AP Psych Unit 0 vocab

Cognitive psychology

The study of how people think, remember, learn, solve problems, and make decisions.

Biological psychology

The study of how the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics affect behavior and mental processes.

Sociocultural psychology

The study of how society, culture, family, and other people influence behavior and thinking.

Behavioral psychology

The study of how behaviors are learned through experiences, rewards, and consequences.

Evolutionary psychology

The study of how behaviors and mental traits may have developed because they helped humans survive and reproduce.

Humanistic psychology

An approach that focuses on personal growth, free will, choices, and reaching your full potential.

Psychodynamic psychology

The study of how unconscious thoughts, emotions, and past experiences can influence behavior.

Cultural norms

The shared rules and expectations about how people are supposed to behave in a culture.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to look for or believe information that supports what you already thin

Hindsight bias

The tendency to believe after something happens that you knew it would happen all along.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident in your knowledge or abilities than you should be.

Experimental research

Research where a researcher changes one variable to see if it causes a change in another variable.

Non-experimental research

Research where researchers observe or measure variables without changing or controlling them.

Independent variable (IV)

The variable that the researcher changes or controls in an experiment.

Dependent variable (DV)

The variable that is measured to see if it was affected by the independent variable.

Random assignment

Putting participants into different groups by chance so the groups are more likely to be similar.

Case study

A detailed study of one person, group, or situation.

Correlation

A relationship between two variables where changes in one are connected to changes in the other. Correlation does not prove that one causes the other.

Meta-analysis

A study that combines the results of many different studies to find an overall conclusion.

Naturalistic observation

Watching and recording people's behavior in their normal, everyday environment without interfering.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about what a researcher thinks will happen.

Falsifiable

A hypothesis is falsifiable if it can be tested and potentially shown to be wrong.

Operational definition

A clear explanation of exactly how a researcher will measure or define something in a study.

Confounding variable

An outside factor that could affect the results and make it difficult to know what caused the outcome.

Population

The entire group of people that a researcher wants to learn about.

Sample

A smaller group of people selected from the population for a study.

Representative sample

A sample that closely matches the important characteristics of the population.

Random sample

A sample where everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Convenience sample

A sample made up of people who are easy for the researcher to reach.

Sampling bias

When the way a sample is chosen causes it to not accurately represent the population.

Generalizability

How well the results of a study can apply to people or situations beyond the study.

Experimental group

The group that receives the treatment or experiences the independent variable.

Control group

The group that does not receive the treatment and is used for comparison.

Placebo

A treatment that looks like the real treatment but does not contain the active treatment.

Placebo effect

When someone experiences a change because they expect a treatment to work, even if the treatment itself has no active effect.

Single-blind procedure

A study where the participants do not know which group they are in, but the researchers do.

Double-blind procedure

A study where neither the participants nor the researchers interacting with them know who is in each group.

Experimenter bias

When a researcher's expectations unintentionally influence the results of a study.

Social desirability bias

When people give answers they think will make them look better or more acceptable instead of giving completely honest answers.

Qualitative research

Research that focuses on descriptions, experiences, opinions, and meanings, usually using words rather than numbers.

Quantitative research

Research that collects numerical data that can be measured and analyzed.

Replication

Repeating a study to see if the same results happen again.

Third variable problem

When an unmeasured third factor may be causing the relationship between two variables.

Structured interview

An interview where the researcher asks the same planned questions in the same order to everyone.

Likert scale

A rating scale used to measure how much someone agrees or disagrees with a statement, such as 1–5.

Institutional review

A review of a research study to make sure it is ethical and protects participants.

Informed consent

Making sure participants understand what they are agreeing to before participating in a study.

No harm

Researchers must protect participants from physical or psychological harm as much as reasonably possible.

Confidentiality

Keeping participants' personal information and answers private.

Deception

When researchers do not tell participants the complete truth about the study because knowing the full purpose could affect the results. It must have a valid reason and follow ethical rules.

Debriefing

Explaining the true purpose and details of a study to participants after it is finished, especially if deception was used.

Histogram

A graph that uses bars to show how often numerical values occur within different ranges.

Scatterplot

A graph that uses dots to show the relationship between two variables.

Measures of central tendency

Ways of describing the center or typical value of a set of data.

Mean

The average. Add all the numbers together and divide by how many numbers there are.

Median

The middle number when the numbers are placed in order.

Mode

The number that appears most often.

Normal curve

A bell-shaped distribution where most scores are near the middle and fewer scores are at the extremes.

Skewed curve

A distribution where the data is not evenly balanced and has a longer tail on one side.

Bimodal distribution

A distribution with two clear peaks, meaning two values or ranges occur more often than others.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest values.

Standard deviation

A measure of how much scores spread out or differ from the mean. A larger standard deviation means the scores are more spread out.

Percentile rank

Shows the percentage of scores that are at or below a particular score.

Regression toward the mean

The tendency for an extremely high or low score to be closer to average the next time it is measured.

Effect size

A measure of how large or meaningful a difference or relationship is, rather than just whether one exists.

Statistical significance

A result that is unlikely to have happened just by random chance, according to a chosen statistical standard.