AP Psychology, one more time

Psychodynamic Perspective

a view in psychology that explains behavior by focusing on unconscious thoughts, inner conflicts, and childhood experiences.

Behavioral Perspective

a view in psychology that explains behavior by focusing on observable actions and how they are learned from the environment.

Humanistic Perspective

a view in psychology that focuses on personal growth, free will, and reaching one’s full potential.

Cognitive Perspective

a view in psychology that studies mental processes like thinking, memory, and problem

Biological Perspective

a view in psychology that explains behavior by looking at the brain, body, genetics, and chemicals in the nervous system.

Evolutionary Perspective

a view in psychology that explains behavior and mental processes as traits that developed because they helped survival and reproduction.

Sociocultural Perspective

a view in psychology that explains behavior by looking at the influence of culture, social norms, and social environments.

Biopsychosocial Perspective

a view in psychology that explains behavior by combining biological, psychological, and social factors.

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Mental Processes

internal activities of the mind, such as thinking, feeling, remembering, and perceiving, that cannot be directly seen.

Behavior

any action or response a person does that can be observed from the outside.

Confirmation Bias

the tendency to look for, notice, or remember information that supports what you already believe.

Hindsight Bias

the tendency to believe after something happened that you “knew it all along.”

Overconfidence

having more confidence in your knowledge or abilities than is actually accurate.

Empirical Evidence

information gained through observation, testing, or measurement.

Scientific Method

a step

Hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction about what will happen in a study.

Falsifiable

able to be tested and possibly proven wrong.

Peer Review

the process in which experts in the field evaluate research before it is published.

Replication

repeating a study to see if the same results happen again.

Reliability

the ability of a test or study to produce consistent results.

Validity

the extent to which a test or study measures what it is supposed to measure.

The American Psychological Association (APA)

the main professional organization for psychologists in the United States that also sets ethical guidelines for research.

Research Design

the overall plan or blueprint for how a study will be carried out.

Methodology

the specific tools and methods used to collect and analyze data.

Quantitative Data

numerical data, such as scores, ratings, or amounts.

Qualitative Data

non

Likert Scales

rating scales used in surveys that ask how much someone agrees or disagrees with a statement.

Structured Interviews

interviews where every participant is asked the same set of questions in the same order.

Survey Technique

a research method that collects self

Wording Effect

when the way a question is phrased influences how people answer it.

Social Desirability Bias

the tendency to answer questions in a way that seems socially acceptable instead of fully honest.

Naturalistic Observation

a research method where behavior is observed in a real

Case Study

an in

Correlational Research

a research method that looks at the relationship between two or more variables without changing them.

Third Variable Problem

the problem that an outside variable may be causing both variables in a correlation.

Scatterplot

a graph that shows the relationship between two variables using dots.

Correlation Coefficient

a number from

Positive Correlation

a relationship where two variables move in the same direction.

Negative Correlation

a relationship where one variable goes up while the other goes down.

Experimental Method

a research method in which a researcher manipulates one variable to see its effect on another variable.

Independent Variable

the variable the researcher changes on purpose.

Dependent Variable

the variable that is measured to see if it changes.

Confounding Variable

an outside factor that could affect the results of a study.

Operational Definitions

exact explanations of how variables are measured or changed in a study.

Experimental Group

the group in an experiment that receives the treatment or independent variable.

Control Group

the group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment and is used for comparison.

Random Assignment

placing participants into groups by chance so the groups are as similar as possible.

Placebo Effect

when people show a response because they expect a treatment to work, even if the treatment has no real effect.

Experimenter Bias

when a researcher’s expectations or behavior accidentally influence the results of a study.

Single

Blind Study

Double

Blind Study

Placebo Condition

the condition in which participants receive a fake treatment that looks real but has no active effect.

Sample

the group of people chosen to participate in a study.

Representative Sample

a sample that closely reflects the characteristics of the larger population.

Random Sample

a sample chosen by chance so every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Sample Bias

when a sample does not fairly represent the population being studied.

Generalizability

the extent to which findings from a study can apply to a larger population.

Statistics

the math

Descriptive Statistics

statistics used to summarize or describe data.

Inferential Statistics

statistics used to make predictions or conclusions about a population based on a sample.

Measure of Central Tendency

a number that represents the center or typical value of a data set.

Mean

the average of a set of numbers.

Median

the middle score in a set of numbers arranged in order.

Mode

the score that appears most often in a set of data.

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data set.

Normal Curve

a bell

Regression to the Mean

the tendency for extremely high or low scores to move closer to average over time.

Positive Skew

a distribution with a long tail to the right, often caused by a few very high scores.

Negative Skew

a distribution with a long tail to the left, often caused by a few very low scores.

Standard Deviation

a measure of how spread out scores are from the mean.

Percentile Rank

the percentage of scores in a distribution that are at or below a given score.

Bimodal Distribution

a distribution with two most common scores or two peaks.

Statistical Significance

the likelihood that results are not due to random chance.

Effect Sizes

measures that show how strong or important a result or relationship is.

Meta Analysis

a study that combines the results of many studies on the same topic to find an overall conclusion.

Institutional Review Boards (IRB)

committees that review research to make sure it is ethical and protects participants.

Informed Consent

giving participants enough information about a study so they can choose whether to take part.

Informed Assent

agreement from someone, usually a child, to participate in a study after it is explained in a way they can understand.

Confidentiality

keeping participants’ personal information and responses private.

Deception

misleading participants about the true purpose of a study when necessary for the research.

Confederates

people working with the researcher who pretend to be regular participants.

Debriefing

explaining the true purpose and details of a study to participants after it ends.

Article Analysis Question (AAQ)

a question that asks students to read and analyze a psychology article.

Evidence

Based Question (EBQ)

Defensible Claim

a claim that can be supported with evidence and logical reasoning.

Heredity

the passing of genetic information from biological parents to their children.

Nature

the genetic and biological factors you are born with that influence behavior and mental processes.

Nurture

the environmental influences and life experiences that shape behavior and mental processes.

Genetic predisposition

an inherited tendency that makes someone more likely to develop a certain trait, behavior, or condition.

Evolutionary perspective

a way of explaining behavior by looking at how certain traits may have helped humans survive and reproduce.

Natural selection

the process where traits that help survival and reproduction are more likely to be passed down to future generations.

Eugenics

the harmful and discredited idea of improving the human population by controlling reproduction to increase “desired” traits and reduce “undesired” ones.

Twin studies

research that compares identical and fraternal twins to see how much genetics and environment influence traits and behavior.

Family studies

research that looks at similarities among family members to study the effects of genetics and environment.

Adoption studies

research that compares adopted children to their biological and adoptive families to study the effects of genes and environment.

Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)

the part of the nervous system made up of the brain and spinal cord that processes information and directs behavior.

Peripheral nervous system

all the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

Autonomic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary body functions like heartbeat, breathing, and digestion.

Sympathetic nervous system

the part of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body and prepares it for action, often called fight