AP Psychology Unit 0 Vocab - Saanvi

Innate

born with

Empiricism

knowledge originates in experience and science should rely on observation/ experimentation

Psychoanalytic/ Psychodynamic perspective

we act the way we do because of our past, repressed emotions, unconcious mind, sigmund frued, dreaming

Conscious

awake, and able to process information and respond (Psycodynamic)

Cognitive perspective

your thoughts and they way we receive, process, and respond to informaton

Behavioral perspective

we act the way we do because of what we have learned or experienced (John B. Watson, BF Skinner, and ——————- )

Conditioning

learned

Humanistic perspective

Emphasizes growth potential, free will, and meeting people’s emotional needs

Self actualization

the process of fulfilling your dreams to your fullest potential

Biological perspective

roots in medicine and genetics

Sociocultural perspective

we act the way we do because of social influence and impact of culture and we act differently in different places

Biopsychosocial perspective

Combination of many different perspectives, Modern perspective because takes lots into account to describe behavior

Critical thinging

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Cognitive bias

Hindsight Bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

overconfidence

confirmational bias

Peer Reviewers

scientific experts who evaluate a research article's theory, originality, and accuracy

Theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

falsifiable

able to be disproven by experimental results

operational definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic Observation

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

Survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Wording effect

the way a question is asked can influence a participant’s response

Social Desirability Bias

A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself.

Self-Report Bias

Problems that occur when people respond with socially desirable responses

Likert scales

rating system to measure people’s opinions and attitudes

Sample

People from the population that you’ve selected to participate

Sampling Bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Random Sampling

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

Convenience sampling

when a sample is selected based on their easy availability & willingness to participate

Generilazability

the extent to which research findings can be applied to a broader group of people, settings, or situations beyond the specific sample and conditions of the study itself

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

correlation coefficient

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

Positive correlation

two variables move in the same direction: as one increases, the other also tends to increase, and as one decreases, the other tends to decrease

Negative correlation

a statistical relationship between two variables where they move in opposite directions: when one variable increases, the other tends to decrease, and vice versa.

Illusory Correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists or relationship looks stronger than it actually is.

Directionality problem

In correlational studies, sometimes it is difficult to know which variable is more impactful

Variable

A factor that can change in an experiment

Independent variable

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

Confounding variable

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

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

Dependent variable

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

Experimental group/ Experimental condition

group exposed to treatment (the IV)

Scatterplot

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

Regression towards the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.

Experiment

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

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.

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Single-blind procedure

research design in which participants don't know whether they are in the experimental or control group

Double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

Placebo

(inert substance– chemically inactive)

Placebo effect

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Quantitative Research

research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form

Qualitative research

research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data

Descriptive statistics/data

describes data (central tendency, variation)

Inferential statistics

draw conclusions form data

Histogram

fancy bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

Central tendency

A single score that represents a whole set of scores (mean, median, mode)

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in a distribution.

Bimodal distribution

one data set that has 2 modes

Mean

The arithmetic average of scores in a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores that were added together.

Median

the middle score in a rank-on distribution (# must be in numerical order)

Percentile rank

Percentage of scores that are lower than a given score.

Skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack

Positive skew

mean to the right side

Negative skew

mean to the let side

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Variation

how similar or diverse the scores are

Standard deviation

A computed measure of how much individual scores differ around the mean score.

Normal curve

bell curve

Meta-analysis

a rigorous statistical procedure that combines the results from multiple individual studies on a specific research question to create a more robust and reliable overall estimate of an effect

Statistical significance

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

Effect size

a statistical measure that indicates the magnitude or strength of a relationship or difference between two variables

structured interviews

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Research Confederates 

Informed consent

Informed assent

Protect from harm 

Debriefing

Deception / Deceit

Confidentiality