AP Psychology Comprehensive Review Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on the AP Psychology review notes, covering psychological approaches, research methodology, biology, cognition, development, and mental health.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes, exploring how individuals think, feel, and act.

Operational definitions

Precise, defined explanations of procedures and concepts used in an experiment that allow other scientists to replicate the research.

Correlation coefficient

A number from $-1$ to $1$ that describes how closely related two phenomena are.

Standard deviation

A value that represents how dispersed the data is from the mean.

p-value

The likelihood of observing experimental results under the null hypothesis, where a value < 0.05 is generally considered statistically significant.

Soma

The cell body of a neuron that integrates and processes information coming from dendrites and initiates the action potential.

Myelin sheath

A layer covering the axon that speeds up neural impulses.

Synapse

The gap between two neurons where neurotransmitters pass from terminal bulbs to dendrites.

Broca’s area

A region in the frontal lobe responsible for speech and language production.

Wernicke’s area

A region in the temporal lobe that processes language and understanding.

Absolute threshold

The threshold where a stimulus can be detected $50\%$ of the time.

Weber’s law

The principle that the difference threshold stays proportionally constant as the amount of stimulus gets smaller or larger.

Transduction

The process where sensory receptors convert sensory input into electrical signals that can be read by neurons.

Algorithms

Methodical procedures used to solve problems in a systematic way.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that often make errors in judgement.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to reason in an unfamiliar situation.

Reliability

The extent to which a test yields similar results every time it is administered.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.

Object permanence

A milestone in Piaget's sensorimotor stage where individuals realize objects exist even when they cannot be seen.

Conservation

A concrete operational milestone involving the understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance or shape.

Linguistic determinism

The theory that human thought and knowledge is limited by language.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional, rather than situational, factors.

Cognitive dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when someone’s actions and attitudes or beliefs do not align.

Self-efficacy

An individual's view of their own competence.

General adaptation syndrome

A three-stage model of stress reactions including alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion.

Diathesis stress model

A theory suggesting mental disorders develop as a result of genetic predispositions and stressful life experiences.

Positive symptoms

Symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized speech that occur in people with schizophrenic spectrum disorders but not in healthy people.

Anorexia Nervosa

A disorder where a person severely limits eating out of extreme fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

A type of therapy that targets a person’s irrational thoughts and maladaptive behaviors.

Flynn Effect

The observation that IQ scores have increased over the past century.