all ap psych vocab

falsifiable

able to be supported or rejected

operational definition

clear, precise, quantifiable definition of your variables- allows replication and collection of reliable data

correlation

identify relationship between two variables

3rd variable problem

different variable is responsible for relationship (icecream and murder)

positive correlation

variables increase and decrease together

negative correlation

as one variable increases the other decreases

experiments

purposefully manipulate variables to determine cause/effect

independent variable

purposefully altered by researcher to look for effect

experimental group

received the treatment (part of the IV)

control group

placebo, baseline (part of IV), can only have 1

dependent variable

measured variable (is dependent on the independent variable)

double-blind

experiment where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to (drug studies)

single-blind

only participant blind- used if experimenter cant be blind (gender, age, etc)

confound

error/flaw in study that is accidentally introduced

random assignment

assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random-

increase chance of equal representation among groups

allows cause and effect

naturalistic observation

observe people in their natural settings

-no cause and effect, real world

case study

studies one person usually in great detail

-no cause/effect

meta-analysis

combines multiple studies to increase sample size and examine effect sizes

negative skew

mean is to the left

positive skew

mean is to the right

standard deviation

average amount the scores are spread from the mean

-bigger #= more spread

inferential significance

establishes significance (meaningfulness)

statistical significance

results not due to change, experimental manipulation caused the difference in means

confidentiality

names kept secret

informed consent

must agree to be part of study

informed assent

minors and their parents must agree

debriefing

must be told the true purpose of the study (done after for deception)

social desirability

people lie to look good

wording effects

how you frame the question can impact your answers

random sample (selection)

method for choosing participants for your study

-everyone has a chance to take part, increases generalizability

representative sample

sample mimics the general pop.

conveniance sample

select participants on availability- less representative and less generalizability this way

sampling bias

sample is not representative, due to convenience sampling

cultural norms

behaviors of a particular group can influence research results

hindsight bias

“i knew it all along”

overconfidence

overestimate our knowledge /abilities

hawthorne effect

people change behavior when watched

cognitive bias

bias in thinking/judgement

confirmation bias

find info that supports our preexisting beliefs

evolutionary psychology

study how natural selection influences our behavior

hereditary(nature)

how genes influence your behavior

environment(nurture)

how outside situations influence your behavior (school)

twin adoption studies

identical twin will have a higher percentage of also developing a disease

identical twins raised in a different environment show difference

central NS

brain and spinal cord

peripheral NS

rest of the NS-

somatic NS

voluntary movement, has sensory and motor neurons

autonomic NS

involunatry organs (heart, lungs

sympathetic NS

fight/flight

parasympathetic NS

rest/digest

neuron

basic cell of the NS

dendrites

receive incoming NTs

-detect

axon

AP travels down this

-away

myelin sheath

speeds up AP down axon, protects axon

-move faster

synapse

gap between neurons

sensory neurons

receive sense signals from environment- sends signal TO brain

motor neurons

signals to move- sends signals FROM brain

interneurons

cells in spinal cord/ brain responsible for reflex arc

reflex arc

important stimuli skips the brain and routes thru the spinal cord for immediate reactions (hand on hot stove)

glial cells

support cells- give nutrients and clean up around neurons

-give love insulate assist

all or nothing principle

a neuron either fires a full sized action potential or it doesnt fire at all

refractory period

neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP (toilet resets)

neurotransmitters

chemical messenger in brain and body - helping neurons “talk” to eachother

GABA

calms brain, major inhibitory

-grab a blanket

glutamate

major excitatory

-Go!

Dopamine

reward (short term) associated with addiction

-dope=reward

serotonin

moods (long term), sleep, hunger

=satisfaction

acetylcholine

movement and memory

-ace that test and flex

norepinephrine

fight/flight, alertness

endorphins

exercise high, decrease pain

substance p

pain regulation

oxytocin

love, bonding, childbirth, lactation

adrenaline

fight/flight

leptin

makes you full (stops hunger)

ghreline

makes you hungry (turns you into a ghremlin)

agonist

drug that mimics a NT

-agonizing

antagonist

drug that blocks a NT

reuptake

unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron

-treatment for depression

depressants

decrease NS activity (alcohol)

stimulants

increase NS activity (caffeine and cocaine)

hallucinogens

hallucinations and altered perceptions (marijuana)

opioids

relieve pain (heroin)

tolerance

needing more of a drug to achieve the same effects

addiction

must have it to avoid withdrawal symptoms

withdrawal

symptoms associated with sudden stoppage

cerebellum

balance, movement, coordination

medulla

vital organs (breathing, heart rate, etc)

reticular activating system

alertness, arousal, sleep, eye movement

cerebral cortex

outer potion of the brain- higher order thought processes

-includes limbic system, lobes, corpus callosum

amygdala

emotions, fear

hippocampus

episodic and semantic memory

hypothalamus

reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors- link to endocrine system, homeostasis

thalamus

relay center for all but smell

pituitary gland

talks with endocrine system and hypothalamus -release hormones

occipital lobe

vision

frontal lobe

decision making, planning, judgement, movement, personality language, executive function

-makes you YOU

prefrontal cortex

front of frontal lobe- executive function

motor cortex

back of frontal lobe- map of our motor receptors

-controls skeletal movement

parietal lobe

sensations and touch- controls association areas

somatosensory cortex

map of our touch receptors

temporal lobe

hearing and face recognition, language

-tempo=music, hearing