AP psychology Unit 0 defintion from Mr.Sinn

Behaviorism

Study of observable behavior learned through conditioning.

Behavioral Perspective

Behavior is shaped by learning and environment.

Sociocultural Perspective

Behavior is influenced by culture and social groups.

Humanistic Perspective

Focus on free will and personal growth.

Cognitive Perspective

Study of thinking, memory, and mental processes.

Biological Perspective

Behavior explained by brain, genes, and hormones.

Biopsychosocial Approach

Behavior explained by biological, psychological, and social factors.

Evolutionary Perspective

Behavior explained by adaptations for survival.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Behavior influenced by unconscious conflicts and childhood experiences (ideas from Sigmund Freud).

Cultural Norms

Definition: Rules or expectations about how people should act in a society.
Example: Saying “thank you” is expected in many cultures.

Expectations

Definition: Beliefs about what will happen or how people should behave.
Example: Expecting a test to be hard makes you study more.

Cognitive Bias

Definition: A mental shortcut that can lead to errors in thinking.
Example: Judging someone quickly without all the facts.

Confirmation Bias

Definition: Favoring information that supports what you already believe.
Example: Only reading news that agrees with your opinion.

Cognitive Bias

Definition: A mental shortcut that can lead to errors in thinking.
Example: Judging someone quickly without all the facts.

Hindsight Bias

Definition: Thinking you “knew it all along” after something happens.
Example: After a game, saying you knew who would win.

Overconfidence Bias

Definition: Being more confident in your knowledge or ability than you should be.
Example: Thinking you’ll ace a test without studying.

Bias (general)

Definition: A preference or prejudice that affects judgment unfairly.
Example: Liking one group more than another without reason.

Psychological Concepts

Definition: Ideas used to explain how people think, feel, and behave.
Example: Memory, learning, and emotions.

Being Inappropriately Influenced (Bias in decisions)

Definition: Letting irrelevant factors affect your decisions.
Example: Choosing a product just because a celebrity likes it.

• Concept

Memory

Theory:

A theory explains how memory works (like how we store and recall information)

Learning theory

explains how people learn

Cognitive theory →

explains thinking and problem-solving

Behavioral theory

explains actions based on rewards/punishments