AP Psychology Unit 0-5 Practice Flashcards

A comprehensive vocabulary-style flashcard set covering Units 0 through 5 of AP Psychology, including research methods, biological bases, cognition, development, social psychology, and clinical disorders.

Identify (Generic Question Type)

State the concept and write the definition, then link it to the question.

Informed Consent (Human Ethical Guideline)

Participants must know what they are signing up for and give consent to participate willingly, with limited use of deception.

IRB (Institutional Review Board)

An organization that audits research project proposals to ensure they follow ethical guidelines for human or animal subjects.

IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee)

The specific committee that reviews research proposals involving animal subjects to ensure humane treatment.

Case Study

A research method that involves studying one subject or a small group in great depth over time to gain deep insight.

Longitudinal Study

A powerful research tool that follows a specific group of people over a long period to provide insight into changes over time.

Quasi-experiment

An experiment where the researcher attempts to find cause and effect using existing groups rather than using random assignment.

Operational Definition

A specific description of a variable in terms of the procedures, actions, or processes by which it is observed and measured.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable manipulated by the researcher to see if it causes an effect; it is plotted on the x-axis.

Placebo Effect

Occurs when a person experiences real improvements simply because they believe a treatment is working, despite receiving a substance with no active ingredients.

Hawthorne Effect

The phenomenon where people act differently because they know they are being watched.

p-value

The probability that results happened due to chance ($p < 0.05$ is required for statistical significance).

Epigenetics

The study of how environment and DNA influence one another through marks that block or encourage gene expression.

Autonomic Nervous System

A division of the peripheral nervous system that deals with automatic body functions, split into the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

Action Potential

A positive electric charge of approximately $+70\,mV$ that travels rapidly down the neuron to the terminal buttons.

Resting Potential

The resting state charge of a neuron, which is approximately $-40\,mV$.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

An excitatory neurotransmitter responsible for motor movement, learning, and memory; a lack is linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter linked to alertness, reward systems, and motor movement; excess is linked to Schizophrenia, while a lack is linked to Parkinson's.

Endorphins

Neurotransmitters involved in pain control and stress relief.

Thalamus

Known as the sensory switchboard, it directs all sensory signals (except smell) to the appropriate places in the brain.

Amygdala

A part of the limbic system that triggers the fight-or-flight response and processes emotionally charged memories.

Wernicke’s Area

Located in the left temporal lobe, it is responsible for linguistic reception and understanding the semantics of speech.

Broca’s Area

Located in the left frontal lobe, it is responsible for linguistic expression and speech production.

Brain Plasticity

The brain's ability to adapt, change, and regrow or rewrite itself in response to experience or damage.

Delta Waves

High-amplitude, low-frequency EEG waves occurring during Stage 3 deep, restorative sleep.

Transduction

The process of changing physical energy from the environment into neural impulses that the brain can understand.

Weber's Law

States that to detect a difference in stimuli, there must be a change by a consistent percentage (e.g., $8\%$ for sight, $2\%$ for weight).

Retinal Disparity

A binocular depth cue where the brain estimates distance based on the different images received by each eye.

Schema

A mental framework for understanding and organizing information.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when an individual's beliefs and actions conflict.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

The three-stage physiological response to stress consisting of Alarm Reaction, Resistance, and Exhaustion.

Diathesis-Stress Model

Assuming psychological disorders develop due to a genetic vulnerability ($diathesis$) combined with stressful life experiences ($stress$).