AP Psych Review!

Wilhelm Wundt

set up the first psychological laboratory and became known as "the father of modern psychology

William James

published the first psychology textbook and created the theory of functionalism

Charles Darwin

studied evolution and thought the strongest species and traits would survive; gave the idea of natural selection

Mary Calkins

student under William James who should have earned her Ph.D. from Harvard; Harvard denied her the degree she had earned, offering her a degree from Radcliffe College, which she refused the degree; she became a memory researcher and the American Psychological Association's (APA's) first female president in 1905

Margaret Floy Washburn

a functionalist psychologist who was the first woman to earn a Ph.D

Sigmund Freud

a psychologist who developed psychoanalysis. Believed strongly that unconscious drives and desires guided people's actions

James Watson

believed in behaviorism, and thought that the focus should be on what people do instead of what they experience, because behavior can be measured objectively by anybody

Ivan Pavlov

performed pioneering condition experiments on dogs

B. F. Skinner

pioneer of operant conditioning who believed that everything we do is determined by our past of rewards and punishments; he is famous for use of his operant conditioning apparatus which he used to study schedules of reinforcement on pigeons and rats

Carl Rogers

humanistic psychology who founded client-centered therapy

Abraham Maslow

humanistic psychologist who developed a theory of motivation that emphasized psychological growth

structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind

functionalism

a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral process function-how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish

behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes; most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

biological psychology

a branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes

evolutionary psychology

the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection

psychodynamic psychology

a brand of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

behavioral psychology

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

cognitive psychology

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

social-cultural psychology

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

experimental psychology

the study of behavior and thinking using experimental method

developmental psychology

the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

educational psychology

The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

personality Psychology

the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

social Psychology

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

industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology

the application of psychology concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

human psychology

the study of how people and machines interact and the design of safe and easily used machines and environments

counseling psychology

a brand of psychology that assists people with problem in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

clinical psychology

a brand of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

scientific method

a method of investigation involving observation and theory to test scientific hypotheses

hindsight bias

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

overconfidence

we tend to think we know more than we do

critical thinking

not blindly accepting arguments and conclusions

theory

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

hypothesis

a testable prediction

operational definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variable

replicate

repeating a research study or experiment

reliability

a measure of consistency

validity

a measurement that refers to the extent to which any tool measures what it is intended or claims to quantify

observation

the simplest scientific technique

researcher bias

a tendency for researchers to engage in behaviors and selectively notice evidence that supports their hypotheses or expectations

participant bias

a tendency for research participants to respond in a certain way because they know they are being observed, or they believe they know what the researcher wants

case study

examines one individual in depth in hopes of reveling things true of us all

survey method

research technique in which information is gathered from people

wording effect

the effect that question phrasing and order have on how people answer surveys

population

the group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

random sample

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

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to control the situation

longitudinal study

technique that studies the same group of individuals over a long period of time

cross-sectional study

technique that compares individuals from different age groups at one time

correlation

the measure of a relationship between two variables or sets of data

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things

scatterplots

a graphed cluster of dots which represents the values of two variables

illusionary correlation

the idea of a relationship where none exists

conformation bias

a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions

experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process

experimental group

the group that receives the treatment

control group

the group that does not receive the treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance

double blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant to the expected outcome of an experiment

placebo

a non-active substance or condition that may be administered instead of a drug or active agent to see if the drug has an effect beyond the expectations produced by taking it

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

independent variable (IV)

the variable that a researcher actively manipulates, and if the hypothesis is correct, will cause a change in the dependent variable

dependent variable (DV)

the research variable that is influenced by the independent variable, and the impact can be measured

confounding variables

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce and effect in the experiment

statistics

tools that help us see and interpret things we may otherwise miss

central tendency

a single score that represents a whole set of numbers

mean

the sum of all the scores divided by the number of scores

median

the middle number in a set of numbers that are listed in order

mode

the most frequently occurring score

range

the gap between the lowest and highest score

standard deviation

a measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the mean

normal distribution

describes a symmetrical, bell shaped curve that shows the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes

skewed

a distribution with its peak well to one side

statistical significance

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

IRB

Institutional Review Board, review research in advance to ensure ethical considerations are met

informed consent

participants must be informed about the research and any potential risks involved

coercion

making someone do something

anonymity

researchers must not release data or information about individual participants

risk

the chance that an accident might occur during a research project

debriefing

participants must receive a full explanation of the research when their involvement is done

neuron

a nerve cell, the basic building block of the nervous system

dendrite

the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

soma

cell body of a neuron

axon

long nerve fiber that conducts away from the cell body of the neuron

myelin sheath

a layer of fatty tissue encasing a neuron's axon that speeds transmission

axon terminal

terminal branch of an axon where neurotransmitters are stored

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

refractory period

the time after a neuron fires or a muscle fiber contracts during which a stimulus will not evoke a response

threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

synaptic gap/synapse

space between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite receptors of the next neuron

all-or-none principle

refers to the fact that the action potential in the axon occurs either full blown or not at all

neurotransmitter

chemical used by a neuron to transmit an impulse across a synapse to another cell

excitatory effect

a neurotransmitter effect that makes it more likely that the receiving neuron will generate an action potential or "fire"

inhibitory effect

a neurotransmitter effect that makes it less likely that a receiving neuron will generate an action potential or "fire"

antagonist

a chemical which blocks the activity of neurotransmitters

agonist

a chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter

endorphines

natural pain killer; morphine is an agonist

acetycholine

a neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction; curare is an antagonist, black widow venom is an agonist

dopamine

a neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system; lack of it is linked with Parkinson's disease; too much is linked with schizophrenia