AP PSYCHOLOGY VOCABULARY

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Neurotransmitter involved in memory and movement, low levels linked to Alzheimer’s disease

Accommodation

Adjusting or creating new schemas to incorporate new information

Achievement tests

Assess what a person has learned

Accommodation

Adjustment in the shape of the ocular lens for various focal distances

Acoustic encoding

Processing of sound, especially words

Acquisition

Initial stage in classical conditioning; linking neutral stimulus with unconditioned stimulus

Action potential

Neural impulse; brief electrical charge down an axon

Active listening

Empathic listening echoing, restating, clarifying; Carl Rogers’ therapy feature

Adaptation-level phenomenon

Forming judgments relative to prior experiences

Addiction

Compulsive drug use despite adverse consequences

Adolescence

Transition from childhood to adulthood

Adrenal glands

Secrete stress hormones

Aggression

Physical/verbal behavior intended to harm

Algorithm

Logical rule guaranteeing problem-solving

Alpha waves

Brain waves in relaxed, awake state

Altruism

Unselfish regard for others’ welfare

Amnesia:

Retrograde amnesia

Inability to recall old memories

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to form new memories

Source amnesia

Attributing events to the wrong source

Amygdala

Brain part linked to fear and aggression

Anorexia nervosa

Eating disorder leading to significant underweight

Antianxiety drugs

Control anxiety and agitation

Antidepressant drugs:

SSRIs

Block serotonin reuptake

Antipsychotic drugs

Treat schizophrenia

Antisocial personality disorder

Lack of conscience for wrongdoing

Anxiety disorders

Characterized by persistent anxiety

Aphasia:

Broca’s aphasia

Difficulty in speech production

Wernicke’s aphasia

Difficulty in speech understanding

Applied research

Solving practical problems through scientific study

Aptitude tests

Predict future performance and learning capacity

Assimilation

Interpreting new experiences with existing schemas

Association areas

Involved in higher mental functions

Associative learning:

Classical conditioning

Linking stimuli to anticipate events

Operant conditioning

Strengthening behavior with reinforcement

Attachment

Emotional tie with caregiver

ADHD

Psychological disorder with inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity

Attitude

Feelings influencing responses

Attribution Theory

Explaining behavior by situation or disposition

Audition

Sense of hearing

Autism

Disorder marked by deficient communication and social interaction

Automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of information

Aversive conditioning

Associates unpleasant state with unwanted behavior

Axon

Neuron extension for message transmission

Babbling stage

Infant speech development stage

Barbiturates

Depress central nervous system activity

Basal metabolic rate

Body’s resting energy spending rate

Basic research

Increases scientific knowledge base

Basic trust

Sense of predictability and trustworthiness

Behavior therapy

Applies learning principles to eliminate unwanted behaviors

Behavioral psychology

Believes behaviors result from associations, observation, rewards, and punishments

Belief perseverance

Clinging to initial conceptions despite discrediting

Binge-eating disorder

Eating episodes without purging

Binocular cues

Depth perception using two eyes

Biofeedback

Records and feeds back psychological state information

Biological psychology

Behaviors result from hormones, neurotransmitters, genetics, brain parts

Biomedical therapy

Medications acting on the nervous system

Biopsychosocial approach

Integrates biological, psychological, social levels of analysis

Bipolar disorder

Alternates between depression and mania

Blind spot

Optic nerve point with no information received

Bottom-up processing

Analysis from sensory receptors to brain

Brainstem

Core brain part for survival functions

Broca’s area

Controls language expression

Bulimia nervosa

Eating disorder with overeating and purging

Bystander effect

Fewer responses with more people around

Cannon-Bard Theory

Emotion and physiological response simultaneously triggered

Case study

In-depth study of individuals or groups

Catharsis

Emotional release

Central nervous system

Brain and spinal cord

Central route persuasion

Focuses on argumentation, facts for attitude change

Cerebellum

Coordinates movement and balance

Cerebral cortex

Illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

Correlation coefficient (OR r-value)

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Counterconditioning

a behavior therapy procedure that uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors; includes exposure therapies and aversive conditioning

Creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

Critical period

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experience produces proper development

Critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions

Cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; increases with age

CT (Computed Tomography) scan (OR a CAT scan)

a series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles to form a composite image

Culture

the enduring behaviors, attitudes, ideas, and traditions shared by a group and transmitted from one generation to the next

Group polarization

Tendency of group members to move to an extreme position after discussing an issue as a group

Grouping

Perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent categories

Groupthink

Well-intentioned people making irrational decisions spurred by the urge to conform

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

Hallucination

False sensory experiences (visual or auditory)

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic drugs distorting perceptions and evoking imagery without sensory input

Hemispherectomy

Surgical removal of part or an entire hemisphere

Heritability

Proportion of variation among individuals attributed to genes

Heuristic

Simple thinking strategy for efficient problem-solving, though error-prone

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s pyramid of human needs starting with physiological needs

Higher-order conditioning

Pairing conditioned stimulus with a new neutral stimulus to produce the same response

Hindsight bias

Belief that one would have foreseen an outcome after learning it

Hippocampus

Neural center in the limbic system for processing explicit memories

Homeostasis

Tendency to maintain a balanced internal state

Hormones

Chemical messengers manufactured by endocrine glands