ap psych s1 final

Unit 1

cognitive psychologists: study mental processes
clinical psychologists: study, assess, and treat people with psychological disorders
evolutionary psychologists: study the evolution of behavior and the mind using natural selection
developmental psychologists: study how our behavior changes as we age
biological psychologists: study how biological and psychological processes are linked
educational psychologists: study how we learn in different environments and ways
Wilhelm Wundt: structuralist (introspection), father of psychology, started first lab for studying humans
Freud: psychoanalyst, emphasized unconscious mind and childhood experiences
Titchner: Wundt’s student, introduced structuralism to America (Structuralist School of Psychology)
William James: functualist (purpose of conscience, find function), studied how humans use perception to function in their environment, created first psych textbook
Watson: behaviorist (study of behavior w/out reference to mental processes), baby albert experiment
Mary Calkins: student of William James, first woman to head the APA
Margaret Washburn: first woman to earn a PhD in psychology
Dorothea Dix: reformer who advocated for the humane treatment of the mentally ill
Pavlov: classical conditioning, dog experiment

Unit 2

operational definition: carefully worded statements of the exact procedures used in a research study (for replication)
correlation coefficient: a statistical index of a relationship between two variables (r-value ranges from -1 to 1)
conformation bias: the tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and ignore/distort contradictory evidence
random assignment: randomly sorting participants into the experimental and control groups
random sampling: choosing a representative of the studied population at random
ethical principles of research: informed consent, protection from harm, right to withdraw, confidentiality, debriefing
measures of central tendency: mean, median, mode
measures of variation: range, standard deviation (1 SD = 68%, 2 SDs = 95%, 3 SDs = 99%)

Unit 3 Part 1

hypothalamus: below the thalamus; directs eating, drinking, and body temperature; helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland; linked to emotion and reward
pituitary gland: center of control of endocrine system, regulates growth and metabolism
thalamus: top of the brain stem; relay station for incoming and outgoing sensory information (except smell), receives sensory information and sends it to the cerebral cortex
hippocampus: small structure that wraps around the thalamus; helps the process of storing explicit (conscious) memories of facts and events
reticular formation: nerve network that travels through the brain stem into the thalamus; helps control arousal and filters incoming sensory stimuli
amygdala: two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion, fear, and aggression
limbic system: system of nerves and networks; concerned with instinct and mood, controls basic emotions and drives
cerebellum: located at the rear of the brain stem; processes sensory input, coordinates movement and balance, responsible for nonverbal learning and memory
medulla: base of the brain stem; controls heartbeat and breathing (injury is fatal)
frontal lobes: involved in speaking and motor movements, judgements and decision-making
parietal lobes: receive and process sensory input for touch and body position
occipital lobes: receive visual info
temporal lobes: receive auditory info
lesioning: brain tissue is destroyed, used to study the impact on functioning
(neuro)plasticity: the brain’s ability to change and repair damage by reorganizing or building new pathways based on experience
reuptake: reabsorption of neurotransmitters by the sending neuron
refractory period: a brief pause for rest that occurs after a neuron has fired
synapse: junction between axon tip of sending neuron and dendrite/cell body of receiving cell
agonist: excite neuron firing, increases neurotransmitter’s action
antagonist: inhibit neuron firing, blocks reuptake
neurotransmitters: chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons
hormones: chemical substances that carry messages through the bloodstream
sympathetic nervous system: part of the autonomic nervous system (involuntary internal movement), which is a part of the peripheral nervous system (connects body to the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord; decision maker)); arouses body, mobilizes energy (accelerates heartbeat, raises blood pressure)
PET scan: visual display of brain activity that detects where radioactive glucose goes while the brain performs a given task, shows function
CT scan: x-ray photos taken from different angles and combined by computers to show a slice of the brain’s structure
neuron: nerve cell, basic building block of the nervous system
dendrites: receive messages from other cells, conduct impulses toward the cell body
cell body: cell’s life support center
axon: passes messages away from cell body, terminal branches send them to other neurons, muscles, or glands
myelin sheath: covers and protects axon, increases transmission speed
glial cells: support, nourish, and protect neurons (produce myelin)

Unit 3 Part 2

transduction: the transformation of stimulus energy (sights, sounds, smells) into neural impulses the brain can interpret
circadian rhythm: 24-hour biological cycle of sleeping and waking, involves body temperature as well (rises in morning, peaks around noon, falls in afternoon)
sleep spindles: short bursts of brain activity, characterizes NREM-2 sleep
superchiasmatic nucleus (SCN): pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus, controls circadian rhythm, causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production in response to light
REM sleep: rapid eye movement, where dreams typically occur, aka paradoxical sleep, muscles are relaxed but other body systems are active, happens every ~90 minutes
manifest content: storyline/plot of a dream
latent content: meaning behind a dream
pupil: adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters
lens: transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina
retina: the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye that processes visual information
cornea: the eye’s clear, protective outer layer
blind spot: the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there
cones: retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and function in daylight or in well-lit conditions (detects fine detail, color sensations)
rods: retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray and are sensitive to movement
visual cliff: device used for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Unit 4

operant chamber: aka Skinner box, positive reinforcement chamber for animals subject to operant conditioning research
Skinner: most influential behaviorist, replicated Thorndike’s experiment on the law of effect, thought we are controlled by our environment, shaping behavior
classical conditioning: expect and prepare, involuntary response
operant conditioning: reinforcement through punishment and reward, voluntary response

Unit 5 Part 1

prototype: mental image or best example of a category
Broca’s aphasia: impairment of speaking, usually caused by damage to Broca’s area
Wernicke’s aphasia: impairment of understanding language, usually caused by damage to Wernicke’s area
linguistic determinism: Whorf’s theory that language controls the way we think
babbling nonsense stage: stage 1 of language development, 4 months
babbling household language stage: stage 2 of language development, 10 months
one-word stage: stage 3 of language development, 12 months
two-word stage: stage 4 of language development, 24 months
complete sentence stage: stage 5 of language development, 24+ months

Unit 5 Part 2

general intelligence: underlies all mental abilities, is measured by every task on an intelligence test, defined by Spearman
Sternberg: triarchic theory of intelligences (three types: analytical, creative, and practical)
Gardner: multiple intelligences, 8 independent intelligences
Binet: designed intelligence test for French schoolchildren, based it on mental age
Terman: adopted Binet’s test and extended it to adults, brought it to America, called it the Stanford-Binet test
Stern: IQ test, calculated by MA/CA x100
achievement test: tests what you have learned
aptitude test: tests your potential capacity to learn new information
cross-sectional study: compares different aged people at the same point in time