AP Psychology Vocabulary 1

Psychology

The science of human behavior & mental processes.

The Biological Perspective

Emphasizes the links between biology (genetics, neurology, ability to adapt) and behavior.

Ecology

The science of the relationships between organisms and their environment.

The Environmental Perspective

Emphasizes the non-genetic influences from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us.

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, technology, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

The Cognitive Perspective

Emphasizes the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

The Bio-Psycho-Social Perspective

Emphasizes that biological, psychological (cognitive), and sociocultural factors combine and interact to produce behavior - including psychological disorders.

Triangulation

Comparison of at least two views or explanations of the same thing.

Epistemology

The study and theory of the nature of Knowledge.

Empiricism

The view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via the senses, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiment.

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions; it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Metacognition

Thinking about thinking, assumptions, methods, goals.

Introspection

Reporting on subjective (conscious) events, feelings, and experiences.

Reflexivity

Metacognition that is critical and honest concerning one's own influences and motives; the "U-N-the Process of thought."

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Framing

The way an issue or a questions is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments; 90% chance of living vs. 10% chance of dying.

Emotion

A response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.

Empathy

Understanding so intimate that the feelings, thoughts, and motives of one are readily comprehended by another.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Reciprocity

The mutual or cooperative interchange of favors.

Equity

A condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it.

Self-Disclosure

Revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others.

Relative Deprivation

The perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.

Upward Comparison

When we view ourselves as worse off than the standard for comparison.

Downward Comparison

Seeing ourselves as better off than the standard for comparison.

Facial Expressions

Researched by Paul Ekman; a universal form of "body language" that reveals one's emotions; "For news of the heart, ask the face" - Guinean proverb; true for the blind and all cultures - even if it is not considered appropriate.

Facial Feedback

Researched by James Laird; when sad face muscles are consciously or artificially activated one feels sad - the reverse is true for happy face muscles.

Radar for Threats

Researched by Arne Ohman; people spot an angry face in the crowd before a happy face.

Experience Influences How We Perceive Emotions

Researched by Sue Pollock; abused children perceive fear as anger more quickly than non-abused children.

James-Lange Theory

The theory that our experience of emotion is our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli.

Cannon-Bard Theory

The theory that emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion.

Schachter & Singer's Two-Factor Theory

Explains that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal.

Theories of Emotion

The theories of emotions include James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer, Zajonc-LeDoux, and Lazarus.

Two Routes to Emotion

Zajonc and LeDoux emphasize that some emotions are immediate, without conscious appraisal. Lazarus, Schachter, and Singer emphasize that appraisal also determines emotions. Also states that emotional information can be characterized in two dimensions (1) arousal or (2) valence

Behavior Feedback Effect

The tendency of behavior to influence our own and others' thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Other-Race Effect

The tendency to recall faces of one's own race more accurately than faces of other races.

Relational Aggression

An act of aggression (physical or verbal) intended to harm a person's relationship or social standing.