AP PSYCH unit 1 and 2 quick quiz

mmm first flashcards of the year

Scientific Attitude

Requiring curiosity, skepticism, and humility. It is the basis for modern science.

Scientific Method

Process of carefully testing ideas

• It is an iterative process

  • Self-corrects over time, based on feedback

1. Making careful observations

2. Asking: Do observations fit expectations?

Theory

Explanations that use an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events; VERY ABSTRACT

Hypothesis

Testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Post-Truth

Circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief

• EX: FALSE NEWS: “Lies in the guise of news”

  • Intended to manipulate us

  • Especially sticky (easier to remember)

  • Not studied in psychology

• EX: REPETITION

  • What we hear repeatedly seems true over time

  • Studied in psychology

• EX: COGNITIVE AVAILABILITY

  • Dramatic events distort our thinking because drama captures our attention

  • Studied in psychology

• EX: GROUP POLARIZATION

  • Biased information is fed to us and amplified by social media

  • We read and share info only with those who think like us

  • Studied in psychology

• EX: CONFIRMATION BIAS

  • We seek out and welcome ideas that support our ideas

  • Studied in psychology

Critical Thinking

A type of thinking that examines evidence, discovers hidden biases, questions the source of information, and evaluates conclusions

3 roadblocks to Critical Thinking

1. Hindsight bias (“I knew it all along” phenomenon)

2. Overconfidence

3. Perceiving Order in Random Events

Intuition

Gut belief, not based on reasoning or logic; Can lead to mistakes

• EX: “Scared Straight” (Juvenile Awareness Program) is popular for its intuitive appeal, but "actually leads to more offending behavior”, which contradicts that they “are not causing more harm” to the kids

  • These children may be permanently harmed

Operational Definitions

Explains what you mean in your hypothesis / How the variables will be measured in ‘real life’ terms.

• Important: Ensures that we can try to REPLICATE an experiment (and its data)

Functionalism

Explores how behavioral and mental processes function and how they allow an organism to adapt and survive.

Inspired by Charles Darwin's theories and promoted by William James.

Sigmund Freud

View of human nature is fundamentally dark (People are selfish and bad; society’s rules prevents people from acting upon their nature)

• Ideas are untestable; His writing fluctuated and changed often

• Focused on "inner life” of mind; Consciousness / Unconsciousness

  • Id, Ego, Superego

Mary Whiton Calkins

A memory researcher. The first woman to be president of the American Psychological Association.

Margaret Floy Washburn

The first woman to receive a PhD in psychology.

Psychology

The study of mental processes and behavior.

There are several approaches to it, such as behaviorism, psychoanalytical, and humanistic.

Behaviorism

Psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

Psychoanalytic Psychology

A study of how people’s unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect their behavior.

Humanistic Psychology

A historically significant perspective that emphasizes

the importance of human growth.

• Revived interest in the study of mental processes

• Studies how current environments nurture or limit growth potential

Abraham Maslow

Interested in self-actualized people who use their talents and abilities fully

• Offered his perspective (Hierarchy of Needs) as a positive alternative to Freud’s “darkness” and Behaviorist’s “simplicity”

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

• The order of the levels is not completely fixed.

  • For some, esteem outweighs love, while others may self-actualize despite poverty.

  • Our behaviors are usually motivated by multiple needs simultaneously

• A component of humanistic psychology

• Does not drive psychological research

Cognitive Psychology

Explores how people perceive, process, and remember information and how thinking and emotions interact in mental illness.

Evolutionary Psychology

Studies the evolution of the mind and behavior using the principles of Natural Selection.

Positive Psychology

The study of human flourishing with the aim of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help people thrive.

Psycho-dynamic Psychology

The study of how the unconscious drives and conflicts behavior, then using that information to treat people with psychological disorders.

Social-Cultural Psychology

The study of how situations and culture influence people’s behavior and thinking.

Developmental Psychology

The study of physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout a person’s lifetime.

Educational Psychology

The study of the influence of teaching and learning.

Personality Psychology

The study of people’s characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Social psychology

The study of how people influence, interact, and relate with one another.

Industrial Organization (I/O) Psychology

Applying psychological principles to the workplace to optimize human behavior.

Human Factors Psychology

The exploration of how human and machines interact with each other to determine how machines can be safe to use.

Counseling Psychology

Assisting others with all types of problems, so they can have a better wellbeing.

Clinical Psychology

Studying and treating others with mental disorders.

Biopsychosocial approach

An approach that incorporates biological, social-cultural, and psychological perspectives.

Nature-Nurture Issue

The debate over how much genes or experiences affect human traits.

Testing Effect

Retrieving information, rather than rereading it, improves memory.

SQ3R

A 5 step study method that stands for Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review.

Psychometrics

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

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.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

USEFUL WHEN: Organizes observations, Implies Predictions, Stimulates further research

Operational Definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study.

• EX: human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Basic Research

Science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Applied Research

Science that aims to solve practical problems.

Cognitive Neuroscience

The study of brain activity intertwined with cognition.

Correlation studies

Associate different variables to one another.

Experimental studies

Manipulate variables to reveal their effects.

Correlation

How one variable coincides with another.

Helps figure out how either variable predicts the other.

Positive Correlation

As one variable increases, so does the other

Negative Correlation

As one variable increases, the other decreases

Correlation Coefficient

A number that measures the strength of a relationship (either neg or pos)

Ranges from -1 to 1. The relationship is weaker the closer it is to 0.

Causation

Explains and defines the relationship between two variables.

CORRELATION DOES NOT SHOW CAUSATION!!!!!!

Case Study

A detailed picture of one or a few subjects.

Descriptive research, so no correlation data.

Naturalistic Observation

Watching subjects in their natural environment (No manipulation).

Benefit: Subjects act naturally.

Limit: Does not show cause and effect. Some psychology is unobservable.

Survey

Measures correlation. Most common type of study in psychology.

Confounding Variables

The objective of an experiment is to prove that A causes B.

These variables are anything that could cause change in B that isn’t A.

Experimenter Bias

A Confounding Variable.

Lead to the “Double-Blind Procedure”

Placebo Effect

A Confounding Variable.

The brain convinces itself that a fake substance is the real thing.

Sampling

1. Identify the population you want to study

2. Make sure the population is representative

3. MAKE IT RANDOM

Random Sampling

Each person in a population has an equal chance of being in your sample

• Failure to randomly sample participants is a source of bias

Random Assignment

With a random sample, randomly assign your sample into two groups: An Experimental Group and a Control Group.

Controls confounding variables.

Hawthorne Effect

The fact that you (the subject) know that you’re in an experiment can cause change.

Control group may even change.

illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

W.E.I.R.D

Most research participants are…

Western

Educated

Industrialized

Rich

Democratic