AP Psych Review

confirmation bias

favoring information that confirms your beliefs

hindsight bias

believing events were predictable after they happened

reliability

consistency of measurement

validity

accuracy of a test in measuring what it is supposed to measure

The American Psychological Association (APA)

leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the US

wording effect

changes in responses caused by word choices in questions

social desirability bias

a tendency to give socially approved answers

third variable problems

a counting variable that influences both variables of interest

confounding variable

variable that might influence the experiment’s outcome unexpectedly

operational defintions

clear, precise descriptions of variables

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance

experimenter bias

when researchers’ expectations influence the outcome of a study

representative sample

a sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

sample bias

errors that occur in the sample selection leading to non-representative

measure of central tendency

a number that describes the center of a data set (mean, median, mode)

normal curve

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data

regression to the mean

tendency for extreme scores to fall back toward the average

positive skew

when a distribution includes more low scores

negative skew

when a distribution includes more high scores

bimodal distribution

a distribution with two different modes which may appear as distinct peaks

statistical significance

the likelihood that a result or relationship is caused by something other than mere chance

effect sizes

a quantitative measure of the magnitude of the experimental effect

meta analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

Institutional Review Boards (IRB)

groups that review research to ensure that ethical standards are met

Central nervous system

consists of the brain and spinal cord,

Peripheral nervous system

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles

Autonomic nervous system

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart)

Sympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

Parasympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

Sensory neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Motor neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Kinesthesia

our movement sense - our system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Vestibular sense

our sense of body movement and position that enables our sense of balance

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system.

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal. Undersupply linked to depression.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter involved in arousal, as well as in learning and mood regulation

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

GABA

It slows down your brain by blocking specific signals in your central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord). GABA is known for producing a calming effect.

Endorphins

"morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Acetycholine

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction

Agonist

A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.

Antagonist

chemicals that block receptors—sometimes permanently

Cerebellum

Balance and coordination

Occipital lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information

Temporal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language.

Parietal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch.

Frontal lobe

associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving

Corpus callosum

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Broca's area

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke's area

controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

Trichromatic theory

theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green

Opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

Place theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Frequency theory

theory of pitch that states that pitch is related to the speed of vibrations in the basilar membrane

Object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Secure attachment

a relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver

Conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

Teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Fine motor coordination

involves small muscle groups; usually includes finger dexterity and/or skilled manipulation of objects with the hands

Gross motor coordination

Ability to coordinate large muscle movements as in running, walking, skipping, and throwing.

Egocentrism

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

formal operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

concrete operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

preoperational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

authoritarian parenting

style of parenting in which parent is rigid and overly strict, showing little warmth to the child

authoritative parenting

parenting style characterized by emotional warmth, high standards for behavior, explanation and consistent enforcement of rules, and inclusion of children in decision making

permissive parenting

A parenting style characterized by the placement of few limits on the child's behavior.

avoidant attachment

infants who seem unresponsive to the parent when they are present, are usually not distressed when she leaves, and avoid the parent when they return

anxious attachment

demonstrated by babies who seem constantly afraid of potential separation from the caregiver; they cling to caregivers in strange settings and display intense distress upon separation

disorganized attachment

a type of attachment that is marked by an infant's inconsistent reactions to the caregiver's departure and return

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

positive reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.

negative reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock.

positive punishment

adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior

negative punishment

the removal of a good stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

modeling

learning by imitating others; copying behavior

law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

learned helplessness

the tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past

acquisition

the initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neural stimulus, creating a second