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AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT #1

Unit One: Part 1

Introduction to Psychology:

  • What is Psychology?

The study/science of behavior and mental processes

  • History

Greek Philosophers

Curious about the mind and how it works, as well as concepts that cannot be measured (love, freedom, etc.)

Rene DeCartes

Dualism-mind and body separate

John Locke

Believed all humans were born as a “blank slate”

Birth of Modern Psychology:

  • Schools of Thought

Structuralism

classifying and understanding elements of the mind’s structure

Edward Titchener and Wilhelm Wundt

Functionalism

how mental and behavioral processes function and how they are useful to an organism in adapting to the environment

William James

Psychoanalysis

the ways our unconscious and childhood experiences affect our behavior

Sigmund Freud

Behaviorism

studies behavior without reference to mental processes

John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner

Humanism

humans are driven by their need for love and acceptance

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

Psychology's Theoretical Perspectives:

Behavioral

How we learn observable responses

How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, for example, to lose weight?

Biological

How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences

How do pain messages travel from the hand to the brain? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives? To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression products of our genes? Of our environment?

Cognitive

How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Solving problems?

Evolutionary

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

How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Humanistic

How we achieve personal growth and self-fulfillment

How can we work toward fulfilling our potential? How can we overcome barriers to our personal development?

Psychodynamic

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

How can unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas explain someone’s personality traits and disorders?

Social-Cultural

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

How are we affected by the people around us and our surrounding cultures?

Psychology Subfields:

Developmental

Studying our changing abilities from womb to tomb

Educational

Studying influences on teaching and learning

Personality

Investigating our persistent traits

Social

Exploring how we view and affect one another

Industrial-Organizational

Application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Human Factors

How people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe

Counseling

Assists people with problems in living and achieving greater well-being

Clinical

Studies assess and treat people with psychological disorders

Psychiatry

Medicine dealing with psychological disorders

Community

Studies on how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

Terms:

Empiricism

The idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge

Structuralism

Classifying and understanding elements of the mind's structure

Introspection

A self-reflection of one's mind and its psychological processes

Nature-Nurture Issue

Controversy about whether human traits are inherited or developed through our experiences

Natural Selection

The principle in which nature selects traits that would best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a distinct environment

Behavior Genetics

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

Positive Psychology

The scientific study of human flourishing with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths that help individuals and communities thrive

Testing Effect

An enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

SQ3R

A study method using these five steps, Survey Question, Read, Retrieve, Reread

Unit One: Part 2

Terms:

Hindsight Bias

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

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.

Sampling Bias

A flawed sampling process produces an unrepresentative sample.

Random Sample vs. Random Assignment

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion vs. Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between different groups.

Confounding Variables

Other factors that can potentially influence a study’s results.

Skewed Distribution

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

Illusory Correlation

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

Validity vs. Reliability

The extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to vs. The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting.

Research in Psychology:

Basic Research

Finding new information

Applied Research

Applying new information along with what is already known to practical problems

Description Method:

  • Three common ways to gather data:

  • The goal is to gather data that describes behavior and thoughts

Case Study

Study one individual in great depth

Survey

Asking people to report on their behavior and/or opinions

Naturalistic Observation

Describing observed behavior

  • Drawbacks

Case Study

Could be a minority example

Survey

Wording can be misleading, hard to get a random sample, and hard to get a large sample size

Naturalistic Observation

Hard to get a large sample size, and there is room for bias

Scientific Method:

  • Make Observations

  • Form a Theory

    • Predictions

  • Theories lead to a Hypothesis

    • Testable Predictions

  • Conduct Experiments and Observations

    • Gather Data

  • Draw Conclusions

  • Perhaps refine the hypothesis and start the process over

Comparing Research Methods:

Research Method

Basic Purpose

How It’s Conducted

What Is Manipulated

Weakness

Descriptive

To observe and record behavior

Do case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations

Nothing

No control of variables; single cases may be misleading

Correlational

To detect naturally occurring relationships; to asses how well one variable predicts another

Compute statistical association, sometimes among survey responses

Nothing

Does not specify cause and effect

Experimental

To explore cause and effect

Manipulate one or more factors; use random assignment

Independent variable(s)

Sometimes not feasible; results may not generalize to other contexts; not ethical to manipulate certain variables

The Experimental Method:

  • When conducting experimental research, you are manipulating a situation and then looking at the results

  • Key parts of an experiment:

Independent Variable (IV)

The part of the experiment that is manipulated

Dependent Variable (DV)

The part of the experiment that is measured

  • You must also “Operationalize” the variables (i.e. explain HOW you will measure them)

Experimental Research:

  • Grouping

Control Group

Subjects are given a Placebo - a “fake” substance or condition or nothing at all

Experimental Group

Subjects who are given a real substance or condition

  • Double-Blind Procedure

    • Neither the subject nor the experimenter should know who was assigned to each group

  • Random Assignment

    • Subjects should be randomly assigned by chance to the different groups

Correlation Method:

  • Using numbers to describe the strength of a relationship between two traits or behaviors

    • Example: The more you study, the higher your test scores

  • Method: place data on a graph called a scatter plot

Video Link

  • Correlation does NOT equal causation

Scatter Plots:

  • After the data is plotted, the slope will indicate that the relationship between the two variables is one of three things: (The closer to +1/-1, the stronger the relationship)

  1. Positive Correlation (closer to +1.0): When one variable goes up, so does the other

    1. Example: More education, higher salary

  2. Negative Correlation (closer to -1.0): When one variable goes up, the other goes down

    1. Example: More sun-tan lotion, less skin cancer

  3. No Correlation: No clear relationship indicated

Statistics And Psychology:

  • Once researchers gather statistical data, they need to organize it in order to draw conclusions

  • Other Factors to Consider:

    • Because of the fact that a few scores can throw off your findings (particularly the Mean), it is important to look at the:

      • Range: The gap between the highest and lowest score

      • Standard Deviation: A measure of how far a score differs from the mean (The larger the standard deviation, the more the scores are dispersed)

Measures of Central Tendency:

  • Interpreting statistics is one of the ways experimenters draw conclusions in the world of Psychology

  • One way to summarize and organize statistical data:

    • Mode: The most frequently occurring score

    • Mean: The average score

    • Median: The middle score (the 50th percentile)

  • Again, be careful because a few “abnormal” scores could distort these findings

  • Normal Bell Curve And Skewed Bell Curve:

Mock Survey of Height of Classroom:

  • Heights In Inches:

    • 59 in.

    • 63 in.

    • 63 in.

    • 63 in.

    • 64 in.

    • 66 in.

    • 66 in.

    • 67 in.

    • 68 in.

    • 69 in.

    • 69 in.

    • 69 in.

    • 70 in.

    • 70 in.

    • 71 in.

    • 71 in.

    • 75 in.

  • What is The Range: 59 in. - 75 in.

  • What is The Mode: 63 in. and 69 in.

  • What is The Median: 68 in.

  • What is The Mean: 67.2 in.

MP

AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT #1

Unit One: Part 1

Introduction to Psychology:

  • What is Psychology?

The study/science of behavior and mental processes

  • History

Greek Philosophers

Curious about the mind and how it works, as well as concepts that cannot be measured (love, freedom, etc.)

Rene DeCartes

Dualism-mind and body separate

John Locke

Believed all humans were born as a “blank slate”

Birth of Modern Psychology:

  • Schools of Thought

Structuralism

classifying and understanding elements of the mind’s structure

Edward Titchener and Wilhelm Wundt

Functionalism

how mental and behavioral processes function and how they are useful to an organism in adapting to the environment

William James

Psychoanalysis

the ways our unconscious and childhood experiences affect our behavior

Sigmund Freud

Behaviorism

studies behavior without reference to mental processes

John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner

Humanism

humans are driven by their need for love and acceptance

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

Psychology's Theoretical Perspectives:

Behavioral

How we learn observable responses

How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, for example, to lose weight?

Biological

How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences

How do pain messages travel from the hand to the brain? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives? To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression products of our genes? Of our environment?

Cognitive

How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Solving problems?

Evolutionary

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

How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Humanistic

How we achieve personal growth and self-fulfillment

How can we work toward fulfilling our potential? How can we overcome barriers to our personal development?

Psychodynamic

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

How can unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas explain someone’s personality traits and disorders?

Social-Cultural

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

How are we affected by the people around us and our surrounding cultures?

Psychology Subfields:

Developmental

Studying our changing abilities from womb to tomb

Educational

Studying influences on teaching and learning

Personality

Investigating our persistent traits

Social

Exploring how we view and affect one another

Industrial-Organizational

Application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Human Factors

How people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe

Counseling

Assists people with problems in living and achieving greater well-being

Clinical

Studies assess and treat people with psychological disorders

Psychiatry

Medicine dealing with psychological disorders

Community

Studies on how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

Terms:

Empiricism

The idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge

Structuralism

Classifying and understanding elements of the mind's structure

Introspection

A self-reflection of one's mind and its psychological processes

Nature-Nurture Issue

Controversy about whether human traits are inherited or developed through our experiences

Natural Selection

The principle in which nature selects traits that would best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a distinct environment

Behavior Genetics

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

Positive Psychology

The scientific study of human flourishing with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths that help individuals and communities thrive

Testing Effect

An enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

SQ3R

A study method using these five steps, Survey Question, Read, Retrieve, Reread

Unit One: Part 2

Terms:

Hindsight Bias

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

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.

Sampling Bias

A flawed sampling process produces an unrepresentative sample.

Random Sample vs. Random Assignment

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion vs. Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between different groups.

Confounding Variables

Other factors that can potentially influence a study’s results.

Skewed Distribution

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

Illusory Correlation

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

Validity vs. Reliability

The extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to vs. The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting.

Research in Psychology:

Basic Research

Finding new information

Applied Research

Applying new information along with what is already known to practical problems

Description Method:

  • Three common ways to gather data:

  • The goal is to gather data that describes behavior and thoughts

Case Study

Study one individual in great depth

Survey

Asking people to report on their behavior and/or opinions

Naturalistic Observation

Describing observed behavior

  • Drawbacks

Case Study

Could be a minority example

Survey

Wording can be misleading, hard to get a random sample, and hard to get a large sample size

Naturalistic Observation

Hard to get a large sample size, and there is room for bias

Scientific Method:

  • Make Observations

  • Form a Theory

    • Predictions

  • Theories lead to a Hypothesis

    • Testable Predictions

  • Conduct Experiments and Observations

    • Gather Data

  • Draw Conclusions

  • Perhaps refine the hypothesis and start the process over

Comparing Research Methods:

Research Method

Basic Purpose

How It’s Conducted

What Is Manipulated

Weakness

Descriptive

To observe and record behavior

Do case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations

Nothing

No control of variables; single cases may be misleading

Correlational

To detect naturally occurring relationships; to asses how well one variable predicts another

Compute statistical association, sometimes among survey responses

Nothing

Does not specify cause and effect

Experimental

To explore cause and effect

Manipulate one or more factors; use random assignment

Independent variable(s)

Sometimes not feasible; results may not generalize to other contexts; not ethical to manipulate certain variables

The Experimental Method:

  • When conducting experimental research, you are manipulating a situation and then looking at the results

  • Key parts of an experiment:

Independent Variable (IV)

The part of the experiment that is manipulated

Dependent Variable (DV)

The part of the experiment that is measured

  • You must also “Operationalize” the variables (i.e. explain HOW you will measure them)

Experimental Research:

  • Grouping

Control Group

Subjects are given a Placebo - a “fake” substance or condition or nothing at all

Experimental Group

Subjects who are given a real substance or condition

  • Double-Blind Procedure

    • Neither the subject nor the experimenter should know who was assigned to each group

  • Random Assignment

    • Subjects should be randomly assigned by chance to the different groups

Correlation Method:

  • Using numbers to describe the strength of a relationship between two traits or behaviors

    • Example: The more you study, the higher your test scores

  • Method: place data on a graph called a scatter plot

Video Link

  • Correlation does NOT equal causation

Scatter Plots:

  • After the data is plotted, the slope will indicate that the relationship between the two variables is one of three things: (The closer to +1/-1, the stronger the relationship)

  1. Positive Correlation (closer to +1.0): When one variable goes up, so does the other

    1. Example: More education, higher salary

  2. Negative Correlation (closer to -1.0): When one variable goes up, the other goes down

    1. Example: More sun-tan lotion, less skin cancer

  3. No Correlation: No clear relationship indicated

Statistics And Psychology:

  • Once researchers gather statistical data, they need to organize it in order to draw conclusions

  • Other Factors to Consider:

    • Because of the fact that a few scores can throw off your findings (particularly the Mean), it is important to look at the:

      • Range: The gap between the highest and lowest score

      • Standard Deviation: A measure of how far a score differs from the mean (The larger the standard deviation, the more the scores are dispersed)

Measures of Central Tendency:

  • Interpreting statistics is one of the ways experimenters draw conclusions in the world of Psychology

  • One way to summarize and organize statistical data:

    • Mode: The most frequently occurring score

    • Mean: The average score

    • Median: The middle score (the 50th percentile)

  • Again, be careful because a few “abnormal” scores could distort these findings

  • Normal Bell Curve And Skewed Bell Curve:

Mock Survey of Height of Classroom:

  • Heights In Inches:

    • 59 in.

    • 63 in.

    • 63 in.

    • 63 in.

    • 64 in.

    • 66 in.

    • 66 in.

    • 67 in.

    • 68 in.

    • 69 in.

    • 69 in.

    • 69 in.

    • 70 in.

    • 70 in.

    • 71 in.

    • 71 in.

    • 75 in.

  • What is The Range: 59 in. - 75 in.

  • What is The Mode: 63 in. and 69 in.

  • What is The Median: 68 in.

  • What is The Mean: 67.2 in.

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