AP Psychology - Research Methods & Biological Bases of Behavior

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering research methods, statistical concepts, psychological mindsets, and biological bases of behavior from the AP Psychology lecture notes.

Growth Mindset

The practice of self-rewarding and focusing on learning and skill development through effort to improve learning and performance.

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.

Overconfidence

A cognitive bias characterized by an overestimation of one's actual ability to perform a task successfully, a belief that performance is better than others, or excessive certainty in the accuracy of one's beliefs.

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions, but rather examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of ideas that explains or attempts to explain observations and to predict behaviors or events.

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation for a phenomenon that is pre-theory, limited in scope, and capable of being tested.

Operational Definition

A clear and measurable description of the variables being studied that turns a conceptual variable into a measurable variable to allow replication.

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.

Case Study

An observation technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

Survey

A research technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

Correlation Coefficient

A statistical index of the relationship between two things, ranging from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$.

Illusory Correlation

The perception of a relationship between two variables where none actually exists.

Experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more independent variables to observe the effect on a dependent variable while controlling other factors.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to different groups.

Confounding Variable

Nuisance variables that can interfere with experimental results.

Hawthorne Effect

A phenomenon, also known as demand characteristics, where participants alter their response or behavior to match suspected expectations.

Double-Blind Procedure

An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the participants have received the treatment or a placebo.

Placebo Effect

Experimental results caused by expectation alone, or any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance which the recipient assumes is active.

Meta-Analysis

A quantitative technique that synthesizes the results of multiple studies of a phenomenon into a single combined effect size estimate.

Regression Toward the Mean

The tendency for extremely high or extremely low scores to become more moderate (closer to the mean) upon retesting over time.

Standard Deviation

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean in a distribution.

Percentile Rank

The percentage of scores in a frequency distribution that are less than a given score.

Statistical Significance

The degree to which a research outcome cannot reasonably be attributed to chance, determined during testing and given by a critical $p$-value where $p < 0.05$.

Longitudinal Study

Research in which the same people are tested and studied over a long period of time.

Cross-Sectional Study

A study in which people of different ages are compared with each other at the same time.

Epigenetics

The study of how behaviors and environment cause reversible changes that affect the way genes work without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

Eugenics

A movement seeking to eradicate genetic defects and improve genetic makeup of populations through selective human breeding.

Heritability

The proportion of variation between individuals in a population that can be attributed to genetics.

Temperament

A person's stable emotional reactivity and intensity.

Biopsychosocial Approach

Psychology's integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

Central Nervous System

The division of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body and mobilizes its energy in stressful situations (fight-or-flight).

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body and conserves its energy (rest and digest).

Dendrites

Branching extensions of a neuron at the cell body that receive messages from other neurons.

Axon

The long single extension of a neuron that passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands.

Myelin Sheath

A layer of tissue covering the axon of some neurons that helps insulate and speed up neural impulses.

Action Potential

A neural impulse consisting of a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon generated by the movement of positively charged atoms across the membrane.

Threshold

The minimum intensity of excitatory minus inhibitory signals required to fire an action potential.

All-or-None Response

The principle that a neuron fires completely or not at all, as a stronger stimulus does not affect the action potential's strength or speed.

Refractory Period

A resting pause after an action potential where positive ions are pumped back outside the neuron before another action potential can occur.

Synapse

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

Reuptake

The process by which neurotransmitters remaining in the synapse are reabsorbed into the sending neuron.

Agonist

A molecule that excites neural activity by having a structure similar enough to a neurotransmitter to mimic its effects on the receiving neuron.

Antagonist

A molecule that inhibits neural activity by occupying a receptor site to block a neurotransmitter's action without stimulating the receptor.

Endocrine System

The body's 'slow' chemical communication system, consisting of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine gland that regulates other glands and is involved in growth and water and salt balance.

Brainstem

The oldest part of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull, responsible for automatic survival functions.

Medulla

The base of the brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing.

Reticular Activating System

Part of the reticular formation in the brainstem involved in consciousness, regulation of arousal, alertness, sleep-wake cycles, and attention.

Cerebellum

The 'little brain' attached to the rear of the brainstem, involved in procedural memory and coordinating voluntary movements and balance.

Thalamus

The brain's sensory switchboard located on top of the brainstem, which directs messages to sensory areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.

Limbic System

A doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebrum, associated with emotions and drives for food and sex.

Amygdala

Two lima bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system linked to the emotions of fear and anger.

Hippocampus

A structure in the limbic system involved in the formation and storage of long-term memory.

Hypothalamus

A limbic system structure lying below the thalamus that directs maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature) and governs the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.

Cerebral Cortex

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

Plasticity

The brain's ability to modify itself after injury, illness, or through experiences.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

An amplified recording of electrical waves sweeping across the brain's surface, measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

A functional neuroimaging procedure using MRI technology that measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow.