ap psych

structuralism

conscious experiences, Wilhelm Wundt

functionalism

purpose and adaptation of behavior

gestalt psychology

whole experience

psychoanalytic/psychodynamic theory

unconscious mind and childhood, Sigmund Freud

humanistic theory

individuals have self-growth and want self-actualization, Abraham Maslow

evolutionary approach

how genetics and survival influence behavior

biological approach

physiological causes for behavior and psychological states

cognitive approach

memory, language, problem-solving, attention, perception

biopsychosocial approach

interaction of biology, psychology, and social life on health

experimental research

researcher manipulates independent variable, measures dependent variable

correlational study

relationship between two variables, correlation coefficient

survey

large amounts of data, potential bias from wording, social desirability, sampling

naturalistic observation

subjects viewed in natural environments with no influences from researchers

case study

one person/small group in detail for specific phenomenon

longitudinal study

data from same subjects across time, progression

cross-sectional study

data simultaneously collected from subsets of the population

operational definition

description of a variable for the purposes of the study

confounding variable

extraneous variables that affect outcomes

random assignment

subjects randomly placed into treatment/control groups

random selection

randomly choosing sample from population

validity

level of accuracy in measurement process

reliability

ability to replicate study and produce same results

central tendency

mean, median, mode

endocrine system

hormones secreted through glands

adrenal glands

secretes adrenaline and norepinephrine, excitatory

pituitary gland

regulating hormone release from other glands

central nervous system (cns)

brain and spine

peripheral nervous system (pns)

somatic and autonomic nervous systems, sends and receives messages throughout body

action potential

neuron fires past the threshold, all or nothing

myelin sheath

faster electrical signal

neurotransmitters

chemical substances that send info through nervous system: acetylcholine, gaba, glutamate, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, endorphins

agonists

drugs that mimic neurotransmitters, INCREASE presence

antagonists

drugs that block neurotransmitters, DECREASE presence

amygdala

emotional experiences and memories

broca’s area

speech production, blah blah

wernicke’s area

language comprehension, written word

corpus calloseum

connects hemispheres

afferent neuron

brings OUTSIDE info in

efferent neuron

goes from CNS to PNS

frontal lobe

prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, higher level thinking

occipital lobe

visual information

parietal lobe

sensory cortex, touch, temperature, pain

temporal lobe

auditory cortex, memory, emotion

hippocampus

learning and memory

hypothalamus

regulates hormones, hunger, metabolism, body temperature, lateral = hungry, ventromedial = full

thalamus

sensory info relay station, consciousness

medulla oblongata

heart rate, breathing, blood pressure

pons

links brain to spine, sleep

sleep

circadian rhythms, melatonin, pineal gland, supriachasmatic nucleus

dream theories

unconscious mind, important events, synthesizing brain activity

sleep disorders

insomnia, night terrors, sleep apnea, narcolepsy

top-down processing

using prior experiences to perceive stimuli

bottom-up processing

sensing stimuli first, then associating meaning

absolute threshold

minimum amount of stimuli that can be detected

just noticeable differences/difference threshold

difference in stimulus intensity

sensory adaptation

no longer perceiving a constant stimulus

visual perception

binocular/monocular cues, rods and cones in eyes translate to ganglion cells in optic nerve

auditory perception

sound wave frequency and amplitude, temporal and place theory

vestibular sense

semicircular canals, balance

weber’s law

difference threshold is proportional to intensity of initial stimulus

chemical senses

gustation and olfaction

insight learning

sudden learning while not trying to learn

latent learning

learning without demonstrating that you have learned

taste aversion

classical conditioning with single exposure

learned helplessness

lack of control due to repeated aversive stimuli

acquisition

initial association between NS and UR

extinction

fading away of association, no reinforcement

habituation

decrease in response after repeated exposure

spontaneous recovery

conditioned response returns after extinction

stimulus generalization

extend conditioned response to similar stimuli

stimulus discrimination

neutral response to different stimuli

high-order learning

conditioning with the conditioned stimulus

reinforcement/punishment

positive = giving a stimulus, negative = taking away a stimulus

observational learning

imitating behavior of a model, bobo doll experiment

schema

organizing related concepts in a group

algorithm/heuristic

procedural method of handling problem/rule of thumb for solving

functional fixedness

focusing on one function of an object

anchoring bias

one initial piece of info drives decision

confirmation bias

people search for info that reflects pre-existing beliefs

hindsight bias

thinking a past event was more likely to happen than in reality

availability heuristic

using most easily accessible info to decide

phonemes/morphemes

smallest unit of sound/smallest unit of meaningful sound

semantics/syntax

meaning of words/sentence structure

overgeneralization

applying grammatical rules to exceptions, toddlers do this

fluid intelligence

ability to synthesize info and solve higher level problems

crystallized intelligence

known facts, solving simple problems

IQ

intelligence quotient, standardized test, flynn effect

range of reaction

genetic influence on intelligence

anterograde amnesia

cannot form NEW memories

retrograde amnesia

cannot remember PAST events

long term memory

permanently stored in mind, explicit and implicit, conscious and unconscious, episodic and procedural

recall/recognition

accessing info without hints/remembering info with context

self-reference effect

more likely to remember info that relates to self

sensory memory

few seconds, sensory info transforms to short term

short term memory

temporarily stored sensory info

proactive interference

OLD knowledge gets in the way of learning new info

retroactive interference

NEW info gets in the way of remembering past info

normative approach

set of norms and developmental milestones for children

teratogens

external factors that affect embryo/fetuses, fetal alcohol syndrome

psychosexual development

stage based, part of body that provides pleasure