Unit 0 - AP Psychology Vocab (midterm)

Approaches

• Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic: historical perspective used by Freud to explain to the unconscious on behavior. 

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

• Humanistic psychology: historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth.

• Cognitive: the perspective that focuses on brain functioning including perception, thinking, memory, and language.

• Biological (Neuroscience):  perspective which focuses on how brain chemistry, genes, and hormones, impact behavior. 

• Social-cultural: perspective which focuses on the impacts of our cultural, family, friends, and society.

• Evolutionary: perspective which focuses on the impacts of our ancestors on behavior. 

Research Methods

• Confidentiality: personal information about subjects is to never be shared. 

• Informed Consent: subjects must give written consent to participate in an experiment. 

• Case study: an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

• 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.

• Population: all the cases in a group being studied from which samples may be drawn.

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

• Representative sample: A subset of the population carefully chosen to represent the proportionate diversity of the population as a whole

• Naturalistic observation: observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.  *Naturalistic observation doesn’t explain, it only describes.

• Experiment: a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable); makes it possible to study cause and effect relationships.

• Operational definition:  specifically names the operations (steps or procedures) that the experimenter must use to control or measure the variables in the experiment.  This allows the experiment to be replicated.

• Random assignment: assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups.

• Double-blind procedure: an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or placebo.  This is commonly used in drug studies.

• Placebo: a pseudo treatment, in drug studies, a pill with no drug in it.

• Placebo effect: experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by administering a placebo, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

• Experimental group: in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, to one version of the independent variable.

• Control group: in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

• Independent variable (IV): the experimental factor that is manipulated and tested.  Ex. studying the effects of a drug on memory, the drug is the IV.

• Dependent variable (DV): the experimental factor that is being measured.  Ex. studying the effects of a drug on memory, memory is the DV.

• Confounding variable: a factor other than the IV that might produce an effect in an experiment. Ex. the temperature of the room, external noises, etc.

Statistics

• Median: the measure of central tendency that is the middle score in a distribution (falls at the 50th percentile); half the scores are above it and have are below it.

• Standard deviation: a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

• Normal curve (normal distribution): a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68% fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

• Statistical significance: a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance. P-value = less than 0.05%

• Correlation: a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.  *Correlation does not show causation.

• Correlation coefficient: a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1).

• Scatterplot:  a graphed cluster of dots each of which represents 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 (little scatter indicates high correlation).