AP Psychology Vocabulary Terms with Definitions

Unit 1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology

• Empiricism: The view that knowledge comes from experience and that science should rely on observation and experimentation.

• Structuralism: An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structure of the human mind.

• Functionalism: A school of psychology focused on how mental and behavioral processes function and enable organisms to adapt.

• Behaviorism: The view that psychology should be an objective science and study behavior without reference to mental processes.

• Humanism: A perspective emphasizing personal growth, self-actualization, and free will.

• Cognitive Psychology: The study of mental processes such as perception, thinking, memory, and language.

• Biopsychosocial Approach: An integrated perspective that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

• Nature vs. Nurture: The debate over the relative contributions of biology and experience to human development.

• Basic vs. Applied Research: Basic research aims to increase knowledge; applied research solves practical problems.

• Operational Definition: A statement of the procedures used to define research variables.

• Independent Variable (IV): The factor that is manipulated in an experiment.

• Dependent Variable (DV): The outcome that is measured in an experiment.

• Control Group: The group not exposed to the treatment; serves as a comparison.

• Experimental Group: The group exposed to the treatment.

• Confounding Variable: A variable that may interfere with the relationship between the IV and DV.

• Placebo Effect: Experimental results caused by expectations alone.

• Double-Blind Procedure: Neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving the treatment.

• Correlation vs. Causation: Correlation shows a relationship, not a cause-effect link.

• Ethical Guidelines (APA): Principles to ensure the ethical treatment of research participants.

Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior

• Neuron: A nerve cell that transmits information.

• Dendrite: The part of a neuron that receives messages.

• Axon: The extension of a neuron that sends impulses.

• Synapse: The gap between neurons.

• Action Potential: A neural impulse.

• Neurotransmitters: Chemical messengers that cross synapses.

• Dopamine: Involved in movement, learning, attention, and emotion.

• Serotonin: Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal.

• Acetylcholine (ACh): Enables muscle action, learning, and memory.

• Central Nervous System (CNS): The brain and spinal cord.

• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Connects the CNS to the body.

• Sympathetic Nervous System: Arouses the body in stressful situations.

• Parasympathetic Nervous System: Calms the body.

• Amygdala: Linked to emotion.

• Hippocampus: Involved in memory.

• Hypothalamus: Regulates hunger, thirst, and body temperature.

• Frontal Lobe: Involved in decision-making and planning.

• Parietal Lobe: Processes sensory information.

• Occipital Lobe: Processes visual information.

• Temporal Lobe: Processes auditory information.

• Corpus Callosum: Connects the two brain hemispheres.

• Plasticity: The brain’s ability to change.

• Endocrine System: Glands that secrete hormones.

Unit 3: Sensation and Perception

• Absolute Threshold: The minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus.

• Difference Threshold (JND): The minimum difference a person can detect.

• Weber’s Law: The principle that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage.

• Signal Detection Theory: Predicts how we detect a signal amid noise.

• Sensory Adaptation: Diminished sensitivity due to constant stimulation.

• Top-Down Processing: Perception driven by cognition.

• Bottom-Up Processing: Analysis of the stimulus begins with the sensory receptors.

• Transduction: Conversion of sensory input into neural signals.

• Selective Attention: Focusing on one particular stimulus.

• Gestalt Principles: Rules that describe how the human eye perceives visual elements.

• Depth Perception: The ability to see in 3D.

• Monocular Cues: Depth cues available to each eye separately.

• Binocular Cues: Depth cues that require both eyes.

Unit 4: Learning

• Classical Conditioning: Learning through association.

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally triggers a response.

• Unconditioned Response (UCR): The natural response to the UCS.

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A previously neutral stimulus that now triggers a response.

• Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the CS.

• Operant Conditioning: Learning through rewards and punishments.

• Positive Reinforcement: Adding a pleasant stimulus.

• Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant stimulus.

• Positive Punishment: Adding an unpleasant stimulus.

• Negative Punishment: Removing a pleasant stimulus.

• Schedules of Reinforcement: Patterns that define how often a behavior is reinforced.

• Shaping: Reinforcing behaviors closer to the desired behavior.

• Latent Learning: Learning that occurs but is not apparent until needed.

• Observational Learning: Learning by watching others.

• Modeling: Imitating observed behavior.

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