AP EXAM GRIND

Hypothesis

tentative explanation - must be FALSIFIABLE - able to be supported or rejected

Operational Definition

clear, precise, quantifiable definition of your variables -allows replication and collection ofreliable data

Qualitative data

descriptive data (eye color)

Quantitative data

numerical data - IDEAL and necessary for statistics

Population

everyone the research could apply to

Sample

the people (or person) specifically chosen for your study

Correlation

Correlation doesn't = causation

Directionality problem

which direction does the correlation go?

(depression cause low self-esteem, low self-esteem causes depression, or a 3rd

variable?)

3

3rd variable problem

diff. variable is responsible for relationship (ice cream

and murder)

Positive Correlation

variables increase & decrease together

Negative Correlation

as one variable increases the other decreases

Correlation Coefficient

The stronger the # the stronger the

relationship REGARDLESS of the

pos/neg sign. Cannot be < or > than 1.

o Stronger relationships = tighter clusters

on graph

Experiments

purposefully manipulate variables to determine cause/effect

Variables

o Independent Variable: purposefully

altered by researcher to look for effect

▪ Experimental Group: received the

treatment (part of the IV); can have

multiple exp, groups

▪ Control Group: placebo, baseline

(part of the IV); can only have 1

o Dependent Variable: measured variable

(is DEPENDENT on the independent

Placebo Effect:

any observed effect on a behv. That is "caused" by the placebo (shows effectiveness of exp. Treatment). Usually fixed w/ blinded studies

Double-Blind:

Exp. where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to (drug studies)

Single-blind

only participant blind -

used if experimenter can't be blind

(gender, age, etc)

Confound

error/ flaw in study that is accidentally introduced (can be called a confounding variable)

Random Assignment

assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random -increase chance of equal representation among groups (spreads the lefties across both groups) - allows you to say Cause / Effect

naturalistic observation

observe ppl in their natural settings

case study

Studies ONE person (usually) in great detail

meta-analysis

combines multiple studies to increase sample size and examine effect sizes

Descriptive statistics

show shape of the data

Measures of Central Tendency

▪Mean: Average (use in

normal distribution)

▪Median: Middle # (use in

skewed distribution)

▪Mode: occurs most often

• Bimodal - has two

modes - usually

indicates good bad

scores

Skew

• Skews - created by outliers

o Neg skew = mean is to the left (neg side), mode is to the right

o Pos skew = mean is to the right

Measure of variation

• Range - distance by smallest and biggest #

• Standard deviation - avg. amount the scores are spread from the mean

(bigger # = more spread)

inferential statistics

establishes significance (meaningfulness)

STATISTICAL SIGNIFANCE

results not due to chance, exp.manipulation caused the difference in means

▪ p<.05 = stat. sig, smaller = better

EFFECT SIZE

data has practical significance - bigger = better

Ethical Guidelines

o Confidentiality: names kept secret

o Informed Consent: must agree to be

part of study

o Informed assent - minors AND their

parents must agree

o Debriefing: must be told the true

purpose of the study (done after for

deception)

o Deception must be warranted

o No harm- mental/physical

o IRB approval

Survey

usually turned into correlation- subject to self report bias - errors when collect survey data due to:

Social desirability

ppl lie to look good

Wording effects

wording can change the results of a survey

Random Sample (selection)

method for choosing participants for your study - everyone has a chance to take part, increases generalizability

Representative Sample

Sample mimics the general pop. (ethnic, gender, age)

Convenience Sample

select participants on availability - less representative and

less generalizability this way

Sampling bias

sample isn't representative, due to conv. sampling

Cultural norms

behvs of a particular group can influence research results

Experimenter bias / Participant bias:

experimenter/participant expectations

influences the outcome

Cognitive bias

bias in thinking/judgment

o Confirmation bias

find info that supports our preexisting beliefs

Overconfidence

overestimate our

knowledge / abilities

Hindsight bias

"I knew it all along"

Hawthorne effect

ppl change behavior when watched

Lens of HEREDITY VS ENVIRONMENT

Evolutionary psycs - study how natural

selection influences behavior

Heredity (nature)

How genes influence your behavior.

Genome

all of an organism's genetic material

Environment (nurture)

how outside situations influence your behavior (school)

o Twin / Adoption Studies:

o Genetics: identical twin will have a higher

percentage of also developing a disease

o Environment: identical twins raised in

different environments show differences

NERVOUS SYSTEM

• CENTRAL NS: Brain and spinal cord

• PERIPHERAL NS: Rest of the NS -

relays to Central NS

Peripheral NS

o Somatic NS: Voluntary movement, has

sensory and motor neurons

o Autonomic NS: Involuntary organs

(heart, lungs, etc) - contains the:

▪ Sympathetic NS: fight/flight

(generally activates - exception

digestion)

▪ Parasympathetic NS: rest / digest

(generally inhibits - exception

digestion)

NEURON

Basic cell of the NS

Dendrites

Receive incoming NTs (little hair things)

Axon

Action potential travels down

Myelin Sheath

speeds up AP down axon, protects axon

Synapse

gap without neurons

SENSORY neurons

receive sense: signals from environ.-send signal to brain

MOTOR neurons

signals to move - send signals from brain

Interneurons

cells in spinal cord /brain responsible for reflex arc

Reflex arc

important stimuli skips the brain and routes through the spinal cord for immediate reactions (hand on a hot flame)

GLIA

support cells - give nutrients and clean up around neurons

Neurons Fire w/ an Action Potential

ions move across membrane sends an

electrical charge down the axon

Resting potential

neuron maintains a -70mv charge when not doing

anything

Depolarization

charge of neuron briefly switches from neg to pos; triggers the AP

Threshold of depolarization

stimulus strength must reach this point to start the AP

All or nothing principle

stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not

increase the intensity or speed of the response (flush the

toilet)

Refractory period

neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP (toilet resets)

NEUROTRANSMITTERS (NT):

Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons.

Inhibitory

Stops AP

Excitatory

Causes next cell to fire

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Glutamate

Major excitatory NT (glutes excite you!)

Dopamine

Reward (short term) &

fine movement - in hypothalamus,

assoc. w/ addiction

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that affects hunger,sleep, arousal, and mood.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Memory and movement -in hippocampus, assoc. w/ Alzheimer's

Norepinephrine

sympathetic NS

Endorphins

decrease pain

Substance P

pain regulation (abnormality increases pain and

inflammation)

HORMONES

if not in the nervous system, it's a hormone

Oxytocin

love, bonding, childbirth,

lactation

Adrenaline

fight/flight

Leptin

stops hunger

ghrelin

makes you hungry

Melatonin

sleep

• Agonist: drug that mimics a NT

drug that mimics a NT

Antagonist

drug that blocks a NT

Reuptake

Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron.(antidepressants cause reuptake inhibition (block reuptake)

- treatment for depression

Depressants

Decrease NS activity (alcohol)

Stimulants

drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions (caffeine and cocaine)

Hallucinogens

hallucinations and altered perceptions (Marijuana)

Opioids

relieve pain (endorphin agonists) (heroin)

Tolerance

Needing more of a drug to achieve the same effects

Addiction

must have it to avoid withdrawal symptoms

Withdrawal

symptoms associated with sudden stoppage

Hind brain

- Cerebellum - movement, balance,

coordination, procedural memory

(walking a tightrope balancing a bell)

Brainstem

- Brainstem / Medulla - vital organs (HR,

BP, breathing)

- pons: bridge/relay

- Reticular activating system: alertness,

arousal, sleep, eye movement

Cerebral Cortex

higher order thought processes

- includes limbic system, lobes, corpus

callosum

Limbic System

▪ Amygdala: emotions, fear

▪ Hippocampus: episodic and semantic

memory (if you saw a hippo on

campus you'd remember it!)

▪ Hypothalamus: Reward/pleasure

center, eating behaviors - link to

endocrine system, homeostasis

▪ Thalamus: relay center for all but

smell

▪ Pituitary gland: talks w/ endocrine sys

and hypothalamus - release hormones

o Parietal Lobe: sensations and touch -

controls association areas - incudes:

• Somatosensory Cortex: map of our

touch receptors

• Temporal Lobe: hearing and face

recognition, language

vision

Frontal Lobe

decision making, planning, judgment, movement,

personality, language, executive function - includes the:

- Prefrontal cortex: front of frontal lobe - executive function

- Motor Cortex: back of frontal lobe - map of our motor receptors -controls skeletal movement