random AP Psych Vocab

AP Psychology Vocabulary Review

Superordinate goals

Shared goals that necessitate cooperation between people or groups.

Glial cells

Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; also play a role in learning and thinking.

Ganglion cells

Neuron that transmits signals from the retina to the brain.

Rods

Visual receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.

Interneurons

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Growth mindset

The belief that qualities can change and improve through effort.

Sunk cost fallacy

The investment in something that cannot be recovered and should not influence future decisions.

Priming

Activating particular associations in memory.

Framing

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Industrial-organizational psychology

Applies psychological principles to the workplace to improve productivity and the quality of work life.

Experimental psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific investigation of basic psychological processes such as learning, memory, and cognition in humans and animals.

Evolutionary psychology

The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.

Health psychology

A subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine.

Change blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment.

Shaping

An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

Frontal lobe

The frontal lobe is responsible for speech production.

Activation synthesis

Dreams are results of brain's attempt to make sense of random neural activity.

Arousal theory

The psychological level of being awake or reactive to stimuli

Drive-reduction theory

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

Opponent-process theory

After the initial surge of pleasure, the opposite feeling eventually overwhelms and surpasses the pleasure

Dependent variable

The Outcome. The Variable depends on the manipulations of the Independent Variable

Independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Normative social influence

Behavior that is motivated by the desire to gain social acceptance and approval.

Social Facilitation

Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.

Hormones

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues.

Agonists

Stimulate a receptor's cell response.

Antagonists

Block a receptor's cell response.

Convergent thinking

Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

Accommodation

Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Assimilation

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

Social reciprocacy norm

The expectation that people will respond to each other and kind – that is they will return favors and respond to hostility with hostility

Door in the face phenomenon

A persuasion technique that involves making a large request that will likely be rejected, followed by a smaller request. People are more likely to agree to the second, smaller request because it seems more reasonable compared to the initial one.

Foot in the door phenomenon

Persuasion strategy where you first ask for a small favor and once someone agrees you follow up with a larger request. People are more likely to agree to the larger request because they’ve already committed to the initial small one.

Conformity

The active matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms. It’s a way we adjust our actions to fit in with those around us, whether it’s to avoid conflict or because we genuinely believe the group is right.

Prototype

A mental or abstract representation of a concept. It’s the best example or typical representation of a category. think of it as the most representative example of something.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute one success to internal factors, like skill or talent, while blaming failures on external factors, such as bad luck or other people. It’s basically a way of protecting our self-esteem.

The sunk cost fallacy

The tendency to continue with the behavior or endeavor because of the time, money, or effort already invested, even if it’s no longer beneficial

Ex: imagine buying tickets to a concert, but the day of the show you feel really sick. Even though you don’t wanna go, you might feel obligated to attend because you’ve already spent the money on the tickets.

Self fulfilling prophecy

A phenomenon where a belief or expectation about something, whether true or not, influences a person‘s behavior, leading to the expected outcome. It’s like creating your own reality through your beliefs and actions.

Ex; let’s say a teacher believes that boys are naturally better at math than girls. Unconsciously, they might give more encouragement and attention to the boys in their math class. As a result the boys might perform better, seemingly confirming the teachers initial belief, even though the difference in performance was due to the teacher’s behavior, not inherent ability

Fundamental attribution error

Tendency to overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors when explaining someone else’s behavior. We often assume that someone’s actions reflect their personality rather than considering the circumstances they’re in.

External locus of control

The belief that your successes and failures are determined by outside forces beyond your control, such as luck, fate, or other people

Internal locus of Control

The belief that you have control over your own destiny and that your actions and decisions directly influence your outcomes

Cognitive appraisal

The mental process by which individuals evaluate and interpret the significance of a stressful event. This evaluation influences how they experience and cope with the stress.

Ex: imagine you’re about to give a presentation. If you appraise it as a challenge and an opportunity to showcase your knowledge, you’ll likely feel motivated and prepared. But if you appraise it as a threat and worry about messing up, you’ll likely feel anxious and stressed.

The facial feedback hypothesis

Our facial expressions can influence our emotions. For example, if you force yourself to smile, you might start to feel happier.

Sensory interaction

The principal that one cents can influence another. For instance, the smell of food can influence its taste.

Prosopagnosia (Face Blindness)

The inability to recognize faces. People with this condition can see a face, but can’t identify who it is.

Synesthesia

A neurological phenomenon where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. For example, someone might see colors when they hear music.

Kinesthesia

Your body’s awareness of its own movement and position. It’s how you can touch your nose with your eyes closed.

Just world phenomenon

The belief that people get what they deserve. It’s the idea that good things happen to good people and bad things happened to bad people.

Change blindness

A perceptual phenomenon that occurs when a change in a visual stimulus goes unnoticed by the observer. It happens because our brains don’t always register every detail in our surroundings.

Ex: imagine watching a video where a person switches the color of their shirt, but you don’t notice it because you’re focused on something else in the scene.

Top down processing

When your brain uses existing knowledge experiences and expectations to interpret sensory information

Bottom up processing

When you start with the raw sensory data and build up your own perception from there. Like a puzzle

Types of Therapies

Psychodynamic therapy

Explores unconscious conflicts and past experiences

Behavioral therapy

Focuses on changing maladaptive behaviors through technique by classical and operant conditioning

Cognitive therapy

Addresses negative thought patterns in cognitive distortions

Humanistic therapy

Emphasize his personal growth, self-awareness, and the here and now

Biomedical therapy

Involves medical interventions, such as medication or brain stimulation

Group therapy

Involves a group of people with similar issues

Family therapy

Focuses on improving communication and resolving conflicts within families

Systematic desensitization

Type of behavioral Therapy used to help people overcome, phobias and anxieties. It involves gradually exposing a person to a fear object or a situation while they practice relaxation techniques. This helps reduce the fear response overtime.

Free association

A technique used in psychoanalysis were a person says whatever comes to mind without censoring themselves. It’s like letting your thoughts flow freely to uncover hidden meanings and patterns.

Sublimation

A defense mechanism were unacceptable impulses, or channeled into socially acceptable behavior behaviors. It’s like redirecting negative energy into something positive like art or sports.

7 perspectives

Psychodynamic perspective

Rooted in the work of Sigmund Freud, emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and interpersonal relationships in shaping behavior. It explores how unresolved conflicts and repressed desires influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Behavioral Perspective

This perspective focuses on observable behaviors and how they are learned through environment influences. It emphasizes principles like classical conditions, operant conditioning, and observable learning.

Cognitive Perspective

This perspective examines mental processes such as perception, memory, problem-solving, and decision-making. It explores how we acquire, process, and use information to understand the world around us.

Humanistic Perspective

This perspective emphasizes the importance of personal growth, self-actualization, and individual potential. It focuses on the unique experiences and subjective perspectives of individuals, highlighting their capacity for free will and self-determination.

Biological Perspective

This perspective explores the biological bases of behavior, including the role of the brain, nervous system, genetics, and hormones. It examines how these biological factors influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Evolutionary Perspective

This perspective applies the principes of evolution to explain psychological processes. It examines how behaviors and mental processes have evolved over time to help us survive and reproduce.

Sociocultural Perspective

This perspective examines the influence of social and cultural factors on behavior. It considers how our thoughts, feelings, and actions are shaped by our social interactions, cultural norms, and societal expectations.

Gestalt Principles

Proximity

Elements close together are perceived as a group

Similarity

Elements that share visual characteristics (shape, color, size) are seen as a group

Closure

We tend to fill in gaps to perceive complete figures

Continuity

We perceive elements arranged on a line or curve as related

Common Fate

Elements moving in the same direction are perceived as a group

Figure-Ground

We organize perceptions by distinguishing between a figure (main object) and a ground (background)

enclosure

We perceive objects that are enclosed by a border or boundary as a group.