AP Psychology Vocabulary! | Unit 0: Science Practices

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Psychology

Examines how humans think, feel, and act, using scientific methods to investigate these processes. it is the scientific study of the human mind and behavior.

Behavioral Perspective

A psychological approach that focuses on how observable behaviors are learned and maintained through interactions with the environment, particularly through conditioning (classical and operant).

Middle finger - Because it’s a very reactive behavior!

Biological Perspective

A psychological approach that explains thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in terms of biological processes, such as genetics, brain structures, neurotransmitters, and hormonal activity.

Pinky finger - Small and intricate processes but powerful!

Cognitive Perspective

A psychological approach that focuses on mental processes such as thinking, memory, perception, and problem-solving.

Pointer finger- Pointing at the brain, think think think!

Evolutionary Perspective

A psychological approach that explains behavior and mental processes in terms of their adaptive value over time. It suggests that certain traits or behaviors may have developed because they helped our ancestors survive and reproduce, and some psychological disorders may reflect evolved responses that are no longer beneficial in modern environments.

Forearm (Wrist & Arm) - Supports the whole hand, how we support the evolution of human kind through our instincts of survival and reproduction.

Humanistic Perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes personal growth, self-actualization, free will, and the inherent goodness of people

Ring finger - relationships and wanting the best kinds of love in our lives

Psychodynamic/ Psychoanalytic Perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes unconscious conflicts, early childhood experiences, and repressed emotions as key influences on behavior and mental disorders.

Thumb - Pointing behind for the past

Socio-cultural Perspective

A psychological approach that examines how social, cultural, and environmental factors influence behavior and mental processes.

Palm - connecting all our fingers, just like how society and culture connects to behaviors.

Hindsight Bias

A common tendency for people to perceive past events as more predictable than they actually were. “I knew it all along!” phenomenon.

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions,

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct- to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements.

Peer Review

An evaluation process where scholars or researchers assess each other’s work before it gets published.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Falsifiable

If a statement, hypothesis, or theory is an inherent possibility prove it false. A statement is called falsifiable if it is possible to conceive an observation or an arguement which proves the statement in question to be false.

Operational Definition

The definition of a concept in terms of the actual procedures used by the researcher to measure it so it can be replicated.

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.

Survey

Obtaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group, usually through questioning a random sample.

Social Desirability Bias

A type of response bias in which people answer the questions in a way they believe will be viewed favorably by others, rather than how they truly feel or behave.

Self-Report Bias

A methodological problem that arises when researchers rely on asking people to describe their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors rather than measuring these directly and objectively.

Experimenter Bias

The unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis.

Population

All individuals who can potentially participate in the study.

Random Sample

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

Sample

A smaller group of individuals that are selected from a larger population in order to represent and generalize findings about the entire population.

Sampling Bias

A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample.

Convenience Sampling

A non-probability sampling method that involves selecting a sample of individuals or cases based on their availability or proximity to the researcher.

Representative Sample

Sample that has the characteristics that are similar to those in the population.

Case Study

Studying one person or group in depth in hope of revealing universal principles.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in natural situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation.

Meta-Analysis

A statistical technique that combines the results of multiple studies on a particular topic to determine overall trends or effects. It allows researchers to draw more reliable conclusions by pooling data from various sources, increasing the generalizability and strength of findings.

Correlation

Measuring the extent to which two factors vary together and how well one factor can predict the other.

Experimental Methodology

Type of research method where the researcher manipulates one variable (independent variable) to determine it’s effect on another variable (dependent variable). This is the only methodology that can prove causation.

Non-Experimental Methodology

Research methods that do not involve manipulating variables to establish cause-and-effect relationships. These include observational studies, case studies, surveys, and correlational research, where researchers observe and measure variables as they naturally occur without controlling them.

Correlation Coefficient

A number (symbolized by r) between -1 and 1 which represents the strength and direction of the correlation between two variables. The closer to -1 or 1 this number is, the stronger the correlation.

Scatter Plot

Graphs used to plot the scores and show the correlation between two variables.

Directionality Problem

A limitation of correlational research that occurs when it's unclear which variable is causing the other. For example, while two variables may be correlated, it is uncertain whether Variable A causes Variable B, or if Variable B causes Variable A.

Third Variable Problem

A situation in correlational research where an outside, unexamined variable is influencing both of the variables being studied, leading to a false assumption of a direct relationship between them.

Regression Toward the Mean

The tendency for extreme scores to become more moderate or closer to the mean when retested over time.

Experiment

a series of observations conducted under controlled conditions to study a relationship with the purpose of drawing causal inferences about that relationship. An experiment involves the manipulation of an independent variable, the measurement of a dependent variable, and the exposure of various participants to one or more of the conditions being studied.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested.

Control Group

In an experiment, the group that was not exposed to the treatment. Serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Independent Variable

Variable that the experimenter manipulates. “I” change it.

Dependent Variable

Variable that researchers measure. The results depends on the independent variable.

Random Assignment

Ensures all members of the sample have an equal chance of being placed into either the control or experiment group.

Single Blind

The subjects don't know which group they belong to, but researchers know who is in which group.

Placebo Effect

A psychological phenomenon where individuals experience real changes in their health or behavior after receiving a treatment that has no therapeutic effect, simply because they believe it will work. This effect highlights the power of expectations and belief in influencing outcomes.

Confounding Variable

An outside factor or variable that is not being controlled in an experiment, which can affect both the independent and dependent variables, potentially leading to false conclusions about the relationship between them.

Experimenter Bias

The unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis.

Informed Consent

An ethical principle where participants sign indicating they understand the components and the potential risks of the study and agree to take part. (Example: Getting our informed consent before having to eat a cricket!)

Informed Assent

The process in which individuals, especially minors or those unable to provide full consent, are given an explanation of the research study in an understandable way, and they agree to participate. While it is similar to informed consent, assent is typically used when the person cannot legally or fully consent themselves, such as children or individuals with certain cognitive impairments.

Protection from Harm

An ethical principle that ensures that research participants are not subjected to physical or psychological harm. The risk of harm should be no greater than what participants would normally encounter in their everyday lives.

Confidentiality

An ethical principle where experimenters will not release any information about subjects without their consent.

Debriefing

An ethical principle where the experimenter must debrief the participants by explaining any deception at the conclusion of the study.

Quantitive Research

An approach used in psychology to collect and analyze numerical data.

Qualitative Research

A type of research that focuses on exploring and understanding complex human behaviors, experiences, and social phenomena through non-numerical data. It typically involves methods like interviews, case studies, and participant observations, and aims to provide deeper insights into the meaning and context of a particular issue rather than generalize results.

Likert Scales

A numerical scale used to assess attitudes; includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A committee that reviews, approves, and monitors biomedical and behavioral research conducted on humans.

Research Confederates

People who participates in an experiment but are not the focus of the researchers’ observation.

Mean

The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and dividing by the number of scores.

Median

The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

Mode

The most frequently occurring in a distribution.

Percentile Rank

The percentage of scores in a distribution that fall below a particular score.

Skewed Distribution

A representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value. Can be either positively or negatively skewed.

Bimodal Distribution

Data distribution with two peaks.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Standard Deviation

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

Normal Curve

The symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

Statistical Significance

Measure of how likely the result of an experiment is due to the manipulation of the independent variable or due to chance. If an experiment is statistically significant, it is likely due to the manipulation of the IV and not due to chance.

Significance reported as the p-value.

Statistical Inference (Inferential Statistics)

The process of using data from a sample to make generalizations or draw conclusions about a population. It involves applying statistical methods to determine the likelihood that observed results are due to chance or if they represent a true effect in the larger population. It establishes meaning and significance of the study.

Effect Size

A measure of the strength or magnitude of a relationship or difference between variables in a study. It quantifies the size of the effect, independent of sample size, helping to determine the practical significance of a result. Larger effect sizes indicate stronger relationships or differences.

Double-blind Procedure

The researchers and the participants don’t know who received treatment or placebo.

Eliminates researcher and participant bias.

Deception

In psychological research, deception refers to the practice of intentionally misleading or withholding information from participants about the true purpose or nature of a study. While it is sometimes used to avoid bias in participants' behavior, researchers must ensure that the deception does not cause harm, and participants must be debriefed afterward.

Normal Distribution

A symmetric, bell-shaped curve that represents the distribution of many types of data. Most of the data points cluster around the mean, with fewer points appearing as you move farther from the mean in either direction. The distribution is characterized by its mean, median, and mode being the same, and it follows the empirical rule (68-95-99.7 rule) for standard deviations.

Positive Skew

A distribution of scores where most of the data points are clustered at the lower end, with a few higher scores that create a long tail on the right side. In other words, the distribution has a majority of lower values and a few extreme high values, resulting in a mean that is higher than the median.

Negative Skew

A distribution of scores where most of the data points are clustered at the higher end, with a few lower scores that create a long tail on the left side. This results in a distribution where the mean is lower than the median, and the few extreme low values pull the tail of the distribution to the left.

American Psychology Association (APA)

The leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology

Generalizability

Results of your study can be applied to different types of people.

Correlational Study

Research conducted to assess the relationship among two or more variables.

Descriptive Statistics

A branch of statistics that involves summarizing and organizing data to describe its main features. This includes measures like mean, median, mode, range, and standard deviation, as well as graphical representations such as histograms or bar charts. Descriptive statistics help provide a clear overview of the data, but do not allow for generalizations beyond the dataset.

Positive Correlation

A branch of statistics that involves summarizing and organizing data to describe its main features. This includes measures like mean, median, mode, range, and standard deviation, as well as graphical representations such as histograms or bar charts. Descriptive statistics help provide a clear overview of the data, but do not allow for generalizations beyond the dataset.

Negative Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases, and vice versa. In other words, when one variable goes up, the other tends to go down. The correlation coefficient for a negative correlation is between 0 and -1.

Hawthorne Effect

A psychological phenomenon where individuals modify their behavior or performance simply because they are aware that they are being observed or studied. This effect can lead to changes in outcomes that are not due to the experimental manipulation itself but rather to the attention participants receive.

Wording Effects

A type of bias that occurs when the phrasing of questions or statements influences how people respond. The way questions are framed in surveys, interviews, or experiments can lead to skewed or inaccurate responses, which can affect the reliability of the results.