AP Psych Units I-7

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Empiricism

Empiricism

• The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

• Locke

• Tabula Rasa "Blank slate"

Structuralism

• Early school of thought which used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

• Wundt and Titchener

Functionalism

• Early school of thought which explored how mental and behavioral processes function

• How they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

• James and Darwin

Experimental Psychology

• The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method

Behaviorism

• The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes

• Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

• Watson and Rayner

Humanistic Psychology

• A historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential for healthy people

• Freudian psychology

• Maslow, Skinner, and Freud

Cognitive Neuroscience

• The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition

• Including perception, thinking, memory, and language

Psychology

• The science of behavior and mental processes

Nature-Nurture Issue

• The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

• Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

Natural Selection

• The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

• Charles Darwin

Levels of Analysis

• The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon

Biopsychosocial Approach

• An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

• All lead to behavior or mental processes

Behavioral Psychology

• The scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

• Attempts to determine aggressive acts

Biological Psychology

• The scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

• Neuropsychologists or Behavior Geneticists

Cognitive Psychology

• The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

• How our interpretation of a situation affects our anger and how our anger affects our thinking

Evolutionary Psychology

• The study of evolution of behavior and mind, using principles of natural selection

• Analyze how anger facilitated the survival of our ancestors' genes

Psychodynamic Psychology

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

• Might vies an outburst as an outlet for unconscious hostility

Social-Cultural Psychology

• The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

• How expression of anger vary across cultural contexts

Psychometrics

• The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

Basic Research

• Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Developmental Psychology

• A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

• Womb to tomb

Educational Psychology

• The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

Personality Psychology

• The study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

• Investigating our persistent traits

Social Psychology

• The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Applied Research

• Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

• The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplace

• Helps organizations and companies select and train employees

Human Factors Psychology

• An I/O psychology subfield that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use

Counseling Psychology

• A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and in achieving greater well-being

• Often related to school, work, or marriage

Clinical Psychology

• A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

Psychiatry

• A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders

• Practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy

Positive Psychology

• The scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

• "Meaningful life"

Community Psychology

• A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

• For example, stopping bullying

Testing Effect

• Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

• Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effort or test-enhanced learning

SQ3R

• A study method incorporating 5 steps

• Survey-Question-Read-Retrieve-Review

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

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

Theory

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

Hypothesis

• A testable prediction often implied by a theory

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

Replication

• Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Case Study

• A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic Observation

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

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

Sampling Bias

• A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Population

• All those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

• Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country's whole population

Random Sample

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

Correlation

• A measure of the extent to which two variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other

Correlation Coefficient

• A statistical index of the relationship between two variables

• From -1.0 to +1.0

Scatterplot

• A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the 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

Illusory Correlation

• The perception of a relationship where none exists

Experiment

• A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

• By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant variables

Experimental Group

• In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

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

Random Assignment

• Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups

Double-Blind Procedure

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

• Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

Placebo Effect

• Experimental results caused by expectations alone

• Any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

Independent Variable

• The experimental factor that is manipulated

• The variable whose effect is being studied

Confounding Variable

• A factor other than the independent variable that might produce and effect in an experiment

Dependent Variable

• The outcome factor

• The variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Validity

• The extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Descriptive Statistics

• Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups

• Includes measures of central tendency and measure of variation

History

• A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

Mode

• The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Mean

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

Median

• The middle score in a distribution

• Half the score are above it and half are below it

Skewed Distribution

• A representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

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

• A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data

• Most scores fall near the mean and fewer and fewer near the extremes

• About 68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it

Inferential Statistics

• Numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Culture

• The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Informed Consent

• An ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Debriefing

• The postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

Biological Psychology

• Links between biological and psychological processes

• Behavioral neuroscience

• Introduction to connection of nerve cells and behavior

Neuron

• Nerve cell which is the building block of the nervous system

Dendrites

• Branching extensions that receive messages

• They listen

Axon

• Passes messages through branches to other neurons

• They speak

Myelin Sheath

• Fatty tissue layer that encases the axons of some neurons

Action Potential

• Neural impulse which is a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Refractory Period

• A period of inactive neuron firing

Threshold

• A level of stimulation that triggers a neural impulse

• Excitatory: Neuron accelerating

• Inhibitory: Neuron braking/slowing down

All-or-None Response

• You either get the neuron to fire or not fire with specific actions/behaviors

Synapse

• The junction between the axon tip and cell body of the receiving neuron

Neurotransmitters

• Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons to trigger certain actions/behaviors