ap psych unit 1 vocab

Empiricism

Knowledge is the result of experience and scientific knowledge is developed through observation and experimentation
-Created by Francis Bacon
-Popularized by British philosophers

Wilhelm Wundt

-considered the father of psychology
-established the first psychology lab
-wanted to measure the "atoms of the mind"

Edward Bradford Titchener

-introduced structuralism to study the elements of the mind
-used introspection

Structuralism

Early school focused on identifying the elements of thought and mind (structures) the way early chemists developed the periodic table

Introspection

The process of looking inward to observe one’s own psychological processes

Charles Darwin

-Natural selection of mental and physical traits

-Adaptive evolution

William James

Introduced functionalism

-principles of psychology

Mary Whiton Calkins

-Student of William James

-Specialized in memory research

-Became first female president of the APA

Mary Floy Washburn

-Student of Edward Titchener

-First woman to get a Ph.D

-Wrote “The Animal Mind”

Behaviorism

-psychology should be an objective science

-observable behavior is important to study, not the unseen mental processes

B.F. Skinner

-Studied behaviorism

-Looked at learning processes in animals

John B Watson

-Studied behaviorism

Sigmund Freud

-Developed an influential treatment called psychoanalysis

Psychoanalytic Theory

Unconcious forces and childhood experiences affect our behavior and mental processes

Humanism

-Created by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogerrs

-Humans strive to reach their full potential

-Considered a “third force” in psychology

-Rejected behaviorism and psychoanalytic theory

Cognitive Psychology

The study of mental processes

Cognitive Neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes of humans and animals

Behavior

Any observable and measurable action taken by a person or animal

Nature vs. Nurture

Do genes (nature) or environmental factors (nurture) contribute to a person’s being?

Nature

-Behavior and mental processes occur because they are innate

-Socrates and Plato

-Rene Decartes

-Charles Darwin

Nurture

-Behaviors and mental processes occur as a result of experiences of the environment

-Aristotle

-John Locke

Evolutionary Psychology

The study of how behaviors and mental processes present in the species today exist because they were naturally selected

Culture

The shared ideas, values, behaviors, and traditions, shared by a group of people and passed from one generation to the next

Gender

Socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female

Positive Psychology

The scientific study of human flourishing

-The goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help communities and individuals thrive

Biopsychosocial Approach

Understanding behavior or mental processes from three key viewpoints

Biological Perspective

How biological (genetics, neural, hormonal) and physiological processes impact behavior and mental processes

Cognitive Perspective

How interpretations of situations impact behavior and mental processes

Evolutionary Perspective

How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

Humanistic Perpective

How the drive for personal growth and self actualization impact behavior and mental processes

Sociocultural Perspective

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Testing Effect

enhanced memory occurs as a result of retrieving, rather than rereading material

Active Processing

enhanced memory occurs with intentional engagement with material
-put material in your own words
-use a mnemonic device

Applied Research

Scientific inquiry that aims to use psychology to solve practical problems

-real world application of science

Counseling Psychologists

-Help people with adjustments and crises

-Challenges related to work, school, family, and relationships

-Administer and interpret psychological tests

-Therapy and counseling

-May conduct research

Clinical Psychologist

-assess and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders
-administer and interpret psychological tests
-therapy and counseling
-may conduct research

Psychiatrist

-holds an md
-may prescribe drugs to treat physiological causes of psychological disorders
-may also provide psychotherapy

Dorothea Dix

Reformer who advocated for the humane treatment of the mentally ill

Cognitive Psychologists

Study human thinking

Developmental Psychologist

Study how our behaviors and thoughts change over our entire lives, from birth to death

Education Psychologists

-Study how we learn in different environments and in different ways

-Might work in schools or universities designing tests or training teachers

Experimental Psychologists

-Conduct experiments to understand our behavior and mental processes

Psychometric Psychologists

Use math and statistics to create and administer, score and interpret tests

Social Psychologists

Study how we interact with other and how groups impact us individually

Forensic Psychologists

Bring law and psychology together

Environmental Psychologists

study how we are influenced and affected by our natural or built surroundings

health psychologists

Work to promote health and prevent disease

I/O Psychologists

-study the relationship between people and their working environments
-investigate worker productivity and personnel selection, organiztional structuring, consumer behavior, and training

Neuropsychologists

Study how our brain impacts our behavior and thoughts

-Might treat alzheimers, work with athletes, people with autism, or ADHD

Rehabilitation Psychologists

Help individuals who have lost functions after an accident or illness

Hindsight bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one could have foreseen it

Overconfidence

Tendency to think we know more than we do

Perceived order in random events

When one will believe that there is a pattern when there is none

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

operational definition

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

case study

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

Naturalistic Observation

a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Survey

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

Correlation

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

Positive Correlation

Two sets of data tend to rise or fall together

Negative Correlation

One set of data rises while the other falls

Negative correlation

One set of data rises while the other falls

Correlation Coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (from -1 to +1)

Illusory Correlation

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

Regression to the mean

The tendency for extreme scores or events to fall back toward the average

Experimental Group

Subjects are experimented on

Control group

Subjects do not receive the treatment

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to experiments and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting conditions between the different groups

Random Sampling

Choosing a representative sample of the population being studied

Single Blind

The participants in the study are uninformed about the treatment, if any, they are receiving

Double Blind

The participants and the researcher are uninformed about which group receives the treatment and which does not

Placebo

An inert treatment, like a pill without medication

Placebo Effect

Causes experimental results simply from expectations or assumptions that medication is being taken

Independent Variable

The factor of an experiment that is being manipulated

Dependent Variable

The outcome of an experiment that is measured

Confounding Variable

A factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s results

Experimental Validity

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

Descriptive Statistics

-Numerical data used to measure and decribes characteristics of groups

-Includes measure of central tendency and measures of variation

Histogram

A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

Mean

The mathematical average of a set of numbers

Median

The middle score in a distribution

Mode

The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Standard Deviation

A computed measure of how much scores carry around the mean score

Normal Distribution

A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean, or average and fewer and fewer near the extremes
-68% of scores fall 1 standard deviation from the mean
-95% of scores fall 2 standard deviations from the mean
-99% of scores fall 3 standard deviations from the mean

Inferential Statistics

Numerical data that allows on to generalize

-To infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Statistical Significance

Statistical statement of how likely it is that a result happened by chance

-reported as a p-value

-when less than .05, 95% likely that the results did not occur by chance

Descriptive

-basic purpose: to observe and record behavior
-conducted: case studies, naturalistic observation, or surveys
-manipulation: none
-weaknesses: no control of variables; single cases can be misleading

Correlational

-basic purpose: to detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another
-conducted: collect data on two or more variables
-manipulation: none
-weaknesses: cannot specify cause and effect

Experimental

-basic purpose: to explore cause and effect
-conducted: manipulate one or more factors; use random assignment
-manipulation: independent variable
-weaknesses: sometimes not feasible; results may not generalize to other contexts; not ethical to manipulate certain variables

Creative Steps to Research

Design each study, measure target behaviors, interpret the results

Specific Findings

Detecting the blink of a faint red light in a dark room

Theoretical Principles

Ability to fly planes at night

Debriefing

When temporary deception is necessary to the research, it must be fully explained at the conclusion of the experiment