AP Psych Test 1

Psychology

the study of behavior and mental processes

Wundt

guy who did the first psychology lab, measuring awareness

titchener

guy who created structuralism and introspection

structuralism

classifying and understanding elements of the mind’s structure through introspection

introspection

examining one’s own thoughts and feelings, looking within

james

guy who created functionalism

functionalism

how mental and behavior processes function to enable organisms

empiricism

the idea that what we know comes from experience, not something we’re born with

Locke

guy who said our experiences add to a “blank slate” mind

calkins

the first woman enrolled in psychology at harvard

washburn

the first woman to earn a PhD in psychology

watson and skinner

men who create the idea of behaviorism

behaviorism

the idea that psychology should study behaviors through observations, not feelings

freudian psychology

the idea that our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behavior

rogers and maslow

men who created humanistic psychology

humanistic psychology

psychology focusing on our potential for personal growth

cognitive psychology

the study of mental processes

cognitive neuroscience

the study of our brain activity linked with cognition

nature vs nurture

debate if our traits our inherited or developed

natural selection

says nature selects traits best enabling an organism to survive and reproduce

evolutionary psychology

study of history and biology affecting us

positive psychology

the study of human flourishing

psychodynamic

approach studying our unconscious drives and conflicts affecting our behavior

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

overconfidence

believing we know more than we do

perceiving order in random events

we try to make sense and patterns out of random things

operational definition

states the exact procedures used in a study so the study can easily be replicated

theory

explains behaviors of events by offering ideas that organize observations

hypothesis

a testable prediction often implied by a theory

case study

an analysis of a special group or individual

naturalistic observation

recording the natural behavior of many people

survey

asking people questions to find out general information

random sampling

making sure everyone has an equal chance of participating and the population is random (not all male or all a certain age)

correlation

when one trait or behavior tends to coincide with another (positive, none, or negative)

correlation coefficient

how well one trait or behavior predicts the other in a correlation (from -1 to 1)

illusory correlation

perceiving a correlation between two behaviors or traits where none exists

regression toward the mean

after an unusual event, things tend to return toward their average level

experiment

research method enabling a researcher to isolate the effects of one or more factors

experimental group

the group in an experiment that receives the treatment

control group

the group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance to minimize preexisting differences

double-blind procedure

experiment where both participants and staff are ignorant about whether participants get the treatment or the placebo

placebo effect

when results are caused by expectation alone

independent variable

the factor that is manipulated in an experiment

dependent variable

the factor that is measured in an experiment, the outcome

confounding variable

another factor that could influence the results of an experiment

validity

the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

informed consent

ethical guideline informing a participant of an experiment and allowing them to choose to participate

protect from harm

ethical guideline ensuring participants do not experience greater-than-usual discomfort

confidentiality

ethical guideline keeping individual information in an experiment confidential

debrief

ethical guideline explaining an experiment afterwards to a participant

central tendency

mode, mean, median

mean

the average where you add scores and divide by the number of scores

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s)

median

the midpoint in a group of scores

skewed distribution

scores lacking symmetry around the average value

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score, perfect is a normal curve

inferential statistics

data that allow one to generalize from sample data to a population

statistical significance

when the observed difference in data is probably not due to chance variation

longitudinal study

when the same group of people are studied over a long period of time

cross-sectional study

using sampling to get representatives from different groups instead of studying the same people over time

attribution theory

says that we can credit the behavior of a person to their stable, enduring personality traits or to the situation they are in

fundamental attribution error

when we overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the influence of the situation on a person’s behavior

self-serving bias

when we credit our positive behavior to our personality but our negative behavior to the situation

attitude

a feeling that predispose us to respond in a particular way to events or people

peripheral route persuasion

when people are influenced by incidental cues like an attractive spokesperson

central route persuasion

when people are influenced by evidence or arguments that trigger careful thinking (logic)

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

idea that people who agree to a small request will find it easier to later comply with a larger one

role playing

when fitting into societal norms can change who you are

cognitive dissonance theory

theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts (such as actions vs attitudes) are inconsistent

asch

guy who did the line conformity test

zimbardo

guy who did the stanford prison experiment

milgram

guy who did the electric shock obedience experiment

social norms

the rules in a society for expected and acceptable behavior

social contagion

the idea that behaviors and moods are contagious (yawning)

conformity

adjusting our behavior or thinking toward some group standard

normative social influence

influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval

informative social influence

influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality

minority influence

the power of one or two individuals to sway majorities

social facilitation

strengthened performance in others’ presence, better or worse

social loafing

the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward a common goal than when individually accountable

deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

group polarization

the beliefs and attitudes we bring to a group grow stronger as we discuss them with like-minded people

groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

culture

behaviors, ideas, values, and traditions shared by a group

prejudice

an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members

stereotype

a generalized belief about a group of people

discrimination

acting in a negative and unjustifiable way toward members of a group

implicit prejudice

prejudice without thinking or being aware

explicit prejudice

prejudice where a person is aware

just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get

ingroup

“us” people with whom we share a common identity

outgroup

“them” people, those different or apart from the ingroup

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor our own group (“us”)

scapegoat theory

theory that when things go wrong, we find someone to blame

other-race effect

when we have greater recognition for faces of our own race

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

frustration-aggression principle

the principle that frustration creates anger, leading to aggression

social scripts

culturally modeled guides for how to act in certain situations