AP Psychology - Unite 1 & 2 Terms

Psychoanalysis

Freud

Unconscious conflicts, early childhood experiences, sex and aggression

Behaviorism

Wastson & Skinner

Observable response, learning, environment, rewards & punishments

Humanism

Maslow & Rogers

You are inherently good, you have free will, you should try to close the gap between your real and ideal selves, you deserve unconditional positive regard

Cognitive

Ellis

Thinking, decision making

Biological

Brain, body chemistry, genetics

Biopsychosocial

Biology, Psychology, Society

Weird psych

Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic

Case study

Examining one individual or small group

pros - very in depth

cons - not generalizable

Naturalistic observation

Observing a population in its natural environment

pros- observing behaviors

cons - no cause & effect, observer bias, subjects may act different, observer in environment changes environment

Survey

Gathering information by asking questions

pros - direct answers, data analysis, wider range of people

cons - self-report data is unreliable, people may get tired and give up

Longitudinal

study of a person/persons over a long period of time

pros - observe behavior over time

cons- long observational period, expensive, hard to generalize

cross-sectional

study where you analyze data from a group of people at one point in time

experiment

an investigation in which a hypothesis is scientifically proven that works to understand the relations between cause and effect (only method that shows cause & effect)

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

operational definition

a term that is used to describe the procedure of a a study and the research variables

hindsight bias

finding out that something has happened makes it seem inevitable. "i knew it all along phenomenon"

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate others agreement with us

meta - analysis

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

self-serving bias

our readiness to perceive ourselves favorably

the tendency to attribute our successes to internal, personal factors and our failures to external, situational factors

confirmation bias

people's tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting information that is consistent with their existing beliefs

correlation

correlation can point to a relationship between variables but it does not prove causation

the closer to the absolute value of 1 the stronger the correlation is

defense mechanism

the ego's protective method of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality (completely unconscious)

repression

banishes anxiety & arousing thoughts & feelings from conscious

regression

revert back to an earlier stage in development (tantrums, throwing fits, etc.)

reaction formation

taking unacceptable feelings & turning them into their opposites

projection

disguises threatening impulses by attributing them to others

("he doesn't trust me" really means "i don't trust him)

rationalization

trying to make excuses for your behavior

displacement

taking your feelings out on a weaker target

denial

reject reality / ignore whatever causes negative emotions

sublimation

channel unacceptable behaviors/impulses into different/more positive socially acceptable behaviors

social cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons & their social context

reciprocal determinism

the process of interacting with our environment

influences between personality and environmental factor

external locus of control

the perception that chance/outside forces determine a person's fate

internal locus of control

the perception that one controls one's own fate

learned helplessness

people consistently forced into one type of situation will begin to feel helpless against it and won't try to change it even if the opportunity arises

high self-efficacy

the belief that a person is in control of their life & their actions & decisions shape their life so they're more likely to tackle problems & stick to high goals.

low self-efficacy

believe they're not in control of their life. View difficult tasks as threats to avoid & shy away from challenges. Don't have faith in their abilities after a failure.

self-actualization

the process of fulfilling your full potential once all of your needs have been met

(coined by Maslow follows humanistic perspective)

social psychology

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

attribution theory

the theory that we tend to give a casual explanation for someone's behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition (not talking = shy)

fundamental attribution error

to underestimate the impact of the situation influences when observing a person's behavior

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

those who agree to a small request are more likely to agree to a larger one later

group think

in order to preserve the harmony in a group, you keep opposing opinions to yourself

group polarization

your opinions become more extreme (polarized) when you're with people who have similar ideas

deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster anonymity and arousal

social loafing

you will put in less effort as part of a group than you would as an individual

social facilitation

in a group situation, you do better on tasks that you know well or are easy. you will do worse on tasks that are difficult

door-in-the-face

you make a large request first expecting that the person will refuse, making them more likely to agree to a smaller request

central route to persuasion

you focus on the facts of a person's stance and are persuaded

peripheral route to persuasion

you are influenced by superficial cues, such as the speaker's attractiveness or reputation, rather than the content of the message

reciprocity

the social norm of responding to a positive action with another positive action

social proof

you look at the behavior of others to decide what is appropriate or correct in a given situation

cognitive dissonance theory

we reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts clash. ex. if attitude & actions clash a person may change one to relieve dissonance

normative social influence

influence deriving from a person's desire to gain approval/avoid disappointment & follow social norms

informational social influence

influence resulting from one's willingness to accept other's opinions and shift their own

social trap

when opposing parties pursue their self-interest thoughtlessly and become caught in mutually destructive behavior

actor/observer bias

the tendency to attribute one's own actions to external causes but attribute other people's behavior to internal conflicts

amygdala

limbic system - emotion (fear & aggression)

hippocampus

limbic system - forming new memories

hypothalamus

limbic system - hunger, thirst, body temperature, emotion, endocrine, pleasure (4 fs)

thalamus

limbic system - relays sensory messages to cerebral cortex

pituitary gland

"master gland" governs endocrine system

medulla

brainstem - heartbeat and breathing

reticular formation

brainstem - arousal

broca's area

left frontal lobe - muscle movements in speech (expressions, directing speech, etc)

wernicke's area

left temporal lobe - language comprehension

frontal lobe

involved in voluntary movement, speaking, personality, making plans, and judgement

dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)

judgement, planning, decision making

ventrimedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)

controls moral and emotional empathy

parietal lobe

sensory perception (5 senses), basic math, spacial tasks, copy drawings

occipital lobe

visual cortex, perceives color, form, and motion

temporal lobe

auditory cortex, access memories, communication, use language, process emotion

motor cortex

controls voluntary motor movement

sensory cortex

processing sense of touch from external stimuli

cerebellum

balance, coordinates voluntary movement

right hemisphere

controls left side of body, left visual field, big picture (holistic thinking), copy drawings, recognize faces, recognize objects, perceive and express emotions, spacial perception, music perception, internal sense of body image (propioception)

left hemisphere

controls right side of body, right visual field, detail, language (reading, writing comprehension, speaking), simple math, sequential thinking

CT/CAT scan

a series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles are put together to create one 3D photo of the entire thing

reveals brain structure

MRI

sends electromagnetic waves throughout the body to locate parts of the body containing water. This can be used to calculate density and shape of tissues

reveals brain structure

PET scans

utilizes a radioactive tracer that accumulates in specific parts of the body that can be picked up in the scan