AP Psychology Exam Review: Science Practices and Core Units

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the experimental methods, biological structures, cognitive models, developmental stages, and clinical classifications outlined in the AP Psychology lecture notes.

Science Practice $1.B$

Explain how cultural norms, expectations, circumstances, and cognitive biases like confirmation bias, hindsight bias, and overconfidence apply to behavior and mental processes.

Experimental Research Design

A type of research design that includes random assignment.

Qualitative Research Methods

Methods such as structured interviews used to evaluate study designs.

Quantitative Research Methods

Methods such as Likert scales used to evaluate study designs.

Directionality Problem

A specific issue encountered in correlational non-experimental methodology.

Third Variable Problem

A specific issue encountered in correlational non-experimental methodology.

Informed Consent and Informed Assent

Ethical procedures in psychological research involving participant agreement.

Measures of Central Tendency

Data values including the mean, median, and mode.

Standard Deviation

A measure of variation in a given data set.

Evolutionary Perspective

A topic in Unit $1$ covering natural selection and eugenics.

All-or-Nothing Principle

A principle governing the firing of a neuron.

Neurotransmitters listed for the AP Exam

The specific chemicals including dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate, GABA, substance p, endorphins, and acetylcholine.

Hormones listed for the AP Exam

The specific chemicals including adrenaline, leptin, ghrelin, melatonin, and oxytocin.

Agonist and Antagonist Drugs

Chemicals that interact with neural firing pathways.

Cerebral Cortex Lobes

The four brain regions: Occipital, Temporal, Parietal, and Frontal.

Circadian Rhythm

The sleep/wake cycle and related types of consciousness.

NREM Stages $1-3$

The stages of non-rapid eye movement sleep identified by specific EEG patterns.

Sleep Disorders

Conditions including insomnia, narcolepsy, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep apnea, and somnambulism.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus.

Weber’s Law

A principle related to the Just Noticeable Difference in sensation.

Trichromatic Color Theory

A theory explaining color vision alongside Opponent-Process Color Theory.

Frequency Theory

A theory of pitch perception in hearing.

Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processing

Mechanisms of perception influenced by schemas and sensory input.

Gestalt Psychology

A perspective emphasizing perceptual organization through principles like closure, figure/ground, proximity, and similarity.

Monocular Depth Cues

Visual cues including relative clarity, relative size, texture gradient, linear perspective, and interposition.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts including the representativeness heuristic and availability heuristic.

Working Memory Model

A model of memory including the central executive, phonological loop, and visuospatial sketchpad.

Multi-Store Model

A memory model consisting of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to remember the first items (primacy effect) and last items (recency effect) in a list.

Types of Memory Interference

Factors causing forgetting, specifically proactive interference and retroactive interference.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A measure based on the relationship between mental age and chronological age.

Piaget’s Cognitive Stages

Developmental stages including sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

Vygotsky’s Concepts

Cognitive development theories including scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development.

Parenting Styles

Social development categories including Authoritarian, Authoritative, and Permissive.

Ainsworth’s Attachment Theory

A theory identifying secure and insecure attachment (avoidant, anxious, disorganized).

Classical Conditioning Elements

Components of learning including the Unconditioned Stimulus ($US$), Unconditioned Response ($UR$), Conditioned Stimulus ($CS$), and Conditioned Response ($CR$).

Operant Conditioning Consequences

Learning mechanisms including positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment.

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

A bias in attribution theory involving person perception.

Cognitive Dissonance

The psychological tension experienced when attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent.

Big $5$ Theory of Personality

A trait theory known by the acronym OCEAN (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism).

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A three-stage stress reaction consisting of Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion.

Diathesis-Stress Model

An interaction model explaining how psychological disorders develop from biological predisposition and environmental stressors.

Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders

Disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech (word salad), and catatonia.

Anxiety Disorders

Categories including Specific Phobia, Agoraphobia, Panic Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

A treatment technique that combines cognitive restructuring with behavioral interventions.

Tardive Dyskinesia

A potential side effect of antipsychotic medications.