AP Psychology Unit 0

Psychodynamic Perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on behavior and personality. It is rooted in the theories of Sigmund Freud.

Behavioral Perspective

A psychological approach that focuses on observable behaviors and the ways they're learned through interactions with the environment. It emphasizes the role of reinforcement and punishment in shaping behavior.

Humanistic Perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes individual potential and stresses the importance of growth and self-actualization. It focuses on personal experiences and the inherent goodness of people.

Cognitive Perspective

A psychological approach that focuses on mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem-solving. It examines how people understand, diagnose, and respond to different situations.

Biological Perspective

A psychological approach that examines the physiological and genetic influences on behavior, including the brain's structure and function, neurotransmitters, and the impact of heredity.

Evolutionary Perspective

A psychological approach that explores how evolutionary principles such as natural selection influence behavior and mental processes. It examines how traits and behaviors have developed to enhance survival and reproduction.

Socioculutral Perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes the impact of social and cultural factors on behavior and mental processes. It explores how cultural norms, values, and social interactions shape individual experiences and perspectives.

Biopsychosocial Perspective

A psychological approach that integrates biological, psychological, and social factors to understand behavior and mental processes. It emphasizes the interplay of genetics, individual psychology, and environmental influences.

Mental Processes

The cognitive activities involved in acquiring, storing, and using knowledge, including thinking, memory, perception, and problem-solving.

Behavior

The observable actions of an individual, often influenced by internal and external factors, that can be measured and analyzed in psychological studies.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, often leading to distorted thinking.

Hindsight Bias

The inclination to see events as having been predictable after they have already occurred, often leading individuals to believe they knew the outcome all along.

Overconfidence

A cognitive bias where an individual's subjective confidence in their judgments is greater than the objective accuracy of those judgments, often leading to overestimation of abilities or knowledge.

Empirical Evidence

Information acquired by observation or experimentation that is used to support or refute a hypothesis.

Scientific Method

A systematic process used for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge, typically involving observation, hypothesis formulation, experimentation, and analysis.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the relationship between variables, often derived from theories or prior research.

Falsifiable

Capable of being proven false through evidence or observation.

Peer Review

The process by which scholars evaluate each other's research and findings before publication to ensure quality and validity.

Replication

The process of repeating a study to verify its results are consistent.

Reliability

The consistency of a research study or measuring test, ensuring that results can be reproduced under similar conditions.

Validity

The degree to which a study or test accurately measures what it intends to measure.

The American Psychological Association

is a professional organization representing psychologists in the United States, known for setting ethical guidelines and standards for psychological research and practice.

Research Design

The overall strategy or plan for conducting a research study, outlining how data will be collected, measured, and analyzed to answer specific research questions.

Methodology

The specific ways you will gather information or get data.

Quantitative Data

Numerical information that can be measured and analyzed statistically to identify patterns or relationships.

Qualitative Data

Non-numerical information that describes qualities or characteristics, often collected through interviews, surveys, or observations to gain insights into participants' experiences and perspectives.

Likert Scales

Rating scales used to measure attitudes or opinions, typically presenting a range of response options from strong agreement to strong disagreement.

Structured Interviews

Interviews that follow a predetermined set of questions, allowing for limited flexibility in responses, ensuring consistency across interviews for comparison.

Survey Technique

A research method where a group of people provide data through self-reporting.

Wording Effect

How changes in phrasing that are subtle can impact participants responses.

Social Desirability Bias

The nature of humans to respond in socially favorable ways even if it is a lie.

Naturalistic Observation

A research method where real-world natural behavior is watched and information is gathered.

Case Study

A research method that examines a specific individual, group, or pheneomenon.

Correlational Research

Research where the relationship between two variables is assessed. Variables are not manipulated.

Third Variable Problem

The possibility that an unaccounted for third variable may be influencing the relationship between two other variables.

Scatterplot

A visual representation used in correlational research to analyze relationships.

Correlation Coefficient

A statistical measure in correlational research to represent the strength and direction of two variables relationship (-1 - 1).

Positive Correlation

Both variables increase or decrease.

Negative Correlation

One variable increases while the other decreases.

Experimental Method

A research technique that looks at cause and effect relationships between variables.

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is monitored for changes.

Cofounding variable

A variable that was not intended to be present in a study but affects the results.

Operational Definitions

Outlines how a researcher will manipulate and measure variables in a study.

Experimental Group

The participants that are exposed to the independent variable.

Control Group

A group of participants who are not exposed to the independent variable, providing a baseline for comparison.

Random Assignment

A research method used to assign participants to groups in an experiment at random. It help minimize bias.

Placebo Effect

A phenomenon where people who think they are receiving a treatment have improvement in their condition only due to what they believe.

Experimenter Bias

How the results of a study can be distorted by the researchers expectations or beliefs.

Single-Blind Study

A research structure where the subjects are not aware if they are in the experimental or control group. The researchers are.

Double-Blind Study

A research structure where neither subjects or researchers know who is in the experimental or control group.

Placebo Condition

When a placebo is given to one group of participants and the other group is given the real treatment.

Sample

A smaller number of individuals or cases picked from a larger population for study.

Representative Sample

A smaller number of individuals picked from a larger population in a way that gives representation to different demographics.

Random Sample

A subset of individuals randomly selected by researchers from a larger population. Minimizes bias and increases generalizability of the study ensuring individuals have an equal chance of being included.

Sample Bias

When a sample does not represent the larger population leading to inaccurate results.

Generalizability

The extent to which research findings collected from a sample can be applied to the larger population.

Descriptive Statistics

Numerical data is used to measure and describe the characteristics of groups. It does not allow to make conclusions beyond the data analysed or reach conclusions.

Inferential Statistics

Procedures used that allow researchers to infer or generalize observations made with samples to the larger population from which they were drawn.

Measures of central tendency are statistical indicators that identify the center, or average, of a data set.

Mean

A measure in statistics that is the average value of a data set.

Median

A measure that represents the middle value in a data set when listed for least to greatest.

Mode

A measure that represents the most repeated number in a data set.

Range

Represents the difference between the highest and lowest values in the data set.

Standard Deviation

A measure used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values.

Percentile Rank

The percentage of values in a dataset that fall at or below a value

Bimodal Distribution

When two different values appear most frequently (modes) in the data set.

Statistical Significance

Whether any differences observed between groups being studied are "real" or if they're likely due just to chance.

Effect Sizes

Tells you how meaningful the relationship between variables or the difference between groups through quantitative data.

Meta Analysis

A statistical technique used to combine and analyze the results from multiple independent studies on the same topic.

Institutional Review Boards

Groups that are tasked with reviewing and approving research ideas to ensure that they follow ethical guidelines.

Informed Consent

A process where people agree to volunteer in a research study after being told an overview of the study.

Informed Assent

Applies to research involving children or those with cognitive impairments. It gives age appropriate information on purpose, procedure, risks, and benefits.

Confidentiality

Requires sensitive data and personal information collected during studies to be handled with care and protected from unauthorized disclosure.

Deception

Misleading participants about the real purpose, procedures, or predicted outcomes of a study.

Confederates

Individuals who are part of a study but know the true purpose and work with the researchers.

Debriefing

Giving participants an overview of the true purpose, procedures, and nature of the study once it is done.