AP Psych Midterm

behavioral

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

psychodynamic

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

humanistic

cognitive

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

biological

a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior.

socio-cultural

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

evolutionary

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

plato

mind a body are separate, and knowledge is innate

Aristotle

mind and body are one, knowledge is learned

descartes

mind and body are separate, some knowledge is innate

locke

knowledge is gained through experience

wilhelm wundt

first psych lab

structuralism

elements of consciousness (wundt and tichener)

functionalism

WHY our mind works the way it does (william james)

gestalt

the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Early Behaviorism

the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes (watson and skinner)

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts

Dorothea Dix

Activist who helped improve conditions of mental patients

mary whiton calkins

was refused a PhD but was the first female president of the APA

Margaret Washburn

first woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology, expert on animal behavior and sensation and perception

psychiatrist

A medical doctor who has specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

confirmation bias

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

hindsight bias

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

Overconfidence bias

holding unrealistically positive views of oneself and one's performance

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

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

confounding variable

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

experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment

opertional definition

makes variables specific and measurable

random selection

procedure that ensures every person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance

population

the entire group that you want to draw conclusions about

placebo effect

the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

expectancy bias

a tendency to distort recalled events to make them fit one's 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

single-blind experiment

an experiment in which the participants are unaware of which participants received the treatment

double-blind experiment

an experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment

positive correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

negative correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

no correlation

There is no relationship between data sets.

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

strong correlation

that the two variables' pattern is very closely related

weak correlation

little or no relationship

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Social desirability bias

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

wording effect

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

Hawthorne effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied

case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observation

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

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

cross-sectional studies

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

frequency distribution

an arrangement of data that indicates how often a particular score or observation occurs

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve

positive skew

high outlier

negative skew

low outlier

central tendency

mean, median, mode

standard deviation

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

statistical significance

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

soma

cell body

dendrites

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

axon

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

nucleus

Control center of the cell

receptor sites

areas on the surface of neurons and other cells that are sensitive to neurotransmitters or hormones

myelin sheath

covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses

glial cell

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

acetylcholine

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

endorphins

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

GABA

inhibitory neurotransmitter, keeps your brain under control, usually associated with anxiety; lack of it is linked with seizures; alcohol is an agonist

inhibitory neurotransmitters

inhibit the next cell from firing

excitatory neurotransmitters

excite the next cell into firing

Agonist

a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action

antagonist

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action

afferent neurons

neurons that take information from the senses to the brain

efferent neurons

neurons that take information from the brain to the rest of the body

central nerous system

Brian and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

everything but the brain and spinal cord

somatic nervous system

voluntary movements

autonomic nervous system

involuntary movements

(sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems)

sympathetic nervous system

fight or flight

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and digest

nervous system

electrochemical communication network

endocrine system

slow and chemical, uses blood stream

hypothalamus

brain region controlling the pituitary gland

pituitary gland

master gland

thyroid gland

produces hormones that regulate metabolism, body heat, and bone growth

Pancreas

Regulates the level of sugar in the blood

adrenal gland

flight/flight: epinephrine and norepinephrine

gonads

sex hormones!

CT scan

x-rays, show structure

mri

magnets, show stucture

PET scan

radioactive glucose, shows activity

fMRI

magnets, shows activity

EEG

brain waves

Medulla

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

pons

sleep, movement and coordination