AP psych terms (U1-U3)

Humanism

Studies how people grow & reach their potential

Behaviorism

Study observable behavior only (Watson Skinner)

Cognitive psych

How we think know remember

Biopsychological

Mix of biology, psychology, social factors

Functionalism

How mental processes help us adapt (James)

Hypothesis

Testable prediction

Operational Definition

How you measure a variable

Random assignment

Assign to groups by chance

Correlation

How two things relate

Placebo effect

Thinking something works makes you feel good

Neuron

Nerve cell

Synapse

Gap between two neurons (where messages are passed)

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Brain + spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

– All the nerves outside the CNS.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers: serotonin and dopamine

plasticity

Brain can change and organize

Amygdala

Fear and emotion

Hippocampus

Memory

Hypothalamus

Hunger thirst temp sex drive

Corpus Callosum

Connects brain hemispheres

Psychodynamic

Behavior = unconscious drives + early childhood. Freuds playground.

Independent variable

The thing you change in an experiment

Dependent variable

The result you measure in an experiment

Control group

group with no real treatment used for comparison

double blind procedure

Participants nor researchers know who’s in which experiment group- prevents bias

Endorphins

Natural painkillers brain releases during stress or exercise

Medulla

Controls heart beat breathing- life support center

Reticular formations

Keeps you alert + awake. Damage of this = coma

Thalamus

routes info to right parts of brain.

Myelin Sheath

Fatty layer around axons- speeds up neural messages

Psychology

science of behavior and mental processes

Structuralism

Early approach focused on breaking down mental processes into parts.

Nature vs. Nurture

Are we more shaped by genetics (nature) or experience (nurture)?

Case Study

Studying one person or group deeply.

Confounding Variable

Something else that could affect the outcome.

Experiment

A test to find cause and effect.

Naturalistic Observation

Watching behavior without interfering.

Survey

A way to collect lots of data quickly by asking questions.

Axon

a long fiber on a neuron: sends messages to other neurons muscles

Dendrites

Branches on a neuron that receive messages.