AP Psych AP Test

Neuroscience psychologist

Investigates the relationship among the body, brain, and nervous system, and behavior and mental processes

Clinical psychologist

Works with the diagnosis, causes, and treatment of mental disorders

Cognitive psychologist

Examines how mental processes, such as thinking, knowing, feeling, and memory operate and affect behavior

Counseling psychologist

Works with people coping with everyday problems, including professional, marital, and social issues

Developmental psychologist

Studies how people change over time and the developmental stages that occur across the human lifespan

Educational psychologist

Studies theoretical issues related to how people learn and develops effective teaching practices

Human Factors psychologist

Uses psychological knowledge to increase efficiency between humans and machines

Industrial/Organizational psychologist

Studies issues related to the work environment, including employee motivation and selection

Personality psychologist

Examines stable traits and factors that influence these traits. Develops methods of personalty assessment

Psychometrics psychologist

Studies mathematical methods for measuring psychological variables by creating valid and reliable tests

School psychologist

Works directly with students who exhibit emotional or learning problems to overcome education difficulties

Social psychologist

Studies the impact of society on individuals and how a person's behaviors are shaped by interactions with others

Empiricism

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

Introscpection

the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes

Structuralism

used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Biopsychosocial approach

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

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

Behavior Genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

Basic Research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Applied Research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Hindsight Bias

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

Operational Definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Random Sample

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

Positive Correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

Negative Correlation

the relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other variable decreases

Correlation Coefficient

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

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.

Scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables

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.

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Inferential Statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

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.

Case Study

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

Placebo

something which has a positive mental effect, but no physical effect

Synapse

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

Action Potential

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

Refractory Period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

Reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

Antagonist

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response

Agonist

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response

Endocrine System

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

Lesion

tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

EEG

electroencephalogram

Limbic System

neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives

Cerebral Cortex

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

Split Brain

a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

Dual Processing

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

Plasticity

the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

Association Areas

areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

Posthypnotic suggestion

a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors

Circadian Rhythms

The 24-hour biological cycles found in humans and many other species.

Dissociation

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

Delta Waves

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Sleep Apnea

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

Latent Content

according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream

REM Rebound

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

Hypnagogic Sensations

bizarre experiences, such as jerking or a feeling of falling or floating weightlessly, while transitioning to sleep

Tolerance

the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect

Withdrawal

the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Opiates

opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

Depressants

drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

Hallucinogens

psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

Near-Death Experience

an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations

Hue

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth

Intensity

the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude

Accommodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Rods and Cones

in the retina, receives images that have passed through the lens of the eye

Opponent Process Theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

Parallel Processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

Retinal Disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

Audition

the sense or act of hearing

Frequency

the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

Place Theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Kinesthesia

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

Embodied Cognition

in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments

Perceptual Constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change

Figure Ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Gestalt

an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Associative Learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

Classical Conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Operant Conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

Acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

Generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

Reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Fixed Ratio Schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

Fixed Interval Schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

Variable Ratio Schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

Variable Interval Schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

Modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Cognitive Map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ \= (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Aptitude Test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

Crystallized Intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Fluid Intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood