Unit 0 AP Psychology

AP Psychology

1. Curiosity: Helps test ideas and come up with new ones

2. Skepticism: Question everything, but do not be distrustful, and at the same time, open-minded but not gullible

3. Humility: Be able to accept you’re wrong and use that to learn from you’re mistakes

3 Elements of the Scientific Attitude

A combination of the scientific attitude (curiosity, skepticism, humility). Ask questions and get the facts, not bias.

Critical thinking

The belief that after learning something we would have been able to guess that/ we already knew what we were being told

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to overestimate our knowledge and abilities

Overconfidence

Perception of a relationship between two variables where none exists

Illusory Correlation

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Theory

A testable prediction which is implied by a theory

Hypothesis

The possibility that an idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment

Falsifiable

The claim that the effect being studied does not exist

Null Hypothesis

People’s tendency to answer questions in a way that fits in with group norms

Social- desirability bias

The tendency to exaggerate self reported answers to make yourself seem more favorable

Self-report bias

The way questions are worded can lead to people answering in ways they think will please the researcher

Wording Effects

The study of behavior and mental processes

Psychology

Your behavior is influenced by your past experiences, for example your childhood

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic

Mental processes used in thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Cognitive

Behavior and thought processes are learned through observation and conditioning

Behavioral

Free will and self-actualization; human nature is inherently positive and people will strive to be their best selves

Humanistic

Behavior, thoughts and feelings come from physiological processes

Biological

Your culture and surroundings affect your behavior and mental processes

Sociological Theory

Human behaviors and thought patterns required for survival/reproduction have adapted from the environment and evolution

Evolutionary Theory

Carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

Operational Definitions

It’s purpose is to see how humans/animals behave in a natural setting without intervention

Naturalistic Observation

Examine one individual or group in depth in hopes of learning in-depth about complex situations

Case Studies

Generalizing from a few vivid cases is not helpful to research because these cases are not representative of the majority

Sampling Bias

People represented by a study

Population

The subset of the population chosen by the investigator to study

Sample

Gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected

Random Sample

Scientific experts who evaluate a research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy

Peer Reviewers

The process of repeating a study to see if the same results can be obtained

Replication

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together. It is used to investigate the relationship between 2+ variables. Correlation DOES NOT equal causation.

Correlation

On a scale from -1.0 to 1.0, with 0 being no correlation. Indicates the strength and direction between two variables. (Weaker closer to zero).

-1: Perfect negative correlation

1: Perfect positive correlation

Correlation Coefficients

A person, place, or thing that is being measured

Variable

Illustrates the range of correlations from a perfect positive to a perfect negative

Scatterplot

When extremely high or low values tend to be followed by values that are closer to the mean, it can be caused by random variation in the data

Regression Towards the Mean

Its purpose is to test cause and effect and explain it

Experiment

The group that receives the treatment

Experimental Group

The group that does not receive the treatment

Control Group

After a sample is obtained, randomly assigning participants to experimental or control groups. This eliminates any bias or pre-existing differences

Random Assignment

Outside factors that affect research

Cofounding Variables

Tells you how meaningful the relationship between variables or the difference between groups is

Effect Size

Occurs when participants are blind, or uninformed about what treatment, if any, they are receiving

Single-Blind Procedure

When neither the research staff or research participants know whether the research participant have received a treatment or a placebo

Double-Blind Procedure

When the expectations of a treatment ends up making the participants feel the effects of the treatment, even if the participant does not receive the treatment

Placebo Effect

(Cause). Variable that is manipulated by the experimenter. Ie: Antidepressent

Independent Variable

(Effect). The factor that may change in response to the independent variable. Ie: Depression

Dependent Variable

How well a test accurately measures what it has been designed to measure

Validity

Relies on quantifiable, numerical data

Quantitative Research

Relies on in-depth narrative data that does not translate into numbers

Qualitative Research

Giving potential participants enough information about a study to let them choose if they want to participate (including dangers)

Informed Consent

Post-experimental explanation of why a study, including its purpose and deceptions, to participants

Debriefing

Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups under study

Descriptive Statistics

Bar graphs; provide a visual representation of the distribution of the data

Histogram

The average of a distribution

Mean

The middle score in a distribution

Median

The most frequently occuring score(s) of a distribution

Mode

Percentage of scores that are less than a given score

Percentile Rank

Assymetrical curve

Skewed Distribution

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in distribution

Range

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Standard Deviation

Displays a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve

Normal Curve

Numerical data that allow one to generalize (infer from data the possibility of something being true of a population

Inferential Statistics

A statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion

Meta-Analysis

The statistical description of how likely it was that something occurred by chance. If something is less than 5% likely that it occurred by chance, then it is statistically significant

Statistically Significant

Subset of the population that accurately represented the population being studied

Representative Sample

Population is divided into relevant subcategories, and a random sample is taken from each subcategory

Stratified Sample

Compares different population groups at the same time. Ie: Studying men and women and measuring the relationship between sleep deprivation and stress levels among each group

Cross-sectional design

Measures the relationship between two variable within the same population over a long period of time (typically)

Longitudinal Design

1. Informed consent

2. Protection from harm

3. Debriefing

Human Guidelines to Experimenting

Consistently finding similar results when repeating tests in similar ways

Reliability

• 68% of scores fall 1 standard deviation from the mean

• 95% of scores fall 2 standard deviation from the mean

• 99% of scores fall 3 standard deviation from the mean

Standard Deviation %

When you only look for evidence that supports what you already believe

Confirmation bias

When a researcher uses a sample that is convenient to them, not an actual random one

Convenience Sampling

-1 to 1

What is the range of correlation coefficients?

• Controls for biases

• Random sampling

• Random assignment

• etc

What are some things an experiment must have to be considered acceptable?

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

What is the name for the organization that must approve research proposals?

Appropriate: Research must be for a purpose Beneficial: For the greater good Caring: Food/water/shelter/protection from harm

Ethical guidelines to animal experimentation

The APA

American Psychological Association