AP Psychology Semester 1 Review 24-25

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

levels of analysis

the differing, complementary views - biological, psychological, and social-cultural - for analyzing any given phenomenon

biopsychosocial approach

an integrated perspective that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

behavioral perspective

perspective of psychology that focuses on how we learn observable responses via learning principles

biological perspective

perspective of psychology that focuses on how the body, the brain, and genetics enable behavior and mental processes

cognitive perspective

perspective of psychology that focuses on how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

evolutionary perspective

perspective of psychology that focuses on how natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

humanistic perspective

perspective of psychology that focuses on how we meet our needs for love and acceptance and achieve self-fulfillment

psychodynamic perspective

perspective of psychology that focuses on how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

social-cultural perspective

perspective of psychology that focuses on how behavior and mental processes vary across situations and cultures

critical thinking

thinking that examines and challenges the assumptions of others and yourself, assesses the reliability and motives of a source, and uses evidence to draw conclusions

cultural norms

behavior patterns that are typical of specific groups

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct

apophenia

the tendency to find order and predictability in events that are totally random and unpredictable

scientific method

a self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis

peer reviewers

scientific experts who evaluate a research article's theory, originality, and accuracy

theory

an explanation that organizes a large set of observations and data

hypothesis

a testable prediction

falsifiable

able to be disproven by experimental results

operational definitions

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study, especially in defining how a variable is measured

replication

repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic findings holds true

descriptive research

scientific investigation that seeks to systematically observe and record

case study

descriptive research technique in which one individual or group is studied in great depth

naturalistic observation

descriptive research technique in which behavior is observed and recorded in naturally occurring situations, with no interference or control

survey

descriptive research technique in which a sample of a population self-report attitudes or behaviors

framing/wording effects

the way an issue is posed, which can affect decisions and judgments

social desirability bias

the tendency for people to say what they believe is appropriate or acceptable

self-report bias

bias when peoiple report their behavior inaccurately

sample

a small group of subjects or participants, drawn from a population

population

a group being studied, from which a sample is drawn

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

random sample

a sample in which each member of a population has an equal chance of inclusion

stratified sampling

a variation of random sampling in which the population is divided into subgroups and weighted based on demographic characteristics

representative sample

a sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole

convenience sampling

using a sample of people who are readily available to participate

Likert Scale

a numerical scale used to assess attitudes; includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme

correlation / correlational study

the measure of the extent to which two variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other / research technique in which data is collected on two or more variables with no manipulation

positive correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

negative correlation

the relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other variable decreases

correlation coefficient/r score

a number, between -1.0 and +1.0, that indicates the strength and direction of a correlation

Variable

A factor that can change in an experiment

scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots in which each dot represents the value of two variables

directionality problem

in correlational research, the situation in which it is known that two variables are related although it is not known which is the cause and which is the effect.

third variable problem

the concept that a correlation between two variables may stem from both being influenced by some third variable

causation

a cause-and-effect relationship in which one variable directly controls or affects change in another variable

illusory correlations

a perceived, but non-existent, relationship between variables

regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.

experiment

research technique in which a researcher manipulates a variable to observe the effect another variable

experimental group

the portion of the sample that is exposed to the manipulated independent variable

control group

the portion of the sample that is not exposed to the manipulated independent variable, that is used for comparison

random assignment

selecting participants for the experimental and control groups by chance, to minimize preexisting differences between groups

single-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which the participants are ignorant about whether they are in the experimental group or the control group

double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the participants and the researchers are ignorant about whether the participants are in the experimental group or the control group

placebo / placebo effect

an inert substance or condition that the participant assumes is an active agent / experimental results caused by expectations alone

independent variable

the factor that is manipulated that might affect the dependent variable

dependent variable

the factor being measured, that may be affected by the independent variable

confounding variables

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect on the dependent variable

validity

the extent to which an experiment measures or tests what it is supposed to

experimenter bias

an experimenters unconscious impact on the results of an experiment due to their own expectations

cohort effect

the impact on the result of a study due to the common or shared life experiences of the subjects

demand characteristics

cues in an experiment that tell the participant what behavior is expected, thus potentially causing participant bias

participant bias

a participants impact on the result of the study due to their understanding of the researcher's expectation

Hawthorne effect

a change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being observed

quantitative research

research that collects and reports data primarily in numerical form

qualitative research

research that relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data

ethics

moral principles that govern research procedures

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

an ethical committee that maintains animal welfare standards via it's authority to approve, require modification of, or prohibit the use of animals in research

deception

misleading participants about the purpose or procedures of a research study; ethically acceptable if it is essential to a justifiable end

informed consent

the ethical principle that a study's participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

protection from harm

the ethical principle that participants should not be subjected to physical or emotional pain or injury

confidentiality

the ethical principle that individual information about a study's participants should be safeguarded and kept private

debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

an ethical committee for a university that safeguards human participant's well-being via it's authority to approve, require modification of, or reject research proposals

value judgement

an assessment of something as good or bad in terms of one's own standards or priorities

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups

histogram

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

measures of central tendency

a measure that describes the approximate middle of a set of scores; mean, median, and mode

mean

the arithmetical average of a distribution, calculated by adding the scores then dividing by the number of scores

median

the middle score in a distribution

mode

the most frequently occurring score or scores in a distribution

percentile rank

Percentage of scores falling at or below a specific score.

skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around the mean

positive skew

a asymmetrical representation of scores in which the right-tail is longer, and often the mean is greater than the median and mode

negative skew

a asymmetrical representation of scores in which the left-tail is longer, and often the mean is smaller than the median and mode

bimodal distribution

a representation of scores in which there are two peaks instead of one

measures of variation

a measure that describes how similar or dissimilar a set of scores are; range and standard deviation

range

the gap between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

normal curve

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data, in which most scores fall near the mean and fewer and fewer fall near the extremes

inferential statistics

numerical data used to help determine whether one can generalize data or conclusions from the sample to the population

meta-analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

statistical significance

a numerical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

t-test

a calculation used to determine statistical significance; produces a p-value

p-value

a numerical value at represents statistical significance; the result of a t-test

effect size

the magnitude, or strength, of a relationship between two or more variables

confidence interval

statistical range, with a given probability, that takes random error into account

behavior genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

nature

genetics; the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions

nurture

environment; the influence that our surroundings/uprbinging has on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions