AP Psychology Module 0 (Unit I): Research Methods Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key vocabulary, perspectives, research methodology, statistical concepts, and ethical guidelines from Module 0 (Unit I) AP Psychology lecture notes.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Scientific Study

Information collected through systematic procedures, records of observation, and measurements, with knowledge based on inferences from data open to inspection and criticism.

Behavior

Any activity that can be observed and measured, including actual movements, speech, writing, and physiological or visceral changes.

Mental Processes

Thoughts, memories, emotions, motivations, dreams, perceptions, and beliefs that are not directly observable, recorded, or measured.

Introspection / Structuralism

A methodology pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt that studies consciousness by having subjects report on their own subjective experiences to discover the basic building blocks of experience.

Tichner

Student of Wilhelm Wundt who is also credited with introspection and structuralism.

William James

Founder of Functionalism who established the first American psychological laboratory at Harvard in 1875 and wrote the landmark two-volume text Principles of Psychology.

Mary Whiton Calkins

Psychologist who studied under William James, was denied a degree because she was female, and became the first female president of the APA.

G. Stanley Hall

Student of James and Wundt who organized psychology in the USA, established the APA at Clark University in 1892, and created the American Journal of Psychology.

Dorethea Dix

First real reformer of mental health treatment in the U.S. who founded the first mental hospital in Pennsylvania.

Margaret Floy Washington

First female PhD in Psychology from Harvard and the second female President of the APA.

Nellie Bly

Undercover reporter (Elizabeth Jane Cochran) who went into asylums and published Ten Days in a Mad House, prompting mental health reforms.

Neuroscience / Biological Perspective

Perspective combining physiology, neuroanatomy, and brain chemistry based on the principle that everything psychological is biological.

Psychodynamic / Freudian Perspective

Perspective emphasizing that human behavior is driven by irrational unconscious forces and biological drives.

Repression

The process by which innate drives are pushed or buried out of conscious awareness while still demanding satisfaction.

Catharsis

The expression of intense emotions that provides a cleansing or reduction of feeling, improving psychological symptoms.

Behavioral Perspective

Perspective focused strictly on the study of observable, measurable behavior rather than unscientific internal processes.

Classical Conditioning

Form of association learning involving a reflex, pioneered by Pavlov and Watson.

Operant Conditioning

Form of association learning connecting behavior with outcomes or consequences, associated with Thorndike and Skinner.

Humanism

Perspective led by Maslow and Rogers focusing on feelings, personal experiences, needs, and the whole person.

Cognitive Perspective

Perspective examining the mental processes of thinking, knowing, perceiving, attending, remembering, and information processing.

Eclectic

An approach in psychology that utilizes all different perspectives.

Testable Hypothesis

A specific, focused proposition about behavior or mental processes framed as an if-then statement subject to empirical testing.

Hindsight Bias

Also known as the 'I Knew It All Along Phenomenon'; the tendency to believe common sense explained an event after the outcome is already known.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident in one's knowledge or predictions than correct.

Falsifiability

The requirement that an idea, hypothesis, or theory possesses the possibility of being disproven by observation or experiment.

Null Hypothesis

Default assumption stating that there is no significant difference or relationship between studied variables, meaning any observed effects are due to chance alone.

Operational Definition

A statement specifying exact observable and measurable terms used to define research variables to control for bias.

Replication

The ability of independent researchers to recreate a study's design and obtain consistent findings.

Peer Review

Evaluation of a research article's theory, originality, and accuracy by scientific experts prior to publication.

Independent Variable

The factor varied and manipulated by the experimenter that is hypothesized to cause change.

Dependent Variable

The measured outcome or behavior change that is theoretically affected by manipulating the independent variable.

Control Group

Subjects in an experiment who are not exposed to the independent variable and may receive a placebo.

Experimental Group

Subjects in an experiment who are exposed to the independent variable being studied.

Random Assignment

Procedure of placing participants into experimental or control groups by chance to eliminate bias and minimize preexisting differences.

Population

The entire group of people from which research samples are drawn and to whom findings apply.

Random Sample

A sample selected from a population where every individual has an equal chance of inclusion.

Convenience Sample

A non-probability sampling procedure choosing subjects based on easy accessibility to the researcher.

Sampling Bias

Flawed sampling process that results in an unrepresentative sample of the population.

Confounding Variables

Extraneous variables other than the independent variable that could unsteadily influence the dependent variable.

Single Blind

Study setup where research subjects are kept uninformed regarding the true purpose of the study.

Double Blind

Experimental procedure where both the research participants and the staff analyzing data are uninformed about the purpose of the study.

Naturalistic Observation

Non-experimental method involving observation of subjects in their natural environments without observer interference.

Case Study

In-depth investigation of all or part of the life history of a single individual to suggest broader theories or hypotheses.

Framing

The specific manner in which a question or statement is presented, which can significantly influence responses.

Social Desirability Bias

Tendency of survey participants to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by the researcher.

Self-report Bias

Inaccuracy in research data arising from participants inaccurately remembering or reporting their own behavior.

Third Variable Problem

Occurrence in correlational research where an unmeasured external factor connects two correlated variables.

Positive Correlation

Relationship where two variables move in the same direction together, both increasing or both decreasing.

Negative Correlation

Relationship where two variables move in opposite directions, one increasing while the other decreases.

Scatter Plot

A visual graphed cluster of dots representing the relationship between two quantitative variables.

Correlational Coefficient

A calculated statistical measure ranging from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$ indicating the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.

Illusory Correlation

Perceiving a relationship between variables when no actual relationship exists, or perceiving a stronger relationship than is present.

Meta-analysis

A procedure combining quantitative results from multiple independent studies on the same topic to produce an overall conclusion.

Normal Curve / Bell Curve

A symmetrical, unimodal distribution curve where $68\%$ of scores fall within $1\text{ SD}$, $95\%$ within $2\text{ SD}$, and $99\%$ within $3\text{ SD}$ of the mean.

Mean

The arithmetic average obtained by dividing the sum of all scores by the total number of scores.

Median

The middle score in a distribution where exactly $50\%$ of scores lie above and $50\%$ lie below.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in a data distribution.

Outliers

Unusual or extreme data values that skew distributions and distort the mean.

Standard Deviation

The primary computed measure of variability indicating how much individual scores deviate from the mean.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Federally mandated, locally administered committee that reviews human research proposals to protect participant rights and welfare.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

Committee responsible for overseeing and safeguarding the ethical care, health, and humane treatment of animal research subjects.

Confederates

Individuals who act as participants in a research study but are secretly working as part of the experiment team.

Debriefing

Post-experimental explanation given to research subjects detailing the true purpose and findings of a study, mandatory when deception is used.