AP Psychology Fall Final Exam Terms Set | Picard Westmont Highschool

Circadian rhythm

The body's 24-hour biological clock controlling sleep, wake cycles, temperature, and hormones; regulated by the SCN using light cues.

Ultradian rhythm

Biological cycles shorter than 24 hours, such as the 90-minute sleep cycle or heartbeat rhythm.

NREM-1 (Stage 1)

Light sleep Theta Waves; sensations from env. Filter into mental images, hypnagogic sensations

NREM-2 (Stage 2)

Sleep Spindles with Rapid bursts of rhythmic brainwave-activity easy to wakeup

NREM-3 (Stage 3)

Deepest sleep (slow-wave sleep) with delta waves; phypical/cellular repair.

REM sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep; vivid dreams, brain is active, muscles are paralyzed.

Sleep cycle changes

Early night = more deep NREM-3 sleep; late night = longer REM periods, less deep sleep.

SCN (Suprachiasmatic Nucleus)

The brain's master clock in the hypothalamus that regulates circadian rhythm using light cues.

Melatonin

Hormone made by the pineal gland that induces sleep; released at night, reduced in light.

Insomnia

Trouble falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

Sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks; person may directly enter REM sleep.

Sleep apnea

Person repeatedly stops breathing during sleep, often snores, and wakes frequently.

Sleepwalking (somnambulism)

Occurs in NREM-3 sleep; person walks or performs actions while asleep.

Sleeptalking

Talking during any sleep stage; harmless.

Night terrors

Sudden panic or screaming during NREM-3 sleep; not remembered the next day.

Psychoactive drug

Chemical substance that alters mood, perception, or behavior by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain.

Tolerance

Needing more of a drug for the same effect.

Addiction

Compulsive drug use despite harmful consequences.

Withdrawal

Discomfort and distress that follow stopping drug use.

Stimulants

Drugs that speed up the nervous system; increase dopamine and norepinephrine; boost alertness and energy.

Depressants

Drugs that slow down the nervous system; enhance GABA and reduce glutamate; cause relaxation and drowsiness.

Hallucinogens

Drugs that distort sensory experiences; affect serotonin and perception.

Alcohol

Neurotransmitters: ↑ GABA, ↓ Glutamate, ↓ Dopamine reuptake. Effect: Slows brain activity, impairs coordination and judgment, causes relaxation and disinhibition.

Barbiturates

Neurotransmitter: ↑ GABA. Effect: Induces sleep or relaxation; slows neural activity; can be fatal with alcohol.

Opiates (Heroin, Morphine, Codeine)

Neurotransmitter: Mimic endorphins (natural painkillers); ↑ dopamine release. Effect: Euphoria, pain relief, slowed breathing; strong addiction and withdrawal.

Methamphetamine

Neurotransmitter: Massive ↑ Dopamine release. Effect: Intense euphoria, energy, alertness; damages dopamine receptors, causes depression later.

Ecstasy (MDMA)

Neurotransmitters: ↑ Serotonin, ↑ Dopamine, ↑ Norepinephrine. Effect: Euphoria, emotional closeness, energy, dehydration, and serotonin depletion ("Tuesday blues").

LSD (Acid)

Neurotransmitter: Mimics serotonin. Effect: Alters perception, causes hallucinations, euphoria or panic, distorted sense of time.

Marijuana (THC)

Neurotransmitter: Mimics endocannabinoids, affects dopamine and GABA. Effect: Relaxation, mild euphoria, altered time perception, memory and coordination impairment.

Cocaine

Neurotransmitter: Blocks dopamine reuptake (also norepinephrine and serotonin). Effect: Short intense euphoria, alertness, confidence; followed by crash, irritability, depression.

Awake but relaxed

High frequency Alpha waves alert and aware but drifting into sleep

GABA

Inhibits neurons; calms brain

Glutamate

Excites neurons; learning & memory

Norepinephrine

Alertness, arousal

Serotonin

Mood, sleep, perception

Endorphins

Pain relief, euphoria

Endocannabinoids

Mood, appetite, memory

What can increase grelin and leptin

sleep deprivation

Validity

The extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

Double-blind procedure

An experiment in which both participants and researchers are unaware of who has received the treatment or placebo, to prevent bias.

Placebo

An inactive substance or condition used in research to test the effectiveness of a treatment; participants may believe it works.

Experimental group

The group exposed to the treatment/independent variable.

Control group

The group not exposed to the treatment; provides a comparison baseline.

Theory

An explanation that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction often implied by a theory.

Operational definition

A carefully worded statement of exact procedures and measurements used in a study.

Overconfidence

The tendency to think we know more than we do and to overestimate accuracy.

Hindsight bias

The "I-knew-it-all-along" phenomenon; believing, after learning the outcome, that it could have been predicted.

Perceiving patterns in random events

Our eagerness to make sense of the world by finding order, even in random sequences.

Mean

The arithmetic average (add scores ÷ number of scores); best with symmetrical distributions.

Median

The middle score; best for skewed data.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score; best for categorical data.

Range

The difference between highest and lowest scores.

Standard deviation

A measure of how much scores vary around the mean; psychologists use it to see whether scores are packed together or spread out.

Sampling procedures (best practices)

Use random, representative samples to ensure findings can generalize to the population.

Naturalistic observation

Recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without manipulation.

Survey

Asking self-report questions to a representative, random sample of people.

Experiment

A research method in which one or more factors are manipulated to observe the effect on behavior or mental processes.

Causation vs. correlation

Correlation describes a relationship between variables but does not prove cause and effect. Only experiments can establish causation.

Correlation coefficient (r)

A statistical measure (-1 to +1) of the strength and direction of a relationship.

Positive correlation

Variables increase or decrease together.

Negative correlation

One variable increases as the other decreases.

Scatterplot

A graphed cluster of dots representing two variables, showing correlation strength and direction.

Illusory correlation

The perception of a relationship where none exists.

Normal curve

A bell-shaped distribution where most scores fall near the mean and fewer at the extremes; used to predict probabilities.

Scientific attitude

Curiosity (asking questions), skepticism (doubting until evidence), and humility (accepting mistakes and openness to new ideas).

Independent variable (IV)

The factor manipulated in an experiment.

Dependent variable (DV)

The outcome measured; the variable that may change in response to the IV.

Confounding variable

An outside factor other than the IV that might influence the DV.

Random sampling

Choosing participants randomly from a population to get a representative sample.

Random assignment

Randomly assigning participants to experimental or control groups to reduce pre-existing differences.

Statistical significance

A statement of how likely it is that a result occurred by chance; results are significant when the odds of chance are very low (p < 0.05).

Ethical guidelines for research (APA's 4)

Obtain informed consent, protect participants from harm/discomfort, keep information confidential, and debrief participants after the study.

Structuralism

Early school of psychology that analyzed conscious experience by breaking it into basic components; used introspection. Example: describing an apple by its color, shape, and taste.

Functionalism

Focuses on how mental and behavioral processes help people adapt and survive. Example: studying why fear helps humans avoid danger.

Introspection

Self-reporting thoughts and feelings to study the mind. Example: Wundt asking subjects to describe their sensations when looking at a rose.

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of psychology; opened the first psych lab (1879); used introspection to study consciousness.

William James

Founder of functionalism; studied how behavior and mental processes serve adaptive functions; wrote Principles of Psychology.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of the psychodynamic perspective; emphasized unconscious drives, childhood experiences, and internal conflicts.

John B. Watson

Founder of behaviorism; emphasized studying observable behavior; famous for the Little Albert experiment.

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist; focused on operant conditioning (reinforcement and punishment shape behavior).Developed operant conditioning and created the operant chamber.

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist; emphasized unconditional positive regard and helping people reach their potential.

Abraham Maslow

Humanistic psychologist; developed hierarchy of needs and concept of self-actualization.

Ivan Pavlov

Behaviorist; discovered classical conditioning with dogs (salivation to conditioned stimuli).

Jean Piaget

Cognitive psychologist; studied stages of child development and how children build schemas.

Charles Darwin

Developed theory of natural selection; inspired evolutionary psychology (traits aiding survival get passed on).

Biopsychosocial perspective

Modern approach combining biological, psychological, and social factors to understand behavior and mental processes.

Sensation

Process by which sensory receptors detect stimuli from the environment.

Perception

Brain's interpretation of sensory input.

Bottom-up processing

Perception based on incoming sensory data.

Top-down processing

Perception guided by prior knowledge, expectations, and experience.

Selective attention

Focusing on one stimulus while ignoring others.

Inattentional blindness

Failing to notice visible objects when attention is elsewhere.

Signal detection theory

Predicts how and when we detect a faint stimulus amid background noise.

Absolute threshold

Minimum stimulus intensity detectable 50% of the time.

Difference threshold (JND)

Minimum change in a stimulus required to detect a difference.

Weber's law

JND is proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus.

Cornea

Protects eye; bends light.

Pupil

Regulates light entry.

Iris

Controls pupil size.