ap psych sem 1 final pt. 1

unit 1, 2, and 3

psychology

the scientific study of **behavior** and **mental** **processes**

empiricism

knowledge acquired through observation, gathering, and analyzing data to create evidence; **deems psychology as scientific**

introspection

inward looking; self-reflection

nature vs nurture

genetics vs. environmental influences

eclecticism

combining more than one approach to explain behavior

structuralism

how people feel about certain visualizations and thoughts; what, how ?

functionalism

the function of behavior; why do i feel this way?

biological approach

neuroscience; brain chemistry, genetics, and hormones influence behavior

psychoanalytic approach

unconscious urges and impulses; repressed memories of childhood trauma influence behavior

behavioral approach

learned through observation; rewards and punishments; making associations

cognitive approach

problem solving; mental processes influence behavior; i.e. thoughts, memory, and decision making

humanistic approach

humans are inherently good; striving to reach our potential; free will

sociocultural approach

family, peers, media, gender, religion, and ethnicity influence behavior

biological psychology

study of biology of behavior; **hormones**, nervous system

clinical psychology

study of diagnosis; **treatment** of mental illnesses

cognitive psychology

study of **memory**, reasoning, **information** **processing**, decision making, etc.

counseling psychology

(overlaps with clinical psychology); interviewing, testing, and providing **therapy**

developmental psychology

study of human development across life span

educational psychology

study of how people learn and the best ways to teach them; testing, teacher training

experimental psychology

study of conducting experiments focusing on sensation, perception, learning, conditioning, motivation, and emotion

industrial/organizational psychology

study of HR department, working to improve staff moral, increase job satisfaction, and improvements

personality psychology

study of understanding individuals’ consistency in behavior

psychometric psychology

study of measurement of behavior and capacities; through psychological tests and statistical analysis

social psychology

study of interpersonal behavior and role of social forces; prejudice, conformity, attraction, aggression, intimate relations, and group behavior

correlational research

investigating the relationship between variables; **not cause and effect**

case study

examination of one person, group, or unique situation; uses surveys and interviews; allows us to investigate rare behaviors/occurrences/topics that are unethical to test in other ways

naturalistic observation

observing behavior in a natural setting without interference

survey

questionnaire used to learn about participants opinions, beliefs, and behaviors

experimental design

establishes cause and effect; controlled setting; trying to explain behavior

quasi-experiment

doesn’t use random sampling/assignment because it’s either impossible/unethical

meta-analysis

statistical methods for combining multiple studies on a topic; compare/contrast what’s been found by other researchers

theory vs. hypothesis

explanation after research vs. testable prediction about the relationship between two variables

population vs. sample

target interest group vs. members of the group chosen to participate

operational

defines variables in a specific, measurable way for scientific testing

experimental group

groups/conditions that **receive** the IV

control group

groups/conditions that **do** **not** receive IV

independent variable

controlled by experimenter

dependent variable

measured and observed if IV had an effect

confounding variable

third variable directly linked to IV and DV; i.e. personality, intelligence, weather

single blind design

participants are unaware of the group/condition they’re assigned to; reduce bias

double blind design

neither the researcher or participant are aware of the group/condition the participant is assigned to; reduces bias

placebo effect

participant’s expectations cause a change in behavior when given an **inactive** treatment

random sampling

every member of the population has an equal likelihood of being chosen to participate

random assignment

every participant has an equal chance of being placed into the group/condition

representative sample

sample demographics are proportional to the population demographics

informed consent

participants must know what they’re involved in and give their consent

debriefing

participants must be told of the purpose of the study and provided ways to contact the researcher about results

confidentiality

identities and actions of participants must not be revealed to the researcher; voluntarily

limiting risk

participants cannot be placed at a significant mental/physical risk

deception

if participants are deceived in any way about the nature of the study, the deception must not be so extreme as to invalidate the informed consent; justified

halo effect

when someone's overall evaluation of a person/object/situation influences more specific ratings

illusory correlation

seeing a relationship between 2 variables when no such relationship exists

individualist vs. collectivist

take care of self and immediate family; autonomy of self is most important vs. work for the group and surpress identity

descriptive statistics

depicts the main aspects of sample data without inferring to target population

inferential statistics

sample data enables researcher to make conclusions about the population

measures of central tendency: mean, median, and mode

average; middle number; most frequent number

measures of variability: range and standard deviation

highest score-lowest score; average distance between each score and the mean of data set

statistical signification

how likely is it that the changes to the DV were due to the IV; significant - confidence the IV caused DV change; insignificant - not confident IV caused DV change

positive vs. negative correlation

two variables head in the same direction vs. one variable goes up and the other goes down

correlation coefficient

statistical number that measures the relationship between 2 variables; combines direction of relationship; negative/positive

correlation vs. causation

relationship between two variables vs. one variable causes another’s change

sigmund freud

psychologist; found psychoanalysis; unconscious urges are caused by deeply rooted childhood trauma

g. stanley hall

opened the first **american** psychology lab; founder of the APA

william james

interested in the purpose and value of the conscious experiment (why?); follower of darwinism

titchener

examined elements and pieces of the conscious experience; introspection

wilhelm wundt

father of psychology; opened the first psychology lab in germany with the study of consciousness

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord; controls most functions of the body/mind; spinal cord sends information to and from the brain

peripheral nervous system

connects/relays the central nervous system to limbs and organs

somatic nervous system

voluntary muscle movement

autonomic nervous system

involuntary processes; organs and glands

sympathetic nervous system

part of autonomic nervous system; increases the overall arousal of the body; fight/flight response; prepares body for action; i.e. heart rate and respiration increase

parasympathetic nervous system

part of autonomic (involuntary) nervous system; conserves body's resources; calms body back down; ex: heart rate and respiration decrease

afferent neurons

sensory; brings in sensory information from body and sends it (**approaches)** to the brain; voluntary muscle movements

efferent neurons

motor; carries information from the brain (**exits**) to muscles to guide our actions; voluntary muscle movements

reflexive arc/process

sensory input via afferent neurons -> spinal cord -> brain -> spinal cord -> guide muscles/actions via efferent neurons

mirror neurons

n somatosensory and premotor cortex; neurons that fire when we watch others perform actions

dendrite

receive messages from other cells

soma (cell body)

maintains the health of the neuron

axon

passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands

myelin sheath

covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses; insulation

synapses

small gap between 2 neurons where communication occurs

glial cells

support neurons; stimulate growth, repair damage, keep them in place

polarization vs. depolarization

positive cell charge vs. negative cell charge

action potential

neurotransmitter/information passed along the dendrite, soma, threshold (action potential or electrical impulse is fired), axon, vesicles, and finally synapse

reuptake

neurotransmitters are recycled by the presynaptic neuron; sucked back in

refractory period

occurs where the cell is going back to rest, becoming polarized; during this, action potential can not fire

agonist vs. antagonist

mimics a neurotransmitter (binds to receptor to activate), reuptake, or increases production/release **vs**. blocks receptor sites, preventing neurotransmitters from binding, or decreases production/release

EPSP (excitatory postsynaptic potential) vs. IPSP (inhibitory postsynaptic potential)

postsynaptic neurons **fire** an action potential; depolarized vs. postsynaptic neurons **do not** fire an action potential (polarizeD)

acetylcholine

memory; voluntary muscle movement; used by parasympathetic nervous system

norepinephrine

arousal, alertness, and attention; used by sympathetic nervous system; also associated with mood

glutamate

excitatory (keep fire) signals; strengthening neural connections; learning

dopamine

experiences of pleasure - reward pathway; initiation of voluntary muscle movement

serotonin

mood; sleep; appetite

GABA

inhibitory (signals; reduces activity of central nervous system; involved with sleep and arousal

endorphins

reduces pain; euphoria; runner's high

medulla

in hindbrain; vital functions; heart rate, blood pressure, breathing

pons

in hindbrain; sleeping and dreaming

cerebellum

in hindbrain; balance and coordination

reticular formation

in hindbrain; network of cells that controls **alertness**, attention, and arousal; **stress and panic responses**

thalamus

in forebrain; central relay station for all senses except smell