AP Psych A-Z

McMahon Lane Tech

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter involved in muscle movement, learning, and memory.

Achievement Test

A test measuring knowledge or skills in a specific subject.

Action potential

A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Traumatic events in childhood linked to long-term health and behavioral issues.

Agonist

A chemical that mimics a neurotransmitter and activates a receptor.

All-or-none principle

A neuron either fires completely or not at all.

Altruism

Unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

Alzheimer’s Disease

A progressive neurodegenerative disorder causing memory loss and cognitive decline.

Anonymity

The condition of being unidentified in a study, protecting participant identity.

Antagonist

A chemical that blocks or inhibits a neurotransmitter’s action.

Aptitude Test

A test designed to predict future performance or ability to learn.

Assimilation

Interpreting new experiences using existing schemas (Piaget).

Attitude

A learned tendency to evaluate something in a certain way (cognitive, affective, behavioral).

Autonomic nervous system

Regulates involuntary bodily functions like heartbeat and digestion.

Axon

The neuron extension that carries messages away from the cell body.

Babinski reflex

Infant reflex where the toes fan out when the foot is stroked.

Broca’s area

Brain area in the frontal lobe responsible for speech production.

Bystander effect

The tendency for individuals to be less likely to help when others are present.

Cannon-Bard theory

Emotion theory stating physiological response and emotion occur simultaneously.

Case study

In-depth analysis of a single individual or group.

Central nervous system

Composed of the brain and spinal cord; controls most functions.

Central route to persuasion

Persuasion via logical arguments and evidence.

Cocktail Party Phenomenon

The ability to focus on one voice among many, like hearing your name.

Coercion

Forcing someone to act in a certain way, often unethical in research.

Collective unconscious

Jung’s idea of shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces and symbols.

Confidentiality

Protecting participants’ private information in research.

Confirmation bias

Tendency to search for info that confirms one's beliefs.

Conformity

Adjusting behavior to match group norms.

Confounding variable

An outside variable that affects the outcome of a study.

Control group

The group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment.

Correlation coefficient

A statistical measure of the relationship between two variables.

Debriefing

Post-study explanation of purpose and any deception to participants.

Dendrite

The neuron’s branching extensions that receive messages.

Dependent variable (DV)

The variable measured in an experiment; the outcome.

Descriptive Statistics

Stats that summarize or describe characteristics of a data set.

Diffusion of responsibility

Lessened sense of personal responsibility in a group setting.

Directionality Problem

In correlations, unclear which variable causes the other.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter linked to reward, pleasure, and movement.

Double-blind procedure

Both participants and experimenters don’t know who’s receiving treatment vs placebo.

Effect Size

A measure of the strength of a relationship or treatment impact.

Elkind’s theory of adolescent egocentrism

Teens believe others are always watching them.

Encoding

The process of turning sensory input into memory.

Endocrine system

A system of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

Erikson’s Psychosocial stage theory

Eight-stage theory of social development across the lifespan.

Eugenics

The now-discredited practice of selective breeding to improve human traits.

Excitatory effect

Increases the likelihood of a neuron firing an action potential.

Experiment

A research method to test cause-and-effect by manipulating variables.

Experimental group

The group that receives the treatment in an experiment.

Factor analysis

A statistical method used to identify clusters of related traits or variables.

Fixation

In Freud's theory, a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage.

Flashbulb memory

A vivid, detailed memory of an emotionally significant event.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to reason quickly and abstractly.

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Tendency to comply with a large request after first agreeing to a small one.

Framing effect

Decisions are influenced by how choices are presented.

Frontal lobe

Brain region responsible for decision-making, planning, and voluntary movement.

Functional fixedness

The tendency to think of objects only in terms of their usual functions.

Fundamental attribution error

Overestimating personality and underestimating situational factors in others' behavior.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

A major inhibitory neurotransmitter that reduces neural activity.

Gardner’s multiple intelligences

Theory proposing eight independent intelligences.

Gate-control theory

The spinal cord contains a neurological 'gate' that blocks pain signals.

Gender identity

A person's sense of being male, female, or another gender.

Gender roles

Cultural expectations about appropriate behavior for each gender.

General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

Selye's three-stage response to stress: alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

General intelligence (g)

Spearman's theory that one general ability underlies all mental abilities.

Generalization (classical conditioning)

Responding similarly to stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus.

Genotype

An organism’s genetic makeup or allele combinations.

Gestalt principles

Rules of perception that describe how we organize visual elements.

Glial cells

Support cells in the nervous system that nourish and protect neurons.

Group polarization

Tendency for group discussion to strengthen the dominant position of members.

Groupthink

A group's desire for harmony leads to poor decision-making.

Habituation

Decreasing response to a repeated stimulus over time.

Hallucination

False sensory experiences, such as seeing something that isn’t there.

Halo effect

The tendency to let one positive trait influence perception of other traits.

Hindsight bias

The tendency to believe, after an event, that one would have predicted it.

Homeostasis

The body’s tendency to maintain a balanced internal state.

Hormones

Chemical messengers secreted by endocrine glands.

Humanistic psychology

Focuses on free will, self-actualization, and human potential.

Hypnosis

A state of heightened suggestibility and focused attention.

Hypothalamus

Brain region controlling hunger, thirst, temperature, and endocrine functions.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction derived from a theory.

Iconic memory

A fleeting visual memory lasting about a few tenths of a second.

Identical twins (monozygotic)

Twins from the same fertilized egg, genetically identical.

Identification (Freud)

Child adopts characteristics of same-sex parent as part of superego formation.

Identity vs. role confusion

Erikson’s stage focused on developing a personal identity.

Illusory correlation

The perception of a relationship where none exists.

Imaginary audience

Elkind’s term for adolescents’ belief that others are always watching them.

Implicit memory

Memory of skills and procedures independent of conscious recollection.

Independent variable (IV)

The variable manipulated in an experiment.

Individualism

Giving priority to one's own goals over group goals.

In-group bias

Favoring one’s own group over outsiders.

Inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.

Incentive theory

Behavior is motivated by external rewards or punishments.

Incubation

Letting a problem sit while unconscious processing may yield a solution.

Inductive reasoning

Making generalizations from specific observations.

Inferential statistics

Techniques for determining whether findings can be generalized.

Informed consent

Ethical principle requiring participants be informed enough to choose participation.

Insomnia

Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.

Instinct

A complex, unlearned behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Committee that ensures ethical standards are upheld in research.

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

A score derived from standardized tests measuring intellectual ability.