AP Psych Unit 1

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

behavior

The way an organism reacts to changes in its internal condition or external environment.

mental processes

The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly

Sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

Perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Socrates and Plato

the mind is separable from the body and continues after the body dies. Knowledge is innate.

Nature vs. Nurture

name for a controversy in which it is debated whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior

Descartes

(1596-1650) French philosopher, discovered analytical geometry. Saw Algebra and Geometry have a direct relationship. Reduced everything to spiritual or physical.

Francis Bacon

(1561-1626) English politician, writer. Formalized the empirical method. Novum Organum. Inductive reasoning.

Locke

English empiricist philosopher who believed that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience (1632-1704)

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

Wilhelm Wundt

father of psychology

G. Stanley Hall

american psychologist who established the first psychology research laboratory in the United States and founded the American Psychological Association

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

Mary Calkins

student under William James who should have earned her Ph.D. from Harvard; Harvard denied her the degree she had earned, offering her a degree from Radcliffe College, which she refused the degree; she became a memory researcher and the American Psychological Association's (APA's) first female president in 1905

Mary Washburn

First female PhD in psychology

Freudian Psychology

emphasized the ways our unconscious thought processes and our emotional responses to childhood experiences affect our behavior

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Pavlov

classical conditioning

Watson

Behaviorism; "Little Albert Study"; aversion therapy

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Skinner

operant conditioning

humanistic psychology

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth

Carl Rogers

1902-1987; Field: humanistic; Contributions: founded person-centered therapy, theory that emphasizes the unique quality of humans especially their freedom and potential for personal growth, unconditional positive regard, fully functioning person

cognitive

how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

biological psychology

a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior

clinical psychology

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

counseling psychology

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

personality psychology

the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Cognitive Psychology

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

educational psychology

the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

Psychometric Psychology

Looks at the measurement of behavior through the development of psychological tests; assesses issues of validity and reliability as well as statistical modeling

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Experiemental Psychology

The study of behavior and thinking through experiments.

human factors psychology

a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use

industrial-organizational psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

psychodynamic psychology

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Theories

Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

operational definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

Surveys

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions.

case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

correlation study

a descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena

Natural Observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

double-blind experiment

an experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.

inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Histogram

A graph of vertical bars representing the frequency distribution of a set of data.

Scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables

Mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

mean

average

Median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

independent variable

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

control variable

A variable that is kept constant during a controlled experiment.

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

random selection

A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample

Validity

The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure

Ethics

the principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions

HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act