AP Psych Exam

Behavioral

How we learn observable responses

Biological

How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences: how our genes and environment influence our individual differences

Cognitive

How we encode, process, store, and retrieve info

Evolutionary

How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

Humanistic

How we achieve personal growth and self-fulfillment

Psychodynamic

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

Social-cultural

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Mary Calkins

1863-1930, First women president of APA

Charles Darwin

1809-1882, Natural Selection/Evolution

Dorothea Dix

1802-1887, Reformer/Mental Hospitals

Sigmund Freud

1856-1939, Psychodynamic

G. Stanley Hall

1846-1924, First president of APA

William James

1842-1910, Functionalism/Introspection

Ivan Pavlov

1849-1936, Classical Conditioning

Jean Piaget

1896-1980, Child Cognitive Development

Carl Rogers

1902-1987, Humanism/Unconditional positive regard

B.F Skinner

1904-1990, Operant Conditioning

Margaret Washburn

1871-1939, First woman Ph.D

John B. Watson

1878-1958, Behaviorism

Wilhelm Wundt

1832-1920, Structuralism/ First lab

Glial Cells (Glia)

(Glue Cells) Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory

Refractory Period

In neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state

Agonist

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action

Antagonist

A molecule that inhabits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action

Sensory (afferent) neurons

Neurons that carry incoming information from the body's tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Motor (efferent) neurons

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal chord to the muscles and glands

Interneurons

Neurons within the brain and spinal chord; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Adrenal Glands

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

Pituitary glands

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Thalamus

The brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Reticular Formation

A nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal

Neurogenesis

The formation of new neurons

Blindsight

A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

Stimulant

Increases neural activity

Depressant

Decreases neural activity

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

Split Brain

A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

Antagonist Hands

Hands are at odds over what to do

Alien Hands Syndrome

Hands have "a mind of their own"

Left Brain Rationalization

When an action is taken that was a product of the right brain, the left brain will make up a reason why it happened

The Endocrine System

The body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream; Has two major glands

Lesion

Cutting or burning of neural connections

Introspection

The mind is studied through self reflection

Nature-Nurture Issue

Inherited genes vs. influence from external factors

Natural Selection

Nature selects traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment

Behavior Genetics

How do we individually differ because of our different genes and environment

Evolutionary Psychology

How are humans alike because of our common biology and evolutionary history

Positive Psychology

Exploring the building of a good life that engages our skills and a meaningful like that points beyond ourselves

Testing Effect

Repeated self-testing and rehearsal of previously studied material

Development

Studying our changing abilities from womb to tomb

Educational

Studying influences on teaching and learning

Personality

Investigating our persistent traits

Social

Exploring how we view and affect one another

Industrial-Organizational (I/O)

Psychology concepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, design products, and implement systems

Human Factors

Interaction of people, machines, and physical environments

Counsiling

Help people cope with challenges and crises and to improve their personal and social functioning

Clinical

Assess and treat people with mental, emotional, and behavior disorders

Psychiatry/Psychiatrists

Medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs and otherwise treat physical causes of psychological disorders

Community

Work to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all

Structuralism

The mind could be studied through self reflection

Functionalism

Why we have thoughts and thoughts have an adaptive value

Psychoanalysis

Unconscious motives and conflicts drive us, Sigmund Freud

Behaviorism

Observation and recording of behavior

Humanism

Humans are driven by their need for love and acceptance

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)

Replication

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

Sampling Bias

A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Random Sample vs Random Assignment

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion vs Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups

Confounding Variables

A factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study's results

Skewed Distribution

A representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

Illusory Correlation

Perceiving a relationship where non exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

Validity vs Reliability

The extent to which a tests or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to vs The extent to which a test yield consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternating forms of the test, or on retesting

Description Method

To gather data that describes behavior and thoughts

(Description Method) 3 common ways to gather data

Case study, Survey, Naturalistic observation

Case study

Studying one individual in great depth

Survey

Asking people to report their behavior or opinions

Naturalistic observation

Describing observed behaviors

Basic research

Finding new info

Applied research

Applying new info along with existing info to practical problems

Scientific method

Observations, theory, hypothesis, conduct experiment, draw conclusions, restart process

A theory is a...

Prediction

A hypothesis is a...

Testable prediction (If, then statement)

During experiments and observations you...

Gather data

Experimental method

Manipulating a situation and then looking at the results

(Experimental method) Key parts of an experiment

Independent variable, dependent variable (explain how you will measure them)

Independent variable

The part of the experiment that is manipulated

Dependent variable

The part of the experiment that is measured

Factors of a good experiment

Grouping, Double-blind procedure, random assignment

Control group

Subjects are given a placebo(a fake substance or nothing at all)

Experimental group

Subjects are given a real substance or condition

Double-blind procedure

Neither the subjects nor the experimenter should know who was assigned what group

Random assignment

Subjects are randomly assigned by chance to different groups

Correlation method

Using numbers to describe the strength of a relationship between two traits or behaviors (Place data on a scatter plot)

(Correlation method) Scatter plots

After data is plotted, the line of best fit will indicate the relationship between the two variables (!Correlation does not mean causation!)

Positive correlation

Close to +1.0, when one variable goes up so does the other (The more education you have, the higher the salary)

Negative correlation

Close to -1.0, when one variable goes up the other goes down (If you wear more sunscreen, you are less likely to get cancer)

No correlation

No clear relationship indicated

Ways to organize statistic data

Mode, Mean, Median, Range, Standard deviation

Mode

The most frequently occurring score

Mean

The average score