the ACTUAL ultimate AP psych study guide

attribution theory

tendency to provide explanations for one’s behavior (either external or internal)

foot in the door phenomenon

tendency to make larger requests from someone after getting them to accept a smaller one.

hindsight bias

the tendency to see events as having been predictable after they already occurred.

bystander effect

tendency for a bystander to be less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present.

biological perspective

school of psychology that links human behavior with the physical body, health, and functions of the brain.

cognitive perspective

school of psychology that focuses on perception, thought, learning, and problem solving.

humanistic perspective

school of psychology that insists humans are basically good and possess free will.

psychoanalytic perspective

school of psychology that studies that unconscious, repressed thoughts, and our instinct for sex and aggression.

sociocultural perspective

school of psychology that emphasizes the impact of social, cultural, and/or political experiences on our psychology.

evolutionary perspective

school of psychology that studies how our brains and psychology have developed over time from apes.

developmental perspective

school of psychology that studies our changing abilities and psychology through all stages of life.

Wilhelm Wundt

father of psychology

introspection

looking inward into your own mental processes

structuralism

analyzing our sensations, images, and feelings in the most basic elements.

functionalism

a school of thought that studies how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environments.

psychoanalytic theory

all human behavior is driven by unconscious/repressed forces.

left hemisphere

hemisphere of the brain for logical/sequential tasks, solving math problems, and understanding language.

right hemisphere

hemisphere of the brain for facial recognition, puzzle solving, emotions, and artistic/creative abilities.

depolarization

when positive ions enter the membrane of a neuron, making it easier to fire an action potential.

threshold

level of stimulation needed to trigger a neural impulse.

reuptake

the process by which neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron after transmitting a signal across a synapse.

acetylcholine

a neurotransmitter involved in muscle movement and memory regulation.

endorphins

a neurotransmitter for natural pain relief

top-down processing

information that is processed by higher level mental processes.

bottom-up processing

the processing of a stimulus begins from the sense receptor and works its way up to the brain.

reticular formation

filters incoming information and controls arousal & attention.

amygdala

part of limbic system that involves emotions, aggression, and fear.

temporal lobe

part of brain involved in memory, perception, hearing (side of brain, above ears).

occipital lobe

part of brain involved in processing visual information (lower back of brain).

peripheral lobe

part of brain that discriminates between textures and shapes (top of brain).

corpus callosum

structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain; responsible for higher thinking.

sensory cortex

part of brain that receives information from the skin surface and sensory organs.

motor cortex

part of brain that controls voluntary movements of opposite side of the body (left hemisphere control right & vice versa).

just noticeable difference

minimum difference between two stimuli required to detect that difference 50% of the time

cocktail party phenomenon

we tend to focus our attention on selected aspects of the environment and block out the rest

retinal disparity

binocular cue for depth perception that results from the different angles of two eyes.

retina

part of eye that processes visual information into neutral impulses.

cornea

part of eye that protects and bends incoming light rays.

lens

part of eye that focuses light rays onto the retina.

iris

part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil.

fovea

part of the eye that serves as the central point and is able to see color.

pupil

part of eye that adjusts size in order to let in light.

blind spot

the point in the eye at which there are no rods or cones.

optic nerve

part of the eye that carries neural impulses to the brain.

rods

part of the eye that detects black, white, grey colors as well as peripheral and night vision.

cones

part of the eye that detects color and fine detail.

Young-Helmholtz theory

theory that proposes we have three types of cones in our retina (red, blue, green) that we mix, lighten/darken to see other colors.

opponent process theory

theory that proposes that our sensory receptors are arranged in the retina as pairs (red & green, yellow & blue, black & white)

afterimage

a phenomenon where the firing of cones continues after viewing something steadily.

intensity

measure of sound’s loudness (decibels).

frequency

measure of sounds’s pitch (low or high).

outer ear

part of the ear where sound waves are collected.

middle ear

part of the ear that transmits and amplifies vibrations.

inner ear

part of the ear that changes sounds into neural impulses.

cochlea

a snail-shaped membrane in the ear that changes vibrations into electric symbol.

sensory deprivation

phenomenon where other senses become stronger when one is deprived.

sensory adaptation

phenomenon in which we will stop actively detecting a stimulus after constant stimulation.

vestibular sense

our sense of body position, movement, and balance.

perceptual set

the mental predisposition to see one thing rather than another.

Gestalt

psychology that focuses on how we perceive whole forms or patterns.

proximity

objects that are close together are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group.

similarity

objects that are similar in appearance are more likely to be perceived.

continuity

objects that form a continuous form are more likely to be perceived.

closure

objects that make up a recognizable image are more likely to be perceived.

constancy

objects with similar size, shape, and brightness are considered a “set”

metacognition

the ability to be self aware of your own mental processes.

myelin sheath

a fatty covering around the axon of some neurons that speeds up the neural impulse.

neuron

a nerve cell that is the basic building blocks of the nervous system.

sensory neurons (afferent)

neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system.

interneurons

neurons in the CNS that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

motor neurons (efferent)

neurons that carry incoming information from the CNS to the muscles and glands.

neurotransmitters

“messenger” chemicals in the terminal buttons that enable communication between neurons.

agonist

a substance that enhances or mimics the action of a neurotransmitter at a receptor.

antagonist

a substance that inhibits or blocks the action of a neurotransmitter at a receptor.

central nervous system (CNS)

the brain and spinal cord.

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.

somatic nervous system

the division of the PNS that controls the body’s skeletal muscles.

autonomic nervous system

the division of the PNS that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs.

sympathetic nervous system

the part of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body.

parasympathetic nervous system

the part of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body and conserves energy.

pituitary gland

a small endocrine gland located at the base of the brain that regulates various hormonal processes and controls other endocrine glands.

EEG (electroencephalogram)

amplified recording of waves of electrical activity in the brain surface.

PET (positron emission tomography)

a visual display of brain activity that detects radioactive glucose while performing a task.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

technique using magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of brain tissues.

medulla

part of brain that controls blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing (base of brain stem).

thamalus

a brain structure that relays sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex.

pons

part of brain that makes chemicals involved in sleep and facial expressions (above the medulla).

cerebellum

a part of the brain that controls coordination, muscle movements, and balance.

limbic system

set of structures in the brain that is responsible for emotions.

hypothalamus

a region of the brain that regulates essential functions such as hunger, thirst, temperature, and circadian rhythms.

hippocampus

a part of the brain primarily involved in memory formation and spatial navigation.

Broca’s area

part of the brain that directs muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke’s area

part of the brain responsible for language comprehension.

plasticity

the brain’s ability to modify itself after injury, illness, or other major changes to the brain.

threshold

the level of stimulation needed to trigger a neural impulse.

action potential

neural impulse that travels down the axon.

all or none principle

the principle stating that a neuron either fires with a full-strength response or not at all.

acetylecholine

a neurotransmitter involved in muscle action, learning, and memory.

dopamine

neurotransmitter that contributes to voluntary movements and pleasurable emotions (“reward center”).

serotonin

neurotransmitter involved in mood, sleep regulation, appetite, and body temperature.