AP Psych Review SEMESTER 1

hindsight bias

i knew it all along

overconfidence

think you know more than u actually do

gambler’s fallacy

percieving order in random events

barnum effect

tendency for people to accept very general/vague characterizations of themselves (horoscopes)

correlation coeficient

helps predict, +- shows direction, -1 represents perfect negative correlation and 0 represents no correlation

validity

extent to which an experiement measures what it is supposed to measure

correlational studies

does NOT manipulate variables, investigates relationship using descriptive studies

standard deviation

how much scores vary from the mean

axon hillock

where electrical pulse originates

mylin sheath

insulates and speeds up neural impulse

action potential routine

resting potential- neurotransmitters detected- action potential- refractory period

charge during resting potential

positive outside, negative inside

charge during action potential

negative outside, positive inside

synapse

where chemical signals pass through

lock and key mechanism

neurotransmitters bind to the receptors that match exactly

agonist

has a similar structure to the neurotransmitter that it mimics the effects. Ex. cocain mimics dopamin, producing the same effect making it addictive

antagonist

occupy receptor (blocks) but not similar enough to stimulate the receptor

sensory neurons

carry infor from sensory symptoms to brain

moto neurons

carry infor from brain to muscels and glands

interneurons

carry infor between other neurons

tolerance

brain changing its chemical composition to adapt to forign chemicals

Acetocholine

• movement

• M=depression

• L=dementia and alzheimers

dopamine

• attention, rewards

• M=schizophrenia

• L=Parkinsons (tremor & muscle rigidity)

GABA

• calming, inhibits anxiety & excitation

• M= seizures

• L=anxiety disorder

endorphines

• pain relief, pleasure, stress reduces

• L=addiction

seretonin

• mood regulation, hunger, sleep

• L= deppression, OCD

NOREPINEPHRINE

• “fight or flight”, increased heart rate, alertness, respiration

• M= high blood pressure, schizophrenia

• L= depression

2 parts of nervous system

peripheral and central

2 parts of peripheral NS

autonomic and somatic

2 parts of autonomic

sympathetic and paarasympathetic

2 parts of somatic

senosry input and motor output

peripheral nervous system

bundles of nerves that connect CNS to receptors, muscles, and glands

autonomic NS

controls self regulated actions (heartbeat, digestion, breathing)

somatic NS

controls conscious and voluntary movement (high five, walking)

sympathetic NS

“fight or flight”, arousing (increased heart rate, decreased salivation)

parasympathetc NS

“rest and digest” calms body back down to homeostasis, controls reproduction

endocrine system

releases hormones into the body

pituitary gland

“master gland” produces HGH

hypothalamus

controls pituitary gland, relases no hormones

pineal gland

secretes melatonin when dark

thyroid gland

secretes thyroxide, controls metabolism

pancreaus

scretes insulin and glucagon, regulates blood sugar

adrenal glands

produces adrenaline and cortosol, stress hormone

gonads

secrete estrogen and testosterone

CT Scan

takes multiple pictures to build 3D brain. not just for brain

MRI

uses magnets and radio waves to energize water molecules in body that makes a detectible image

PET

injects radioactive glucose into bloodstream to see brain activity

fMRI

maps brain activity by identifying oxyginated/deoxygenated blood

EEG

uses sensors on the head to detect electroactivity. used for comas and sleep studies

brain stem

automatic survival functions

medulla

controls vital functions (blood pressure, heartrate, breathing)

pons

facial expressions, motor control, sensory analysis

cerebellum

cordination of movement, posture, balance

reticular formation

controls arousal and ability to focus

reticular activating ystem

keeps you awake and alert

limbic system

emotion center for the brain

thalamus

switchboard of brain. recieves sensory signals from spinal cord and sends to other parts of the brain

hypothalamus

reward center, controls hunger, thirst, arousal, body temp. controls endocrine system via the pituitary gland

hippocampus

memory

amygdala

fear responses and anger

frontal lobes

abstract thought, emotion control, higher mental functions

Broca’s area

controls muscles that control speech

parietal lobes

sensory cortex, recieves touch sensations

wernike’s area

interprets written and spoken speech

corpus callosum

highway of nerves that links and carries messages btw hemispheres

transduction

process of converting outside energy into neural activity

weber’s law

smallest noticible difference between two stimuli that is detectible 50% of the time

subliminal perception

below threshold, stimuli activates receptors but not enough to be aware

priming

activation, unconsciously, of certain accosations, predisposing one’ perception, memory, response, or action

habituation

stimulus is being detected by the brain ignores it (airconditionaing in class)

sensory adaptation

when sensory receptors being less sensitive to unchanging stimuli (smells, clothes)

gasalt principles

• proximity

• closure

• similarity

• simplicity

• continuity

monocular cues

for depth (one eye)

• interposition, relative size, relative clarity, texture gradient, linear perspective, relative motion, light and shadow

binocular cues

two eyes

• retinal disparity, convergence, visual cliff

retinal disparity

the closer an object comes to you th egreater the disparity is between the two images

convergence

rotation of the eyes to focus on an object

perceptual set

the tendancy to percieve things a certain way because of previous experiences/expectations influence those perceptions

expectations influence perception

top down processing

using prior knowledge, experiences, expectations to interpret sensory information

• brains are filling in gaps with what we alr know

bottom up processing

incoming sensory infrmation which is pieced together in the brain to form a perception

activation theory of dreams

suggests that dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of neural activity during REM

• says dreams have no meaning

• brain tries to form stories

consolidation theory for dreams

says dreams are for memory, the brain processes information and organizes experiences from the day

classical conditioning

a previously neutral stimulus aquires the power to elicit the same innate reflex produced by another stimulus

aquisition

when neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus, the learning stage

opperant conditioning

we can change behavior by altering consequences

law of effect

idea that rewarded behavior is likely to happen again

reinforcer

a stimulus that STRENGTHENS the response because we want it to happen again

punishment

adding something bad (positive) or taking away something good (negative) because we dont want that behavior to occur again

shaping

modifying behavior gradually

fixed interval schedual

rewards a learner only after a defined period of time

• ex. getting payed by the hour

• low productivity

variable interval schedual

rewards after an unpredictable amount of time

• ex. a pop quiz

• mid level productivity, stead response rates

fixed ratio

reward after a fixed number of responses

• ex. by 10 get 1 free

  • high response rates

variable ratio schedual

rewards aftern an unpredictable amount of responses

• ex. slot machine

• high response rates

self-efficacy

says that the learner must belive they can be successful in carrying out the behavior and control the outcome

Bandura’s study

when kids watch adults beat up doll, kids beat up doll. when kids watch adults be nice to doll, kids are nice to doll

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

• ex. rats created a cognitive map of the maze but only demonstrated their learning when they had a reason to