ap pysch test

Hypothesis

tentative explanation – must be FALSIFIABLE, able to be supported or rejected

Operational Definition

clear, precise, quantifiable definition of your variables – allows replication and collection of reliable data

Qualitative data

descriptive data (eye color)

Quantitative data

numerical data – IDEAL and necessary for statistics

Population

everyone the research could apply to

Sample

the people (or person) specifically chosen for your study

Correlation

identify relationship between two variables

Directionality problem

which direction does the correlation go

3^rd variable problem

different variable is responsible for relationship (ice cream and murder)

Positive Correlation

variables increase and decrease together

Negative Correlation

as one variable increases the other decreases

Experiments

purposefully manipulate variables to determine cause /effect 

Independent Variable

purposefully altered by researcher to look for effect

Experimental Group

received the treatment (part of the IV); can have multiple exp, groups

Control Group

placebo, baseline (part of the IV); can only have 1

Dependent Variable

the measured variable (is DEPENDENT on the independent variable)

Placebo Effect

 any observed effect on a behavior that is “caused” by the placebo

Double-Blind

experiment where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to

Single-Blind

only participant blind – used if experimenter can’t be blind

Confound

error/ flaw in study that is accidentally introduced (can be called a confounding variable)

Random Assignment

assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random –increase chance of equal representation among groups (spreads the lefties across both groups) – allows you to say Cause / Effect

Naturalistic observation

observe people in their natural settings

Case study

Studies ONE person (usually) in great detail

Meta analysis

combines multiple studies to increase sample size and examine effect sizes

Descriptive stats

shows shape of the data

Mean

Average (use in normal distribution)

Median

Middle # (use in skewed distribution)

Mode

occurs most often

Bimodal

has two modes – usually indicates good bad scores

Skews

created by outliers

Negative skew

mean is to the left (negative side), mode is to the right

Positive skew

mean is to the right

Range

distance between smallest and biggest number

Standard deviation

average amount the scores are spread from the mean (bigger number = more spread)

Inferential statistics

establishes the significance (meaningfulness) 

Statistical significance

results not due to chance, experiment manipulation caused the difference in means

p<.05

statistical significance, smaller = better

Effect size

data has practical significance – bigger = better

Confidentiality

names kept secret

Informed Consent

must agree to be part of study

Informed assent

minors AND their parents must agree

Debriefing

must be told the true purpose of the study (done after for deception)

Surveys

usually turned into correlation, it’s usually subject to self report bias

Social desirability

people lie to look good

Wording effects

how you frame the question can impact your answers 

Random Sample (selection)

method for choosing participants for your study –everyone has a chance to take part

Sample

generalize

Assignment

cause and effect

Representative Sample

Sample mimics the general population (ethnic, gender, age)

Convenience Sample

select participants on availability – less representative and less generalizability this way

Sampling bias

sample isn’t representative, due to convenience sampling

Cultural norms

behaviors of a particular group can influence research results

Experimenter bias / Participant bias

experimenter/participant expectations influences the outcome

Cognitive bias

bias in thinking/judgment

Confirmation bias

find info that supports our preexisting beliefs

Hindsight bias

“I knew it all along”

Overconfidence

overestimate our knowledge / abilities

Hawthorne effect

people change behavior when watched

Evolutionary psychology

study how natural selection influences behavior

Heredity (nature)

how genes influence your behavior

Environment (nurture)

how outside situations influence your behavior (school)

Central nervous system

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

Rest of the nervous system – and it relays to Central nervous system

Somatic nervous system

Voluntary movement, has sensory and motor neurons

Autonomic nervous system

Involuntary organs (heart, lungs, etc)

Sympathetic nervous system

fight/flight (generally activates – exception digestion)

Parasympathetic nervous system

rest / digest (generally inhibits - exception digestion)

Neuron

Basic cell of the nervous system

Dendrites

Receive incoming neurotransmitters

Axon

action potential travels down this

Myelin Sheath

speeds up action potential down axon, protects axon

Synapse

gap between neurons

Sensory neurons

receive sense signals from environ.–send signal to brain

Motor neurons

signals to move – send signals from brain

Interneurons

cells in spinal cord /brain responsible for reflex arc

Reflex arc

important stimuli skips the brain and routes through the spinal cord for immediate reactions (hand on a hot flame)

Glia

support cells – give nutrients and clean up around neurons

Neurons Fire with an Action Potential

ions move across membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon

Resting potential

neuron maintains a -70mv charge when not doing anything

Depolarization

charge of neuron briefly switches from neg to pos. – triggers the AP

Threshold of depolarization

stimulus strength must reach this point to start the action potential

All or nothing principle

stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity or speed of the response (flush the toilet)

Refractory period

neuron must rest and reset before it can send another action potential (toilet resets)

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons

Excitatory

increase action potentials in other neurons

inhibitory

decrease action potentials

GABA

Major inhibitory neurotransmitters

Glutamate

major excitatory neurotransmitter (glutes excite you!)

Dopamine

reward (short term) and fine movement – in hypothalamus, association with addiction

Serotonin

moods (long-term), emotion, sleep –in amygdala, too little association with depression

Acetylcholine (ACh)

memory and movement – inside the hippocampus, association with Alzheimer’s disease a

Norepinephrine

sympathetic nervous system - too little association with some depression

Endorphins

it decreases pain

Substance P

pain regulation (abnormality increases pain and inflammation)

Hormones

if not in the nervous system, it’s a hormone

Oxytocin

love, bonding, childbirth, lactation

Adrenaline

the fight or flight response

Leptin

makes you full (it stops hunger)

Ghrelin

makes you hungry (turns you into a gremlin)

Melatonin

sleep