AP Psychology Midterm

what is psychology?

the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of humans and other animals

what is skepticism?

the process of shifting reality from fantasy and demanding evidence

what is empiricism?

the idea that knowledge is the result of experience and that scientific knowledge is developed through observation and experimentation, developed by Francis Bacon

what is introspection?

the process of looking inward to directly observe one's own psychological processes, developed by Wilhelm Wundt

what is structuralism?

the idea that all structures of consciousness must serve function, developed by William James

what is behaviorism?

the idea that observable behavior is important to study, developed by B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson

what is psychoanalysim?

the idea that unconscious forces and childhood experiences affect our behavior and mental processes, developed by Sigmund Freud

what is humanism?

the idea that humans strive to reach their full potential, developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

what is evolutionary psychology?

the study of how behavior and mental processes present in the species today exist because they were naturally selected, developed by Charles Darwin

what is biopsychological psychology?

how biological and physiological processes impact behavior and mental processes / integrate the biological, psychological, and social-cultural view points

what is sociocultural psychology?

how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

what is cognitive psychology?

how interpretations of situations and mental processes (thoughts, memories, problem solving) impact behavior and mental processes

who was Mary Calkins?

a memory researcher and the first female president of the APA (American Psychological Association)

who was Margaret Floy Washburn?

the first female to earn a PHD in psychology

what is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

a psychologist holds PHD or PsyD and provides psychotherapy to individuals with psychological disorders, psychiatrists hold a MD and can prescribe drugs to treat the physiological causes of psychological disorders

what is basic research?

a scientific inquiry that aims to increase psychology's knowledge base

what is applied research?

a scientific inquiry that aims to use psychology to solve practical problems

what do biological psychologists do?

researches brain functions to understand human behaviors

what do cognitive psychologists do?

study human thinking with focus on topics such as perception, language, attention, problem solving, memory, judgement and decision making, forgetting, and intelligence

what do developmental psychologists do?

conduct research on age-related behavioral changes and apply their scientific knowledge to educational, child-care, policy, and related settings

what do experimental psychologists do?

study a variety of basic behavioral processes in humans and other animals, prominent areas including motivation, learning, perception, and language

what do clinical psychologists do?

promote physiological health in individuals, groups, and organizations

what do personality psychologists do?

study how an individuals major psychological subsystems function together

what do counseling psychologists do?

help people to adjust to life transitions or make lifestyle changes

what do educational psychologists do?

study the relationship between learning and the physical and social environments, as well as developing strategies for enhancing the learning process

what are the three roadblocks to critical thinking?

hindsight bias, overconfidence, and perceiving patterns in random events

what is hindsight bias?

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

what is overconfidence?

the tendency to think we know more than we do

what is perceiving patterns?

in our natural eagerness to make sense of an unpredictable world, we are prone to perceive patterns

what is a theory?

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

what is a hypothesis?

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

what is an operational definition?

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

what is informed consent?

consent that goes into detail

what is deception?

in some experiments, the true purpose cannot be revealed because it would influence the results

what is debriefing?

when temporary deception is necessary to the research, it must be fully explained at the conclusion of the experiment

what are case studies?

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

what are the strengths of case studies?

allows for examination of rare / unusual behaviors, provides a large amount of qualitative data, suggests directions for further study

what are the weaknesses of case studies?

atypical case studies can be misleading, results from one study may not be generalizable to the larger group, cannot determine cause and effect

what are naturalistic observations?

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

what are the strengths of naturalistic observation?

subjects behave "normally" outside of a lab setting, data collection is unobtrusive

what are the weaknesses of naturalistic observation?

the independent variable cannot be isolated, cannot determine cause and effect, people act differently when aware of being watched

what are surveys?

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

what are the strengths of surveys?

able to take a quick pulse of peoples opinions, beliefs, and behaviors, also able to include many cases

what are the weaknesses of surveys?

response bias, wording effects, cannot determine cause and effect

what are cross sectional studies?

studies that compare people of different ages at the same point in time

what are longitudal studies?

a study that follows and retests the same group of people over time

what are the weaknesses of longitudal studies?

many variables could impact the presence of some members of the same population at various points in the research

what are correlational studies?

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and how well either factor predicts the other

what are the strengths of correlational studies?

works well with large groups of data, able to be used in a situation where an experiment would not be ethical or possible

what are the weaknesses of correlational studies?

does not specify cause and effect

what is a positive correlation?

two sets of data that tend to rise or fall together

what is a negative correlation?

one set of data rises while the other falls

what are scatter plots?

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. the slope represent whether the relationship is negative or positive

what are experiments?

manipulating one or more variables of interest and controlling other variables to discover cause and effect relationships

what are the strengths of experiments?

specifies cause and effect, variables are controlled

what are the weaknesses of experiments?

results may not generalize to other contexts, not ethical to manipulate certain variables

what is an experimental group?

the group of subjects that receive the treatment

what is a control group?

the group of subjects that do not receive the treatment

what is random assignment?

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups

what is a single blind experiment?

the participants in the study are uninformed about the treatment, if any, they are receiving

what is a double blind experiment?

both the participants and the researcher are uninformed about which group receives the treatment and which does not

what is a confounding variable?

any factor that might affect the dependent variable besides the independent

what are nerves?

bundled axons of many neurons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

what is a neuron?

a nerve cell that is the basic building block of the nervous system

what are the parts of a neuron?

cell body, axon, dendrites, terminal branches of the axon, and myelin sheath

what is the cell body of a neuron?

the part of the neuron that contains the nucleus, aka the cell's life support center

what are the dendrites of a neuron?

bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages

what is the axon of a neuron?

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

what is the myelin sheath of a neuron?

the layer encasing the axon, increases transmission speed and provides insulatio

what are the terminal branches of a neuron?

the ends of the axon that store neurotransmitters

what are glial cells?

cells that support, nourish, and protect neurons. also play a role in learning, memory, and thinking

what is the threshold of a neuron?

the level of stimulus required to trigger a neural impulse

what is action potential?

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

what is an all or none response?

neural firing that only happens at full response or not at all

what is an excitatory signal?

a signal that triggers action

what is an inhibitory signal?

a signal that depresses action

what is a neurotransmitter?

chemical messengers that travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron

what is the synapse?

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

what is the synaptic gap?

the tiny space between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite of an adjoining neuron

what is reuptake?

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

what is the endocrine system?

the body's slow communication system / a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

what are the parts of the endocrine system?

hypothalamus, thyroid glands, adrenal glands, testis, ovaries, pancreas, pituitary glands, and parathyroids

what is the hypothalamus?

brain region controlling the pituitary gland

what is the thyroid gland?

a large ductless gland in the neck that secretes hormones regulating growth and development through the rate of metabolism

what is the adrenal gland?

helps to trigger the body's fight or flight response, release epinephrine and norepinephrine to energize the body when the sympathetic nervous system is activated

what is the pituitary gland?

the master gland, secretes many different hormones and directs other endocrine glands to secrete their hormones

what is the nervous system?

the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

what is the central nervous system (CNS)?

made up of the brain and spinal cord, responsible for coordinating incoming sensory messages and outgoing motor messages

what is the peripheral nervous system?

made up of sensory and motor neurons, connects the body to the central nervous system by gathering information from the senses and transmitting messages

what is the somatic nervous system?

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

what is the autonomic nervous system?

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs, operates automatically

what is the sympathetic nervous system?

arouses the body, mobilizing energy in stressful situations. accelerates heartbeat, raises blood pressure, slows digestion, raises blood sugar, and cools the body

what is the parasympathetic nervous system?

calms the body, conserving its energy. decelerates heartbeat, lowers blood pressure, stimulates digestion and processes waste

what is acetylcholine?

the chief neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for contracting smooth muscles, dilating blood vessels, increasing bodily secretions, and slowing heart rate

what is dopamine?

a type of neurotransmitter that plays a role in many bodily functions including but not limited to memory, movement, motivation, mood, and attention

what is serotonin?

a neurotransmitter that carries messages between nerve cells in the brain and throughout the body. also plays a key role in mood, sleep, digestion, nausea, wound healing, bone health, and blood clotting

what is epinephrine?

a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in bodily functions such as metabolism, attention, focus, panic, and excitement

what is norepinephrine?

a neurotransmitter that increases heart rate and blood pressure, helps to break down fat in the body, increases blood sugar levels, increases alertness and attention, and affects mood, sleep cycles, and memory

what is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)?

functions as the primary inhibitor neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. inhibits nerve transmission therefore reducing and regulating neuronal excitability

what is glutamate?

a neurotransmitter that sends messages quickly between nerve cells, forming an important aspect of learning and memory