AP Psych Unit 0

Psychology

The scientific study of mind and behavior.

Behavioral Perspective

Focuses on behavior in terms of conditioning. (Mnemonic: Middle finger for behavior that is conditioned)

Biological Perspective

Focuses on how the body, brain, and genetics can influence emotions, memories, and sensory experiences. (Mnemonic: Pinky promise)

Cognitive Perspective

Focuses on mental activities associated with thinking and memory, specifically how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information. (Mnemonic: Pointer finger pointing at the brain)

Evolutionary Perspective

Focuses on how natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes.

Humanistic Perspective

Focuses on a positive approach to reach full potential, emphasizing motivation and relationships. (Mnemonic: Ring finger for relationships)

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Perspective

Focuses on how the past and the unconscious mind impact your current behavior and mental processes. (Mnemonic: Thumb pointed behind for the past)

Socio-cultural Perspective

Focuses on how social and cultural factors impact behavior.

Cultural Norms

The shared rules, values, and expected behaviors that define what is acceptable within a specific group or society.

Hindsight Bias

A common tendency for people to perceive past events as more predictable than they actually were.

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct, overestimating the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Social Desirability Bias

A type of response bias where people answer questions in a way they believe will be viewed favorably by others, rather than how they truly feel.

Self-report Bias

A methodological problem that arises when researchers rely on asking people to describe their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors rather than measuring them objectively.

Experimenter Bias

The unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Falsifiable

The requirement that a statement, hypothesis, or theory must have an inherent possibility of being proven false by an observation or argument.

Operational Definition

The definition of a concept in terms of the actual, precise procedures used by the researcher to measure it.

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other circumstances.

Peer Review

An evaluation process where scholars or researchers assess each other’s work before it gets published.

Population

All individuals who can potentially participate in a study.

Sample

A smaller group of individuals selected from a larger population to represent and generalize findings about the entire population.

Random Sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

Sampling Bias

A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample.

Convenience Sampling

A non-probability sampling method that involves selecting individuals based on their immediate availability or proximity to the researcher.

Representative Sample

A sample that has characteristics highly similar to those in the overall population.

Representation of Participants

Ensuring that the diverse demographics of the chosen sample accurately match and reflect the diversity of the larger population.

Generalizability

The extent to which the results of a study can be successfully applied to different types of people and real-world settings.

Survey

Obtaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group, usually through questioning a random sample.

Case Study

Studying one person or group in depth in hope of revealing universal principles.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in natural situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation.

Structured Interviews

A research method where every participant is asked the exact same predetermined questions in the exact same order.

Meta-Analysis

The process of combining and analyzing the statistical results of many different independent studies that have measured the same variables.

Qualitative Research

Research measures that rely strictly on observations, text, and descriptions rather than numbers.

Quantitative Research

An approach used in psychology to collect, measure, and analyze numerical data.

Likert Scales

A numerical scale used to assess attitudes that includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme.

Correlation

Research conducted to measure the extent to which two factors vary together, and how well either factor can predict the other.

Positive Correlation

A relationship where both variables move in the identical direction; as one goes up, the other goes up.

Negative Correlation

A relationship where variables move in opposite directions; as one variable goes up, the other goes down.

Correlation Coefficient

A number symbolized by r (between -1.00 and +1.00) that represents the exact strength and direction of the correlation between two variables.

Scatter Plot

Graphs used to plot coordinate scores to visually demonstrate the strength and direction of a correlation.

Directionality Problem

A severe limitation of correlational research where it is unclear which variable is causing the change in the other.

Third Variable Problem

A type of confounding issue where a sneaky, unmeasured outside factor causes both variables to vary together.

Experimental Methodology

A type of research method where the researcher actively manipulates an independent variable to determine its effect on a dependent variable.

Non-Experimental Methodology

Research that completely lacks the manipulation of an independent variable.

Experiment

A research method where a researcher deliberately manipulates one or more independent variables to observe the effect on a dependent variable, establishing a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the treatment or the variable being tested.

Control Group

In an experiment, the group that was not exposed to the treatment. Serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Independent Variable

The factor or variable that the experimenter actively manipulates.

Dependent Variable

The factor or variable that researchers measure to see the outcome.

Random Assignment

Sorting participants into experimental or control groups purely by chance, ensuring all members of the sample have an equal chance of being placed in either group.

Single Blind

A study setup where the subjects do not know which group they belong to, but the researchers do know.

Double-blind Procedure

A study setup where both the researchers AND the participants are completely blind to who received the real treatment or the placebo, eliminating bias.

Placebo

A fake, inactive substance or treatment (like a sugar pill) given to the control group so they think they are getting the real treatment.

Placebo Effect

A real psychological or physical response to an action or substance based solely on the expectation of its properties.

Confounding Variable

Any factor other than the independent variable that is out of the experimenter's control and might accidentally produce an effect on the results.

Research Confederates

A person who participates in an experiment pretending to be a subject, but is secretly an actor working for the researcher.

Central Tendency

A single score or statistical measure that represents the exact center or typical value of a data set (includes mean, median, and mode).

Mean

The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding all the scores and dividing by the total number of scores.

Median

The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score(s) in a data distribution.

Variation

A statistical measure showing how spread out, scattered, or diverse the scores in a data distribution actually are.

Range

The simplest measure of variance, calculated as the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Standard Deviation

A computed measure of how much individual data scores vary and scatter around the main mean score.

Normal Curve

The symmetrical, bell-shaped curve describing a distribution where most scores fall near the average, and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

Percentile Rank

The percentage of scores in a distribution that fall below a particular score.

Regression Toward the Mean

The statistical tendency for extreme or unusual scores to naturally become more moderate (closer to the mean) when retested over time.

Skewed Distribution

A mathematical representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value.

Bimodal Distribution

A data distribution that features two distinct peaks or modes.

Positive Skew

A distribution pulled to the right by a few unusually high scores, meaning the long tail points toward the positive/higher side.

Negative Skew

A distribution pulled to the left by a few unusually low scores, meaning the long tail points toward the negative/lower side.

Effect Size

A quantitative measurement of the actual strength of a relationship between two variables or the magnitude of difference between groups.

Statistical Significance

A measure of how likely the result of an experiment is due to the real manipulation of the independent variable rather than random chance; reported as a p-value.

Statistical Inference

The process of generalizing findings from a particular sample to draw conclusions about an entire population.

American Psychological Association (APA)

The leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, responsible for creating ethical guidelines.