AP psych vocab

miswanting

being mistaken about how much you’d like something in the future

affective forecasting

predicting future emotions

impact bias

overestimating the intensity + duration of future emotions

bottom up attention 

things that are effortless to focus on 

top down attention

attention that is fully allocated with effort

change blindness

failure to notice changes in visual environment even while looking at them

ironic process theory

deliberately suppressing thoughts make them more likely to resurface

hot cognition 

thought processes when under stress (cold = when not stressed)

temptation bundling

restricting access to rewards to occasions when they engage in healthy habits (e.g. watching tv while exercising)

habit loop

cue, preparation, situation and reward to build the habit of a certain healthy routine

WOOP

goal setting strategy- wish, outcome, obstacle, plan

opportunity cost

loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one situation is chosen

distanced self talk

referring to yourself as you/she to allow yourself to view the situation from an objective POV to see the situation more clearly

hot cold empathy gap

people in a cold state cannot understsand the emotions of people in a hot state (underestimating how hungry you will be in 12 hours after you just ate big meal)

social proof

conforming your behaviors/beliefs to the majority because you assume the majority is right

hindsight bias

assumption after gaining knowledge that you would’ve known it all along

hypothesis vs theory

hypothesis is testable, theory is a substantiated explanation

social desirability bias

tendency to present yourself in a favorable light

experimenter bias 

uninentional influence of researcher on design/results of a study 

experimental methodology vs non

experiment: manipulate a variable to test its effect on another variable

non: measuring variables as they naturally occur

illusory correlation

seeing a correlation where there actually is none

regression towards the mean

statistical phenomenon where an extreme measurement is likely to be followed by one that is closer to the average 

convenience sample

sampling a group because they are convenient to test rather than random sampling

operational definition

definitions of variables in a research studies so that it can be replicated

random assignment

intentionally randomizing the groups participants are in to limit confounding variables

correlational studies

look at mathematical relationships between two variables

positive: as one variable increases so does the other

negative: as one variable increases the other decreases 

reference points

people/situations etc. to which we compare ourselves

naturalistic, directed, and participant observation

naturalistic = no intervention

directed = manipulate set up and then observe

participant = active role in what you’re observing 

ethical guidelines

respect for persons: informed consent, confidentiality, debreifing

beneficience: protect from greater than usual harm, animal welfare

justice: institutional board review (oversight), informed assent (minor consent)

biological: psych approach

role of biological factors on behaviors and mental processes

psychodynamic: psych approach

focus on unconscious drives (early childhood experiences and inner subconscious that influences behavior) 

behavioral: psych approach

focus on observable behaviors and environmental factors that shape behaviors through conditioning 

cognitive: psych approach

focus on mental processes (thoughts, memories, decision making) and how that influences behavior 

humanistic: psych approach

focus on growth of a person to fulfilling their fullest potential, positive aspects of human nature 

evolutionary: psych approach

focus on how natural slelction has influenced behaviors and thoughts etc.

sociocultural: psych approach

considers the impacts of social and culutral factors (family, community, social norms) on menta health and behaviors 

broaden and build theory

when we experience positive emotions, we are motivated to build new skills

three parts of emotion

bodily arousal, expressive behaviors, conscious experiences and feeligns

james and lange emotion theory

physical reaction before cognitive recognition/assignment of emotion

cannon and bard emotion theory

physical and cognitive emotional reactions happen simaltaneously

schacter and signer  emotion theory

two factor theory- you must have arousal and appraisal of environment which then determines your emotion

zajonc and ledoux emotion theory

emotional responses happen without conscious appraisal, bodily reaction happens before you process the event 

lazarus emotion theory

your emotion comes from how you appraise the situation

emotional high/low road

high road- thalamus and amygdala are involved, slower process for conscious appraisal

low road- amygdala is bypassed, emotion is just felt and not so much appraised 

adaptation level phenomenon 

people quickly adjust their expectations and judgments to new situations, making formerly novel or exciting stimuli seem normal over time

transcendence

feeling part of something larger

mindfulness

paying attention to the present moment without judgement

schacter singer 3 hypotheses

• when we experience arousal and we don’t know why, we will use the environment to label the emotion

• if you have an explanation for your arousal, you will use that knowledge to label your emotion 

• stronger physical arousal = stronger emotion 

schacter singer control and experiemental groups

control = placebo injected

experiemntal = injected with epinephrine and they either know, don’t know, or are misinformed about side effects

schacter singer variables 

knowledge about the injection and side effects, and the room they were placed in (anger or ecstasy)

schacter signer key findings

emotions come from physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal of arousal using environmentfor appriasal. 

critical thinking

disciplined, active process of evaluating information and synthesizing evidence to make reasoned judgements

sympathetic vs parasympathetic nervous system

sympathetic = arousing (breathing, salivation decrease)

parasympathetic = calming (opposite)

the spillover effect

arousal spills from one event to another which can affect emotions surrounding the second event 

display rules

culturally learned norms regarding emotional expression, people are often better at detecting happiness because it is universal, and people often experience similar emotions but at different levels

stress

biological reaction that requires contact with stressors and appraisal, has two distinct appraisals (perceiving a stressor as stressful and then assesing ability to respond)

3 types of stressors

catastrophe- large scale, life threatening, we cannot control

life change- something that is appropriate and expected but alters the course of your life

hassle- normal, daily, bothersome but normal like a test

problem focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress by changing the structure of/how we interact with a stressor

emotion focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring the stressor, attending to your emotional needs

learned helplessness

continuing to feel stress and saying you cannot do anything about it

Selye- general adaptation syndrome 

our stress response happens no matter what, the body’s response happens in three phases: alarm (immune system activated), resistance (bodily resources on high), and eventually exhaustion (bodily resources burnout from prolonged stress)

defense mechanisms: repression and suppression

repression- subconsciously pushing pain into the unconscious mind

suppression- intentionally trying to forget unpleasant memory, with diversions or keeping yourself busy 

defense mechanisms: rationalization and intellectualization

rationalization- substituting good reasons for real reasons. Sour grapes: belittling whatever you failed to acheive. sweet lemons- convincing yourself you are glad you failed

intellectualization- dismissing anxiety by converting issues to theory rather than action- its ok for me to miss my kids game because they need to learn i have responsibilities

defense mechanisms: projection and displacement

projection- unconscious attributation of negative feelings to another person

displacement- taking emotions out on substitute people (redirection of emotion at something that is not at fault)

defense mechanisms: sublimation and substitution 

sublimation- finding acceptable outlets for energy, like working out

substitution- finding unacceptable outlets for energy, like drugs 

defense mechanisms: identification, fantasy, regression, nomadism

identification- pretending you are someone else

fantasy- pretending you are in a make beleive world

regression- reverting to childlike behavior e.g. tantrum 

nomadism- inability to commit/stay in one situation 

defense mechanisms: compensation, overcompensation and undoing 

compensation- direct = making up for personal lack by trying to hard to improve, indirect = doing something else well and highlihgting that 

overcompensation- acting superior to others and putting them down

undoing- atoning for bad behavior to pretend it didnt happen; buying kid ice cream after yelling at them

defense mechanisms: denial, withdrawal, emotional insulation, negativism

denial- unconscious refusal to accept the truth

withdrawal- refusing to engage with the stressor

emotional insulation- not showing your emotions 

negativism- disliking everything, excessive use of sarcasm 

defense mechanisms: compartementalization and reaction formation 

compartmentalization- dividing tour life into different compartments to avoid facing inconsistencies 

reaction formation- behaving the opposite of how you really feel for multiple years 

classical conditioning 

pairing one stimulus with another to shape behavior, emphasizing things that are involuntary (blending of stimuli to create conditioned response) 

operant conditioning

consists of reinforcers and punishers to promote or decrease behavior

• reinforcers strengthen an action while punishers weaken them

• positive reinforces add things while negative reinforcers take them away 

four critical conditioning theories

Pavalov (classical) trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell, pairing food + bell

Thorndike (operant) put cat in a box and when the cat operated lever he was released, the cat learned to operate the lever 

Skinner (operant) skinner box; rat presses lever to receive food

Watson (operant) shows baby Albert rat accompanied by loud banging noise, Albert learns to fear rats and furry animals 

types of stimulus

Neutral stimulus- doesn’t naturally provide a specific response before conditioning (stimulus that will become conditioned)

unconditioned stimulus- stimulus that naturally elicits a response without need for conditioning 

conditioned stimulus- former NS that comes to trigger a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus

types of responses

unconditioned response- naturally occuring response to an unconditioned stimulus

conditioned response- learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus 

habituation

losing sensitivity to repeated stimulus (e.g. loud noise that happens a lot but you just ignore)

adaptation

getting used to unchanging stimuli, such as the smell of your laundry detergent

acquisition

when two stimuli become associated, NS becomes CS

generalizaton

when you have a conditioned response to something similar to a stimuli that is not the actual stimuli

discrimination 

learning to respond differently to distinct stimuli 

extinction

no longer having a response to a certain previosuly conditioned stimuli

3 term contingency

1. Antecedent = stimulus 

2. Behavior = response 

3. Consequence —> will either punish or reinforce the behavior 

interval vs ratio schedule

interval focuses on time; fixed or varying amount of time in between reinforcement

ratio focuses on response number; reinforcement after a fixed or varying number of behaviors 

Law of Effect 

an action that leads to a favorable consequence means the action is more likely to happen and vice versa with unfavorable consequence

primary vs secondary reinforcers

primary- unlearned (food and water)

secondary- gain reinforcement power through associated with a primary reinforcer (money or praise) 

Freud personality theory 

personality is formed when conflict arises between biological impulses and social norms and we resolve these conflicts 

Id vs. Ego vs. superego

Id- goal of survival related to basic drives, immediate gratification is needed to support

ego: first reality check; how can you act within social expectations? arises before 4-5 years old 

superego: balances out the id and strives for perfection, develops around 5 years old (aspirations and judgements come from here) 

Defense mechanisms

• we use them to feel better because they distort realiy

• they operate unconsciosuly '

• they balance the id and superego

• they shape the ego

approach and avoidance methods 

fundamental aspects of motivation that explain why people are driven to seek positive outcomes (approach motivation) and avoid negative ones (avoidance motivation)

• striving towards positive outcomes and trying to avoid negative ones

tend and befriend response

under stress, people tend to nurture themselves and seek support to resolve stress

catharasis

the idea that releasing aggressive energy relieves aggressive urges, however it often breeds more anger; it is better to distance yourself from the anger

coping

alleviating stress using emotional, congitive and behavioral strategies

learned helplessness

passive resignation that we learn when we are unable to avoid repeated events

external vs. internal locus of control

percepetion that outside forces beyond our control determine our fate, vs. us controlling our fate ourselves 

psychological disorder 

collection of symptoms marked by disruption to thoughts, emotions/behaviors that causes distress- psychological disorder must be maldaptive or dysfunctional and interfere with normal daily life to receive therapy

• caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and social-culture influences 

psychotherapy

psychodynamic perspective- uses free association (patient expresses any thoughts that come to mind without judgement), works best when one is truly unaware of the stimulus/distress- workds to identify the issue and resolve it

family and group therapies

cognitive perspective- works for circumstances unique to a population/group, cultivates empathy and support, can be for people with psychological disorders and people without them 

cognitive behavioral therapy

cognitive- works to correct behaviors with thoughts/reflections on what is helpful and what is not, takes time and intentional reframing of thoughts 

rational-emotive behavioral therapy

cognitive perspective- works in correct irrational thoughts through cognitive conflict and decatastrophizing 

client centered therapy

humanistic perspective- works to find congruence between actual self and ideal self, good for those seeking optimization of human potential 

exposure therapy 

behavioral perspective- corrects specific/definite phobias, exposese client to the stimulus to deploy classical conditioning and habituation