425 Terms You 'Ought to Know for the AP Psych Exam

Attribution Theory

Tendency to give explanations for someone's behavior, often by crediting a situation or person's disposition

Fundamental Attribution Error

Tendency to overestimate the impact of person's disposition and underestimate impact of situation

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

Tendency to apply with larger requests after responding to a smaller request

Zimbardo- Stanford Prison Experiment/ Lucifer Effect

Role Playing: people take on the role of what they feel are proper for the situation

Cognitive Dissonance

People change their behavior to avoid looking bad

Asch and conformity

Tendency to go along with the views and actions of others, even if you know they are wrong (line test)

Milgram- obedience

People tend to obey authority figures; 60% of participants thought they delivered the max possible level of shock

Social Facilitation

Improved performance in presence of others; easy task get easier as hard tasks get harder

Social Loafing

In the presence of others, people tend to do less, partly because they believe others will do it

Deindividualization

Loss of self- awareness and self-restraint, typically in a sense of anomie (mob situation)

Group Polarization

If a group is like-minded, discussion strengthens prevailing options and attitudes

Groupthink

A mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision- making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives

Just-World Phenomenon

Tendency of people to believe that the world is just and people get what they deserve and deserve what they get

Social Traps

Situation in which the confliction parties, by each rationally pursuing their self interests, become caught in mutually destructive behaviro

In-group

People with whom one shares a common identity with

Out-group

Those perceived as different from themselves

Hindsight Bias

Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have predicted it beforehand and may contribute to blaming the victim and forming prejudices against him/her

Prejudice

Unjustifiable attitude towards a group and its members

Mere Exposure Effect

The mere exposure to a stimulus will increase the liking of it

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare to others

Bystander Effect

Tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

Reciprocity Norms

The expectation that we should return help, not harm to those who have helped us

Biological

Explore the links between brain and mind

Cognitive

Study how we perceive, thinks, and solve problems

Humanistic

Study that says that humans are basically good and possess a free-will

Behavioral

Study that says that all behavior is observable and measurable

Psychoanalytic

Study of the unconscious, includes childhood and aggression issues

Sociocultural

Study of how cultural and political experiences affect our life

Evolutionary

Study of the evolutionary of humans over time

Developmental

Study of our changing abilities from womb to tomb

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of psychology

Introspection

Looking inward at one's own mental processes

Structuralism

Analyze sensations, images, and feelings into their most basic elements

William James

The brain and mind are constantly changing

Functionalism

Underlying causes and practical consequences of certain behaviors and mental strategies

John Locke

Tabula Rosa- mind is a blank slate written on experiences

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychoanalysis

Psychoanalytic Theory

All behavior is meaningful and driven by unconscious forces

Applied Research

Aims to solve practical problems

Basic Research

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often induced by a thy, to enable us to accept, reject, or revise the thy

Independent Variable

A factor, manipulated by the experimenter, and whose effect is studies

Dependent Variable

A factor that may change in response to the independent variable

Theory

An explanation that integrates principles, organizes, and predicts both the behavior or the event

Operational Definition

A clear statement of what one is looking for in an experiment

Validity

Measures what you want to be measured

Reliability

It is replicable and it is consistent

Sampling

The process by which participants are selected

Population

The amount of participants that can be selected for the sample

Representative Sample

Take the results from a smaller group and apply that to a larger group of people

Random Sample

Everyone has an equal chance of being selected for the experiment because the participants are chosen at random

Control Group

The group that does not take part in the critical part of the experimentation process, used as a comparison group

Experimenter Bias

The experimenter, either unconsciously or consciously, affected the outcome of the experiment

Single- blind Procedure

The subjects do not know to what group they belong

Double- blind procedure

Neither the experimenter nor the subject knows to what the group the subjects are in

Hawthorne Effect

If you know you're being studied, you will act differently than you normally would

Placebo

Sugar pill-something administered that has no real affect on the person and other than what they think mentally

Positive Correlation

As one goes up, the other goes up

Negative Correlation

As one goes up, the other goes down

Survey

A technique for ascertaining the self- reported, attitudes, opinions, or behavior of people in a questionnaire, or similar way of ascertaining information

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in the wild/natural environment

Case Study

Get a full, detailed picture of one participant or a small group of participants

Mean

Average of the scores

Median

Middle Score

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in the distribution

Range

The lowest score subtracted from the higher score

Standard Deviation

The average distance of scores around the mean

Z- Score

A type of standard score that tells us how many standard deviation units a given score is above or below the mean for that group

Myelin Sheath

A fatty covering around the axon of some neurons that speeds the neural impulse

Axon

Wire-like structure ending in the terminal that extends from the cell body

Sensory Neurons (Afferent)

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system

Neurons

A nerve cell

Interneuron

Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and the motor outputs

Motor Neurons (Efferent)

Neurons that carry incoming information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands

Neurotransmitters

Chemical contained in terminal buttons that enable neurons to communication

Agonist

Excite, by causing neurotransmitters to hit site multiple times

Antagonists

Inhibits, by blocking neurotransmitters

Central Nervous System

The brain and the spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

Sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Somatic Nervous System

The division of the Peripheral Nervous System that controls the body's skeletal muscles

Autonomic Nervous System

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs

Sympathetic Nervous System

Arouses the body

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Calms the body

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland, under the influence of the hypothalamus, this regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

EEG

An amplified recording of waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface, these waves are measured by electrodes placed on the skull

PET

A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a certain task

MRI

A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce a computed generated image that distinguishes between the types of soft tissue in the brain

Medulla

Connected to the base of the brain stem, controls our blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing

Reticular Formation

Screens incoming information, and filters out irrelevant, controls arousal and attention

Thalamus

The brains sensory switchboard

Pons

Above the medulla, makes chemicals involved with sleep and facial expressions

Cerebellum

The little brain attached to the rear of the brain stem, controls coordination, fire muscles movements and balance

Limbic System

Associated with emotions like aggression and fear and drives such as hunger and thirst and sex (hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala)

Amygdala

Part of the limbic system that is involved in emotions, aggression, and fear

Hypothalamus

Controls the metabolic functions of body temperature, sex arousal, hunger, thirst, motivations, and the endocrine section

Hippocampus

Part of the limbic system involved in learning and memory

Temporal Lobe

At side of brain above ears involved in memory, perception, hearing

Occipital Lobe

Lower back part of brain involved with processing visual information

Peripheral Lobe

Top of brain, discriminated between textures and shapes

Frontal Lobe

Located under forehead, involved with complex cognitive functions