AP Psychology - Unit 1: Vocab Review

Mary Calkin

first female APA president; completed a Ph.D. under William James that Harvard refused to award her

empiricism

the view that knowledge originates in experience and science should rely on observation and experimentation

Margaret Washburn

first official female psychology Ph.D.; second female APA (American Psychology Association) president

structuralism

an early school of thought that emphasized introspection as a tool to discover the structures of the mind

William James

american functionalist

functionalism

an early school of thought that questioned how behavioral process function and enable an organism to adapt, survive and flourish

Rene Descartes

french philosopher who believed the mind and body are separate

experimental psychology

the field of psychology that conducts experiments to study behavior and thinking

Francis Bacon

(it’s bacon man -- will have definition for later)

behaviorism

the field of psychology that believes only observable behavior is worthy of study

John Locke

british researcher who emphasized observation and experimentation and believed the mind at birth is a ‘tabula rasa’

humanistic psychology

psychological perspective that emphasizes growth potential of healthy humans

introspection

process of looking inwards in attempt to directly observe one’s own psychological processes

Wilhelm Wundt

established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany

G. Stanley Hall

established the first formal U.S psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University

Edward Titchener

introduced structuralism, using introspection to search for the mind’s structural elements

cognition

the study of mental processes, such as those that occur when we percieve, learn, remember, think, communicate and solve

neuroscience

science of the brain

cognitive neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

psychology

the science of behavior and mental processes

behavior

any observable and recordable action

mental processes

internal subjective processes inferred from behavior

Ivan Pavlov

russian physiologist that pioneered the study of learning

Jean Piaget

swiss biologist, most influential in the last century as the observer of children

natural selection

(proposed by Charles Darwin) the principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

evolutionary psychology

the study of evolution of behavior and mind using principles of natural selection

behavior genetics

the study of relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

culture

behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and passed down from generation to generation

positive psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, and using the information gained with goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

biopsychosocial approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological and social-cultural viewpoints

behavioral psychology

the scientific study of observable behavior and its explanation by principles of learning

biological psychology

the scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

psychodynamic psychology

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influences behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

social-cultural psychology

the study of how situations and cultures affect out behavior and thinking

testing-effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading information

SQ3R

a study method incorporating 5 steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review

nature-nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies the physical, cognitive, and social change throughout a person’s life span

educational psychology

the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and leanring

personality psychology

the study of an individua'’s characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

applied research

the scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

industrial-organizational psychology

an application of psychological concepts and methods to optimize human behavior in workplaces

human factors psychology

a field of psychology allied with I/O (industrial-organizational) psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use

counseling psychology

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and in achieving greater well-being

psychiatry

a branch of medicine that deals with psychological disorders and is practiced by physicians who are licensed to provide medical treatments and psychological therapy

community psychologists

a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

Dorothea Dix

pioneered (and reformed) human treatment of those with psychological disorders

hindsight bias

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

overconfidence

humans tend to think we know more than we actually do

tendency to perceive patterns

the built-in eagerness to make sense of the world and random events

*ignore this one, it’s an extra, answer is food

food

theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used ina research study

scientific method

a self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis

replication

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

case study

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observation

a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

survey

a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representation, random sample of the group

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

population

all those in a group being studied, form which samples may be drawn

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

correlation

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (+1.00 to -1.00)

variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of 2 variables. The slop of points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation

illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where none exists or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

regression towards the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fallback (regress) toward the average

experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variable) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors

experimental group

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

control group

in an experiment, the non-exposed group to treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing pre-existing differences between the different groups

double-blind-procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo

placebo

experimental results caused by expectation alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert (non-active) substance or condition

independent variable

in an experiment, the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

confounding variable

a factor tother than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s results

dependent variable

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

validity

the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to do

informed consent

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measure of central tendency and measures of variation

histogram

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

mean

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

normal curve

(normal distribution) a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that described the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean and fewer and fewer near the extremes

inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize--to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

informed consent

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measure of central tendency and measures of variation

histogram

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

mean

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores