AP Psych Exam

Latin for blank slate, means that we are born with no knowledge and learn solely from experience.

The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should therefore rely on observation and experimentation.

An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method.

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

The historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth.

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with thinking including perception, thinking, memory, and language.

The science of behavior and mental processes.

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of the two.

The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

A branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes.

The study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection.

A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.

The scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

One of the two main types of research, pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.

The study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

One of the two main types of research that aims to solve practical problems.

The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.

study of how people and machines interact.

The scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Believe that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.

The examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings, which relies exclusively on observation of one's mental state; in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's soul.

first female president of the APA (1905); a student of William James; denied the PhD she earned from Harvard because of her sex (later, posthumously, it was granted to her)

Evolution by "natural selection" (the weaker die out) wrote On the Origin of Species

Rights activist on behalf of mentally ill patients - created first wave of US mental asylums

Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis.

American psychologist who established the first American research lab and American Psychological Association.

Wrote the first psychology textbook

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

Known for his theory of cognitive development in children

Humanistic; self-concept and unconditional positive regard drive personality

behaviorism; pioneer in operant conditioning; behavior is based on an organism's reinforcement history; worked with pigeons

First female to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 2nd president of the APA (1921)

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat

German physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.)

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

A statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables, or how we make the variables measurable.

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.

An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.

All the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn.

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

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

A statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1).

Representative samples are better than biased samples, less variables and more cases is also better.

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.

The perception of a relationship where none exists.

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). By random assignment of participants, the investigator aims to control other relevant factors.

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups.

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 a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

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.

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment.

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.

The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.

The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

A symmetrical, bell-shape that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

An ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.

The post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants.

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

the busy, branchlike extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

turn on neurons

turn off neurons

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

A junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons; when released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron with generate a neural impulse

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

"morphine within" natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

neurotransmitter that affects learning and memory

something similar enough to a neurotransmitter that can bind to a receptor and produce a response.

something that binds to a receptor and blocks it, preventing a response.

the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems