AP Psych Vocab 0

Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior (what organisms do) and mental processes (how organisms think, feel, perceive, and remember).

Wilhelm Wundt

Founder of the first psychology laboratory (Leipzig, 1879); helped establish psychology as a field that studies the mind systematically.

Introspection

Early method in which trained participants reported their conscious experiences; important historically but limited because reports are subjective and hard to verify.

Structuralism

aimed to describe the basic “elements” of conscious experience (like the building blocks of perception).

Functionalism

focused on what mental processes and behaviors do—how they help an organism adapt, survive, and flourish.

Behaviorism

Perspective arguing psychology should focus on observable behavior and how the environment shapes learning, emphasizing measurable variables and strong experimental design.

Psychoanalytic perspective

(associated with Freud) emphasized unconscious influences and early childhood experiences.

Humanistic perspective

emphasized growth, meaning, and personal agency.

Cognitive approach

Approach that studies mental processes such as attention, memory, language, and problem-solving.

Biological approach

Approach explaining behavior and mental processes in terms of the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics.

Evolutionary approach

asks how behaviors and mental traits might have been shaped by natural selection.

Sociocultural approach

emphasizes how social contexts and cultural norms shape behavior and thinking.

Biopsychosocial approach

Framework viewing behavior as the product of interacting biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences.

Hawthorne effect (reactivity)

A change in behavior that occurs because people know they are being observed.

Representative sample

mirrors the population’s characteristics

Mean

the arithmetic average.

Median

the middle score when ordered.

Mode

the most frequent score.

Positive skew

tail to the right (a few very high scores pull the mean up, so mean > median)

Negative skew

tail to the left (a few very low scores pull the mean down, so mean < median).

Range

High minus low

Standard deviation

A measure of variability indicating the typical distance of scores from the mean; larger values mean more spread-out scores.

Histogram

shows frequency of scores across intervals.

Statistically significant

would be unlikely to occur by random chance alone, assuming there is no real effect.

P-value

the probability of observing results at least as extreme as the data, assuming the null hypothesis is true.

Reliability

The consistency of a measure; a reliable test produces similar results under consistent conditions.

Protection from harm

researchers should minimize risk and avoid causing significant physical or psychological harm.

Informed consent

participants should understand the study’s purpose, procedures, risks, and their right to refuse or withdraw (within practical limits).

Confidentiality

personal data should be protected; identities should not be revealed without permission.

Generazability

The extent to which the results of a research study can be applied to a wider population or different real-world settings outside of the original sample.

Meta-analysis

a statistical method used to combine and analyze the results of multiple independent studies on the same research topic.

Third variable problem

occurs when an unmeasured outside factor drives changes in two correlated variables, creating a false impression that one variable causes the other

Directionality problem

occurs when two variables show a statistical relationship, but researchers cannot tell if Variable A causes Variable B, or if Variable B causes Variable A

Placebo

a fake treatment, like a sugar pill or saline injection, that has no active medical effect

Normal distribution

a data pattern where most values cluster around a central average (the mean), while fewer values spread out symmetrically toward the high and low extremes

Debriefing

after participation, researchers explain the study’s true purpose, especially if deception was used, and address questions or distress.

Deception

may be used when it is necessary to prevent demand characteristics (participants changing behavior because they know the hypothesis) and when risks are minimal.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

which evaluates risks, consent procedures, and protections.

Confederate

an actor or a member of the research team who pretends to be a regular participant

Bimodal Distribution

A frequency distribution of data set that has two district peaks (or modes) where scores tend to cluster.

Informed assent

The explicit, voluntary agreement to participate in a study given by an individual who is not legally competent to provide formal informed consent (such as minors under 18 or cognitively impaired individuals).

Barnum effect

the phenomenon that occurs when individuals believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them (more so than to other people), despite the fact that the description is actually filled with information that applies to everyone. 

Confirmation bias

The tendency to seek out information that aligns with our point of view, while at the same time dismissing information that challenges our beliefs

Sample

The selected group of individuals in a population that are selected to represent the population in a study

Effect size

Involves a statement or argument that is supported by logical reasoning or evidence, allowing it to be supported by debate

Defensible claim

Involves a statement or argument that is supported by logical reasoning or evidence, allowing it to be supported by debate