AP Psychology Midterm Review

attribution theory

tries to explain how people make judgements about the causes of peoples behavior (including their own)

attribution

the why of things we do

dispositional/internal attribution

something about the person is the cause, such as an attitude, a preference, or a personality trait

situational/external attribution

something about the situation is the cause… most people would react the same in those circumstances

fundamental attribution error

tendency to attribute the behavior of others as internal (ex. slow waiter, slow person)

actor-observer bias

people often attribute other people’s behaviors to internal causes; they tend to attribute their own behavior to external causes

self-serving bias

we take credit for our accomplishments and explain away our failures or disappointments

just-world hypothesis

assumption bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people

central route to persuasion

when the attitude/thoughts of the audience or individual is/are changed as a result of facts of the situation

peripheral route to persuasion

when the attitude/thoughts of the individual is/are changed as a result of any subjective measure of the situation

mere exposure effect

we tend to think more positively and/or prefer things we are exposed to more often

cognitive dissonance theory

(Leon Festinger) occurs whenever a person has two contradictory cognitions/beliefs/actions at the same time… they are dissonant, or go against one another… cognitive tension

cognition

means thinking

cognitive

relative to thinking

stereotype

the perceptions, beliefs, and expectations we have about members of a group

prejudice

an unsatisfied attitude toward a group

discrimination

unsatisfied behavior selectively applied to members of a group

ingroup

people with whom one shares a common identity

outgroup

those perceived as different from one’s ingroup

ingroup bias

the tendency to favor one’s own ingroup

outgroup homogeneity

see the unique features in you group but see other groups as generic and not the same

ethnocentrism

you only see the world through your own cultural perspective

social identity

people identify with their ingroup and tend to see it as better than other groups

scapegoat theory

members of ingroups see outgroups as less attractive and less socially acceptable thus may treat them badly

Asch’s Studies of Conformity

(1955) how people conform to pressure from others… tested which of the three lines was the same length as a standard… RESULT was that study showed most people will conform to peer pressure at least some of the time

conformity

to change one’s attitudes and behavior to make them consistent with that of other people

normative social influence

change behavior to fit in because you don’t want to seem deviant

informational social influence

when we accept others opinions about a situation as a fact

obedience

executing an action after being directed by an authority figure

Milgram’s studies on Obedience

“teacher” is a subject in the experiment who administers the “shock”… “leaner” is the person who receives the “shocks” (when out of sight learner was a tape recording)… “authority” is the person administering the experiment (says “please continue”)… RESULT was that 1. obedience was highest when no one else dissents 2. participants greatly underestimated their levels of obedience… UNETHICAL

Stanford Prison Experiment

(Phil Zimbardo)… studied effects of institution of behavior; deindividuation… UNETHICAL (violence, emotional/mental breakdowns)… some volunteers were guards and some were students

deindividuation

loss of individual identity in the presence of a group

diffusion of responsibility

belief that one can’t be held responsible for one’s actions

diminished awareness

shifting of attention away from internal thoughts and standards toward the external environment

compliance

changing behaviors under pressures of others (by request)

foot in the door technique

get a person to agree to small requests and then gradually presenting larger ones

door in the face procedure

request for a favor that is likely to be denied, admit the favor was excessive, and then ask for a lesser alternative which is what you really wanted anyways

prisoner’s dilemma

aka social trap… situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their own self interest, end up with the worst possible outcome

group influence

individual behavior in the presence of others

social loafing

the tendency of a person in a group to exert less effort toward attaining a common goal than when tested individually

social facilitation

improved performance on tasks in the presence of others

social inhibition

decreased performance on tasks in the presence of others

group polarization

tendency to shift toward more extreme positions after group discussion

groupthink

a mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides the critical thinking of other options

confirmation bias

tendency to search for information that confirms one’s thoughts or attitudes

stereotype threat

fear of fulfilling a stereotype when around a group

self-fulfilling prophecy

a prediction that “causes” itself to become true

false consensus effect

to see your own behavior as the norm, or common, and other behaviors as uncommon

frustration-aggression principle

frustration creates anger, which may generate aggression

Triangular theory of Love and Attraction

love is made of three parts: intimacy, passion, and commitment… combined makes seven different types of love…


1. intimacy- closeness and caring
2. passion- romantic and sexual attraction
3. commitment- “in love” wanting to be together

Parts of a neuron

cell body- (soma) the cells life support center

dendrites- receives messages from other cells

axon- passes messages away from cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands

myelin sheath- covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses

terminal branches- form junctions with other cells

neural impulse

action potential… electrical signal traveling down the axis

synapse

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

neurotransmitter

chemicals used to send a signal across the synaptic gap

reuptake

after the neurotransmitters stimulate the receptors on the receiving neuron, the chemicals are take back up into the sending neuron to be used again

action potential

a neural impulse that travels down an axon like a wave

agonist

a molecule that fills the receptor site and activates it, acting like the neurotransmitter

antagonist

molecule that fills the lock so that the neurotransmitter cannot get in and activate the receptor site

serotonin

(inhibitory) affects mood, hunger, sleep, arousal… undersupply linked to depression

dopamine

(excitatory and inhibitory) influences movement, learning, attention, emotion… reward center; feel good NT… oversupply linked to schizophrenia, undersupply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinson’s disease and ADHD

acetylcholine

(excitatory) enables muscle action, learning, and memory… neurons that produce this deteriorate as alzheimer’s disease progresses

norepinephrine

(excitatory) helps control alertness, arousal, and blood flow…. undersupply can depress mode and ADHD like attention issues

GABA

(gamma-aminobutyric acid) (inhibitory) regulates mood and motor control… undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia

glutamate

(excitatory) involved in memory consolidation… oversupply can overstimulate the brain, producing migraines or seizures

sensory neurons

(afferent neurons) carry messages IN from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the CNS for processing

interneurons

process information between the sensory input and motor output

motor neurons

(efferent) neurons carry instructions OUT from the CNS out to the body’s tissues

long-term potentiation

neural connections become stronger as they communicate more often

central nervous system

consists of the brain and spinal chord

peripheral nervous system

consists of the autonomic and somatic systems

autonomic nervous system

controls self regulated action of internal organs and glands… consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

somatic nervous systems

controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles

sympathetic nervous system

system that controls arousing… fight or flight

\-dilates pupils -accelerates heartbeat -inhibits digestion

\-stimulates glucose release -stimulates secretion of epinephrine, norepinephrine -relaxes bladder

parasympathetic nervous system

system that controls calming… rest and digest

\-contracts pupils -slows heartbeat -stimulates digestion

\-stimulates gall bladder -contracts bladder

\

hormone

chemical messengers produces by the endocrine system and go straight into the bloodstream

hypothalamus

brain region controlling the pituitary gland…regulates body temperature and ensures adequate food and water intake… directs the endocrine system via messages to the pituitary gland… part of the limbic system

pituitary gland

gland that secretes many different hormones, some of which affect other glands… aka master gland… controlled by the hypothalamus… produces oxytocin and growth hormone

thyroid

gland that affects metabolism among other things

parathyroid

part of endocrine system that helps regulate the level of calcium in the blood

adrenal glands

glands of which the inner part helps trigger the fight or flight response… produces adrenaline (epinephrine), noradrenaline (norepinephrine), and cortisol…. increases heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar which provides energy for fight or flight

pancreas

part of endocrine system that regulates the level of sugar in the blood

testis

secretes male sex hormones

ovary

secretes female sex hormones

medulla

area of brainstem that controls the most basic functions such as heartbeat and breathing

pons

area of brainstem that helps coordinate automatic and unconscious movements, also regulates waking and relaxing

reticular formation

area of brainstem that enables alertness (arousal) from sleeping to wide awake… this slows down when you fall asleep, also filters oncoming sensory information

cerebellum

area of brainstem that helps coordinate voluntary movement… procedural memories are stored (ex. how to ride a bike)… helps maintain balance

thalamus

area of brainstem that is the sensory relay station of brain… all sensory messages except smell are routed through here on the way to the cortex… damage results in “sensory blindness”

hippocampus

area of the limbic system that is the center of emotion, memory, and autonomic nervous system

amygdala

area of the limbic system that helps process emotions, especially fear and aggression

frontal lobe

brain lobe that controls personality, higher mental processes (thinking, decision making, creativity, judgement, planning)

parietal lobe

brain lobe that processes sensory info… taste, touch

occipital lobe

brain lobe that is responsible for processing visual info from the eyes

temporal lobe

brain lobe that processes auditory info from the ears

motor cortex

back portion of frontal lobe… plans/executes voluntary movements… left side controls the right side of the body while the right side controls the left side of the body

sensory cortex

front portion of the parietal lobe… processes sensory info… face takes up most

gyrus/gyri

ridges of the brain

sulcus/sulci

depressions of the brain

aphasia

loss of ability to understand and/or produce speech

broca’s

troubles with speech production