ap psych exam

random sample

increases generalizability

random assignment

determines causality; makes it an experiment

negative skew

low end of the graph is to the left (mean, median, then mode)

positive skew

low end of the graph is to the right (mode, median, then mean)

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

includes somatic and autonomic (which includes sympathetic and parasympathetic)

excitatory neurotransmitters

increases action potential

inhibitory neurotransmitters

decreases action potential

glutamate

excites nerve cells, which plays a role in receiving and processing information

dopamine

hypothalamus; reward center and fine movement

serotonin

amygdala; regulates mood and melatonin (sleep)

acetylcholine

hippocampus; memory and movement

norepinephrine

sympathetic N.S.; arousal

endorphins

pain control

oxytocin

bonding hormone

leptin

stops hunger

ghrelin

makes you hungry

agonist

drugs that mimic neurotransmitters

antagonists

drugs that blocks neurotransmitters

cerebellum

movement, balance, and coordination

brainstem/medulla

controls vital organs

reticular activating system

alertness and arousal

hypothalamus

reward center and homeostasis

thalamus

all senses but smell

pituitary gland

releases hormones

frontal lobe

decision making, judgement, planning, movement, everything important

parietal lobe

sensation and touch (somatosensory cortex)

temporal lobes

hearing and face recognition

left hemisphere

damage to broca’s and wernicke’s in left result in aphasia

multiple sclerosis

destruction of myelin sheath; impairs mobility

myasthenia gravis

blocked acetylcholine; paralysis

weber’s law

two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion (refer to cram packet)

conduction deafness

damage to bones of ear; hearing loss

sensorineural deafness

damage to cohlear hairs; harder to repair

vestibular sense

balance; inner ear

kinesthetic sense

sense of body position/location

top-down processing

processes prior expectations first

bottom-up processing

processes sensory information first

retinal disparity

binocular; depth perception

interposition

monocular; overlapping images appear closer

relative size

monocular; smaller object appears further

linear perspective

monocular; parallel lines converge with distance

relative clarity

monocular; hazy objects appear further

texture gradient

monocular; coarser objects appear closer

explicit memory

requires conscious effort

implicit memory

automatic memory

assimilation

assimilates info into existing schema; “cats are dogs because the have 4 legs”

accommodation

accommodates by changing schema; “cats and dogs are different, now 2 separate schemas”

anterograde amnesia

forgets new info

retrograde amnesia

forgets old info

g factor

general intelligence underlies all mental abilities

IQ

mental/chronological x 100 = IQ

sensorimotor stage

1st stage of piaget’s; gains object permanence

pre-operational stage

2nd stage of piaget’s; pretend play, lacks conservation, lacks reversibility, lacks theory of mind, animism, and are egocentric

concrete operational stage

3rd stage of piaget’s; operational thinking, classification, and logical thinking

formal operational stage

4th stage of piaget’s; abstract thinking

avoidant insecure attachment

avoids mom and doesn’t care when she leaves; distant

anxious insecure attachment

avoids mom and freaks out when she leaves; jealousy and clingy

disorganized insecure attachment

fearful; result of abuse

authoritarian

strict rules

authoritative

rules but not too strict; best parenting style

erikson’s socioemotional development

• trust vs mistrust

• autonomy vs shame and doubt

• initiative vs guilt

• industry vs inferiority

• identity vs role confusion

• intimacy vs isolation

• generativity vs stagnation

• integrity vs despair

identity diffusion

no commitment to identity

identity forelosure

commitment to an identity without any exploration

identity moratorium

seeking an identity

identity achievement

committed to an identity after careful consideration

ecological system’s theory

• individual

• microsystem

• mesosystem (relatutionships between factors of microsystem)

• exosystem (indirect environment such as politics)

• macrosystem (societal and cultural influences)

• chronosystem (life stages and historical events)

vicarious conditioning

watching others do and learn from their consequences

latent learning

learning is not shown until an incentive is given

insight learning

an “aha!’ moment (like the chimps trying to reach the banana)

dispositional attributions

attributes qualities to personality

situational attribution

attributes qualities to potential situations

actor-observer bias

blame the person unless it happens to you, then you blame the situation

self-serving bias

success is attributed to yourself, while failures are attributed to external factors

relative deprivation

judging what we lack based off of others

ethnocentrism

tendency to think your group is more important than others

cognitive dissonance

two opposing thoughts conflict with each other

normative social influence

we conform to gain approval and be part of the norm

informational social influence

we conform to others because we think they are right

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

small request leads to a larger request

door-in-the-face phenomenon

large request is turned down, leading to a smaller request

group polarization

more time spent with a group=stronger thoughts/opinions

social facilitation

perform better on tasks infront of others

id

true desires (devil on shoulder)

superego

moral conscious (angel on shoulder)

ego

everyday reality (you!)

sublimation

defense mechanism which you take socially unacceptable acts and put them into something socially acceptable (punching people to boxing)

reaction formation

transforms motive to opposite (refer to cram packet)

neuroticism

emotional stability

self-efficacy

belief in oneself to succeed

yerkes dodson law

human seek optimum levels of arousal; subdivision of the arousal theory

broaden and build theory

positive emotions broaden and builds skills that lead to better wellbeing

general adaptation system

alarm, resistance, then exhaustion

temperance

humility and forgiveness

transcendence

gratitude and hope

eclectic

more than one perspective

schizoid

no interests in relationships