AP PSYCH UNIT 1

Psychology

Science of behavior and mental processes.

Psychiatry

Branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy.

Nature-Nurture

Longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

Empiricism

View that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation.

Basic Research

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Applied Research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Psychometrics

Scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes and traits.

Structuralism

Early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.

Functionalism

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

Psychodynamic Psychology

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

Behaviorism

View that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

Humanistic Psychology

Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth.

Experimental Psychology

Study of behavior and thinking using the scientific method.

Cognitive Neuroscience

Interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Level of Analysis

Differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.

SQ3R

Study method incorporating five steps Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review.

Biopsychosocial Approach

Integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

Biological Psychology

Branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes.

Evolutionary Psychology

Study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection.

Behavioral Psychology

Scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning.

Cognitive Psychology

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

Social-Cultural Psychology

Study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

Developmental Psychology

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

Educational Psychology

Study of how psychological processes affect, and can enhance, teaching and learning.

Personality Psychology

Study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting--including, but not limited to: anxiety, sociability, self-esteem, need for achievement, aggressiveness, etc.

Social Psychology

Scientific study of how we think about, influence and relate to one another--including, but not limited to: first impressions, prejudice, behavior in a group, attitude formation, interpersonal attraction, etc.

I/O Psychology

Application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces--including, but not limited to: selecting and training personnel, productivity improvement, working conditions, impact of automation on workers, etc.

Human Factors Psychology

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

Counseling Psychology

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

Branch of psychology that studies, assesses and treats people with psychological disorders.

Community Psychology

Branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments, and how social institutions affect individuals and groups.

Socrates

Greek philosopher. 'Socratic Method'.

Plato

Greek philosopher. student of Socrates.

Aristotle

Greek philosopher. Pupil of Plato.

Francis Bacon

English politician and writer. created empiricism. created the scientific method.

Rene Descartes

French scientist and philosopher. Proponent of dualism. Dissected animals. Among first to understand that nerves control muscles.

John Locke

English philosopher. Advocated the idea of a "social contract". he said people have natural rights to life, liberty and property.

Charles Darwin

English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882).

Natural Selection

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

Wilhelm Wundt

German physiologist. 'Father of Psychology'. Created approach of structuralism. Opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879.

Introspection

Method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings.

E. B. Titchener

Student of Wundt. Introduced experimental psychology to the United States.

William James

Founder of functionalism. Studied how humans use perception to function in our environment. believed in darwin's ideas. first psychology professor at Harvard.

G. Stanley Hall

American psychologist. Established the first psychology research laboratory in the United States. Founded the American Psychological Association.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist who observed conditioned salivary responses in dogs (1849-1936).

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist who originated psychoanalysis (1856-1939). Said that human behavior is irrational.

John B. Watson

Behaviorist. Famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat.

Jean Piaget

Four stage theory of cognitive development: 1. sensorimotor, 2. preoperational, 3. concrete operational, and 4. formal operational.

Carl Rogers

humanistic; Contributions: founded person-centered therapy

Maslow

Humanistic psychology. Self-actualization. Transcendence.

M. Washburn

1st woman in America to receive a Ph.D. in psychology: 1894.

M. Calkins

First woman president of the American Psychological Association.

Dualism

the presumption that mind and body are two distinct entities that interact

Monism

the presumption that mind and body are different aspects of the same thing

Forensic Psychologists

work within the criminal justice system; testify about the psychological competence of defendants and may explain how certain kinds of psychological problems give rise to criminal behavior

School Psychologists

assess and counsel students, consult with educators and parents, and perform behavioral intervention when necessary

Sports Psychologists

help athletes refine their focus on competition goals, increase motivation, and deal with anxiety and fear of failure

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's concept of the mind as a blank sheet/slate ultimately bombarded by sense impressions that, aided by human reasoning, formulate ideas

Cognitive Revolution

rebellion of a second group of psychologists during the 1960s; led the field back to its early interest in mental processes

Mental Processes

Thoughts and feelings that are internal, personal and cannot be directly observed

Behavior

The way an organism reacts to changes in its internal condition or external environment.

Aristotle and Augustine

believed mind and body are connected

Socrates, Plato, and Descartes

believed mind and body are distinct or separate

Socrates and Plato

believed some ideas are inborn

Aristotle and Locke

believed that the mind is a blank slate

The Father of Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.) (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 031)

critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, assesses the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 035)

theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 038)

hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 038)

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 039)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 039)

case study

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 040)

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 040)

survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 042)

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 043)

population

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (Note: Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country's whole population.) (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 043)

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 043)

correlation

a measure of the extent to which two variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 046)

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (from -1 to +1). (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 046)

scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation). (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 046)

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 050)

experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant variables. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 051)

experimental group

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 051)

control group

in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 051)

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 051)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 051)

independent variable

the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 052)

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 052)

dependent variable

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 052)

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. (See also content validity and predictive validity.) (Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 053, 622)

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 057)

histogram

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 057)

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 057)

mean

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 057)

median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 057)

skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 058)

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 058)

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 058)

normal curve (normal distribution)

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 059, 621)