AP Psychology Fall Final 2025

Ms. Kjorness

REM

A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movement, associated with vivid dreaming and increased brain activity.

REM rebound

is a phenomenon where a person experiences increased REM sleep after a period of sleep deprivation, leading to more vivid dreams.

Circadian Rhythm

The physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in the environment.

Insomnia

a sleep disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling and/or staying asleep, often leading to daytime fatigue and impairment.

Narcolepsy

a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks.

Sleep Apnea

a serious sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, often resulting in loud snoring and daytime sleepiness.

Sensation

a process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Signal Detection Theory

the theory explaining how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amidst background noise. It considers factors like experience, expectations, and motivation.

Absolute Threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.

Just-Noticeable Difference

the minimum difference in stimulation that a person can detect 50% of the time.

Weber’s Law

A principle describing the relationship between stimulus and resulting sensation, stating that the Just Noticeable Difference is a constant proportion of the original intensity of the stimulus.

Sensory Adaptation

the process by which our sensory receptors become less responsive to constant stimuli over time.

Rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond

Cones

retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. Cones detect the fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Opponent-Process Theory

theory in psychology that suggests that our perception of color is based on three pairs of opponent colors: red versus green, blue versus yellow, and black versus white. According to this theory, when one color is perceived, its opposite color is suppressed.

Afterimages

visual illusions that occur when we continue to see an image even after it has been removed from our field of vision. They can be positive (retaining the original colors) or negative (inverted colors).

Blindsight

the ability to respond to visual information without consciously seeing it. This often occurs in people who have experienced damage to the primary visual cortex.

Visual nerve (optic nerve)

The optic nerve is a bundle of nerve fibers that carries visual information from the retina to the brain. It plays a crucial role in transmitting visual signals for processing and interpretation.

Blind Spot

a small area in the retina of the eye where there are no photoreceptor cells, resulting in a lack of visual perception.

Semi-circular canals

crucial component of the vestibular system, which is responsible for detecting head and body movements and maintaining balance.

Wavelengths

the distance between successive peaks in a wave motion of a given frequency, such as a sound wave or a wave of electromagnetic radiation.

Pitch

the quality of a sound that is determined by its frequency

Amplitude

the height or depth of a wave signal such as sound or light, which correlates with perceived loudness in sound waves and brightness in light waves

Middle ear

an air-filled cavity situated between the eardrum and the inner ear, containing three tiny bones (ossicles) that transmit sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. It plays a crucial role in amplifying and transferring sound waves for auditory perception.

Cochlea

a spiral-shaped, fluid-filled structure in the inner ear that plays a crucial role in hearing. It contains thousands of tiny hair cells that convert sound vibrations into electrical signals that can be interpreted by the brain.

Inner ear

part of the ear that contains the cochlea, which plays a crucial role in converting sound vibrations into electrical signals 

Place Theory

a theory in auditory perception that explains how we perceive different pitches or tones based on the specific location or "place" along the basilar membrane of the inner ear where the sound wave stimulates hair cells.

Conduction Deafness

occurs when there are problems with the outer or middle ear that obstructs sound waves from reaching the inner ear

Sound Localization

the process by which we perceive and identify the specific location or direction of a sound source in our environment 

Supertasters

individuals who have a heightened sensitivity to taste, particularly to bitter flavors, due to an increased number of taste buds.

Gate Control theory

a theory in psychology that explains how the brain regulates and modulates the perception of pain.

Kinesthetic Sense

the body's ability to sense its own position, movement, and action.

Olfactory System

the sensory system responsible for our sense of smell. It includes the olfactory receptors in our nose, the olfactory bulb in our brain, and the neural pathways that process and interpret smells.

Perceptual adaptation

our ability to adjust to changes in our sensations

Experimental

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

Case study

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

Correlational

A measure of which extent to which two variables change together and this of how well either variable predicts the other

Meta-Analysis

a statistical technique used to combine and analyze the results from multiple independent studies on the same topic

Naturalistic Observation

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

Longitudinal Study

a research method in which data is collected from the same group of participants over an extended period of time to examine changes or developments that occur over time.

Cross Sectional Study

observational research methods that analyze data from a population, or a representative subset, at one specific point in time

Sampling

A sample refers to a smaller group of individuals that are selected from a larger population in order to represent and generalize findings about the entire population.

Representative Sample

a group of individuals that accurately represents the larger population from which it is drawn.

Sampling Bias

A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Sampling Populations

The process of selecting individuals to participate in a research study

Generalized

he tendency for the conditioned response to be evoked by stimuli that are similar to the stimulus to which it was originally conditioned

Quantifiable

to measure or express something in terms of quantity or numerical value

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be produced

Standard Deviation

a measure used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values

Perception

the process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory information, enabling us to recognize objects and events as meaningful

Bottom-up Processing

information processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

Top-Down processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectation

Gestalt Psychology

a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts

Binocular Cues

a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

Monocular Cues

a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone

Prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

Algorithm

a methodical, logical rule that gurantees solving a particular problem

Heuristic

a simple thinking strategy- a mental shortcut- that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently

Availability Heuristic

judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common

Gambler’s Fallacy

This is the mistaken belief that past events can influence future outcomes, even if the events are unrelated.

Mental Set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

Hindsight Bias

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

Divergent Thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

Confirmation Bias

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

Dependent variable

in an experiment, the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Sensory Memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Effortful Processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Procedural Memory

a part of the long-term memory that is responsible for knowing how to do things, also known as motor skills

Echoic Memory

type of sensory memory that stores auditory information for a short period, typically 3-4 seconds.

Encoding

process of transforming information into a form that can be stored and retrieved by the brain

State Dependent memory Rehearsal

the phenomenon where people recall information better when they are in the same physiological or psychological state as when the information was encoded.

Effective storage

the process of maintaining information in the brain over time

Mnemonic Devices

a technique used to enhance memory and recall. It often involves creating associations between hard-to-remember information and easy-to-remember information.

Method of Loci

a mnemonic technique in which the items to be remembered are converted into mental images and associated with specific positions or locations. For instance, to remember a shopping list, each product could be imagined at a different location along a familiar street.

Chunking

strategy used in cognitive psychology to improve memory where large amounts of information are broken down into smaller, manageable groups or 'chunks'.

Hierarchies

systems where individuals or concepts are ranked one above another based on specific criteria.

The Spacing Effect

psychological phenomenon where learning is greater when studying is spread out over time, as opposed to studying the same amount of content in a single session.

Distributed Practice

a learning technique where study sessions are spaced out over time with breaks in between.

Maintenance Rehearsal

process of repeatedly thinking about or saying information to keep it in short-term memory.

Elaborative Rehearsal

a memory technique that involves thinking about the meaning of the term to be remembered, as opposed to mere repetitive rote learning.

Long Term Memory

the storage of information over extended periods of time. It has virtually unlimited capacity and duration.

Iconic memory

visual sensory memory, which holds visual information for about one second before it disappears or gets replaced by new information.

Context-Dependent Memory

improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.

The Forgetting Curve

hypothesis that describes the decrease in ability of the brain to retain memory over time.

Encoding Failure

inability to effectively store or retrieve information in long-term memory due to a failure in the initial encoding process.

Proactive Interference

when previously learned information interferes with the learning or recall of new information.

How is intelligence measured

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Mental Age

an individual's level of mental development relative to others. It was originally used in scoring early versions of IQ tests.

Stereotype Threat

The fear that one's behavior will confirm an existing stereotype of a group with which one identifies. This fear can actually lead to decreased performance.

Achievement Test

evaluates an individual's knowledge or proficiency in certain areas that they have been taught or trained in.

Fixed Mindset

the belief that one's abilities, intelligence, and talents are static traits that cannot be developed or improved.

Aptitude Test

designed to assess an individual's potential to succeed in a certain area, even if they haven't received training or education in that field

Growth Mindset

one's abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, learning, and perseverance.

Retrieval Cues

stimuli that help you retrieve a certain memory or piece of information from your long-term memory.

Retroactive Interference

memory phenomenon where newly learned information interferes with the recall of older information.

Tip-of- the Tongue

someone cannot recall a specific word or term, but feels certain that they know it.

Repression

a psychological defense mechanism where an individual unconsciously pushes away thoughts, feelings, or memories that cause discomfort or distress

Misinformation Effect

false memories we create due to misinformation we receive after an event has occurred.

Flynn Effect

the observed phenomenon where average intelligence scores on IQ tests have been steadily increasing over time.