AP Psychology Exam Notes
Unit Zero: Research Design Basic Vocabulary
Hypothesis: A tentative explanation that must be falsifiable.
Operational Definition: A clear, precise, and quantifiable definition of variables, allowing for replication and reliable data collection.
Qualitative Data: Descriptive data (e.g., eye color).
Quantitative Data: Numerical data, ideal and necessary for statistics.
Population: Everyone to whom the research could apply.
Sample: The specific people (or person) chosen for the study.
Research Designs
Correlation: Identifies the relationship between two variables.
Advantage: Useful when experiments are unethical.
Disadvantage: Correlation does not equal causation.
Directionality Problem: Determining the direction of the correlation (e.g., does depression cause low self-esteem, or vice versa?).
Third Variable Problem: A different variable is responsible for the relationship (e.g., ice cream sales and murder rates).
Positive Correlation: Variables increase and decrease together.
Negative Correlation: As one variable increases, the other decreases.
The stronger the number, the stronger the relationship, regardless of the positive/negative sign. Cannot be less than or greater than 1. Stronger relationships = tighter clusters on a graph.
Experiments: Purposefully manipulate variables to determine cause and effect.
Advantage: Only type that establishes cause and effect.
Disadvantage: Can be unethical, too artificial.
Independent Variable: Purposely altered by the researcher to look for an effect.
Experimental Group: Receives the treatment (part of the IV); can have multiple experimental groups.
Control Group: Placebo, baseline (part of the IV); can only have one.
Dependent Variable: Measured variable (is dependent on the independent variable).
Vocab unique to experiments:
Placebo Effect: Any observed effect on behavior caused by the placebo.
Double-Blind: Experiment where neither the participant nor the experimenter knows the condition assignments (drug studies).
Single-Blind: Only the participant is blind.
Confound: An error/flaw in the study is accidentally introduced (confounding variable).
Random Assignment: Assigns participants to either the control or experimental group randomly.
Other Study Types
Naturalistic Observation: Observe people in their natural settings.
Advantage: Real-world validity.
Disadvantage: No cause and effect can be established.
Case Study: Studies one person (usually) in great detail.
Advantage: Collect lots of info.
Disadvantage: No cause/effect.
Meta-Analysis: Combines multiple studies to increase sample size and examine effect sizes.
Statistics
Descriptive Stats: Show the shape of the data.
Measures of Central Tendency:
Mean: Average (use in normal distribution).
Median: Middle number (use in skewed distribution).
Mode: Occurs most often.
Bimodal: Has two modes, usually indicates good and bad scores.
Skews: Created by outliers.
Negative Skew: Mean is to the left, mode is to the right.
Positive Skew: Mean is to the right.
Measure of Variation:
Range: Distance between the smallest and biggest number.
Standard Deviation: Average amount the scores are spread from the mean (bigger number = more spread).
Inferential Statistics: Establishes significance (meaningfulness).
Statistical Significance: Results not due to chance, experimental manipulation caused the difference in means.
p < .05 = statistically significant, smaller = better.
Effect Size: Data has practical significance; bigger = better.
Ethical Guidelines (IRB Approval Needed for People)
Confidentiality: Names kept secret.
Informed Consent: Must agree to be part of the study.
Informed Assent: Minors and their parents must agree.
Debriefing: Must be told the true purpose of the study (done after for deception).
Deception must be warranted.
No harm – mental/physical.
Additional Vocabulary
Surveys: Usually turned into correlation, subject to self-report bias.
Social Desirability: People lie to look good.
Wording Effects: How you frame the question can impact your answers.
Random Sample (Selection): Method for choosing participants, everyone has a chance to take part, increases generalizability.
Representative Sample: Sample mimics the general population (ethnicity, gender, age).
Convenience Sample: Select participants on availability, less representative and less generalizability.
Sampling Bias: Sample isn’t representative due to convenience sampling.
Cultural Norms: Behaviors of a particular group can influence research results.
Experimenter Bias / Participant Bias: Experimenter/participant expectations influence the outcome.
Cognitive Bias: Bias in thinking/judgment.
Confirmation Bias: Find information that supports preexisting beliefs.
Hindsight Bias: "I knew it all along."
Overconfidence: Overestimate our knowledge/abilities.
Hawthorne Effect: People change behavior when watched.
Research needs peer review and adequate sample sizes.
Do not mix Random Sample and Random Assignment. Sample = Generalize. Assignment = Cause/Effect.
Biological Basis Pillar (NT = Neurotransmitter, AP = Action Potential, NS = Nervous System)
Heredity vs. Environment
Evolutionary Psychology: Study how natural selection influences behavior.
Heredity (Nature): How genes influence your behavior.
Environment (Nurture): How outside situations influence your behavior (school).
Nature vs. Nurture: Answer is both.
Twin/Adoption Studies:
Genetics: Identical twins will have a higher percentage of also developing a disease.
Environment: Identical twins raised in different environments show differences.
Nervous System
Central NS: Brain and spinal cord.
Peripheral NS: Rest of the NS – relays to Central NS.
Somatic NS: Voluntary movement, has sensory and motor neurons.
Autonomic NS: Involuntary organs (heart, lungs, etc.) – contains the:
Sympathetic NS: Fight/flight (generally activates – exception: digestion).
Parasympathetic NS: Rest/digest (generally inhibits – exception: digestion).
Neuron and Neural Firing
Neuron: Basic cell of the NS.
Dendrites: Receive incoming NTs.
Axon: AP travels down this.
Myelin Sheath: Speeds up AP down axon, protects axon.
Synapse: Gap b/w neurons.
Sensory Neurons: Receive sense signals from the environment – send signal to brain.
Motor Neurons: Signals to move – send signals from brain.
Interneurons: Cells in spinal cord/brain responsible for reflex arc.
Reflex Arc: Important stimuli skips the brain and routes through the spinal cord for immediate reactions (hand on a hot flame).
Glia: Support cells – give nutrients and clean up around neurons.
Neurons Fire with an Action Potential: Ions move across the membrane, sends an electrical charge down the axon.
Resting Potential: Neuron maintains a -70mV charge when not doing anything.
Depolarization: Charge of neuron briefly switches from negative to positive – triggers the AP.
Threshold of Depolarization: Stimulus strength must reach this point to start the AP.
All or Nothing Principle: Stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but it does not increase the intensity or speed of the response
Refractory Period: Neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP.
Neurotransmitters (NT): Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons. Classified as excitatory (increase APs in other neurons) or inhibitory (decrease APs).
GABA: Major inhibitory NT.
Glutamate: Major excitatory NT.
Dopamine: Reward (short term) & fine movement – in hypothalamus, associated w/ addiction.
Serotonin: Moods (long-term), emotion, sleep –in amygdala, too little associated w/ depression.
Acetylcholine (ACh): Memory and movement –in hippocampus, associated w/ Alzheimer’s.
Norepinephrine: Sympathetic NS - too little associated w/ depression.
Endorphins: Decrease pain.
Substance P: Pain regulation (abnormality increases pain and inflammation).
Hormones: if not in the nervous system, it’s a hormone
Oxytocin: Love, bonding, childbirth, lactation.
Adrenaline: Fight/flight.
Leptin: Makes you full (stops hunger).
Ghrelin: Makes you hungry (turns you into a gremlin).
Melatonin: Sleep.
Agonist: Drug that mimics a NT.
Antagonist: Drug that blocks a NT.
Reuptake: Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron (antidepressants cause reuptake inhibition (block reuptake) – treatment for depression).
Psychoactive Drugs
Depressants: Decrease NS activity (alcohol).
Stimulants: Increase NS activity (caffeine & cocaine).
Hallucinogens: Hallucinations and altered perceptions (Marijuana).
Opioids: Relieve pain (endorphin agonists) (heroin).
Tolerance: Needing more of a drug to achieve the same effects.
Addiction: Must have it to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal: Symptoms associated with sudden stoppage.
The Brain
Cerebellum: Movement, balance, coordination, procedural memory.
Brainstem / Medulla: Vital organs (HR, BP, breathing).
Reticular Activating System: Alertness, arousal, sleep, eye movement.
Cerebral Cortex: Outer portion of the brain – higher order thought processes – includes limbic system, lobes, corpus callosum.
Limbic System:
Amygdala: Emotions, fear.
Hippocampus: Episodic and semantic memory.
Hypothalamus: Reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors – link to endocrine system, homeostasis.
Thalamus: Relay center for all but smell.
Pituitary Gland: Talks with endocrine system and hypothalamus – release hormones.
Lobes of the Brain
Occipital Lobe: Vision.
Frontal Lobe: Decision making, planning, judgment, movement, personality, language, executive function – includes the:
Prefrontal Cortex: Front of frontal lobe – executive function.
Motor Cortex: Back of frontal lobe - map of our motor receptors – controls skeletal movement.
Parietal Lobe: Sensations and touch – controls association areas – includes:
Somatosensory Cortex: Map of our touch receptors.
Temporal Lobe: Hearing, face recognition, language.
Areas of the Cerebral Cortex
Association Areas: Receive input from multiple areas/lobes to integrate information.
Left Hemisphere Only – damage to these results in Aphasia (damaged speech).
Broca’s Area: Inability to produce speech (Broca – Broken speech).
Wernicke’s Area: Can’t comprehend speech (Wernicke’s what?).
Corpus Callosum: Bundle of nerves that connects the 2 hemispheres – sometimes severed in patients with severe seizures – leads to split-brain patients.
Split-Brain Experiments:
Image shown to R eye processes in L hemi – patient can say what they saw; image shown to L eye processed in R hemi, can’t say what was seen.
Brain Plasticity & Endocrine System
Brain Plasticity: Brain changes via damage and through experience.
Endocrine System: Sends hormones throughout the body.
Pituitary Gland: Controlled by hypothalamus, releases growth hormones.
Brain Research
EEG: Shows broad brain activity – not specific – electrical output.
fMRI: Shows brain activity in specific regions, measures oxygen.
Lesion – destruction of brain tissue.
Diseases & Disorders
Multiple Sclerosis: Destruction of myelin sheath, disrupts APs, causes impaired mobility, paralysis, pain.
Myasthenia Gravis: Acetylcholine blocked, disrupts APs, causes poor motor control and paralysis.
Blindsight: Caused by lesions to the primary visual cortex, people can “see” despite being blind – evidence for association areas.
Prosopagnosia: Face blindness – damage to occipital and/or temporal lobe.
Broca’s Aphasia: Damage to Broca’s area – stuttered speech.
Wernicke’s Aphasia: Damage to Wernicke’s – jumbled speech.
Phantom Limb Pain: Pain from a limb that no longer is there (amputated) – caused by brain plasticity.
Epilepsy: Seizures – too much/little Glutamate/GABA.
Alzheimer’s: Destruction of acetylcholine in the hippocampus, memory loss.
Sleep
Consciousness: Awareness of cognitive processes (asleep or awake?).
Circadian Rhythms: 24-hour biological clock of body temperature & sleep.
Disrupting it makes your internal clock get out of sync (jet lag and shift work do this).
Beta Waves: Awake.
Alpha Waves: High amplitude, drowsy.
NREM (Non-REM) Stages:
NREM 1: Light sleep, has hypnagogic sensations (falling feeling).
NREM 2: Bursts of sleep spindles.
NREM 3 Delta Waves: Deep sleep.
Rapid Eye Movement (REM): Dreaming, cognitive processing.
Entire cycle takes 90 minutes; REM occurs in b/w each cycle. REM lasts longer throughout the night, deep sleep decreases.
REM is “paradoxical” because your HR and brain are active – but your body is relaxed.
REM Rebound: After sleep disruptions and/or lack of REM sleep you’ll have more/more intense REM sleep.
Dream Theories
Activation Synthesis: Brain produces random bursts of energy – stimulating lodged memories in the limbic system & brainstem. Dreams start random then develop meaning. It’s a neural theory.
Consolidation Dream Theory: Brain is combining and processing memories for storage.
Why Is Sleep Necessary
Consolidation: Storage of memories.
Restoration: Helps regenerate the immune system and restore energy.
Sleep Disorders
Insomnia: Inability to fall/stay asleep (due to stress/anxiety).
Somnambulism (Sleep Walking): Happens during stage 3 - NOT during REM.
Narcolepsy: Fall into REM out of nowhere – treated with stimulants.
Sleep Apnea: Stop breathing while asleep (due to obesity, usually).
REM Behavior Disorder: Malfunction of mechanism that paralyzes you during REM.
Sensation: Intro Vocab
Sensation: Receive stimulus energy from the environment.
Transduction: Convert that info into APs.
Perception: Brain interprets the information.
Absolute Threshold: Detection of signal 50% of the time (is it there?).
Just Noticeable Difference: Can tell the difference b/w a stronger and weaker stimulus or two similar things.
Weber’s Law: Two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion (the stronger thing, the more you have to add to tell the difference).
Synesthesia: "Disorder" where your senses blend (see sounds, etc).
Sensory Adaptation: Diminished sensitivity as a result of constant stimulation (ex. nose blindness) – sensory receptors respond less (get tired).
Visual System
Lens: Focuses light on the retina.
Retina: Contains photoreceptors (rods/cones/ganglion cells).
Fovea: Area of best vision (cones here).
Rods: Black/white, dark adaptation; way more rods than cones; located along the sides of the retina.
Cones: Color, bright light (red, green, blue) (only in the fovea).
Ganglion Cells: Create optic nerve (opponent process theory happens here).
Blind Spot: Occurs where the optic nerve leaves the eye.
Visual System Vocab:
Accommodation: Lens changes curvature to focus images on retina.
Nearsightedness: Better vision near.
Farsightedness: Better vision far.
Theories of Color Vision
Trichromatic – three cones for receiving color.
Blue – short waves.
Green – medium waves.
Red – long waves.
Opponent Process – complementary colors are processed in ganglion cells – explains why we see an after image.
Red/Green.
Blue/Yellow.
Black/White.
Color Deficiency
Damage to, or missing - cones or ganglion cells.
Red/green is most common.
Dichromatism – missing 1 cone.
Monochromatism – only have rods.
Auditory System
Properties of Sound
Wavelength – distance b/w peaks - pitch
Long waves = low pitch
Narrow waves = high pitch
Amplitude – height of wave
Short waves = soft
Tall waves = loud
Theories of Hearing: All occur in the cochlea
Place Theory: Location where hair cells bend determines sound (high pitches).
Frequency Theory: Rate at which action potentials are sent determines sound (low pitches).
Volley Theory: Groups of neurons fire APs out of sync.
Other Auditory Senses
Sound Localization: Which ear gets the waves first tells location of sound.
Conduction Deafness: Damage to bones of the ear and ear drum cause hearing loss.
Sensorineural: Damage to cochlea, hairs in cochlea, or nerve – usually due to old age and loud noise.
Other Senses
Vestibular: Sense of balance (semicircular canals in the inner ear).
Kinesthetic: Sense of body position & movement w/o looking.
Pain: Gate-control theory: we have a "gate" to control how much pain is experienced. Pain is both mental and physical.
“Hot”: Activation of warm and cold receptors.
Taste (Gustation): 6 taste receptors: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami (savory), oleogustus (fatty/oily).
Tongue, mouth, and brain process taste.
Density of taste receptors makes people super tasters, medium tasters, or non-tasters.
Sensory interaction creates taste – w/o smell taste isn’t as strong or is absent.
Smell (Olfaction): Only sense that does NOT route through the thalamus.
Pheromones produce chemical signals within a species for attraction.
Cognition Pillar
Perception:
Top-Down Processing: Whole idea (prior expectations) smaller parts.
Bottom-Up Processing: Smaller Parts (sensory info) Whole idea.
Schemas: Preexisting mental concept of how something should look.
Perceptual Set: Tendency to see something as part of a group – speeds up signal processing.
Gestalt Psychology: Whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Gestalt Principles:
Figure/ground - Organising information into figures (figures) that stand apart from their surrounds (background)
Closure: Mentally fill in gaps.
Proximity: Group things together that appear near each other.
Similarity: Group things together based off of looks.
Constancies: Recognize that objects do not physically change despite changes in sensory input (size, shape, brightness).
Apparent Movement: Objects can appear moving when they aren’t
Selective Attention: Focus on one thing and block out other things – can result in:
Inattentional Blindness: Failure to notice something added because you’re so focused on another task.
Change Blindness: Fail to notice a change in the scene.
Cocktail Party Effect: Notice your name across the room when it’s spoken, when you weren’t previously paying attention.
Binocular depth cues is how both of your eyes make up a 3d image
Retinal disparity- image looks slightly different in each retina/ location helps us determine depth
Convergence- eyes strain more (looking inward) as objects draw nearer
Monocular depth cues allows us to form a 3d image from a 2d image
Interposition- overlapping images appear closer
Relative size- The smaller one is farther away if the 2 objects are usually similar in size
*Linear perspective- parallel lines converge with distanceRelative clarity- Hazy objects appear farther
Texture gradient- coarser objects are closer
Thinking & Problem Solving
Concepts: Mental categories used to group objects, events, characteristics.
Prototypes: All instances of a concept are compared to an ideal example.
Algorithms: Step by step strategies that guarantee a solution (formula).
Heuristics: Short cut strategy.
Representative Heuristic: Make a judgment based on your experience (like a stereotype) – assume someone must be a librarian because they’re quiet.
Availability Heuristic: Make a judgment based on the first thing that pops in your head assume planes are dangerous because crash in the news.
Metacognition: Thinking about (reflecting upon) the way you think.
Mental Set: Keep using one strategy to solve a problem – cannot think outside the box.
Functional Fixedness: Can only see one (common) use for an item– cannot think outside of the box.
Sunk cost fallacy- continue something bc you’re already invested. Stopping would be more beneficial
Gamblers fallacy - believe something is “due” even though the dice have no memory
Divergent Thinking: Ability to think about many different things at once (Creative) – hindered by func. fixedness
Convergent thinking- limits creativity- one answer
Executive functioning- generating, organizing, planning, carrying out goal oriented behaviors
Memory
Encoding: Getting info into memory.
Automatic Encoding: Requires no effort (what did you have for breakfast?).
Effortful Encoding: Requires work (school).
Levels (Depth) of Processing: The more emphasis on meaning, the deeper the processing, and the better remembered.
Structural Encoding (Shallow): Emphasis on physical structure.
Phonemic Encoding (Intermediate): Emphasis on what words sound like.
Semantic Encoding (Deep): Emphasis on the meaning of the words.
Elaborative Rehearsal: Strategies to enhance encoding like below:
Imagery: Attaching images to information makes it easier to remember
Dual encoding -Use multiple methods of processing
Chunking: Break info into smaller units to aid in memory.
Mnemonics: Shortcuts to help us remember info easier. *Acronyms: using letter to remember something.
Method of loci – using locations to remember a list of items in order
Context Dependent Memory: Where you learn the info you best remember the info
State Dependent Memory: The physical state you were in when learning is the way you should be when testing.
Mood congruent memory- happy events when happy, sad when sad
Forgetting Curve *Recall decreases rapidly at first, then reaches a plateau after which little more is forgotten
Distributed practice is spacing effect. Massed practice is cramming
Testing effect - quizzing over material
Storage Phase of Memory
Storage: Retaining info over time.
Multi-store model is short to long term memory
Multi-Store Model: Sensory memory, short term memory, long term memory model
Sensory Memory: Stores all incoming stimuli that you receive (first, you have to pay attention).
Iconic Memory: Visual memory, lasts 0.3 seconds.
Echoic Memory: Auditory memory, lasts 2-3 seconds.
Short Term Memory: Info passes from sensory memory to STM – lasts 30 secs, and can remember 7 ± 2 items.
Maintaining rehearsal is repeating the informationLong Term Memory: Lasts a lifetime.
Explicit: Requires conscious effort:
Episodic: Events.
Semantic: Facts.
Implicit: Automatic, no effort needed:
Classical Conditioning.
Priming: Info that is seen earlier “primes” you to remember something later on.
Procedural: Skills (muscle memory).
*Working model- splits STM into
Visual spatial is from iconic. Phonological is from echoicc
Other odd types of memory
*Prospective- remembering you need to do something
Autobiographical history of personal history
Memory Organization
*Hierarches
*categorically
Semantic networks- webs of info
*Assimilation
*Accomidation
Memory storage
Acytelcholine neuronins in the hippocampus for episodic and semantic
Memories before age 3 are unreliable (infantile amnesia) – hippocampus still forming
Cerebellum for implicit / procedural memories
Amygdala for emotional memories
Frontal lobe for encoding and retrieval
Long-term potentiation: neural basis of memory – connections are strengthened over time with repeated stimulation (more firing of neurons)Memory consolidation
Retrieval Phase of Memory
Retrieval: Taking info out of storage
Serial position effect and primacy effect. Recency effect
Primacy becomes long short. Recency is shorttermRecall and recognition- essays are recall and MCQ IS RECOGNITION
Repressed memories -buried to defend the ego
Encoding failure is failed recallProactive intereference - blocks any new info
Retroactive intereference new blocks the old info
Contractive memory- we remember new with updated feelings. Very unstable
Source amnesia - forgets who told them and where they heard it from
Misinformation effect - distorts the memory and how it is perceived
FRAMING CAN AFFECT RECALL
IMAGINATION INCREASES CHANCE OF MEMORY OCCURRING
ANTEROGRADE is memory loss (NEW INFO) BACKWARD IS RETROGRADE
Intelligence testing
Testing today is done by testing IQ and the abilities of people.
Single form of intelligence (g factor) - general intelligence underlies all mental abilities If you’re smart in one area you’re smart in other areas too
Multiple intelligences – intelligence has lots of types, not just math/language. Can be high/low in areas
*IQ test used formula today. 100 average. educational services, diagnostic testing for learning disabilities, GT identification
Psychometrics – field of psych & education for creating testsStandardization: test is given using consistent procedures and environments, and graded the same(AP) Should be reliable- same scores over time Should be valid- test is accurate
Types of Tests:
Aptitude: predicts your abilities to learn a new skill
Achievement: tests what you know(AP)
Other Historical Issue of Intellingence testing
Influence tests
Personal and sociocultural biases impact interpretation of results
Poverty and education inequalities neg. impact scores
*Eugenics – study of how to “improve” the gene pool by discouraging (sterilizing or otherwise) individuals from reproducing NEED TO FOCUS ON NON LANGUAGE SKILLS TO MINIMIZE CULTURE
Stereotype threat: feel at risk of conforming to the neg. stereotype about your group
FLYNN effect
Fixed Mindset: belief intelligence is fixed from birth
Growth mindset: belief you can develop abilities through work and determination
Development Pillar
Nature and nuture. Gradual development over time. Studies people. inexpensive & quick. can be differences due to generational gap. longitudinal studies same ppl over time, eliminates groups. expensive, high drop out rates. External agents is what impacts natal development (alcohol)Maturation- natural course of development. Visual cliffis where babies learn depth perception
*Critical period
PUBERTY
COGNITIVE is PIAGET and HIS THEORIES
*sensorimotor stage- lacks object permanence
CONRETE STAGE
SOCIAL AS WELL(VYGOTSKY}
COGNITIVE LENGHTH
CRYSTALIZED IS NEW FAST LEARNINGS LIKE A LOBOTOMY CAN BE USED
LENGUAGEPhonemes: and morphemes
OVERegularar
Monkeys discover comfort. Attachment leads to security
Parenting styles- Authoritharian, permissive, authoritave
Imaginary persons. Personal faith
*Gender roles: socially constructed. erikson 60 up
*Trust vs mistrust, autonomy vs, initaiv vs guilt, indusry vs inferior, id vs role, intimacy vs, generativity vs stagnation. inegity vs
ECOLOGICAL IS WHERE YOURE FROM AND OTHERS ARENTE IN.
LEARNING
CLASCIAL CONDITIONING IS NOT REINFORCMENT. it is involuntary
Principles of op. conditioning - pos reinforcement. Token reinforcement etc
Learned helplessness. Instictive drift. Superstituous
SOCIAL AND C
Modeling learning can occur through others behaviors
INSIGHT LEARNING MEANS IT COMES TO YOU
Social & Personality Psych
blame A person’s disposition is personality. We explain others because what we credit is personality or the situation. When blame it of the personality, we see it is wrong. Our successes are we, but our failures are them. Belief will carry
*Upward and downward . tend to see your own group as more important than others tendency for 4 We Conform to have others accept of us Change answers