AP Psych Prologue & Ch1 Key Terms

empirical approach

an evidence based method that draws on observation and experimentation using numbers

critical thinking

thoughts based off evidence and the scientific attitude

structuralism

an unsuccessful early psychology school of thought developed by Titchener and Wundt that focused on introspection to study the human mind

functionalism

an early psychology school of thought developed by James and Darwin that explored adaptive functions and how behavior has changed to help humans survive

Behaviorism

The scientific study of observable behavior; major force in the 1920s-60s

Freudian Psychology (psychoanalysis)

The study of how the unconscious mind and childhood affects behavior; precursor to psychodynamics

humanistic psychologists

Developed “positive psychology”; focused on studying how psychology can help healthy individuals reach their maximum potential

cognitive psychology

The study of mental processes (thinking, learning, remembering)

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes

Nature vs. nurture

the debate on if we inherit traits and behaviors or learn them from our environment

Natural selection

inherited traits that help some species survive and evolve while others die out

evolutionary biology

studying how us humans are alike through our common biology and history

behavior genetics

study of how our different genes and environments affect our differing behavior

culture

how shared ideas and behaviors are passed down

positive psychology

study of human flourishing; discovering and promoting human virtue

leveled analysis

tiered systems to analyze any phenomenon

biophysical approach

interpreting biological, psychological, and social-cultural analysis

basic research

foundational research that gathers preliminary data on a population

applied research

using basic research to benefit others / tackle real-world problems

counseling psychologist

psychologist that helps those with their problems and gives advice to get through crises (like a therapist)

clinical psychologist

psychologist that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

psychiatrist

psychologist that helps treat those with psychological disorders by prescribing treatment

community psychologist

psychologist that works to create healthy social and physical environments for entire communities

neuroscience

study of how the brain and body enable sensory experiences, emotions, and memories

evolutionary psychology

study of how we’ve evolved to have certain behavioral traits

psychodynamics

study of how our unconscious mind and early development drives behavior

social-cultural approach

study of how behavior varies across cultures, societies, and situations

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning of an outcome, that you could’ve predicted it

overconfidence

the tendency to think you know more than you do

perceiving order in random events

trying to explain randomness with patterns that don’t exist

scientific method

the process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis; combines curiosity, skepticism, and humility

theory

a broad explanation of behaviors / events that organizes preexisting ideas

hypothesis

specific predictions that are testable through research; stem off of theories

operational definitions

precise procedures and expectations of a study that outline what we will measure for our variables; allows other researchers to replicate the experiment

meta-analysis

statistically combining many studies to find the bottom-line results and shared conclusions of all of them

Descriptive Method

describes behaviors of an individual or groups through case studies and naturalistic observations; no direct interaction with the test subject

Correlational Method

analyzes the relationship between two variables

wording effects

how you word a question might change the answer to it

random sampling

choosing a sample from a population where everyone in that population has an equal likelihood of being in that sample; used for the correlational method

population

the group of people you are conducting research on

correlational coefficient

statistic showing how well two things relate to one another

scatterplots

graphed cluster of dots representing correlation of two variables

illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship between two factors when none exists

regression towards the mean

when extreme scores tend to fall back to the average after testing more data points

Experimental Method

manipulating one or more independent variables to see effects on another depend variable; direct interaction with research subject

experiment group

Group that will receive the the treatment and will be tested on

control group

group that is left untested to see the difference that the treatment actually makes; may also receive a placebo

randomly assigned

when members of the sample are randomly split between groups, so that one group is effectively the same as the other; used for the experimental method

double blind procedure

when both the subjects and research staff are blind to which group is the experiment and which is the control; helps minimize the placebo effect

placebo effect

phenomenon that occurs when people feel positive effects from a treatment off of expectations alone, regardless of whether it actually worked or not

independent variable

the factor that is being manipulated and can exist without other factors

confounding variable

factors unaccounted for and outside of the experiment that may affect results

dependent variable

the variable that is being measured and may change due to the manipulation of the independent variable

informed consent

when participants are briefed about an experiment and still willingly choose to take part in it

descriptive statistics

statistics that organize data so we can better understand the results

mode

the number that appears most in a data set

mean

the average of all the numbers in a data set

median

the middle-most value in a data set

range

the difference between the largest and smallest value in a data set

standard deviation

how much each value differs from the mean in a data set

normal curve

the shape that a standard deviation graph would usually make which outlines the regular distribution of values from a data set

inferential statistics

statistics that help determine if results are significant / can be applied to larger generalizations outside of the study

statistical significance

when two data sets have reliable averages with large differences; displays the likelihood of the results happening by chance

developmental psychology

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

social psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

experimental psychology

the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method

Case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

false consensus effect

a pervasive cognitive bias that causes people to see their own behavioral choices and judgments as relatively common and appropriate to existing circumstances

convenience sample

sampling method in which the most easy-to-reach participants are selected (e.g. choosing the first people found on the street)

sampling bias

when certain groups of individuals are more likely to be included in a sample than others, leading to an unrepresentative sample.

self-report bias

a methodological problem that arises when researchers rely on asking people to describe their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors rather than measuring these directly and objectively

debriefing

the postexperimental explanation for a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants.