Barron's AP Psychology Flash Cards

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

History 1

set up the first psychological laboratory in an apartment near the university at Leipzig, Germany.

Trained subjects in introspection. Subjects were asked to accurately record their cognitive reactions to simple stimuli.

Introspection

History 2

Technique used by Wilhelm Wundt who asked subject to accurately record their cognitive reactions to simple stimuli.

Through this process, Wundt hoped to examine basic mental processes.

William James (1842-1910)

History 3

Published The Principles of Psychology, the science's first textbook

Established the Theory of Functionalism; How mental processes function in our lives

Functionalism

History 4

Theory described by William James

Examines how the mental processes described by Wilhelm Wundt function in our lives

Max Wertheimer (1880 - 1943)

History 5

Gestalt psychologist

Argued against dividing human thought and behavior into discrete structures.

Gestalt psychology tried to examine a person's total experience because the way we experience the world is more than just an accumulation of various perceptual experiences.

Gestalt theorists demonstrated that the whole experience is often more than just the sum of the parts of the experience.

Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)

History 6

Believed he discovered the unconscious mind - a part of our mind over which we do not have conscious control that determines, in part, how we think and behave.

Proposed that we must examine the unconscious mind through dream analysis, word association, and other psychoanalytic therapy techniques if we are to truly understand human thought and behavior.

Has been criticized for being unscientific and creating unverifiable theories.

Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939)

History

First woman to earn a PhD in psychology (1894)

John Watson (18748-1958)

History

Declared that psychology must limit itself to observable phenomena, not unobservable concepts like the unconscious mind, if it is to be considered a science.

Wanted to establish behaviorism as the dominant paradigm of psychology.

Behaviorists maintain that psychologists should look at only behavior and causes of behavior - stimuli (environmental events) and responses (physical reactions) - and not concern themselves with describing elements of consciousness.

Ivan Pavlov (1849 - 1936)

History

Performed pioneering conditioning experiments on dogs.

These experiments led o the development of the classical conditioning model of learning.

B F Skinner (1904 - 1990)

History

Expanded the basic ideas of behaviorism to include the idea of reinforcement and punishment - environmental stimuli that either encourage or discourage certain responses.

Helped establish and popularize the operant conditioning model of learning.

Skinner's intellectual influence lasted for decades.

Mary Whiton Calkins (1863 - 1930)

History

Student of William James.

Became president of the American Psychological Association (1905)

Completed her doctoral studies but Harvard refused to award her a PhD because, at the time they did not grant doctoral degrees to women.

Humanist Perspective

History

The humanists, including theoriests Abraham Maslow (1908 - 1970) and Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987), stressed individual choice and free will. This contrasts with with the deterministic behaviorists who theorized that all behaviors are caused by past conditioning.

Humanists believe that we choose most of our behaviors and that these choices are guided by physiological, emotional, or spiritual needs.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

History

Described by Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalysts believe that the unconscious mind - a part of our mind that we do not have conscious control over or access to - controls much of our thoughts and actions.

Psychoanalysts would look for impulses or memories pushed into the unconscious mind through repression.

Psychoanalysts think we must examine our unconscious mind through dream analysis, would association, and other psychoanalytic therapy techniques in order to understand human thought and behavior.

Biopsychology (or Neuroscience ) Perspective

History

Biopsychologists explain human thought and behavior strictly in terms of biological processes.

Neuroscientists believe that human cognition and reactions might be caused by effects of our genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters in the brain or by a combination of all three.

Evolutionary ( or Darwinian) Perspective

History

Evolutionary psychologists (also sometimes called sociobiologists) examine human thoughts and actions in terms of natural selection.

Natural selection in this context refers to the idea that some psychological traits might be advantageous for survival and that these traits would be passed down from the parents to the next generation.

Similar to (and in some ways a subset of ) the Biopsychology Perspective.

Behavioral Perspective

History

Behaviorists explain human thought and behavior in terms of conditioning (learning).

Behaviorists look strictly at observable behaviors and what reaction organisms get in response to specific behaviors.

Dominant school of thought in psychology from the 1920s through the 1960's.

Cognitive Perspective

History

Cognitive psychologists examine human thought and behavior in terms of how we interpret, process, and remember environmental events.

Cognitive psychologists believe that the rules or methods we use to view the world are important to understanding why we think and behave the way we do.

Social-Cultural (or sociocultural) Perspective

History

Social-cultural psychologists look at how our thoughts and behaviors vary from people living in other cultures.

Sociocultural psychologists emphasize the influence culture has on the way we think and act.

For example, social-cultural psychologists are interested in the emphasis some cultures place on the value of the group (collectivism) or the individual (individualism).

Hindsight Bias

Methods

Tendency upon hearing about research findings (and many other things) to think that they knew it all along.

After an event occur, it is relatively easy to explain why it happened. The goal of scientific research, however, is to predict what will happen in advance.

AN example of hindsight bias: Someone reads a study indicating that married people tend to live longer. This person says, " That's obvious! Everyone already knew that!"

Applied Research

Methods

Research that psychologists conduct to solve practical problems, such as investigating how people can best resolve personality conflicts at work.

Research that has clear, practical applications.

The other category of research is basic research, which explores questions that are of interest to psychologists but are not intended to have immediate, real-world applications.

Basic Research

Methods

Research that explores questions that are of interest to psychologists but are not intended to have immediate, real-world applications.

An example of basic research is an investigation into which areas of the brain are involved in seeing color.

The other category of research is applied research, which is conducted in order to solve practical problems.

Hypothesis

Methods

An statement that expresses a relationship between two variables.

In an experimental hypothesis, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable. In other words, a change in the independent variable will produce a change in the dependent variable.

For instance, consider the hypothesis that watching violent television programs makes people more aggressive. In this hypothesis, watching television violence is the independento variable since the hypothesis suggests that a change in television viewing will result in a change in the dependent variable, aggression.

In testing a hypothesis, researchers manipulate the independent variable and measure the dependent variable.

Theory

Methods

Aims to explain some phenomenon and allows researchers to generate testable hypotheses with the hope of collecting data that support the theory.

Hypotheses often grow out of theories.

Operational Definitions

Methods

An explanation of how variables are measures.

Tow variables need to be operationally defined in the hypothesis "Watching violent television programs makes people more aggressive":

What programs will be considered violent?

What behaviors will be considered aggressive?

Validity

Methods

Good research is both valid and reliable

Research is valid when it measures what the researcher set out to measure; it is accurate.

A related concept is reliability; Research is reliable when it can be replicated; it is consistent.

Reliability

Methods

Good research is both valid and reliable.

Research is reliable when it can be replicated; it is consistent.

If the researcher conducted the same research in the same way, the researcher would get similar results.

A related concept is validity; research is valid when it measures what the researcher set out to measure; it is accurate.

Sampling

Methods

The individuals on whom the research is conducted are called participants ( or subjects), and the process by which participants are selected is called sampling.

To select a sample (the group of participants), first identify the population from which the sample will be selected. The population includes anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be in the sample. The goal in selecting a sample is that it represents a larger population.

Random selection means that every member of the population has an equal change of being selected. Random selection increases the likelihood that the sample represents the population and that one can generalize the findings to the larger population.

Population

Methods

To group from which a sample is selected.

The population includes anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be in the sample.

The goal in selecting a sample is that it represents a larger population.

Random Selection

Methods

A method of selecting a sample from a population.

Every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. Random selection increases the likelihood that the sample represents the population and that one can generalize the findings to the larger population.

Stratified Sampling

Methods

A process that allows a researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population on some criteria, such and age or race.

For instance, if a researcher thinks that participants of different racial groups might respond differently, he or she would want to make sure that each race is represented in the sample in the same proportion that it appears in the overall population. In other words, if 500 of the 1000 students in a school are Caucasian, 300 are African American, and 200 are Latino, in a sample of 100 students the researcher would want to have 50 Caucasians, 30 African Americans, and 20 Latinos.

Experiment

Methods

The only research method that can show a casual relationship.

Allows the researcher to manipulate the independent variable and control for confounding variables.

A confounding variable is any difference between the experimental and control conditions, except for the independent variable, that might affect eh dependent variable.

Experiments compare at least two groups; an experiential group and a control group that differ based on the independent variable.

Confounding Variables

Methods

Any difference between the experimental and control conditions (such as time of day), except for the independent variable, that might affect the dependent variable.

An experiment allows the researcher to manipulate the independent variable and control for confounding variables.

Assignment

Methods

The process by which participants are put into either an experimental or a control group.

Random assignment means that each participant has an equal chance of being placed into any group. it limits the effects of confounding variables based on differences between people.

Using random assignment diminishes the chance that participants in the two groups differ in any meaningful way.

Experimenter Bias

Methods

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

Experimenter bias is not a conscious act. If researchers purposely distort their data, it is called fraud, not experimenter bias.

Double-Blind Procedure

Methods

Method followed such that neither the participants nor the researcher are aware of who is in the experimental or control groups while the experiment is going on.

Double-blind procedures control for both experimenter bias (researcher treating members of the experimental and control groups differently) and participant bias (the tendency for subjects to behave in certain ways based on their perception of an experiments).

Participant Bias (also called Response Bias)

Methods

Tendency for subjects to behave in certain ways based on their perception of an experiment.

Can be controlled for using a single-blind procedure (when participants do not know whether they are assigned to an experimental or control group) or a double-blind procedure (when neither the participants nor the researcher are aware of who is in the experimental or control groups while the experiment is going on)

Hawthorne Effect

Methods

Being selected to be in a group of people to participate in an experiment will affect the performance of that group, regardless of what is done to those individuals.

Just selecting a sample of people and including them in an experiment will affect performance of the sample, as the chosen participants will try to please the researcher.

Control groups help to control for the Hawthorne effect.

Correlation

Methods

A statistical measure of a relationship between two variables.

Correlation does not imply causation: Just because two variables are correlated does not mean that one variable causes the other.

Can be either positive or negative. A positive correlation between two variables means that the presence of one variable predicts the presence of the other. A negative correlation means that the presence of one variable predicts the absence of the other.

The strength of a correlation is expressed by a number called a correlation coefficient, which ranges from -1 and +1 where -1 is a perfect, negative correlation and +1 is a perfect, positive correlation.

Scatter Plot

Methods

A graph of correlated data

Graphs pairs of values, one on the y-axis and one on the x-axis.

For instance, the number of hours a group of people study per week could be plotted on the x-axis, while their GPAs could be plotted on the y-axis. The result would be a series of points called a scatter plot.

The close the points come to falling on a straight line, the, stronger the correlation.

A line that slopes upward, from left to right, indicates a positive correlation. A downward slope evidence a negative correlation.

Survey Method

Methods

Involves asking people to fill out surveys.

Often used to gather opinions or attitudes and for correlational research.

Response rate refers to the proportion of surveyed group who respond to and return a survey.

Naturalistic Observation

Methods

Research method that involves observing participants in their natural habitats without interacting with them.

The goal is to get a realistic and rich picture of the participants' behavior.

cannot establish cause and effect relationship between variables.

Case Study

Methods

A research method used to get a full, detailed picture of one participant or small group of participants.

For instance, clinical psychologists often use case studies to present information about a person suffering from a particular disorder.

Allows researchers to get the richest possible picture of what they are studying, but the focus on a single individual or small group means that the findings cannot be generalized to a larger population.

Descriptive Statistics

Methods

Ways of describing a set of data

Measures of central tendency are common descriptive statistic.

Three common measures of central tendency are the mean, median, and mode.

The mean is the average of all the scores in a distribution. The median is the central score in the distribution. The mode is the score that appears most frequency.

Measures of Variability

Methods

A type of descriptive statistical measure that attempts to depict the diversity of the distribution.

Range, variance, and standard deviation are measures of variability.

range is the distance between the highest and lowest score in a distribution. Variance and standard deviation are closely related; standard deviation is simply the square root of the variance. Both measures essentially relate the average distance of any score in the distribution from the mean.

Normal Curve

Methods

A bell-shaped curve that represents a distribution of scores that is normally distributed ( a few scores at eh low end and high end of the distribution, with most of the scores clustered around the mean).

Approximately 68 percent of scores in normal distribution fall within one standard deviation of the mean, approximately 95 % of scores fall within two standard deviation of the mean, and almost 99% of scores fall within three deviations of the mean.

Inferential Statistics

Methods

Statistics that can determine whether or not findings can be applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected.

Related to the concept of statistical significance: Scientists have decided that 5% (0.05) is the cutoff for statistically significant results. This means that in a statistically significant experimental result, there is less than a 5% chance that the results occurred by chance.

Statistical Significance

Methods

Scientists have decided that 5% (0.05) is the cutoff for statistically significant results. This means that in a statistically significant experimental result, there is less than a 5% chance that the results occurred by chance.

Researchers use inferential statistics to determine whether results are statistically significant.

APA Ethical Guidelines for Human Research

Methods

The APT (American Psychological Association) established ethical guidelines for human and animal research.

Any type of academic research must first propose the study to the ethics board or institutional review board (IRB) at the institution.

Guidelines for human research include:

Coercion

Informed consent

Anonymity / confidentiality

Lack of risk

Debriefing procedure

APA Ethical Guidelines for Animal Research

Methods

The APA (American Psychological Association) established ethical guidelines for human and animal research.

Ethical psychological studies using animal must meet the following requirements:

Have a clear scientific purpose

Care for and house animals in a humane way

Acquire animal subjects legally

Design experimental procedures that employ the least amount of suffering feasible.

Neuron

Biology

Neural cell

Made up of specific structures: dendrites, cell body, axon, and terminal buttons.

Dendrites

Biology

Rootlike parts of the cell that stretch out from the cell body.

Dendrites grow to make synaptic connections with other neurons.

Cell Body

(Also called the Soma)

Biology

Contains the nucleus and other parts of the cell needed to sustain its life.

Axon

Biology

Wirelike structure ending in the terminal buttons that extends from the cell body.

Myelin Sheath

Biology

Fatty covering around the axon of some neurons that speeds neural impulses .

Terminal Buttons

(Also called End Buttons, Axon Terminal, Terminal Branches of Axon, and Synaptic Knobs)

Biology

Branched end of the axon that contains neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters

Biology

Chemicals (such as dopamine and serotonin) contained in terminal buttons that enable neurons to communicate.

Neurotransmitters fit into receptor sites on the dendrites of neurons like a key fits into a lock.

Synapse

Biology

Space between the terminal buttons of one neuron and the dendrites of the next neuron.

Receptor Sites

Biology

Areas on a dendrite designed to receive a specific neurotransmitter.

Threshold

Biology

Level of neurotransmitters required to "fire" a neuron

Action Potential

Biology

Electric charge that spreads down the length of a neuron after the threshold is achieved.

Travels like a bullet from a gun.

All-or-none Principle

Biology

Neuron either fires completely or it does not fire at all.

If the dendrites of a neuron receive enough neurotransmitters to push the neuron past its threshold, the neuron will fire completely every time.

Neural Firing

Biology

Electrochemical process

Electricity travels within the cell (moves from the dendrites to the terminal buttons - called action potential), and chemicals (neurotransmitters) travel between cells in the synapse. Electricity does not jump between the neurons.

Excitatory Neurotransmitters

Biology

Chemicals released from the terminal buttons of neuron that excite the next neuron into firing.

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

Biology

Chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that inhibit the next neuron from firing.

Acetylcholine

Biology

Associated with motor movement

Lack of acetylcholine is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Dopamine

Biology

Associated with motor movement and alertness

Lack of dopamine is associated with Parkinson's disease; an overabundance is associated with schizophrenia.

Endorphin

Biology

Neurotransmitter associated with pain control.

Also involved in drug addictions.

Serotonin

Biology

Neurotransmitter associated with mood control and memory.

Lack of serotonin is associated with clinical depression

Afferent Neurons

(or Sensory Neurons)

Biology

Neurons that take information from the senses to the brain.

Afferent neurons are responsible for transmitting neural impulses from the rest of the body to the brain.

Efferent Neurons

(or Motor Neurons)

Biology

Neurons that take formation from the brain to the rest of the body.

Efferent neurons carry information that exists the brain.

Central nervous System

Biology

Part of the Nervous system that consists of our brain and spinal cord.

All the nerves are housed within bone (the skull and vertebrae).

Spinal Cord

Biology

A bundle of nerves that run through the center of the spine.

Transmits information from the rest of the body to the brain

Peripheral Nervous System

Biology

All the nerves in your body other than the brain and spinal cord nerves; all the nerves not encased in bone.

The peripheral nervous system is divided into two categories: The somatic and the autonomic nervous system.

Somatic Nervous System

Biology

Controls voluntary muscle movements.

The motor cortex of brain sends impulses to the somatic nervous system (also called the skeletal nervous system), which controls the muscles that allow us to move.

Autonomic nervous System

Biology

Controls the automatic functions of the human body - heart, lungs, internal organs, glands, and os on.

Controls responses to stress - the fight or flight response that prepares the body to respond to a perceived threat.

Divided into two categories: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Biology

Mobilizes our body to respond to stress

Part of the nervous system that carries message to the control systems of the organs, glands, and muscles that direct the body's response to stress.

The alert system of the human body. It accelerates some functions (such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration) but conserves resources needed for a quick response by slowing down other functions (such as digestion).

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Biology

Responsible for slowing down the body after a stress response.

Carries messages to the stress response system that causes the body to slow down.

Think of the parasympathetic nervous system as the brake pedal that slows down the body's autonomic nervous system.

Accidents

Biology

Early psychologists studied accidents as a way to investigate brain function.

Accidents resulting in injuries to specific brain areas (such as the Phineas Gage case study) helped psychologists get an idea about the function of each part of the brain.

Lesions

Biology

Removal or destruction of part of the brain

Sometimes doctors decide that the best treatment for a certain condition involves surgery that will destroy or incapacitate part of the brain.

Doctors closely monitor the patient's subsequent behavior for changes.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Biology

Device that detects brain waves.

Researchers can examine what type of waves the brain produces during different stages of consciousness and use this information to generalize about brain function.

Widely used in sleep research to identify the different stages of sleep and dreaming.

Computerized Axial Tomography (CST or CT Scan)

Biology

A sophisticated X-ray

Use several X-ray cameras that rotate around the brain and combine all the pictures into a detailed three-dimensional picture of the brain's structure.

Can show only the structure of the brain, not the function or the activity of different brain structures.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI Scan)

Biology

Use magnetic fields to measure the density and location of brain material.

Does not use X-ray as the CAT scan does, so the patient is not exposed to carcinogenic radiation.

Like the CAT scan, the MRI gives doctors information about only the structure of the brain, not the function.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scan)

Biology

Measures how much of a certain chemical (glucose, for example) parts of the brain are using. The more used, the higher the activity.

Different types of scans are used for different chemicals such as neurotransmitters, drugs, and oxygen flow.

Functional MRI (fMRI)

Biology

Combines elements of the MRI and PET scans

Can show details of brain structure with information about blood flow in the brain, tying brain structure to brain activity during cognitive tasks.

Hindbrain

Biology

Structures in the top part of the spinal cord.

The life support system; it controls the basic biological functions that keep us alive.

Some of the important specific structures within the hindbrain are the medulla, pons, and cerabellum.

Medulla

Biology

Involved in the control of our blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing.

Also known as the medulla oblongata and located above the spinal cord.

Pons

Biology

Located just above the medulla and toward the front.

Connects the hindbrain with the midbrain and forebrain.

Involved in the control of facial expressions and sleep regulations.

Cerebellum

Biology

Located on the bottom rear of the brain

Looks like a smaller version of our brain stuck onto the underside of our brain.

Cerebellum means little brain.

Coordinates some habitual muscle movements, such as tracking a target with our eyes or playing the saxophone.

Midbrain

Biology

Located just above the spinal cord

Controls some very important functions, such as the ability to focus attentions.

Coordinates simple movements with sensory information.

Reticular Formation

Biology

Netlike collection of cells throughout the midbrain that controls general body arousal and the ability to focus attention.

If the reticular formation does not function, we fall into a deep coma.

Forebrain

Biology

Controls what we think of as thought and reason.

The size of our forebrain makes humans hhuman, and most psychological researchers concentrate their efforts in this area of the brain.

Specific areas of interest to us in the forebrain are the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus.

Thalamus

Biology

Located on top of the brain stem

Responsible for receiving the sensory signals coming up the spinal cord and sending them to the appropriate areas in the rest of the forebrain.

Hypothalamus

Biology

Small structure next to the thalamus.

The small size of the hypothalamus belies the importance of its functions.

They hypothalamus controls several metabolic fictions, including body temperature, sexual arousal (libido), hunger, thirst, and the endocrine system.

Amygdala

Biology

Small area of the brain within the limbic system

Vital to our experiences of basic emotions, such as fear and aggression.

Hippocampus

Biology

Vital to our memory system

Located in the limbic system

Memories are not permanently stored in this area of the brain, however. Memories are processed though this area and then sent to other locations in the cerebral cortex for permanent storage.

Limbic System

Biology

Name for a group of brain structures: Thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus.

Cerebral cortex

Biology

Gray wrinkled surface of the brain

A thin (1 mm) layer of densely packed neurons.

This layer covers the rest of the brain, including most of structures we have described.

Hemispheres

Biology

The cerebral cortex is divided into two hemispheres: left and right.

Each hemisphere has four lobes.

The hemisphere look like mirror images of one another, but they exert some differences in function.

Left Hemisphere

Biology

Gets sensory messages and controls the motor function of the right half of the body.

Left hemisphere may be more active during spoken language, logic, and sequential tasks

Right Hemisphere

Biology

Gets sensory messages and controls the motor function of the left half of the body.

Right hemisphere may be more active during spatial and creative tasks