ALL AP PSYCH TERMS UNIT 1-5

Organism

A living thing

Behavior

The way an organism reacts to changes in its internal condition or external environment.

Motivation

a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Competence

what skills/abilities does an organism have and how did it get them?

Stability vs Change

How much change actually happens from situation vs situation and over our lifetimes. Do our early personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age?

Rationality vs Irrationality

We are rational human beings yet some may be rational in some situations while others may not be.

Nature vs Nurture

name for a controversy in which it is debated whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic

Intrinsic - internal, to feel good, altruistic

Extrinsic - What is in it for me, reward

Empiricism

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

neuroscience/biology

Medical approach to psychology, how the physical body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences

evolutionary

how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

behavior genetics

How much our genes and our environment influence our individual differences. nature vs nurture

psychodynamic/psychoanalytic

how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts. negative things and past

cognitive

how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

behavioral

the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we learn observable responses

social culture/ social psychology

Surrounding environments and cultures, how they influence us; who, what, where we are around make a difference in who we are

humanistic

How we meet our needs for love and acceptance and achieve self-fulfillment

biopsychosocial approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

curiosity

a strong desire to know or learn something. source of all research and science

skepticism

A philosophy which suggests that nothing can ever be known for certain. ask questions and don't just accept things.

humility

absence of vanity; humbleness

critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. "I knew it all along phenomenon"

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Theory

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

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

operational definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables. clearly defined variables

Longitudinal studies

A research method that studies the same participants multiple times over a period of time. More accurate

Cross sectional studies

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another at the same time. More efficient

Case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing whole population observations

Generalizability

the extent to which we can claim our findings inform us about a group larger than the one we studied

Survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Population of a Survey

survey: all people getting studied

Sample of a Survey

Method in which participation is selected to be included in a study

random sampling

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

False Consensus Effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors. We hang around more people who agree with us so we overestimate how many people agree with us.

Naturalistic Observation

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

Correlation

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

Correlation Coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Positive Correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

Negative correlation

the relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other variable decreases

Illusory Correlations

correlation appears to exist, but either does not exist or is much weaker than assumed

Causation

A cause and effect relationship in which one variable controls the changes in another variable. The belief that events occur in predictable ways and that one event leads to another. Something is absolutely caused by something else

Experimentation

How you establish causation. The act of trying out a new procedure, idea, or activity.

Experimental Groups

treatment groups; the participants in a study that receive the intervention

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.

Placebo

something which has a positive mental effect, but no physical effect. A harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect.

double-blind procedure

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

Random Assignment

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

independent variable

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

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

confounding variable

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

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation. simply display data

basic data layout

Lay data out in order (include all data points)

Percentile Rank

the percentage of scores below a specific score in a distribution of scores

Mean

average

Median

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

mode

The value that occurs most frequently in a given data set.

Skewed Data

When a set of data is not symmetrical it can skewed, meaning it tends to have a long tail on the left or right side.

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score. high is spread out and low is close to mean

inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

statistical significance

The condition that exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low. a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

Meta Analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

Ethics

the principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions.

Informed Consent

Orotection from harm of subjects

Ability to stop/leave the study

Confidentiality

Nature Vs Nurture

Do genes (nature) or environmental factors (nurture) contribute more to a person's being?

Maturation

the internally programmed growth of a child

Twin Studies

A research design in which hereditary influence is assessed by comparing the resemblance of identical twins and fraternal twins with respect to a trait.

Adoption Studies

Research studies that assess hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between adopted children and both their biological and their adoptive parents.

Neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Dendrite

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

Soma

cell body

Axon

A threadlike extension of a neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.

Terminal Branches

Branched endings of an axon that transmit messages to other neurons

Refractory Period

the time following an action potential during which a new action potential cannot be initiated

Neural Communication

The body's information system is built from billions of interconnected cells called neurons.

Synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Reuptake

process by which neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction. Too little means brain/memory problems, too much is violent compulsions.

Endorphins

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure. Post workout and injury, electric stim treatment

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system. Too much may lead to signs of schizophrenia. Too little is a cause of Parkinson's disease.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that affects hunger,sleep, arousal, digestion, and mood. Right amount leads to healthy functioning, too little will lead to depression.

Norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal; undersupply can depress mood

Glutamate

Learning, memory, mood regulation. Most abundant excitatory NT in brain. Too much leads to mental or health issues.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

Reduces neuronal excitability. Most abundant inhibitory NT In brain. Calms activity (Stress, anxiety, fear)

Substance P

Pain, heartbeat, breathing and vomiting. Located throughout the body. Triggers pain and stress responses.

excitatory neurotransmitters

excite the next cell into firing

inhibatory neurotransmitters

chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that inhibit the next neuron from firing

Action Potential

the change in electrical potential associated with the passage of an impulse along the membrane of a muscle cell or nerve cell.

Threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Agonist

A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.