ap psych master knowt

Heredity

Genetic makeup that influences traits like intelligence, personality, and mental health.

Environment

Life experiences and surroundings that shape development and behavior.

Central Nervous System

Comprises the brain and spinal cord.

Autonomic Nervous System

Divided into sympathetic (activates fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (calms the body).

Neurons and Glial Cells

Neurons send signals; glial cells support and protect neurons.

All-or-Nothing Principle

Neurons fire completely or not at all.

Multiple Sclerosis

A disease that slows or blocks neural communication.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that affects mood and sleep.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter involved in movement and reward.

GABA

A neurotransmitter that has a calming effect.

Reuptake Inhibitor

A drug that prevents reabsorption of neurotransmitters.

Psychoactive Drugs

Substances that affect mood or perception, e.g., caffeine, alcohol, marijuana.

Tolerance

Need for increasing amounts of a drug for the same effect.

Brain Stem

Controls essential functions like heart rate and breathing.

Cerebellum

Responsible for balance and motor coordination.

Thalamus

Acts as a sensory relay station.

Hippocampus

Involved in memory processing.

Broca's Area

Region of the brain dedicated to speech production.

Wernicke's Area

Region of the brain responsible for language comprehension.

Brain Plasticity

The ability of the brain to reorganize and adapt after damage.

Bottom-up Processing

Perception that starts with sensory input.

Top-down Processing

Perception influenced by prior experience and expectations.

Schema

A mental framework for organizing and interpreting information.

Gestalt Principles

Rules that explain how we group visual elements.

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to focus on a single conversation while ignoring others.

Change Blindness

Failure to notice changes in a visual scene.

Prototype

The best example of a category.

Assimilation

Fitting new information into existing schemas.

Accommodation

Changing existing schemas to incorporate new information.

Algorithm

A step-by-step method for problem-solving.

Heuristic

A mental shortcut that might lead to error.

Functional Fixedness

The inability to see new uses for familiar objects.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for information that confirms pre-existing beliefs.

Misinformation Effect

Memory distortion caused by misleading information.

Encoding

The process of converting information into a memory store.

Chunking

A memory technique that involves grouping information.

Spacing Effect

The phenomenon wherein distributed practice leads to better retention.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to remember the first and last items in a list best.

Long-term Potentiation

The strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity.

Working Memory

A limited capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information.

Recognition

Identifying information as familiar.

Recall

The active retrieval of information.

Retrieval Practice

The act of recalling information to reinforce memory.

Development Themes

Key themes in human development, including nature vs. nurture.

Cross-sectional Study

Research comparing different age groups at one point in time.

Longitudinal Study

Research studying the same groups over an extended period.

Teratogens

Harmful substances affecting fetal development.

Critical Period

A developmental stage where certain stimuli have a significant effect.

Menarche

A girl's first menstruation.

Spermarche

A boy's first sperm production.

Gender Schema Theory

The idea that children form concepts of gender from cultural influences.

Piaget's Stages

Stages of cognitive development: Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, Formal Operational.

Vygotsky's Theory

Emphasizes social interaction and cultural influence on cognitive development.

Attachment Theory

The theory that early relationships shape future social behavior.

Erikson's Stages

The eight stages of psychosocial development.

Identity Foreclosure

Commitment to an identity without prior exploration.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that creates associations between stimuli.

Operant Conditioning

Learning through consequences.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a rewarding stimulus to encourage behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage behavior.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs by observing others' behavior.

Dispositional Attribution

Attributing behavior to personal characteristics.

Situational Attribution

Attributing behavior to situational factors.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate personality influences on behavior.

Self-serving Bias

Attributing successes to internal factors and failures to external factors.

Conformity

Changing behavior to match group norms.

Groupthink

A tendency for group members to align with consensus, ignoring realistic alternatives.

Cognitive Dissonance

The psychological discomfort arising from conflicting beliefs or actions.

Altruism

Selfless concern for the well-being of others.

Trait Theory

The perspective that personality consists of broad dispositions.

Big Five Traits

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Health Psychology

The study of the interplay between psychological, biological, and social factors in health.

Eustress

Positive stress that can motivate individuals.

Distress

Negative stress that can harm an individual's well-being.

General Adaptation Syndrome

The body's response to stress, including alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Problem-focused Coping

Directly addressing the problem causing stress.

Emotion-focused Coping

Regulating emotional responses to stressors.

Positive Psychology

The study of human strengths and factors that contribute to a meaningful life.

Character Strengths

Positive traits that enhance well-being, such as resilience and hope.