AP psych 1st semester review

introspection

an early psychology theory; look inside yourself; self examination

functionalism

early psychology theory focusing on the function of the brain; james

structuralism

early psychology theory focusing on the structure of the brain; wundt

wilhelm wundt

father of psychology, set up first lab

nature vs. nurture

the debate over whether genetics or environment influence a person’s development

behviorism

perspective focusing on behavior and correction

cognitive

perspective focusing on thoughts and learning

pscychoanalytic

perspective focusing on the unconscious as motivation for actions; freudian

humanistic

perspective focusing on achieving one’s full potential

biological

perspective focusing on the natural genetic root of actions

evolutionary

perspective focusing on advantageous inherited behaviors behind actions

social-cultural

perspective focusing on the environment raised in and how it affects actions

biopsychosocial

a combination perspective focusing on biological, cultural, and unconscious effects on a person

hindsight bias

“i knew it” bias; would have known at the start

overconfidence

overestimating knowledge or ability

surveys

a research method subject to self-report bias (present better to others than is real) and inaccurate reporting

case studies

a study of a specific person or group; not typically generalizeable

longitudinal study

a study where a group is studied for a long period of time to track changes and developments

cross sectional study

a study that collects data from different age groups at the same time to compare them

naturalistic observation

a study observing a group in its day to day environment

positive correlation

as one variable goes up, so does the other

negative correlation

as one variable goes up, the other goes down

correlation coefficient

between -1 and 1, shows correlation strength of 2 variables (if closer to -1 or 1, stronger)

illusory correlation

when there seems to be a correlation between 2 variables but there is not (often due to a confounding variable or 3rd variable)

scatterplots

a graph showing various data points; shows correlation

mean

measure of central tendency; average

median

measure of central tendency; middle number

mode

measure of central tendency; most occuring number

range

measure of variability; difference between highest and lowest data points

standard deviation

measure of variability; shows how far the data is from the mean

experiment

a research method that can prove cause and effect; has multiple groups in a controlled environment

control group

group that receives no independent variable; acts as baseline measurement

experimental group

group that receives the independent variable

independent variable

variable that is manipulated in an expeiment

dependent variable

variable that is measured in an experiment

operational definitions

specific definitions provided by researchers to ensure their experiment can be repeated

random assignment

once gathered population of experiment, taking the subjects and randomly putting them into either the control group or experimental group

random sampling

taking random people from the population to study; not out of convenience; everyone has an equal chance of being selected

hypothesis

a falsifiable statement that will either be proven or disproven after the experiment

placebo

a substance that has no effect on the dependent variable; given to a control group

ethical guidelines for research

debriefing, informed consent or assent, no harm (mental or physical)

dendrites

nerve cell part that picks up neurotransmitter signals from the synapse

axon

nerve cell part that sends off neurotransmitter signals into the synapse

soma

nerve cell body

terminal buttons

end the axons; store neurotransmitters

synapse

space between 2 neuron cells; strengthened by rehearsal

sodium and potassium ions

sodium ions go in, potassium ions go out to activate neuron

dopamine

neurotransmitter signaling pleasure and rewards; too much= addiction

acetylcholine (ACh)

neurotransmitter associated with movement and memory; too little= alzheimer’s

endorphins

neurotransmitter associated with pain relieving

norepinephrine

neurotransmitter associated with activating the sympathetic nervous system; too little= depression

serotonin

neurotransmitter associated with moods; too little= depression

resting potential

when a neuron is at rest and not firing

threshold

the point that must be crossed for an neuron to fire

action potential

an active neuron sending neural impulses to the next neuron

all-or-none response

neuron is either activated or is not; no in-between

reuptake

absorbtion of excess neurotransmitter by neurons

efferent neurons

exit the brain; motor neurons

afferent neurons

go towards the brain; sensory neurons

interneurons

send info to brain/efferent neurons from afferent neurons

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord; encased in bone

peripheral nervous system

all other nerves in the body

somatic nervous system

nervous system controlling voluntary action such as movement

autonomic nervous system

nervous system controlling automatic functions such as digestion

sympathetic nervous system

nervous system preparing the body for fight-or-flight mode in a dangerous situation

parasympathetic nervous system

nervous system calming/returning function to normal after stressful event

reflexes

automatic responses that don’t travel all the way back to the brain to execute

CT scan

3-d brain x-ray; good for tumor location

PET scan

inject radioactive glucose into brain to see where it is used; good for brain activity

MRI

detailed brain image using magnetic fields; good for location of issues

fMRI

magnetic field brain images; used to detect bloodflow

medulla

brain structure that controls automatic functions like heart rate and breathing

reticular activating system

filters info and controls arousal/circadian rhythm

frontal lobe

lobe controlling high-order executive functions like learning, memory, thinking, and movement

includes motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, and broca’s area (left- speech)

parietal lobe

lobe controlling sensory input and kinesthesis

includes somatosensory cortex and association areas

temporal lobe

lobe controlling auditory processing (above ears)

includes auditory cortex and wernicke’s area (left- understanding speech)

occipital lobe

lobe controlling visual information

includes visual cortex

right brain

hemisphere controlling spatial awareness, creative tasks, and facial recognition

left brain

hemisphere controlling logic, sequential tasks, and language

plasticity

ability of brain to reform and recover neural pathways after brain damage

endocrine system

a body system communicating through hormones in the blood; controlled by pituitary gland in brain

recessive gene

a gene that requires 2 copies to show; absence of protein

dominant gene

a gene that only reuires 1 copy to show; codes for protein

twin studies

studies compare effects of nature vs. nurture on identical and fraternal twins in different environments

genotype

the genetic makeup of an organism

phenotype

visible traits of an organism

heritability

variations in a group’s intelligence attributed to genes

bottom-up processing

processing pathway where information that starts from the senses then travels to the brain; no prior knowledge

top-down processing

processing pathway where schemas and previous dispositions affect intepretation

absolute threshold

the minimum amount of intensity for a single stimulus to be detected 50% of the time

difference threshold

the proportionally minimum amount of difference in intensity between 2 stimuli in order to be detected 50% of time

weber’s law

law stating that 2 stimuli must different by constant minimum percentage

transduction

transfer of sensory stimuli into signals interpretable by the brain

vision wave wavelength

visual wave part determines hue (color)

vision wave intensity

visual wave part determines brightness

vision wave amplitude

visual wave part determines intensity

sound wave frequency

sound wave part determines pitch

sound wave amplitude

sound wave part determines loudness

iris

muscle controlling size of pupil

pupil

where light enters the eye