All AP Psych Vocab

Psychology

The study of behavior and mental processes

Behavior

Anything an organism does

Mental Process

Internal subjective experiences we infer from behavior

Clinical Psychologists

Have a PhD in psychology and study/treat physical disorders

Psychiatrists

Medical doctors that can prescribe medications and prescriptions

Industrial/Organization (I/O) Psychology

Study how to increase worker satisfaction and productivity

Psychometrics

Using statistics to analyze and explain human behavior, for example, interpreting tests of intelligence or depression.

Positive Psychology

Science of human happiness

Health Psychology

Concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness.

Hindsight bias

“I knew it all along” phenomenon; tendency to perceive events as being extremely predictable

Overconfidence

Idea that people are more confident in their knowledge/abilities than they should be as this faulty thinking can lead to more mistakes in judgment.

Theory

A statement that can be supported by data from research that answers a question, thought, or phenomena.

Falsifiability

The principle that a proposition or theory could only be considered scientific if in principle it was possible to establish it as false.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Operational Definition

A statement of the procedure used to specifically define research variables used for replication

Independent Variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; this is the variable being studied

Dependent variable

The experimental factor that is being measured; this may change depending on the manipulations in the independent variable

Confounding Variables

Any difference between the control condition and the experimental condition other than the independent variable that affects the results

Quantitative measures

Using statistics such as the Likert Scale (survey ratings on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10) OR answers from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”

Qualitative measures

Allows the researcher to describe traits or characteristics in depth such as a structured interview and/or case study

Sample

The group that the researcher actually studies, usually smaller than the population

Population

The group that the researcher wants to know about

Random selection

Process of choosing a sample that guarantees every member of a population has an equal chance of being picked to participate, results in a random sample

Representative Sample

A sample that matches the larger population in terms of ethnicity, gender, race, etc; found using random selection

Sampling bias

When a sample does not represent the overall population, giving an unreliable result

Convenience Sample

When a researcher picks participants based on ease of accessibility to finding them

Survey

Obtaining self-reported attitudes and behaviors by asking questions

Social Desirability bias

People lie to look good when asked things about themselves or their beliefs.

Self Report Bias

People may misreport their own behavior, thoughts or feelings, perhaps because they don’t know or don’t remember the accurate answer

Framing

How you frame the question can impact others answers.

Naturalistic observations

Research conducted in the natural setting of animals or humans; no interaction is done with the subjects

Case Study

Study one person/group in depth in hopes to reveal things true of us all

Correlational Study

Measures the relationship between two variables WITHOUT manipulating a variable

Correlation

Measures the relationship between two variables CORRELATION DOES NOT SHOW CAUSATION

Positive correlation

Both variables increase or decrease together

Negative correlation

As one variable increases, the other decreases

Illusory correlations

The perception of a relationship between variables where none exists

3rd variable problem

A 3rd factor that can be the real relationship

Directionality problem

It can be difficult to know which variable is the cause and which is the effect in a correlational study

Experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (IV) to observe/measure the effect on some behavior or mental process (DV). Seeks to identify cause and effect relationships.

Experimental Condition/Group

Exposes a participant to treatment

Control Condition/Group

Contrast to the experimental conditions; acts as comparison because participant does not receive treatment OR receives a placebo

Random assignment

The process in which subjects are placed into a experimental or control group without bias

Placebo effect

Results caused by expectations alone; you think that you will experience an effect, therefore you perceive that there is an effect

Single blind

Only researchers (not participants) know who is in the placebo and treatment group

Double blind

Participants and research staff are ignorant about the treatment/placebo given to each subject, used so researchers’ expectations can’t influence results

Peer Review

Evaluating the quality of research by one’s peers in the scientific community.

Replication

Repeating an experiment or study to see if a similar result happens again

Meta-analysis

Systematic review of multiple, already published/completed studies

Measures of central tendency

Describe the middle of the data; include mean (average), median (middle score), mode (most frequently occurring score)

Regression to mean

If an initial score or result is an outlier, the following scores will most likely be closer to average

Outliers

Extreme scores (they often distort mean)

Normal (symmetrical) distribution (bell curve)

A group of scores for which the mean, median and mode are the same and half of the data is on either side of the mean

Skewed distribution

A group of scores for which the mean, median and mode are different, caused by outliers pulling the mean away from the center of the data

Bimodal Distributions

Distributions with 2 peaks with a valley in between

Measures of variability

Describe how different data points are from each other; includes range, variance, standard deviation, percentiles

Standard deviation (SD)

How far away a score is from the mean. Sign (+/-) indicates direction from mean

Correlation coefficient

A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors relate to each other

Scatterplots

Graphs used to show positive and negative correlations

Statistical significance

If the difference between the control and experimental groups is large enough, it is most likely not due to chance (a fluke) and we can say that the difference was caused by the IV and the results are statistically significant.

Effect size

Tells you how meaningful the relationship between variables or the difference between groups is. It indicates the practical significance of a research outcome. A large effect size means that a research finding has practical significance, while a small effect size indicates limited practical applications.

APA Ethical Guidelines Animal studies

Clear, scientific purpose, humane treatment, acquire the animals legally, use procedures with least amount of suffering possible

APA Ethical Guidelines Human studies

Obtain informed consent, obtain informed assent, no coercion, must debrief, can minimally deceive the participants in an experiment as long as you do this at the end, protection from mental/physical risk/harm, anonymity and/or confidentiality must be guaranteed

Informed assent

An agreement by an individual not competent to give legally-valid informed consent (e.g., a child aged 7-17 or cognitively-impaired person) to participate in research.

Evolutionary perspective

Traits and behaviors that have helped us survive and reproduce get passed down through genetics

Natural selection

If a trait helps survivability, more individuals with that trait will live and pass on the trait to offspring

Nature

Genes, heredity

Nurture

Social environment

Genetics

Science of how genes influence your personality, health .etc

Behavioral geneticists

The study of how genes and environment interact to shape behavior; use twin and adoption studies to learn the influences of genes and environment

Twin Studies

Examine differences between identical twins, fraternal twins, and/or siblings to see what can be attributed to genetics vs. environment.

Identical (monozygotic) Twins

Twins, always the same sex,, that developed by a single egg, fertilized by a single sperm, that split during mitosis and have identical genes

Fraternal (dizygotic) Twins

Twins, of the same or different sex, that developed from two distinct eggs fertilized by two separate sperm; their genes are as similar as any other siblings

Family/Adoption Studies

Analyzes difference and similarities in biological vs adoptive parents and their children

Dendrite

Detect

Myelin sheath

Insulation and conducts electricity

Axon

Announces arrival

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Nerves in the brain and spinal cord (center of body)

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

All nerves that are not part of brain and spinal cord (edges/periphery of body)

Somatic nervous system

Controls voluntary movement

Autonomic nervous system

Controls involuntary/automatic functions

Sympathetic nervous system

Preps body to respond to stress

Fight or flight response

Increased physiological arousal to help cope with threatening situations

Parasympathetic nervous system

Slows our body down after stress

Glial cells

“Glue” cells that provide structure, insulation, communication, and waste transport in the brain

Neuron

Nerve cell that is the building block of the nervous system

Sensory Neurons

Carry information from senses to brain

Interneuron

Neurons of CNS; communicate between sensory and motor neurons

Motor Neurons

Carry information from brain to senses

Reflex

Unlearned, involuntary reaction to a stimulus; done through spinal cord

Reflex arc

Demonstrates how neurons within the central and peripheral nervous systems work together to respond to stimuli. Sensory, Inter and Motor neurons work together to create arc.

Dendrite Detect (DD)

Receives information from other neurons by collecting neurotransmitters

Axons Announce (AA)

Passes information to other neurons, muscles, and glands by releasing neurotransmitters from terminal buttons

Myelin sheath

Insulates the axon and conducts electrical impulses

Multiple sclerosis

Breakdown of myelin sheath causes this disease; symptoms include tremors, weakness and vision problems

Action potential

Firing of an electrical charge within a single neuron, travels down axon

All or nothing principle

Neuron either fires or doesn’t; no halfway

Resting potential

Positive ions (electrically charged atoms) on outside/ negative on inside; neuron is ready to fire

Firing Threshold

The minimum energy required for a neuron to fire.

Depolarization

When firing, positive ions rush in/ negative rush out.