AP Psychology Exam Review

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

critical thinking

Question, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and make judgment on information you receive

hindsight bias

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

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

overconfidence

Tendency to overestimate our ability to make correct predictions

peer reviews

The evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others in the same field to ensure its quality and validity before publication or presentation.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

falsifiable

hypothesis tested to see if it can be proven wrong based on scientific observation and investigation

operational definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables (how are the variables measured)

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

case study

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

meta-analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

naturalistic observation

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

survey

a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group

social desirability bias

A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself.

self-report bias

Inaccuracies or distortions in responses to surveys or questionnaires due to factors such as social desirability, memory recall, or misunderstanding of questions.

experimenter bias

a phenomenon that occurs when a researcher's expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained

population

the group from which your participants were drawn from

sample

a subset of the population

sampling bias

exists when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn

random sample

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

convenience sampling

using a sample of people who are readily available to participate

representative sample

a sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole

experimental methodology

Aim to determine cause and effect relationships by manipulating, and controlling for, certain factors/variables

non-experimental methodology

Is research that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable, random assignment of participants to conditions or orders of conditions, or both

correlation

Expresses the relationship between two variables. NO cause and effect!

correlational coefficient

a number between -1 and +1 expressing the degree of relationship between two variables

directionality problem

a problem encountered in correlational studies; the researchers find a relationship between two variables, but they cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable

scatterplot

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

third variable problem

the concept that a correlation between two variables may stem from both being influenced by some third variable

regression toward the mean

tendency for extremely high or low scores (outliers) to move closer to the mean with retesting over time

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process; to show cause the effect

experimental group

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

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

single-blind procedure

research design in which participants don't know whether they are in the experimental or control group

double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

placebo

A harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect.

placebo effect

a measurable or observable improvement in health or behavior that occurs after a "dummy" treatment or inert substance, driven by the patient's belief in the treatment's effectiveness rather than its active ingredients

confounding variable

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

validity

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

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

quantitative research

research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form

qualitative research

research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data

likert scale

quantitatively assess opinions, attitudes, or behaviors Usually on a 1 - 5 scale

institutional review board

A committee at each institution where research is conducted to review every experiment for ethics and methodology.

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

protect from harm

Participants should be free from physical and psychological harm in research

confidentiality

the act of holding information in confidence, not to be released to unauthorized individuals

research confederates

individuals who seem to be participants but in reality are part of the research team

debriefing

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

measure of central tendency

a descriptive statistic that tells which result or score best represents an entire set of scores (mean, median, or mode)

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

median

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

mean

average

percentile rank

the percentage of scores below a specific score in a distribution of scores

skewed distribution

an asymmetrical but generally bell-shaped distribution (of opinions); its mode, or most frequent response, lies off to one side

bimodal distribution

a type of probability distribution that exhibits two distinct peaks or modes, indicating the presence of two separate groups or processes within the same dataset

measures of variation

A measure used to describe the distribution of data; most common are standard deviation, variance, and range

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 or how consistent scores are over time

normal distribution

describes a symmetrical, bell shaped curve that shows the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes; 50% score above the mean; 50% score below the mean

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance (measured as a "p value"

effect size

a measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables or the extent of an experimental effect (Cohen's d value)

nature

the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions

nurture

environmental influences

evolutionary perspective

the theory that seeks to identify behavior that is a result of our genetic inheritance from our ancestors

natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

environment

The sum of your surroundings

heredity

the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another.

eugenics

the science of improving a human population by controlled mating to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics

nervous system

the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

autonomic nervous system

A subdivision of the peripheral nervous system. Controls involuntary activity of visceral muscles and internal organs and glands.

sympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

parasympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

peripheral nervous system

A division of the nervous system consisting of all nerves that are not part of the brain or spinal cord.

somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles

neurons

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

glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

reflex arc

A relatively direct connection between a sensory neuron and a motor neuron that allows an extremely rapid response to a stimulus, often without conscious brain involvement.

sensory neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

action potential

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

all or nothing principle

a nerve or muscle cell either responds to a stimulus completely or not at all, regardless of the stimulus's strength, once a threshold is reached

depolarization

The process during the action potential when sodium is rushing into the cell causing the interior to become more positive.

reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

multiple sclerosis

A chronic disease of the central nervous system marked by damage to the myelin sheath. Plaques occur in the brain and spinal cord causing tremor, weakness, incoordination, paresthesia, and disturbances in vision and speech

excitatory neurotransmitters

chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that excite the next neuron into firing

dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system.

Norepinephrine (NE)

neurotransmitter that increases alertness, arousal, and attention

GABA

inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in regulating brain function and maintaining a calm, relaxed state

substance p

A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of pain messages to the brain.

hormones

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues

leptin

A hormone produced by adipose (fat) cells that acts as a satiety factor in regulating appetite. Sends signals to hypothalamus to reduce appetite.