AP Psychology Unit 1 & 2 Review

Socrates and Plato

• the mind is separate from the body

• knowledge is innate

• derived principles by logic

Francis Bacon

John Locke

• relied on common sense and experiments

• studied the brain and its failings, how it always looks for patterns

• tabula rasa - the mind at birth is a blank slate

• empiricism - the view that knowledge originates in experience and so science should rely on observation and experimentation

William James

• founder of functionalism

• wanted to consider the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings

• why do we smell, taste, hear - what function do they serve?

• gave witty lectures on psychology at Harvard

wrote the first psychology textbook

Wilhelm Wundt

• studied peoples reaction time to sounds

• measured 'atoms of the mind'- the fastest and simplest mental processes

• said to have had the first psychological laboratory

functionalism

• a school of psychology

• focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function

• how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish

Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis

• developed the influential psychoanalytic theory of personality

humanistic psychology

• historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth

• emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential

• the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied

behaviorist psychology

the view that psychology

1. should be an objective science that

2. studies behavior without reference to mental processes

• most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

evolutionary perspective

• how the natural selection of traits promoted the survival of genes

biological perspective

• how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences

• how genes combine with environment to influence individual differences

nature vs. nurture

• the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

cognitive neuroscience

• the study of brain activity linked with mental activity

psychodynamic perspective

• how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

• how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior

biopsychosocial approach

• considers the influence of biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

social-cultural perspective

• how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

• how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

cognitive perspective

• how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

biological psychology

• studies the links between biological and psychological processes

developmental psychologist

• study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

• study of changing abilities from womb to tomb

psychiatrist

• medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs and otherwise treat physical causes of psychological disorders

• also often provide psychotherapy

industrial-organizational psychologist

• use psychological concepts and methods to optimize human behavior in workplaces

social psychology

• the study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

personality psychologist

• study an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

introspection

• the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings

educational psychologist

• study influences on teaching and learning

clinical psychology

• studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

the hindsight bias

• the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

empirical approach

• observation and experimentation

critical thinking

• thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions

• it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

replication

• repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

random assignment

• the random choice of participants in an experiment

• minimizes preexisting differences between participants

• allows for all factors (except the dependent variable) to be held constant

operational definition

• a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables

• ex. human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

hypothesis

• testable proposition

• often implied by a theory

theory

• an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

correlation

correlation coefficient

• how well does one thing predict another

• does not imply cause and effect

• a statistical index of the correlation between two things (from -1 to +1)

dependent variable

• the variable that changes in response to the manipulation of the independent variable

• the variable being measured

• the outcome factor

independent variable

• the variable that is manipulated and whose effect is being studied

confounding variable

• a factor other than the independent variable that might cause an effect

survey

• a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

case study

• one person studied in depth for as much info as possible

• cannot discern general truths

positive correlation

• a correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other

• both variables move in the same direction

negative correlation

• also known as an inverse correlation

• increases in the value of one attribute are associated with decreases in the value of another attribute

correlation vs. causation

• while correlational studies uncover naturally occurring relationships and helps us predict, it doesn't mean one factor causes another

experiment

• enable researchers to focus on the possible effects of 1 or more factors on behavior by manipulating the factors of interest and controlling, or holding constant, other factors

double blind procedure

• an experiment in which both the participants and researchers are unaware of which participants received a treatment and which received a placebo

placebo effect

• results caused by expectations alone

• any change in behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition

control group

• the group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment

experimental group

• the group in an experiment that receives the treatment

how to conduct an experiment

1. random selection

2. independent variable

3. dependent variable

4. experimental group

5. control group

naturalistic observation

• observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

• doesn't explain the behavior

illusory correlation

• a random coincidence

• the perception of a relationship where none exists

• ex. good luck charms

mean

• average

median

• middle score

• half the scores are above it and half below