AP Psych - Unit 1 - Scientific Foundations of Psychology

applied psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with everyday, practical problems

cognition

The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

confounding variables

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

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

control variables

The factors that are kept the same to ensure that the results are caused by the manipulated variable (constants)

correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

dependent variable

The measurable effect, outcome, or response in which the research is interested; "dependent" upon changes in another variable.

double-blind procedure

A research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups.

experimental group

In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

experimenter bias

A phenomenon that occurs when a researcher's expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained

mean

The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

median

The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

mode

The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

normal distribution

A function that represents the distribution of variables as a symmetrical bell-shaped graph.

participants

Subjects of psychological research

placebo effect

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

population

The entire group that the experimenter wants to learn about

psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes.

random assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

random selection

A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample

sample

A subset of the population

sampling bias

A problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn.

subjects

Individuals studied in an experiment/research

theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

validity

The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure

variation

A change or slight difference in condition, amount, or level.

Mary Whiton Calkins

First female president of the APA (1905); a student of William James; denied the PhD she earned from Harvard because of her sex (later, posthumously, it was granted to her)

Sigmund Freud

Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis.

G. Stanley Hall

Opened first psychology lab in the US, and he founded and became the first president of the APA
pioneer of child psychology

William James

Founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

Ivan Pavlov

Discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

Jean Piaget

Known for his theory of cognitive development in children

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 2nd president of the APA (1921)

John B. Watson

Founder of behaviorism

Structuralism

An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Behaviorism

The science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only

Gestalt

An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Psychoanalytic/Psycychodynamic

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Humanist

Perspective in psychology that stresses the goodness of people and their possibility of reaching their fullest potential

Cognitive psychology

The scientific study of mental processes, including perception, thought, memory, and reasoning

experiments

A technique that tests predicted relationships among variables in a controlled environment

naturalistic observations

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

survey research

The most popular technique for gathering primary data, in which a researcher interacts with people through questionnaires to obtain facts, opinions, and attitudes

Behaviorlism

the dominant paradigm of psychology
little Albert experiment
psychology based on observations
is not concerned with describing elements or consciousness
includes the idea of reinforcment

confounding variables

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

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Placebo

an object or procedure
control group ties the placebo
they believe they are the experimental group

Mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

standard deviation

measures a function of average dispersion of numbers around the mean and is commonly used measure of variablity

Charles Darwin

published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
proposed "natural selection"

Carl Rogers

stressed the role of positive self concept
free choice

biosychosocial approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
all three are equal responsible

evelutionary psychology

traits are passed through generations
traits improve chances of survival

Scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables

statistical significance

how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance
can't be higher than 5%

Empiricism

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

Wilhelm Wundt

german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879

Edward Titchener

Student of Wilhelm Wundt
brought psych to the US
founder of structuralism

correlation coefficient

a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

positive correlation

0 to 1
x and y value goes up

negative correlation

0 to -1
as one variable increases, the other decreases

p-value

The probability level which forms basis for deciding if results are statistically significant (not due to chance).

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Debriefing

the postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

Confidentiality

the act of holding information in confidence, not to be released to unauthorized individuals

Cognitive Approach

rooted in the idea that to understand behavior, we need to understand how they think

this approach combines both the structuralist approach of looking at subcomponents of thought and the functions approach of understanding the purpose of thought

This is the predominant psychological method used in the US

sociocultural perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior