AP PSYCH

AP Psychology Unit 0 Notes (Expanded)

Heuristics – Mental shortcuts that the brain uses to quickly process information

Cognitive Bias – Illogical thoughts or errors in thinking which result in Heuristics

Hindsight Bias – “I knew it all along”
Overconfidence – Guilty of having a thought of a better ability than true ability
Authority Bias – Believing someone is correct simply because they are an authority

Critical Thinking – Thinking carefully, evaluating evidence, and reasoning logically

Algorithms – Step-by-step procedures that guarantee a solution

Operational – Statement or description of the exact procedures (operations) used to identify research variables in a study

Hypothesis – An assumption that is stated BEFORE research has been conducted

Theory – Backed by data from research that has been completed and explains a question, thought, etc.

Falsifiable – A hypothesis or theory that can be proven wrong through testing

Replication – Repeating a study to see if the same results occur

Confounding variable – A factor that can come into play and alter the results of an experiment

Placebo / Placebo effect – A result that occurs from no active ingredient but results occur from patients believing something will work which causes it to work.

Control Group – Participants in an experiment that are NOT affected by the treatment/variable

Experimental Group – Participants in an experiment who are given the treatment/variable

Independent Variable – The factor that is manipulated by the researcher

Dependent Variable – The factor that is measured to see the effect of the independent variable

Experiment Bias – When researchers’ expectations influence the outcome

Population – The entire group being studied/experimented on

Representative Sample – A smaller selection of individuals who accurately reflect the characteristics of the population being studied

Random Sampling – Each individual from the representative sample has an equal chance of being selected for the study

Stratified Sampling – The population is divided into different subcategories and a random person is taken from each subcategory (One 9th, One 10th, One 11th, One 12th)

Sampling Bias – The participants chosen in a sample do not accurately reflect the population being studied. (Only 10th graders)

Correlation Studies – Help researchers predict the relationship between two variables

Pros – Shows strength and direction of a relationship
Cons – Does not show cause and effect

Correlation Coefficient / r value – Statistical measurement of the relationship between two variables. Scale: -1.00 (Perfect negative) → 0.00 (No relationship) → +1.00 (Perfect positive)
Prone to confounding variables
r = -0.7 to -1 Strong Negative correlation
r = 0.7 to 1 Strong Positive correlation

Illusory correlation – Perceiving relationship between 2 variables when no relationship exists

Regression Toward The Mean – Extreme scores tend to move closer to the mean on subsequent testing

Hawthorne effect – RESEARCH BIAS because your behavior is altered when you know you are being observed (Kids behaving when adult is observing)

Case Study – Requires a lot of data and research to understand an individual(s) background, behavior, etc.

Pros – Can observe rare behaviors
Cons – It is only specific to an individual to a specific group/individual

Naturalistic Observation – Observing subjects in their natural environment without interference

Meta-analysis – When researchers take the results from a group of different studies about the same topic and combine them to draw their own conclusion(s)

Surveys – Self-reported data from questions that ask for opinions/experiences

Pros – Inexpensive, large amounts of data, not easy to observe otherwise
Cons – Social desirability bias (participants may want to look good), wording effects

Quantitative Data – STATISTICAL data and NOT open to interpretation

Qualitative Data – Data that is subjective to opinions/thoughts/feelings

Single-Blind Procedure – Participants don’t know whether they are in the experimental or control group

Double-Blind Procedure – Neither participants nor researchers know who is in which group

Statistics & Descriptive Measures

Bell Shaped Curve can be Normal Symmetrical Distribution

85 = one z score below (BELOW MEAN)
100 = MEAN
115 = one z score above (ABOVE MEAN)

Mean, Median, Mode – Measures of central tendency

Range – Difference between highest and lowest scores

Standard Deviation – Measure of how spread out scores are

Percentile Rank – The percentage of scores that fall below a specific value

Skewed Distribution – Not covered on test but good for AP exam:

Negative: Mean < Median < Mode
Positive: Mode < Median < Mean

Null Hypothesis – No influence, nothing is going on (“Listening to classical music while studying has no impact on your grades.”)

Alternative Hypothesis – Evidence that 2 things are related (“Listening to classical music while studying affects your grades.”)

Effect Size – How significant the result of the experiment is

Institutional Review Board (IRB) – Judges if the study is ethical, safe, and worthy

Informed Consent – Participants understand and agree to the methods and purpose of the study

Confidentiality – Personal info must be kept private

Protection From Harm – Participants are safeguarded from physical or psychological damage

Debriefing (AFTER THE STUDY) – Explains research afterwards and any intentional deception

r value – Correlation study

p < 0.05 → statistically significant → reject the null hypothesis (there is likely an effect).
p > 0.05 → not statistically significant → fail to reject the null hypothesis (no strong evidence of an effect).

Z score – Number of standard deviations a data point is from the mean

Cause & Effect – Experiments determine causality through manipulation of IV & measurement of DV

Critical Thinking – Evaluating evidence logically, considering alternative explanations

B, C, C, B, D, C, A, B, C, A, A, C, D, c, B, B, D, A, 19, A, B, 22, C, D, B, C, 27, D, B, A