AP Psychology Units 1-9

natural selection

the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

biopsychosocial approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

psychodynamic psychology

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

cognitive psychology

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

psychodynamic approach

how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

behavioral approach

how we learn observable responses

cognitive approach

how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

humanistic approach

How we meet our needs for love and acceptance and achieve self-fulfillment

social-cultural approach

how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

developmental psychology

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

educational psychology

the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

personality psychology

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

social psychology

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

applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

industrial-orgnizational (I/O) psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

human factors psychology

the study of how people and machines interact and the design of safe and easily used machines and environments

counseling psychology

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

clinical psychology

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

psychiatry

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy

Wilhelm Wundt

german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879

Edward Bradford Titchener

Used introspection to describe structure of mind

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

Mary Whiton Calkins

first female president of the APA (1905); a student of William James; denied the PhD she earned from Harvard because of her sex (later, posthumously, it was granted to her)

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 2nd president of the APA (1921)

Sigmund Freud

founder of psychoanalysis

John B Watson

behaviorism; famous for Little Albert study in which a baby was taught to fear a white rat

Rosalie Rayner

graduate student of Watson and co-researcher for the famous Little Albert demonstration of classically conditioned emotion

B.F. Skinner

operant conditioning; training pigeons and rats with reinforcements and punishments

Charles Darwin

Father of evolution; theory of natural selection, survival of the fittest

Jean Piaget

Known for his theory of cognitive development in children; genetic epistemology

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

G. Stanley Hall

established the first psychology research laboratory in the United States and founded the American Psychological Association

Rene Descartes

"I think, therefore I am"; emphasized human reasoning as the best road to understanding; mind and body are separate

Carl Rogers

humanistic; self-concept and unconditional positive regard drive personality, client-centered approach

John Locke

mind is a blank slate (nurture); empiricism

Francis Bacon

developed the scientific method

Abraham Maslow

humanistic; known for "Maslow's hierarchy of needs" and the concept of "self-actualization"

Socrates

mind is separable from body

Plato

student of Socrates; knowledge is innate (nature)

Aristotle

student of Plato; knowledge results from memories of past experiences (nurture)

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it; i-knew-it-all-along phenomenon

critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

theory

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

hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study; ex. hunger being defined as "hours without eating"

replication

duplicating an experiment, usually with different participants; increases accuracy and reliability of research conclusions

case study

one person is studied in depth; cannot establish cause and effect

survey

Gathering data- self-reported beliefs/attitudes from a large sample that represents the population, must have random sampling

population

all the possible subjects in a group being studied

random sampling

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion; representative of larger population

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation; cannot establish cause and effect

correlation

expresses a relationship between two variables; measures how well one variable predicts the other

CORRELATION DOES NOT

PROVE CAUSATION

correlation coefficient

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

scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables (little scatter indicates high correlation)

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

random assignment

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

double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

placebo effect

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.

experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

control group

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

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

mean

average; a+b+c/total

median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

sensory neurons (afferent)

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor neurons (efferent)

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Interneurons (association)

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

axon

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

action potential

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

threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

synapse

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

synaptic vesicles

key organelles involved in synaptic functions; uptake, storage, stimulus dependent release of neurotransmitters

synaptic cleft

tiny gap at the junction of synapse

axon hillock

cone shaped region of an axon where it joins the cell body.

nodes of ranvier

gaps in the myelin sheath

Schwann cells

Type of glia in the PNS, Supporting cells of the peripheral nervous system responsible for the formation of myelin.

oligodendroglia

Glial cells in the central nervous system that myelinate axons.

astrocytes

specialized glial cells that regulate blood flow and supply building blocks of transmitters

terminal buttons

Small knobs at the end of axons that secrete neurotransmitters

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

agonist

A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.

antagonist

a chemical that blocks a neurotransmitter

refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

endorphins

"morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.