AP Psych Unit 0: Science Practices

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental process

Structuralism

“structure” of the mind, various components

Introspection

Seeing how you respond to the environment around you (observation)

Evolutionary perspective of psychology

Survival of the fittest, adaptation to environment, enable survival from generation to generation

Functionalism

how and why mental and behavioral processes function

Psychodynamic perspective of psychology

Unconscious mind, repressed emotions/conflicts

Behavioral perspective of psychology

Observable behavior, punishment/reward shape future behavior

Humanistic perspective of psychology

Environmental impact, influence growth potential, becoming your best self, external behavior

Cognitive perspective of psychology

tech revolution, what is happening to the brain in real time, internal mental process, attention, perception, problem solving, thinking

Biological perspective of psychology

brain regions, nervous system, and genetics, DNA explaining behavior, chemicals in the brain

Sociocultural perspective of psychology

How social struggles, society, and culture shape how we think and behave

Biopsychosocial perspective of psychology

combo of biological, social-cultural, and psychological influence

Overconfidence

thinking we know more than we actually do and we are more confident than we are correct

Hindsight bias

the tendency, after learning the outcome of an event, that one would have predicted that very outcome

Confirmation bias

tending to search for, intercept, and recall information that confirms our existing beliefs

Cultural norms

beliefs, perspectives, patterns of behavior, etc. vary across cultures and identities

Case studies

a technique in which one person/organism is studied in depth to reveal underlying behavioral principles

Generalizability

may not apply to every single situation

Naturalistic observation

observe and record naturally occurring situations without control or manipulation, no experiential interference

Survey

self-reported, attitudes, opinions, or behaviors, a simple, cheap way to gather large amounts of data

Wording effects

can influence the results of a survey

Population

a group you want to study/draw conclusions about

Sample

smaller specific group you will collect data from

Random Sample

equal chance of inclusion into a sample (unbiased)

Representative sample

should accurately represent the target population

Sampling bias

specific members of a population are systematically more likely to be selected than others

Convenience sample

people selected for the study are easy for the researcher, does not accurately represent or generalize the population

Self-report bias

objective responses provided by participants may be exaggerated or inaccurate

Social desirability bias

participants tend to answer the prompt in a way that will be viewed favorably by others

Meta-Analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies

Correlational studies

predict behavior, measuring the relationship between two variables, how well does one variable predict another

Correlation coefficient

number between -1 and 1

Positive correlation

directly proportional r>0

Negative correlation

indirectly proportional r<0

Illusory correlation

perceived relationship even though no relationship exist, correlation does not equal causation

Confounding variables

an external, unmeasured variable that influences results

Control group

group that receives “typical” conditions

Experimental groups

group that receives “experimental” conditions

Independent variable

the one thing that changes between groups

Dependent variable

response to changed conditions

Control variable

factors that remain constant between different groups

Falsifiable hypothesis

a testable hypothesis that can be proven false

Operational definitions of dependent variables

specific “operations” (actions) that are performed that indicate that the dependent variable has occurred

Random assignment

each person has an equal chance of being assigned to either group, minimizes pre-existing differences

Placebo effect

Experimental results caused by participant expectations alone

Single blind study

Participants do not know which condition they are receiving or what the other treatment groups are

Double blind study

Both patients and investigator are unaware which condition the patient is receiving until the end of the trial

Informed Consent

researchers describe their project and obtain verbal/written consent from participants, you may leave at any time

Informed assent

A minor voluntarily agrees to be a part of a study while their parent/guardian provides legal consent

Protection from harm

Participants are protected from both physical and emotional harm

Confidentiality

Information is private and anonymity is protected

Debriefing

Provide participants with a fuller explanation of the study, especially important if deception is used

IRB - Institutional Review Boards

At all major research institutions to ensure that all federal and institutional ethical standards are met

IACUC - Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Oversight of animal care, enforces legal and ethical standards of animal care in research

Mean

the mathematical average of all values

Median

The middle value once numbers are in order

Mode

The most common value in the data set (can be multiple)

Range

the max value - the minimum value (range of all values)

Standard Deviation

a measure of the dispersion of a set of values

Statistical Significance

a statistical definition of how likely it is that obtained results did not occur by chance

Error Bar Overlap

The difference is NOT statistically significant

No Error Bar Overlap

difference in results MAY BE statistically significant; variation is due to independent variable, not chance

Normal Distribution

The Bell Curve, Mean=Median=Mode

Empirical Rule

• 68% of data falls between 1 standard deviation away from the mean (in either direction)

• 95% of data falls between 2 standard deviations away from the mean

• 99.7% of data falls between 3 standard deviations away from the mean

Regression towards the mean

The bigger the sample size, the more your data will…