ap psych final

please mr brail

hindsight bias

“I knew it all along” phenomenon; after learning the outcome, people believe they predicted it

psych science

scientific study of mind and behavior; the use of the scientific method to create, test and improve hypotheses concerning behavior and the factors and processes underlying behavior

biopsychosocial

systematically considers biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors and their complex interactions in understanding health, illness, and health care delivery; behavior or mental process

naturalistic observation

research method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment

survey

asking questions of a carefully selected group of people

correlation

when one trait or behavior accompanies another, we say the two correlate

experimentation

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

ethical guidelines

do not harm, tell subjects risks, informed consent, minimized discomfort, confidentiality, no invasion of privacy, debrief, provide results

central tendency

mean, median, mode

neurons

a nerve cell that is the basic building block of the nervous system; the cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to our muscles, and for transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron

nervous system

fast, electrical and chemical communication through the neurons

endocrine system

slower, chemical communication through hormones in the blood

brainstem

oldest part of the brain beginning where the spinal chord swells; connects cerebrum and spinal chord

limbic system

the part of the brain involved in our behavioral and emotional responses; amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus

amygdala

linked to emotion

cerebral cortex

ultimate control and information processing center

association areas

areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions. They are involved in learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

splitting brains

a brain in which the two cerebral hemispheres have been separated by partial or complete destruction of the corpus callosum

natural selection

the way that any genetically determined behaviour that enhances the ability to survive and reproduce will continue in future generations

circadian rhythym

physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle; impacts our sleep-wake cycles, temperature, hormonal, and digestive systems

NREM-1

fantastic images resembling hallucinations, falling or floating sensation or a bodily jerk

NREM-2

you relax more deeply and begin 20 minutes of this sleep; sleep spindles

NREM-3

slow wave sleep (30 min) where your brain emits large, slow delta and you are hard to awaken

depressants

substances that reduce arousal and stimulation; alcohol, barbiturate, opiates

sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention or focus is directed elsewhere

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

color processing

the retina’s red, green, and blue cones respond in varying degrees to different color stimuli; the cones responses are then processed by opponent process cells

parallel processing

thinking about many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions such as vision

perceptual organization

the process by which the elements of visual and other sensory information are structured into a coherent whole; for example, two people can look at the same image and have different interpretations of it

depth perception

the ability to see objects in 3D although the images are in 2D; allows us to judge distance

hearing

sound waves striking the outer ear; cochlear hair cells in the inner ear; temporal lobes

auditory canal

the channel located in the outer ear that funnels sound waves from the pinna to the tympanic membrane

ear drum

also called the tympanic membrane, is a thin layer of tissue that vibrates in response to sound waves

ossicles

hammer, anvil, and stirrup; transfer sound wave vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the oval window of the cochlea

oval window

membrane covered opening of the cochlea; vibrates when it receives the sound waves and causes the fluid inside the cochlea to move

cochlea

coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear. sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger wave impulses

transduction

the motion of the sound vibration against the oval window of the cochlea causes ripples in the basilar membrane bending the hair cells lining its surface

how do we locate sounds?

sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than the other. from this info, our nimble brain can compute the sounds location

nociceptors

detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemiclas

gate control theory

spinal chord has a neurological gate that blocks pain signals

taste

also called gustation

5 basic tastes

sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami

taste buds

over 200 on the top and sides of your tongue, each have a pore that catches food chemicals

kinesthetic sense

position and motion detectors in muscles

vestibular sense

located in ears and monitors the head’s and body’s movements

synesthesia

stimulation of one sense triggers another

classical conditioning

learning associations between events we do not control

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcement guides behavior toward closer approximations to the desired behavior

positive reinforcement

adding a desirable stimulus; for example, getting a hug or paycheck

negative reinforcement

removing an aversive stimulus; for example, fastening seat belt to turn off beeping

fixed ratio

every so many; reinforcement after every nth behavior, such as buy 10 coffees get 1 free

fixed interval

every so often; reinforcement for behavior after a fixed time, such as Tuesday discount prices

variable ratio

after an unpredictable number; reinforcement after a random number of behaviors, as when playing slot machines

variable interval

unpredictably often; reinforcement for behavior after a random amount of time, as when studying for an unpredictable pop quiz

punishments

decrease behaviors

positive punishments

adding an aversive stimulus; spanking, parking ticket

negative punishment

removing a rewarding stimulus; time out from privileges, revoked license

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal direction determine our fate

internal locus of control

the perception that we direct and create our own fate

observational learning

learning without direct experience, by watching and imitating others

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

short term memory

memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten

long term memory

relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

effortful processing strategies

chunking, mnemonics, hierarchies

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of words; tends to yield the best retention

retrieval cues

smells, tastes, sights; priming

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in long term implicit memory

encoding failure

much of what we sense we never notice, and what we fail to encode, we will never remember

creativity

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas


1. expertise
2. imaginative thinking skills
3. a venturesome personality
4. intrinsic motivation
5. a creative environment

heuristics

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but more error prone than algorithm; for example, asking the office for the locker combinations

learning

relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience

language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

multiple intellgiences

howard gardener - linguistic, logical (mathematical), musical, spatial, bodily (kinesthetic), intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalist

alfred binet

french psychologist commissioned by the govt to design fair and unbiased intelligence tests for school children; his test was transformed into the stanford-binet IQ test

validity

the test measures and predicts what it’s supposed to; criteria for testing

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule or step-by-step procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution; i.e. aptitude tests/ SAT

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative tests

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconception and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

mental set

our tendency to approach a problem with the mindset of what has worked for us previously

fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

functional fixedness

a tendency to think only of the familiar functions of an object

representativeness heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we perceive such events are common

belief perseverance

clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is worded can significantly affect judgements

phonemes

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

morphemes

in a language, the smallest unit carries meaning

chomsky

a built in predisposition to learn grammar rules, which he called universal grammar, helps explain why preschoolers pick up language so well

sternberg’s triarchic theory

3 intelligences: analytical, creative, practical

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill

achievement test

exams scoring what you’ve learned

aptitude test

seeks to predict your ability to do college work

David Wechsler and WAIS

yields an overall intelligence score and verbal comprehension