AP psych: Unit 0

Psych perspectives, research methods, stats and ethics

Humanistic perspective

Belief that we choose most of our behaviors and these choices are guided by physiological, emotional, or spiritual needs

Psychodynamic perspective

Belief that the unconscious mind controls our thought and actions (like dream analysis, word associations, etc.)

Biopsychology/neuroscience perspective

Belief that cognition and behavior are caused by genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters

Evolutionary perspective

Belief that thoughts and actions are caused by natural selection

Behavioral perspective

Study of thought and behavior from one’s EXTERNAL observable behaviors and how the environment influences those

Cognitive perspective

Belief that INTERNAL thoughts and behavior are caused by how we view the world (I guess?)

Sociocultural perspective

Belief that thoughts and behavior are influenced by one’s culture

Biopsychosocial perspective

Belief that thoughts and behavior are caused by an ultimate combo of biological, psychological, and cognitive factors

Hindsight bias

Tendency to think that you knew something would’ve happened all along after discovering the initial news

Confirmation bias

Tendency to only seek out info that supports your personal opinion on something

Overconfidence

Tendency to be overconfident in your beliefs

Quantitative research

Research that uses numerical measures

Qualitative research

Research that doesn’t use numerical data and more on the “hows” and “whys” on social life

Valid research

When the research is accurately measured

Reliable research

When the research is consistent

Representative sample

A sample that can represent a larger population

Random sampling

Every member of a population has an equal chance of being selected

Convenience sampling

Collecting data from a group of people that are easily accessible to you (like friends or family)

Stratified sampling

A process that lets a researcher to ensure the sample represents a population on some criteria

Laboratory experiment

Experiments conducted in a lab, a highly controlled environment

Field experiments

Experiments conducted out in the world

Confounding variable

Any difference between the experimental and control conditions (excluding independent variable)

Experimenter bias

Researcher’s unconscious tendency to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chances of their hypothesis being confirmed

Fraud

A researcher PURPOSELY messes up the experiment in order to have the results confirm their hypothesis

Double-blind study

Neither the researchers or participants know what group they’ve been assigned in

Single-blind study

Only the participants don’t know what group they’ve been assigned in