AP Psychology: Research Methods, Perspectives, Statistics, and Exam Formats Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from AP Psychology notes, covering key perspectives, research design, validity types, statistics, ethical standards, and AP exam question types.

Behavioral Psychology / Behaviorism

Explains all behavior through observable actions learned via classical conditioning, operant conditioning, rewards, and punishments.

Biological Psychology

Explains thoughts, feelings, and behaviors through brain structures, genetics, neurotransmitters, and hormones.

Biopsychosocial Approach

An integrated approach incorporating biological (genes, brain), psychological (thoughts, emotions), and social-cultural factors.

Cognitive Psychology

Studies internal mental processes such as memory, perception, problem-solving, decision-making, and language acquisition.

Evolutionary Psychology

Explains behavior and mental processes through natural selection and adaptations that favored survival and reproduction.

Humanistic Psychology

Emphasizes human potential, free will, self-actualization, and conscious self-growth (associated with Rogers & Maslow).

Psychodynamic Psychology

Explains behavior through unconscious conflicts, repressed childhood trauma, and hidden motives (associated with Freud).

Social-Cultural Psychology

Examines how thinking and behavior vary across social contexts, cultural norms, and environments.

Confirmation Bias

Searching for, interpreting, and recalling information that confirms pre-existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence.

Cultural Norms

Shared, explicit or implicit rules within a society or social group defining acceptable and expected behavior.

Experimenter Bias

Unconscious actions by a researcher that influence participant responses or data collection to match expectations.

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to overestimate one's ability to have predicted an outcome after learning the actual result ("I knew it all along").

Overconfidence

Overestimating the accuracy of one's knowledge, abilities, or judgments before an outcome occurs.

Experimental Research

Manipulating an independent variable under controlled conditions to determine a cause-and-effect relationship.

Non-Experimental Research

Research strategies (surveys, observations, correlations) that measure variables as they naturally occur without manipulation.

Quantitative Research

Research that uses numerical data and statistical analysis.

Qualitative Research

Research that uses non-numerical data like descriptions, transcripts, and open-ended interviews.

Operational Definition

A precise, quantifiable statement specifying the exact procedures used to measure or manipulate a variable.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the relationship between variables.

Falsifiability

The principle that a hypothesis must be capable of being disproven by evidence.

Peer Review

Evaluation of research by independent experts before publication.

Replication

Repeating a study to see if original results recur.

Independent Variable (IV)

The factor directly manipulated or controlled by the experimenter.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The factor being measured to assess the impact of the Independent Variable.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the treatment or Independent Variable.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that receives no treatment (or a placebo) to serve as a baseline.

Confounding Variable

An uncontrolled variable other than the IV that systematically affects the DV, ruining cause-and-effect conclusions.

Placebo

An inert substance given to participants in an experiment.

Placebo Effect

Physical or psychological changes caused solely by participant expectations.

Single-Blind Study

A study in which participants do not know their group assignment.

Double-Blind Study

A study in which neither participants nor researchers collecting data know group assignments.

Population

The entire target group being studied.

Sample

The subset of the population selected for the actual study.

Random Sample

A sampling method where every population member has an equal chance of selection.

Representative Sample

A sample that accurately reflects population demographics.

Convenience Sampling

Choosing easily accessible participants for a research study.

Sampling Bias

A research flaw that produces a non-representative sample.

Random Assignment

Sorting participants into experimental or control groups purely by chance.

Internal Validity

Confidence that the independent variable caused the dependent variable, free from confounding variables.

External Validity

The extent to which research results generalize to real-world settings.

Case Study

In-depth, detailed investigation of a single individual or small group with a unique or rare condition.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring environments without intervention or control.

Meta-Analysis

A statistical technique combining and analyzing results from multiple independent studies on the same topic.

Likert Scale

A survey tool using rating options (e.g., 1-5 strongly disagree to agree) for quantitative self-report data.

Positive Correlation

A relationship where two variables move in the same direction (both increase or both decrease).

Negative Correlation

A relationship where two variables move in opposite directions (one increases while the other decreases).

Correlational Fallacy

The error of assuming that correlation equals causation.

Directionality Problem

The unmeasured temporal order in correlational research regarding whether variable A causes B, or B causes A.

Third Variable Problem

When an unmeasured variable Z causes both variable A and variable B, creating a false causal appearance between them.

Self-Report Bias

Inaccuracies present in self-evaluations and participant answers.

Social Desirability Bias

Answering questions to project a favorable image rather than giving accurate responses.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A committee that reviews research proposals to ensure compliance with ethical guidelines before studies begin.

Informed Consent

Adult agreement to participate in a study after knowing its risks.

Informed Assent

Agreement to participate in a study from minors ($<18$ years old), required alongside parental consent.

Confidentiality

An ethical standard where the researcher knows participant identities but keeps them private.

Anonymity

An ethical standard where the researcher has no way of identifying participants.

Deception

Misleading research participants when necessary for experimental integrity.

Debriefing

A full explanation given post-study to inform participants of its true purpose and restore them to their pre-study state.

Confederate

An actor playing a designated role within an experiment.

Scatterplot

A visual data display used for bivariate correlational data.

Mean

The mathematical average of a set of scores.

Median

The middle score in a distribution of numbers.

Mode

The most frequent score in a distribution.

Standard Deviation

The average distance of scores from the mean.

Positive Skew

A distribution shape where the tail points right and $\text{Mean} > \text{Median}$.

Negative Skew

A distribution shape where the tail points left and $\text{Mean} < \text{Median}$.

Normal Curve Benchmark Percentiles

A bell curve distribution where $68\%$ of scores fall within $\pm 1$ SD, $95\%$ within $\pm 2$ SDs, and $99.7\%$ within $\pm 3$ SDs.

Correlation Coefficient ($r$)

A statistic ranging from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$ indicating the direction and strength of a relationship.

Effect Size

The magnitude of the difference between experimental groups.

Statistical Significance ($p < .05$)

The statistical probability that experimental results occurred purely by chance is less than $5\%$ ($p < .05$).

Article Analysis Question (AAQ)

An AP exam task featuring 1 study summary (25 minutes total) focusing on research components, data interpretation, generalizability, and methodological improvements.

Evidence-Based Question (EBQ)

An AP exam task featuring 3 study summaries (45 minutes total) requiring a thesis claim, evidence synthesis across studies, concept application, and handling conflicting evidence.