AP Psych Unit 1 Test

Cognitive Domain

An area of development that involves patterns of change in children's intellectual abilities, including reasoning, learning, attention, memory, and language skills.

Psychodynamic approach

an approach that regards personality as formed by needs, strivings, and desires largely operating outside of awareness-motives that can also produce emotional disorders

biological approach

an approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system

Evolutionary approach

An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.

Behavioral Approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants.

Socio-cultural approach

the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

Cognitive approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems.

Biopsychosocial approach

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

Biological Domain

Humans are collections of biological systems, and these systems provide building blocks for behavior, thought, and emotion

Clinical Domain

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

Counseling Domain

assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

Developmental Psychology

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

Educational Domain

studies how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

Experimental Domain

Studies behavior and thinking using the experimental method

industrial-orginizational psychology

study of human behavior in the workplace

Personality Domain

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

Personality Domain

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

Psychometric Domain

Studies measurements of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

Social Domain

change in variables that are associated with the relationship of an individual to others

Positive Domain

focuses on positive aspects and strengths of human behavior

Wilhelm Wundt

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

Structrualism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

introspection

A method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

Functionalism

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

Sigmund Freud

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

Psychodynamic

how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

Gestalt

an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Darwin

English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)

Evolution

Change over time

Behaviorism

the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only

John B Watson

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

B.F Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Dorothea Dix

Activist who helped improve conditions of mental patients

nature vs nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

Case Study

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

Naturalistic Observation

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

Survey

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

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

Experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Hindsight Bias

I knew it all along phenomenon

Theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Independent Variable

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

dependent variable

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

Confounding Variable

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

replication

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

wording effect

the effect that question phrasing and order have on how people answer surveys

Population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

Random Sampling

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

Sampling Bias

A problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn.

Experimental Condition

the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

Control Condition

they are given a placebo to see how it compares to experiment

Random Assignment

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

Correlation vs. Causation

correlation does not equal causation

Correlation Coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1) When its closer to -1 or 1 it has a stronger correlation

positive vs negative correlation

Both variables increase or decrease at the same time vs. one variable increases while the other decreases

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

experimenter bias

a phenomenon that occurs when a researcher's expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained

Double Blind Procedure

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.

central tendency

a measure that represents the typical response or the behavior of a group as a whole

When should mean be used as a central tendency

when your data distribution is continuous and symmetrical, such as when your data is normally distributed.

When should mode be used as a central tendency

can only be used when dealing with nominal data.

nominal data

data that can be labelled or classified into mutually exclusive categories within a variable

When should median be used as a central tendency

usually the preferred measure of central tendency when the distribution is not symmetrical.

p value

The probability level which forms basis for deciding if results are statistically significant (not due to chance).

statistical significance

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

APA Ethical Guidelines

No Coercion (voluntary). Informed Consent. Anonymity. Risk (not in risk of SERIOUS harm mentally or physically). Debriefing.

critical thinking, p. 4

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

empiricism, p. 7

the idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge.

structuralism, p. 7

an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

introspection, p. 8

the process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one's own psychological processes.

functionalism, p. 8

an early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.

behaviorism, p. 10

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

humanistic psychology, p. 11

a historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential.

cognitive psychology, p. 13

the study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.

cognitive neuroscience, p. 13

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

psychology, p. 13

the science of behavior and mental processes.

nature-nurture issue, p. 14

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 nature and nurture.

natural selection, p. 14

the principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

evolutionary psychology, p. 14

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.

behavior genetics, p. 14

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

culture, p. 15

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

positive psychology, p. 16

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

biopsychosocial approach, p. 17

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.

behavioral psychology, p. 17

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

biological psychology, p. 17

the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. (Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists.)

psychodynamic psychology, p. 18

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

social-cultural psychology, p. 18

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

testing effect, p. 20

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

SQ3R, p. 20

a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review.

psychometrics, p. 24

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

basic research, p. 24

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

developmental psychology, p. 24

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

educational psychology, p. 24

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

personality psychology, p. 24

the study of individuals' characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.

social psychology, p. 24

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