disorders in terms of unconscious needs, desires, memories, and conflicts

clinical view

psychological perspective emphasizing mental health and mental illness; psychodynamic and humanistic psychology are variations of this

empirical investigation

an approach to research that relies on sensory experience and observation as research data

scientific method

developing a hypothesis, performing a controlled test, gathering objective data, analyzing results, and publishing, criticizing, and replicating the results

correlational studies

non-experimental method; a type of research that is mainly statistical in nature; determines the relationship between two variables

survey

non-experimental method; a quasi-experimental method in which questions are asked to subjects; when being designed, the researcher hast o be careful that the questions are not skewed or biased towards a particular answer

naturalistic observation

non-experimental method; research in which subjects are observed in their natural environment

longitudinal study

non-experimental method; a type of study in which one group of subjects is followed and observed (or examined, surveyed, etc.) for an extended period of time (years.)

cross-sectional study

a study in which a representative cross section of the population is tested or surveyed at one specific time

frequency distribution

a summary chart, showing how frequently each of the various scores in a set of data occurs

histogram

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution; the height of the bars indicates the frequency of the group of scores

descriptive statistics

statistical procedures used to describe characteristics and responses of groups of subjects

measure of variability

how closely scores bunch up around the central point; a statistic that indicates the spread of distribution

measures of central tendency

averages; mean, median, and mode

hindsight bias

people's tendency upon hearing about research findings to think that they knew it all along

applied research

research conducted in order to solve practical problems

standard deviation

a measure of variability that indicates the average difference between the sources and their mean

normal distribution

a bell-shaped curve, describing the spread of a characteristic throughout a population

correlation coefficient

a number between -1 and +1 expressing the degree of relationship between two variables

inferential statistics

statistical techniques (based on probability theory) used to assess whether the results of a study are reliable or whether they might be simply the result of chance; often used to determine whether two or more groups are essentially the same or different

representative sample

a sample obtained in such a way that it reflects the distribution of important variables in the larger population in which the researchers are interested; variables such as age, income level, ethnicity, and geographic distribution

Dorothea Dix

Rights activist on behalf of mentally ill patients - created first wave of US mental asylums

Edward Titchener

Student of Wilhelm Wundt; founder of Structuralist school of psychology.

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

Pioneered a new movement in Humanistic Psychology

Jean Piaget

Known for his theory of cognitive development in children

clinical psychology

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

counseling psychology

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

educational psychology

the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

experimental psychology

the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific investigation of basic psychological processes such as learning, memory, and cognition in humans and animals.

human factors psychology

a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use

industrial-organizational psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

case study method

an in-depth study of one or more individuals

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

Cross Sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

experiment

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

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

operational definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

bimodal distribution

A distribution (of opinions) that shows two responses being chosen about as frequently as each other.

skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

mean

average

Median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

Mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the mean