AP psych terms

Psychology

The science of behaviour and mental processes

Hindsight bias

The tendency to believe one could have foreseen an outcome after learning it

• “I knew it all along”

Overconfidence

Tendency to be more confident than correct; overestimating the accuracy of beliefs and judgements

Critical thinking

Examining and evaluating aspects of arguments and conclusions rather than immediately accepting them as the truth

• Examines assumptions

• Appraises the source

• Discerns hidden biases

• Evaluates evidence

• Assesses conclusions

Critical thinking

Examining and evaluating aspects of arguments and conclusions rather than immediately accepting them as the truth

• Examines assumptions

• Appraises the source

• Discerns hidden biases

• Evaluates evidence

• Assesses conclusions

Non-experimental research methods

• Case study

• Survey

• Natural observation

Case study

In depth method to study an individual or small group of people, in hopes of receiving a universal principle

• CAUTION: this method can lead to mistaken conclusions or inaccurate conclusions, people can lie

Naturalistic observation

Observing behaviours in a natural environment that is not being controlled or manipulated

• CAUTION: hawthorn affect

Hawthorn affect

Acting different due to the awareness of being watched

Survey

Self reported data of a particular group (population) that’s is typically collected through questionnaires using the LIKERT scale

• CAUTION: people can lie, social desirability bias, wording shapes responses, convenience sampling bias

Representative sample

A representative sample has the same distribution of demographic qualities in it as the larger population in psychology

• Ex. The larger population has 4 red people, 10 green people, and 2 blue people; so your representative may have 2 red people, 5 green people, and 1 blue person the represent the larger population

Random sample

Every member of a population has an equal chance of being included

• Ex. drawing names out of a hat

Operational definition

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedure used in a study to allow others to replicate the experiment

Social desirability bias

tendency to answer in a manner that may be viewed as favourable to the researcher

Convenience sampling bias

Researchers choosing participants simply based off of the fact that they are easy to reach (convenient)

• this leads to a sample that is not representative of the broader population

Replication

Repeating the general idea of a research study to see if the basic finding can be reproduced

• typically uses different people in different situations

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts events/behaviours; a hunch

• Ex. 8 hours of sleep allows better learning abilities

Sampling bias

Flawed sampling process that produces an inaccurate representation of the sample

Psychodynamic perspective

Psychodynamic stresses that the unconscious mind has an affect on the way people respond to situations. Something like a repressed traumatic memory from childhood or memories/impulses that are pushed into the unconscious mind (memories are not consciously remembered) through repression. We are able to examine our unconscious minds through dream analysis, word association, and other psychoanalytic techniques.

Humanist perspective

The emphasis of the humanist perspective is on free will, self actualization, growth seeks, and human nature. A humanists believe that many of our behaviours are caused by physiological, emotional, and spiritual needs. This perspective is often used in therapy to improve self-esteem and personal growth

Biopsychology perspective

Focuses on biological processes—how are our behaviours and mental processes influenced by our nervous system—human cognition and reaction ps may be caused by the effects of our genes

Cognitive perspective

Cognitive psychologists examine thought and behaviour in terms of how we process, interpret, and remember environmental events. Its emphasis is in understanding the rules we use to view the world and applying it to why we think and behave the way we do.

• Ex. An extroverted person to a cognitive psychologist maybe be that way because they believe that being extroverted would be beneficial to get to know someone or may be important for their life in some way

Behavioural perspective

Focuses on observable behaviours and at human and animal responses to certain stimuli. Behavioural psychologists may look at people in terms of learning, conditioning, and reinforcement

• Ex. Why don’t people touch a hot stove more than once? → because it hurt the first time

Evolutionary perspective

Looks at how one may behave in terms on evolution and natural selection. Some psychological traits may have been advantageous to humans for survival, so those traits were carried on throughout generations.

• Ex. How do our fears affect our survival?

Social-cultural perspective

Looks at how cultural differences and customs affect our behaviours as well as how society has an impact on how we think and act.

• Ex. How do peoples economic status affect how we behave?

Biopsychosocial perspective

Rather than just looking at one aspect of psychology, the biopsycholsocial perspective agrees that the way we remember and interpret things has an affect with the way we act (cognitive) however they would also point out that there are social and biological influences that are equally impactful. Other perspectives seem too focused on certain influences on thinking and behaviour