AP Psychologu Review (Preparation for the Exam)

evolutionary (psychology perspective)

mental processes exist because they serve an evolutionary purpose, they aid in survival & reproduction.

psychodynamic (psychology perspective)

emphasizes behavior is determined by your past experiences that are left in the unconscious mind and childhood experiences

cognitive (psychology perspective)

focused on internal processes of the mind influencing behavior

biological (psychology perspective)

the influence of genetics and brain chemistry (physical & biological processes)

sociocultural (psychology perspectives)

focuses on society and culture in terms of our behavior and shaping cognition

behavioral (psychology perspective)

focuses on observable behaviors, people/animals are controlled by their environment, positive/negative consequences

humanistic (psychology perspective)

human capacity for choice & growth, motivation for people to fulfill their potential

biopsychosocial (psychology perspective)

electric (combining approach), links between genetics and environment

psychology (science practices)

the science of behavior and mental processes.

empirical evidence (science practices)

information acquired by observation or experimentation; “seeing is believing”.

scientific method (science practices)

systematic procedure of gathering data and testing hypotheses; “step-by-step discovery”.

confirmation bias (science practices)

favoring information that confirms your beliefs; “seeing what you believe”.

hindsight bias (science practices)

believing events were predictable after they happened; “i knew it all along”

overconfidence (science practices)

overestimating the accuracy of knowledge and judgements; “too sure to be sure”

hypothesis (science practices)

a testable prediction, often derived from a theory; “educated guess”

falsifiable (science practices)

capable of being proven wrong; “can be challenged”

peer review (science practices)

evaluation of work by others in the same field; “colleague check-up”

replication (science practices)

repeating a study to test its findings; “do it again”

reliability (science practices)

consistency of measurement; “consistently consistent”

validity (science practices)

accuracy of a test in measuring what it is supposed to measure; “accurately accurate”

the american psychological association (APA) (science practices)

leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the US; “psychology’s rule-maker”

quantitative data (science practices)

data that can be quantified and verified, and is susceptible to statistical manipulation; “numbers tell the tale”

qualitative data (science practices)

descriptive data which can be observed but not measured; “stories, not statistics”

likert scales (science practices)

scale used to represent people’s attitudes to a topic; “agree to disagree”

structured interviews (science practices)

interviews following a set sequence of questions; “scripted Q&A”

survey technique (science practices)

research method involving asking questions to gather data; “ask to know”

wording effect (science practices)

changes in response caused by word choices in questions; “words sway”

social desirability bias (science practices)

a tendency to give socially approved answers; “looking good”

naturalistic observation (science practices)

observing subjects in their natural environment; “real-world watching”

case study (science practices)

study of a single subject or group in detail; “focus on one”

correlations research (science practices)

research determining the relationship between variables; “correlation-relationship”

third variable problem (science practices)

a confounding variable that influences both variables of interest; “hidden influencer”

correlation coefficient

numerical measure of the type and degree of the relationship between two variables; “relationship strength meter”

positive correlation (science practices)

when variables increase or decrease together; “together upward”

negative correlation (science practices)

one variable increases as the other decreases; “opposite directions”

experimental method (science practices)

method involving manipulation and controlled testing of variables; “controlled experiment”

independent variable (science practices)

variable that is manipulated in an experiment; “cause”

dependent variable (science practices)

variable that is measured to see the effect of the independent variable; “effect”

confounding variable (science practices)

variable that might influence the experiment’s outcome unexpectedly; “unseen influencer”

operational definition (science practices)

clear, precise descriptions of variables; “define to measure”

experimental group (science practices)

The group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested; “test group”

control group (science practices)

The group in an experiment that does not receive the variable being tested; “comparison group”

Random assignment (science practices)

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance; “fair placement”

placebo effect (science practices)

improvement resulting from the mirror, expectation of improvement; “mind over matter”

experimenter bias (science practices)

when researchers expectations influenced the outcome of a study; “researcher’s sway”

Single-blind study (science practices)

we are participants do not know which group they are in; “participants in the dark”

double-blind study (science practices)

neither participants nor researchers know who is in the experimental or control group; “everyone’s in the dark”

sample (science practices)

A portion of the population chosen for a study; “mini population”

representative sample (science practices)

example, the accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole; “true reflection”

Random sample (science practices)

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion; “chance selection”

sample bias (science practices)

Errors that occur in the sample selection leading to non-representative samples; “skewed sample“

generalizability (science practices)

The extent to which findings can be applied to a larger population; “broadly applicable”

statistics (science practices)

branch of mathematics, dealing with data collection, analysis interpretation, and presentation; “data crunching“

descriptive statistics (science practices)

statistics of summarize data from a sample; “summary stats”

inferential statistics (science practices)

statistics for the properties of a population; “beyond the data”

Measure of central tendency (science practices)

A number that describes the center of a data set (mean, median, mode); “data center”

mean (science practices)

average of a data set; “average”

median (science practices)

middle value in a data set; “middle value”

Mode (science practices)

most frequently occurring value in a data set; “most common”

range (science practices)

difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set; “spread”

normal curve (science practices)

A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; “Bell curve”

regression to the mean (science practices)

tendency for extreme scores to fall back towards the average; “average pull back”

positive skew (science practices)

when a distribution includes more low scores; “ tail on the right”

negative skew (science practices)

when a distribution includes more high scores; “tail on the left”

Standard deviation (science practices)

A measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values; “spread measure”

percentile rank (science practices)

The percentage of scores in a frequency distribution that are equal to or lower than it; “score standings”

bimodal distribution (science practices)

A distribution with two different modes, which may appear as distinct peaks; “two peaks”

statistical significance (science practices)

The likelihood that result or relationship is caused by something other than mere chance; “beyond chance”

effect sizes (science practices)

a quantitative measure of the magnitude of the experimental effect; “impact size”

meta analysis (science practices)

a procedure for statistically, combining the results of many different research studies; “study of studies”

institutional review boards (IRB) (science practices)

groups that review research to ensure that ethical standards are met; “ethics watchdog”

informed consent (science practices)

agreement to participate in psychology research, after being informed of the risks and benefits; “agree with knowledge”

informed assent (science practices)

agreement by a minor or adult not able to give legal consent to participate in research; “agree with assistance”

confidentiality (science practices)

keeping private information confidential; “secrecy promised”

deception (science practices)

misleading participants about the true purpose of a study; “necessary illusion”

debriefing (science practices)

explaining the purposes and methods of a completed procedure to a participant; “study reveal”

evolutionary perspective (biological bases of behavior)

focuses on how natural selection has shaped behaviors; “survival strategy”

natural selection (biological bases of behavior)

process where traits enhancing survival are passed on more frequently; “survival of the fittest”

nature (biological bases of behavior)

influence of genetics on behavior; “inherited traits”

nurture (biological bases of behavior)

influence of environment on behavior; “learned behaviors”

twin studies (biological bases of behavior)

research assessing genetic and environmental influences using twins; “comparing twins”

heredity (biological bases of behavior)

passing traits from parents to offspring; “genetic inheritance”

genetic predisposition (biological bases of behavior)

increase likelihood of developing a particular disease based on genetics; “inherited risk”

Eugenics (biological bases of behavior)

Science of improving a population by controlled breeding; “selective breeding”

cerebral cortex (biological bases of behavior)

The brains outer layer responsible for thinking and processing information; “thought control”

Association areas (biological bases of behavior)

regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate simpler functions into more complex ones; “complex processing”

lobes of the brain (biological bases of behavior)

different regions responsible for specific functions; “brain’s departments”

frontal lobes (biological bases of behavior)

involved in speaking, muscle movements, and making plans; “control panel”

prefrontal cortex (biological bases of behavior)

part of the frontal lobes involved in decision-making in cognitive behavior; “decision maker”

executive functioning (biological bases of behavior)

higher order thinking processes that include planning, organizing, inhibition, and decision making; “brain’s CEO”

motor cortex (biological bases of behavior)

area at the rear of the frontal lobes responsible for voluntary movements; “movement manager”

parietal lobes (biological bases of behavior)

located in the upper back area of the skull, responsible for processing sensory information; “sensation central”

somatosensory cortex (biological bases of behavior)

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and process body touch and movement sensations; “touch processor”

occipital lobes (biological bases of behavior)

The back part of the brain involved in visual Processing; “vision center”

temporal lobes (biological bases of behavior)

lower part of the cerebral cortex that plays roles in hearing, understanding language, and memory; “sound and memory”

corpus callosum (biological bases of behavior)

The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres; “Brain bridge”

Brainstem (biological bases of behavior)

The oldest part of the brain, responsible for automatic survival functions; “survival core”

medulla (biological bases of behavior)

The base of the brain stem that controls heartbeat and breathing; “Life control”

reticular activating System (biological bases of behavior)

network of neurons and the brainstem essential for for arousal And attention; “alert system”

cerebellum (biological bases of behavior)

part of the brain that coordinates movement and balance; “Movement coordinator”