Common FRQ Terms

AP Psych

acetylcholine

a neurotransmitter that is involved in muscle movement, learning, and memory.

. An example of its function is the contraction of skeletal muscles during voluntary movement, such as lifting a book or running.

adrenal glands

small, triangular-shaped glands located on top of the kidneys that produce hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.

An example of their function is the secretion of the hormone adrenaline, which prepares the body for the "fight or flight" response in times of stress.

antisocial personality disorder

A mental health condition characterized by a pervasive disregard for the rights of others and a lack of empathy, often accompanied by behavior and criminal tendencies.

An example of someone with this disorder might be a person who repeatedly engages in criminal behavior, such as theft or assault, without feeling any remorse or guilt. They may also manipulate or exploit others for personal gain without regard for their well-being.

arousal theory

A theory that proposes that individuals are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal, which can vary based on the task or situation. When arousal levels are too low, individuals seek stimulation to increase arousal, while when arousal levels are too high, individuals seek to reduce stimulation to decrease arousal.

this theory suggests that individuals are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal, which can vary depending on the situation. For example, if someone is feeling bored, they may seek out activities that increase their arousal level, such as going for a run or watching an exciting movie. On the other hand, if someone is feeling overwhelmed and anxious, they may seek out activities that decrease their arousal level, such as taking a relaxing bath or meditating.

availability heuristic

A mental shortcut where we estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily it comes to mind. It can lead to biased judgments and overestimation of the probability of rare events.

An example of this is when people overestimate the likelihood of dying in a plane crash because they have seen news reports of plane crashes, even though statistically, the chances of dying in a plane crash are very low compared to other modes of transportation.

belief perseverance

The tendency to cling to one's initial beliefs even after receiving new information that contradicts or discredits those beliefs.

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A person who believes that vaccines are harmful may ignore scientific evidence that proves otherwise and continue to hold onto their belief. This is an example of confirmation bias, where the person is clinging to their initial belief despite receiving new information that contradicts it.

big five traits

Personality traits that describe human behavior are called Big Five Traits. It includes Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

An example would be a person who scores high in openness may enjoy trying new foods, exploring new places, and engaging in creative activities. A person who scores high in conscientiousness may be organized, responsible, and reliable. A person who scores high in extraversion may enjoy socializing, being the center of attention, and taking risks. A person who scores high in agreeableness may be empathetic, cooperative, and compassionate. A person who scores high in neuroticism may be anxious, moody, and easily stressed.

circadian rhythm

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The 24-hour cycle of physiological and behavioral processes in living organisms.

An example of this is the sleep-wake cycle, where the body's internal clock regulates the timing of when we feel sleepy and when we feel awake. This cycle can be influenced by external factors such as exposure to light and temperature changes.

cognitive dissonance

The mental discomfort caused by holding conflicting beliefs or behaviors. It occurs when someone's actions do not align with their beliefs, leading to a feeling of inconsistency.

For instance, a smoker who knows smoking is unhealthy experiences this.

confirmation bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms our preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.

an example is a person holds a belief that left-handed people are more creative than right-handed people.

context-dependent memory

 the improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same

an example is when an individual has lost an item (e.g. lost car keys) in an unknown location. Typically, people try to systematically "retrace their steps" to determine all of the possible places where the item might be located.

correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

An example is the more time a student spends watching TV, the lower their exam scores tend to behe more time a student spends watching TV, the lower their exam scores tend to be

deindividuation

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal or anonymity

 An example is when individuals lose their self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations.

difference threshold

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal or anonymity

An example is the smallest difference in sound for us to perceive a change in the radio's volume. 

distributed practice

a learning procedure in which practice periods for a particular task are separated by lengthy rest periods or lengthy periods of practicing different activities or studying other material, rather than occurring close together in time.

an example is practicing 1 to 2 hours every other day, or at least once per week, rather than a 12-hour marathon cramming session

divergent thinking

thinking that searches for multiple possible answers to a question.

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An example of divergent thinking would be the development of electric cars in response to the air pollution problems.

dopamine

A neurotransmitter involved in mood, movement, attention, and learning.

An example is when you eat comforting food, your brain releases _____, which makes you feel good.

drive-reduction theory

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

An example is we eat when we're hungry to reduce the discomfort that hunger causes within our bodies

encoding failure

the brain's occasional failure to create a memory link.

This would be like trying to find a book on your e-reader that you never actually purchased and downloaded.

episodic memory

a recollection of specific events, usually one's personal experiences

An example would be telling a friend about what you ate for breakfast or the first time that you went swimming.

ethics in experimentation

 the correct rules of conduct necessary when carrying out research

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.

experiment vs correlation

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If the researcher randomly assigned some participants to make daily to-do lists and others not to, then it is an experiment. If the researcher simply asked participants whether they made daily to-do lists, then it is a correlational study.

explicit memory

You use this when you are consciously recalling information.

Examples include recalling your memories of events from your life, remembering information you have learned when taking a test, and recollecting upcoming appointment

external locus of control

A person with this will feel that what happens to them in life is due to external causes

Examples are they might find themselves blaming many external factors for what happens to them or where they are in life: politics, economy, their family, friends, partners,

extrinsic motivation

Motivation driven by an external reward or punishment.

An example is if you read just to fulfill a summer assignment.

GAS-exhaustion phase

At this stage, the body has depleted its energy resources by continually trying but failing to recover from the initial alarm reaction stage.

 An example would be a person who was stressed over their work day for a prolonged period of time.

gender role

\n the pattern of behavior, personality traits, and attitudes that define masculinity or femininity in a particular culture. 

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For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. 

gestalt principle of proximity

How we piece information together by how similar objects are.

For example, if there were five dogs of all different breeds and five cats of different breeds, then we would group them as cats and dogs.

implicit memory

the information that we do not store purposely and is unintentionally memorized

Some examples are singing a familiar song, typing on your computer keyboard, and brushing your teeth.

incentive theory

A theory of motivation stating that behaviors are motivated by the desire to attain rewards and avoid punishments

a person who is motivated to do to work everyday because he/she enjoys receiving a fat paycheck, an external incentive.

intrinsic motivation

Motivation driven by internal factors such as enjoyment and satisfaction

An example of is a person who bakes because they enjoy it. 

normative social influence

**Normative social influence refers to a situation where an individual conforms to the norms of a group so that they do not become an outcast.**

 For example, a person may feel pressured to smoke because the rest of their friends are.

operational definition

a term that is used to describe the procedure of a study and the research variables. 

An example of this would be an experiment that is measuring if Timmy laughs more at girls or boys. The _____ of this experiment would say what the experiment defines as a laugh

overjustification effect

The overjustification effect describes the phenomenon where we lose intrinsic motivation to complete an activity that we used to enjoy for itself after a reward, such as a prize or money, is given to us for completing the activity.

 Someone who once enjoyed writing is now less passionate about it after getting a paid job as a journalist.

positive reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food; any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response

An example is getting more allowance to increase your good behavior of doing your chores.

postconventional moral reasoning

This focuses on principles and values beyond laws that ensure individual rights.

Since Elliott is choosing to keep the Earth clean not because he will get a fine or because his friends will judge him, but because of his own moral compass.

prefrontal cortex

The prefrontal cortex is located at the very front of the frontal lobe, and it controls executive functions or a set of abilities that are needed to control cognitive behaviors. These behaviors include attention, inhibition, working memory, problem-solving and planning.

proactive interference

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

an example would be a difficulty in remembering a friend's new phone number after having previously learned the old number.

procedural memory

These activities do not require our conscious awareness of our previous attempts.

knowledge of how to ride a bike or drive a car, how to play the drums, how to solve a puzzle, and how to walk.

prospective memory

remembering to perform an action at a certain time.

An example would be remembering to take medicine after breakfast

random assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

An example of this would be placing a random half of the random sampling, or the selected population, into a placebo group and the other half into the experimental group for a drug trial.

random selection

A method of selecting a sample from a population

For example, if the total population is 51% female and 49% male, then the sample should reflect those same percentages.

retinal disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing images from the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the close the object

When one alternates between using the left and right field of vision, the object will appear to move slightly. 

retroactive interference

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall old information

 An example of this is switching your password from Psych2020 to Psych#2021 and then not being able to recall your old password.

selective attention

This allows one to focus on certain specific sensory information, while ignoring other sensory input

For example, when reading a book, even if you are in a quiet room, you require selective attention to focus on the pages and words while ignoring any sort of background noise or action in your periphery.

self-efficacy

This  refers to your ability to have confidence in completing a task

For example, if a person believes he is a brilliant scientist and can complete any scientific experiment, he has a high self-efficacy in science because he believes in his competency to perform a future experiment.

self-fulfilling prophecy

An expectation that causes you to act in ways that make that expectation come true

An example is that a teacher thinks that all Chinese students are good at maths.

serotonin

A neurotransmitter that regulates sleep, mood, appetite, and body temperature

social facilitation

 the phenomenon where the presence of other people can enhance an individual's performance on a task. 

An example of this would be a musician performing in front of a large audience. The presence of the audience creates a sense of social arousal, which can enhance the musician's motivation and focus, leading to improved performance.

state-dependent memory

a condition in which memory for a past event is improved when the person is in the same biological or psychological state as when the memory was initially formed.

For example, if you learned something while drunk, you will have a higher chance of remembering it if you are also drunk

statistical significance

A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

For example, you want to know whether changing the color of a button on your website from red to green will result in more people clicking on it.

stereotype threat

A self-confirming concern that one will be \n evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

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For example, when female students are given a math exam and told that the exam is diagnostic of their own intellectual abilities, negative stereotypes of women as less capable mathematicians can actually negatively impact their performance on the exam.

sympathetic nervous system

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.

For example,this can accelerate heart rate, widen bronchial passages, decrease motility of the large intestine, constrict blood vessels, increase peristalsis in the esophagus, cause pupillary dilation, piloerection (goose bumps) and perspiration (sweating), and raise blood pressure.