AP Psych Fall Final

Based off Study Guide

Humanistc Perspective

Focused on potential for personal growth. They reject unconsciousness (psychodynamic). Be the best version of yourself that you can be. Free will and growth mindset. Maslow’s pyrimidine, human needs.

Evolutionary Perspective

Natural selection. They see things with behavior and mental processes in terms of genetic adaptations for survival and reproductions. The way we’ve evolved. Big picture.

Introspection

Self-reflection on our sensations, perspectives, and feelings. Where subject is self reflecting.

Psychiatrist/Psychologist

Medical specialty. Has an MD (medical degree). Treatment of mental/behavior problems. Prescribes meds/preform medical procedures.

Cognitive Perspective

Actions are a direct way of the way we process info from our environment. They think of our brain like a computer. Research on memories and doing things impacting others.

Psychodyanimc Perspective

Root cause of behavior is because of unconscious mind. Early childhood experiences have an impact on personality. Everything stems from early childhood. Study dreams and what they mean. PTSD, trama, rape, very negative things. Unresolved issues.

Informed Consent

Verbal agreement to participate.

Voluntary Participation

They volenture to participate.

Debrifing

Verbal description of the true nature and purpose of study.

Sample Group

Provides the averages for a study (mean and medium).

Experimental Study

Researcher manipulates more than one factor about study. ONLY method that shows cause and effect. The researcher makes choices about study that effect study.

Correlational Study

Looking at the relationship between two or more variables. Does NOT manipulate variables.

Positive Correlation

Increase in one variable increases another variable. Decrease in one variable decreases another variable. Both arrows up - Both arrows down

Negative Correlation

One variable goes up, the other goes down. Vis versa. One arrow goes up - The other arrow goes down.

Replication

The repetition of an experiment or reaserch study to variety or boost confidence in results.

Single-Blind Study

Researchers know what is happening and which group is the control and the experimental group. The subjects don’t know these things.

Double-Blind Study

Neither the researcher nor the subjects know which group had placebo and which group is exposed to the treatment. AKA which group is experimental and which is control.

Standared Deviation

Statistical measure that tells us how much scores vary around the mean score.

Mean

Finding the average - add all the number scores and divide by the total number of scores.

Median

Middle value in a distribution - cross out the numbers side to side like how I learned in 8th grade. Easiest one to do.

Mode

Number that occurs the most. CAN be more than one.

Effect Size

Shows us how much independent variable effects participants.

Operational Definition

Step-by-step description of variables to be able to measure them. How something is measured and what the researchers do to quantify it.

Correlation Coefficient (Positive and Negitive)

A statistical index of the relationship between two things. -1.0 to +1.0 have perfect correlation. Closer to -1.0 is a negitive relationship and vis versa.

Efferent Neurons (Motor Nuerons)

Carry information AWAY from your brain and spinal cord to your muscles and glands so they can take action. Ex: Tells your hand how much to turn shower knob

Afferent Neurons (Sensory Neurons)

Carry information FROM the sense receptors to the brain and spinal cord. Ex: Test water temperature before shower

Reuptake

Neurotransmitter not taken up by the receiving cells are reabsorbed by their vehicles to be used again. Natures recycling. They will be used again later.

Agonist Neurotransmitters

Drugs that either increase the availability or effectiveness of neurotransmitter or mimics their actions. Some of these prevent reupatke process.

Antagonists

Drugs or chemicals that block/diminish the functions of neurotransmitters by occupying their receptor sites. This can happen with natural and man made chemicals.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Neurotransmitter that enables motor function in the body. Making muscles contract with the motor cortex. Underproduction of this can cause paralysis or alzheimer’s. Overproduction leads to seizures and panic attacks. Botox temporarily blocks it.

Dopamine

Influences body movement, learning, attention, reward experiences, and goal directed behavior/motivation.

Endorphins

Natural chemical released in the brain that have pain-killing effects. Boosts pleasure and is associated with a “runners high”.

Broca Area

Area of brain that helps move muscles for speech. This helps you actually say words. You CAN understand words, but can’t produce the right sounds to speak them. Frontal left lobe.

Wernicke Area

Part of the brain that helps you comprehend words. You CAN speak, but you can’t understand what you, or anybody else is saying. Left temporal/parietal lobes.

Sympathetic Nervous System (ANS)

Speeds up bodily processes and draws energy from stored reserves. Quickens breathing and heart rate. Not always negative, happens when excited, scared, angry, ect. Puts on the gas like an accelerator in a car.

Parasympathetic Nervous System (ANS)

Conserves energy by slowing down bodily processes like heart rate and breathing. Engaged by relaxing. Regulates bodily processes like digestion. Puts on breaks in a car.

Plasticity

The brains ability to adapt/modify itself as a result of experience. Making new/strengthening old connections. Getting more grey/brain matter.

Thalamus

Receives information from all senses EXCEPT for smell. Routs right, sound, sight, and touch to their given areas of the brain. Smell is done somewhere else. On the brainstem.

Medulla

Controls your heart rate and breathing. Responsible for lots of involuntary controls like barf, sneezing, and coughing. Relays information between spinal cord and brain. Bottom of brain stem.

Occipital Lobe

Where visual processing occurs. The brain works very hard to make sure we can see, so there a lot of blood flow in this area. It’s in the back of the head.

Vestibular Sense

Area in inner ear that helps keep your balance, spacial awareness, and stable vision.

Absolute Threshold

LEAST amount of physical energy that can be detected as a stimulation 50% of the time. Ex: Seeing a candle flame form 30 miles away

Difference Threshold

Smallest amount by which stimulus can be changed and difference can be detected. Ex: Sensing the difference in the amount of spice used in something after its added little by little (very little).

Gustation

Sense of taste. Focus on spelling!

Habituation

Learning NOT to respond to repeated presentation of a stimulus. Ex: Moving into a house with a train next to it and slowly stopping responding to the noise the more you live there.

Cocktail Party Effect

Being able to tune the things around you out as you focus on one noise. Ex: Having a conversation at a party and being able to tune the rest of the noise around you out to be able to listen to the person talking to you.

Trichromatic Theory of Color

Our eyes detect three colors, red, blue, and green. We have three types of photoreceptors (cones) with differing sensitivities to different light wavelengths in the BACK of your eye.

Negative Reinforcement

Behavior/response is strengthened, and the behavior increases. Escape, avoid, reduce. Ex: Fastening a seatbelt so the loud beeping stops - behavior increases

Positive Reinforcement

Behavior/response is more likely to be repeated. Ex: Giving a kid a sucker when they do the dishes, they’re more likely going to do the dishes again in the future - behavior increases

Generalization

Process where a response spreads from one specific stimulus to other stimuli that’s similar to the original. Ex: Conditioned to fear dog, so then you start also being afraid of things that have the same texture as the dogs fur.

Classical Conditioning

Involves repeatedly pairing an involuntary response that is usually evoked by one stimulus with a different, formally neural stimulus.

Cognitive Map

Mental representation of someones physical environment.

Opernant Conditioning

Skinner made this. Examines causes and effects of internal behavior.

Shaping

Reinforcement of behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior. Used to make new behaviors. Ex: Wanting to throw a 3pt shot in basketball, so increasingly moving further back toward the line while making shots. Increasing the challenge before desired behavior is completed.

Discrimination

Differentiating between two similar stimuli. Ex: Being afraid of dogs, but not cats even though they are similar.

Gambler’s Fallacy

Mistaken belief past events influence future events that are completely independent of each other. Ex: Thinking red will be rolled because it’s been black the last 10 times.

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to search for/interpret \/recall information in a way that you already believe.

Divergent Thinking

Thought process coming up with creative ideas to overcome a problem and get a solution. Best suited for tasks involving creativity. Innovative applications.

Retrograde Amnesia

Form of memory loss involving an inability to access memories formed BEFORE onset of amnesia.

Anterograde Amnesia

Memory loss that occurs when you can’t form new memories. Things are stuck in your short term. Can’t form memories AFTER onset of amnesia.

Episodic Memory

Declarative memories that involve remembering personal experiences, events, times, places. EPISODic - sounds like episode of your life that you remember.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Conscious rehearsal of information by repeating in your mind. Ex: Repeating somebody’s name in your mind many times to try to remember it. Very not great for memorization for long periods of time, or important things.

Prototype

Generic image that represents a concept or best example of that concept. Influenced by many factors with language,social background, culture, ect.

Source Amnesia

Can’t remember when,. where, or how knowledge was learned. Inadequate memory encoding.