AP Psychology Vocab

2023 Oakdale High School

Mary Whiton Calkins

A pioneering memory researcher and the first woman to be president of the American Psychological Association. Mentored by William James.

Charles Darwin

Evolutionary therorist who argued that natural selection shapes behaviors and bodies.

Dorothea Dix

Pioneer in therapy, found ways to humanely treat those with psychological disorders.

Sigmund Freud

Personality theorist who emphasized behaviors caused unconscious mind and childhood experiences

G. Stanley Hall

A student of Wundt who went on to establish the first formal US pyschology lab, at John Hopkins University

William James

Philosopher-psychologist who used Darwin’s ideas in his own ideas. He wrote a textbook in 1890 called the “Principles of Psychology”

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist who pioneered the study of learning

Jean Piaget

Swiss biologist, last century’s most influential observer of children

Carl Rogers

Led humanistic psychologists, found behaviorism and Freidian psychology too limiting. Focused on potential for personal growth

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist who rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior. 1904-1990

Margaret Floy Washburn

Recieved the first pyschology Ph.D as a woman. She synthesized animal behavior in her book “The Animal Mind”. She was the second female APA president in 1921

John B. Watson

Championed psychology as scientific study of behavior. Did controversal study “Little Albert” on a baby showing fear could be learned. 1878-1958

Wilhelm Wundt

A German professor who wanted to measure the fastest and simplest mental processes. He began the first psychological labrotory in 1879.

Structuralism

An early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

Functionalism

An early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function--how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Early Behaviorism

The view that pyschology (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)

Gestalt

An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized out tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic

A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

Humanistic

A historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential

Evolutionary approach

The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selcetion

Biological approach

The scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes

Cognitive approach

The study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems

Biopsychosocial approach

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints

Sociocultural

The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

Biological domain

Deals with the application of the principles of biology to the study of mental processes and behavior.

Clinical domain

Addresses behavioral and mental health issues faced by individuals across their lifespan.

Cognitive domain

Covers content on perception, thinking, intelligence, and memory

Counseling domain

Addresses mental therapy sessions

Developmental domain

Contains topics of learning and conditioning as well as lifespan development

Educational domain

Study of how people learn, including teaching methods, instructional processes, and learning differences

Experimental domain

Tests theories of human thoughts, feelings, actions, and more

Industrial-organizational domain

Study of human behvaior in organizations and the work place

Personality domain

Study of human groups and interactions, the development and analysis of personality, the experience and interpretation of emotion, and motivation.

Psychometric domain

Deals with the measurement and quantification of personality, behaviors, mental ablitles, intelligence, performance, and more.

Social domain

Studies social interaction and things such as school, family, religion, workplace, and government

Positive domain

Focuses on the postitive events, influences, states, and traits of life

Experiments

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to obsercve the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.

Correlational studies

Studies done in order to reveal naturally occurring relationships, and assess how well one variable predicts another

Survey research

The descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.

Naturalistic observations

A descriptive technique of observing and recording bahvior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

Case studies

A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Longitudinal studies

Research that follows and retests the same people over time

Cross-sectional studies

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

Independent vs Dependent variable

A dependent variable is what is being measured, and may change when the independent variable is manipulated.

Control

in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Placebo

Latin for “I shall please”. Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

Variation

How similar or diverse scores are

Correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1.00 to +1.00)

Frequency distribution

Shows the number of instances in which a variable takes each of its possible values

APA

A national organization of professional and academic psychologists.

Heredity

Genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring

Genes

Biochemical units of heredity that make up chromosomes, segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins

Chromosomes

Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes

Endocrine System

The body’s “slow” chemical communication system. Set of glands that secretes hormones into bloodstream

Hypothalamus

Below thalamus, directs maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temp), helps govern endocrine system through pituitary gland, and is related to emotion and reward

Pituitary gland

Endocrine system’s most influential gland. Regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands under influence of hypothalamus

Thyroid gland

Affects metabolism

Parathyroids

Helps regulate level of calcium in blood

Adrenal glands

Pair of endocrine glands that sit above kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse body in times of stress

Testis

Secretes male sex hormones

Ovary

Secretes female sex hormones

Hormones

Chemical messages that are manufactured by the endocrine system. travel through bloodstream, and affect other tissues

Central Nervous System

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

Sensory and motor neurons that connect CNS to rest of the body

Autonomic Nervous System

Part of PNS that controls the glands and muscles of internal organs. Sympathetic division arouses and parasympathic division calms

Somatic

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

Sympathetic system

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy

Parasympathetic system

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

Reflexes

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as knee-jerk reaction

Brainstem

Oldest part and central core of brain. Beginning where spinal cord swells as it enters the skull. Responsible for autonomic survival functions

Medulla

Base of brainstem, controls heartbeat and breathing

Thalamus

Brain’s sensory control center, located on top of brainstem, directs messages to sensory receiving areas in cortex and transmits replies to cerebellum and medulla

Reticular formation

A nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal

Cerebellum

“little brain” at rear of brainstem. Processes sensory input, coordinates movement output and balance, enables nonverbal learning and memory

Amygdala

2 lima bean sized neural clusters in limbic system linked to emotion

Hippocampus

Neural center located in limbic system, helps process for storage explicit (conscious) memories of facts and events

Frontal lobes

Portion of cerebral cortex lying just behind forehead, involved in speaking, muscle movements, making plans, and judgement

Parietal lobes

Portion of cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and towards the rear, recieves sensory input for touch and body position

Cerebral cortex

Intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering cerebral hemisphere, body’s ultimare control and information processing center

Motor cortex

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Somatosensory cortex

An area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sesnsations

Corpus Callosum

Axon fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres

Neuron

A nerve cell, the basic building block the the nervous system

Dendrite

A neuron’s often busy, branching extensions that recieve and integrate messages, conducting impulses towards cell body

Soma

Contains the nucleus and other structures common to living cells of a neuron

Axon

The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Terminal buttons

Small knobs at the end of an axon that release chemicals called neurotransmitters

Hindbrain

Lower part of the brainstem, comprising the cerebellum, pons, and medulla oblongata

Midbrain

Small central part of brain stem, developing from middle of primitive brain

Forebrain

Region of developing vertebrate brain. Includes cerebral hemispheres, thalamus, hypothalmus, epithalamus, subthalamus

Synapse

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of recieving neuron. Tiny gap at junction called synaptic gap or synaptic cleft

Reuptake

A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

Agonists

Molecule that increases neurotransmitter’s action

Antagonsists

Molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action

Hemispheres

Two parts of brainl. Left mainly controls speech, comphrension, math, writing. Right controls creativity, spatial ability, artistic and musical skills

Paul Broca

French physician led to discover of specialized langauge brain ideas. Damage to area named after him disrupts understanding

Carl Wernicke

German investigator led to discovery of specilized language brain areas. Damage to area named after him disrupts understanding

Roger Sperry

A psychologist that split cat and monkey brains in order to further study split-brain. He won a Nobel Prize in 1981

Michael Gazzaniga

Psychologist that did work on split-brains. His work influenced studies on free will, consciousness, and the self.

Depressants

Drugs (alcohol, berbiturates, opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions