AP Psychology Vocabulary Chapt. 1 and 2 – Flashcards
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Psychology
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the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
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Empirical Approach
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a study conducted via careful abservations and scientifically based research
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Pseudopsychology
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phony, unscientific psychology masquerading as the real thing
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Confirmation Bias
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the tendency to attend to evidence that complements and confirms our beliefs or expectations, while ignoring evidence that does not
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Experimental Psychologists
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psychologists who do research on basic psychological processes -- as contrasted with applied psychologists
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Teachers of Psychology
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psychologists whose primary job is teaching, typically in high schools, colleges, and universities
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Applied Psychologists
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psychologists who use the knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems
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Psychiatry
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a medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
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Structuralism
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a historical school of psychology devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up mind and thought. Structuralists sought the "elements" of conscious experience
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Introspection
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the process of reporting on one's own conscious mental experiences
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Functionalism
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a historical school of psychology that believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function
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Gestalt Psychology
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a historical school of psychology that sought to understand how the brain works by studying perception and perceptual learning. Gestalt psychologists believed that percepts consist of meaningful wholes
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Behavioralism
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a historical school (as well as a modern perspective) that has sought to make psychology an objective science focused only on behavior - to the exclusion of mental processes
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Psychoanalysis
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an approach to psychology based on Sigmund Freud's assertions, which emphasize unconscious processes. The term is used to refer broadly both to Freud's psychoanalysis theory and to his psychoanalytic treatment method
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Biological View
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the psychological perspective that searches for the causes of behavior in the functioning of genes, the brain and nervous system, and the endocrine system (hormones)
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Neuroscience
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the field devoted to understanding how the brain creates thoughts, feelings, motives, consciousness, memories, and other mental processes
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Evolutionary Psychology
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a relatively new specialty in psychology that sees behavior and mental processes in terms of their genetic adaptations for survival and reproduction
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Developmental View
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the psychological perspective emphasizing changes that occur across the lifespan
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Cognitive View
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the psychological perspective emphasizing mental processes, such as learning, memory, perception, and thinking, as forms of information processing
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Cognitions
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mental processes, such as thinking, memory, sensation, and perception
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Cognitive Neuroscience
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an interdisciplinary field emphasizing brain activity as information processing; involves cognitive psychology, neurology, biology, computer science, linguistics, and specialists from other fields who are interested in the connection between mental processes and the brain
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Clinical View
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the psychological perspective emphasizing mental health and mental illness. psychodynamic and humanistic psychology are variations on the clinical view
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Psychodynamic Psychology
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a clinical viewpoint emphasizing the understanding of mental disorders in terms of unconscious needs, desires, memories, and conflicts
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Humanistic Psychology
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a clinical viewpoint emphasizing human ability, growth, potential, and free will
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Scientific Method
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a 5-step process for empirical investigation of a hypothesis under conditions designed to control biases and subjective judgments
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Empirical Investigations
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an approach to research that relies on sensory experience and observation as research data
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Theory
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a testable explanation for a set of facts or observations. in science, a theory is "not" just speculation or a guess
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Hypothesis
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a statement predicting the outcome of a scientific study; a statement describing the relationship among variables in a study
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Operational Definitions
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specific descriptions of concepts involving the conditions of a scientific study. operational definitions are stated in terms of how the concepts are to be measured or what operations are being employed to produce them
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Independent Variables
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a stimulus condition so named because the experimenter changes it independently of all the other carefully controlled experimental conditions
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Random Presentation (of the stimulus)
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a process by which chance alone determines the order in which the stimulus is presented
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Data
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pieces of information, especially information gathered by a researcher to be used in testing a hypothesis
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Dependent Variable
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the measured outcome of a study; the responses of the subjects in a study
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Replicate
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in research, this refers to doing a study over to see whether the same results are obtained. as a control for bias, replication often done by somebody other than the original researcher
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Experiment
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a kind of research in which the researcher controls all the conditions and directly manipulates the conditions, including the independent variable
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Confounding/ Extraneous Variables
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variables that have an unwanted influence on the outcome of an experiment
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Controls
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constraints that the experimenter places on the experiment to ensure that each subject has the exact same conditions
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Random Assignment
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each subject of the sample has an equal likelihood of being chosen for the experimental group of an experiment
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Expost Facto Design
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research in which we choose subjects based on a pre-existing condition
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Correlation Study
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a type of research that is mainly statistical in nature. correlational studies determine the relationship (or correlation) between 2 variables
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Survey
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a quasi-experimental method in which questions are asked to subjects.
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Naturalistic Observation
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a research method in which subjects are observed in their natural environment
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Longitudinal Study
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a type of study in which one group of subjects is followed and observed (or examined, surveyed, etc) for an extended period of time (years)
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Cross-Sectional Study
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a study in which a representative cross section of the population is tested or surveyed at one specific time
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Cohort-Sequential Study
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a research method in which a cross section of the population is chosen and then each cohort is followed for a short period of time
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Institutional Review Board (IRB)
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a committee at each institution where research is conducted to review every experiment for ethics and methodology
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Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
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a committee at each institution where research is conducted to review every experiment involving animals for ethics and methodology
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Frequency Distributions
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a summary chart, showing how frequently each of the various scores in a set of data occurs
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Histogram
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a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution. the height of the bars indicates the frequency of a group of scores
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Descriptive Statistics
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statistical procedures used to describe characteristics and responses of groups of subjects
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Mean
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the measure of central tendency most often used to describe a set of data - calculated by adding all scores and dividing by the # of scores
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Median
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a measure of central tendency for a distribution, represented by the score that separates the upper half of the scores in a distribution from the lower half
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Mode
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a measure of central tendency for a distribution, represented by the score that occurs most often than any other
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Range
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the simplest measure of variability, represented by the difference between the highest and the lowest values in a frequency distribution
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Standard Deviation
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a measure of variability that indicates the average difference between the scores and their mean
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Normal Distribution
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a bell-shaped curve, describing the spread of a characteristic throughout a population
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Correlation
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a relationship between variables, in which changes in one variable are reflected in changes in the other variable-as in the correlation between a child's age and height
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Correlation Coefficient
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a number between -1 and +1 expressing the degree of relationship between 2 variables
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Inferential Statistics
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statistical techniques (based on probability theory) used to assess whether the results of a study are reliable or whether they might be simply the result of chance. inferential statistics are often used to determine whether 2 or more groups are essentially the same or different
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Random Sample
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a sample group of subjects selected by chance (without biased selection techniques)
