AP Psych Unit 1

Question 1

Introspection

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Structuralism

Answer 2

An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind (Wundt)

Question 3

Functionalism

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Nature vs. Nurture

Answer 4

Whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior

Question 5

Behavioral Perspective

Answer 5

Focuses on the role of learning in explaining observable behavior.

Question 6

Gestalt Psychology

Answer 6

Consciousness is best understood by observing the whole experience, rather than single elements, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

Question 7

Psychoanalytic / Psychodynamic Perspective

Answer 7

Stresses the influences of unconscious forces on human behavior (Freud / Neo-Freudian)

Question 8

Humanistic Perspective

Answer 8

The human capacity for self-fulfillment and the importance of consciousness, self-awareness, and the capacity to make choices (Maslow, Rogers)

Question 9

Biological Perspective

Answer 9

The influence of biology on behavior

Question 10

Evolutionary Perspective

Answer 10

Behavior as a result of the genetic inheritance from our ancestors

Question 11

Cognitive Perspective

Answer 11

Mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behavior

Question 12

Social-cultural (sociocultural) Perspective

Answer 12

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Question 13

Applied vs. Basic Psychologists

Answer 13

Face to face work with clients, students, or patients vs. researchers working in labs

Question 14

Hindsight Bias

Answer 14

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it - “I knew it all along”

Question 15

Critical Thinking

Answer 15

Rationally deciding what to believe or what to do by evaluating information to see if it makes sense, is coherent, and founded on evidence.

Question 16

Theory

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Hypothesis

Answer 17

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Question 18

Operational Definition

Answer 18

The procedures used to define research variables that is specific and allows research to be replicated

Question 19

Replication

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Case Study

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Longitudinal Study

Answer 21

Observing the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time

Question 22

Cross-Sectional Study

Answer 22

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

Question 23

Naturalistic Observation

Answer 23

Watching behavior in real-world settings without trying to manipulate the situation

Question 24

Survey

Answer 24

Often an interview or questionnaire that provides researchers with information about how people think and act

Question 25

Sampling Bias

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Population

Answer 26

The whole group that you want to study and describe

Question 27

Random Sample

Answer 27

Method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected

Question 28

Correlation

Answer 28

A measure of the relationship between two variables

Question 29

Correlation Coefficient

Answer 29

A statistical index of the degree of relationship between two variables (from -1 to +1)

Question 30

Scatterplot

Answer 30

A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables displaying their relationship

Question 31

Illusory Correlation

Answer 31

The perception of a relationship where none exists

Question 32

Experiment

Answer 32

A research method that manipulates one or more independent variables to determine the effect on some behavior (dependent variable) while controlling relevant factors and randomly assigning participants to groups (experimental and control)

Question 33

Experimental vs. Control Groups

Answer 33

The group exposed to the treatment (the independent variable) vs. the group not exposed to the treatment

Question 34

Random Assignment

Answer 34

Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, minimizing preexisting differences between those groups

Question 35

Double-Blind Study

Answer 35

When neither the researcher nor the subjects know if the who is in the experimental or control groups

Question 36

Placebo Effect

Answer 36

Phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

Question 37

Independent, Dependent, and Confounding Variables

Answer 37

The experimental factor that is manipulated whose effect is being studied - the measurable outcome that changed from the independent variable - a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect

Question 38

Reliability

Answer 38

Ability of a test to yield very similar scores for the same individual over repeated testings (split-half, alternate forms, test-retest, interrater)

Question 39

Validity

Answer 39

The extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to do

Question 40

Central Tendency (mean, median, mode)

Answer 40

The average of a set of numbers, a measure of center in a set of numbers, the most frequently occurring scores

Question 41

Frequency Distribution (normal, bimodal, positive, negative)

Answer 41

A function that represents the distribution of variables as normal (symmetrical bell-shaped graph), bimodal (two peaks), positive skew (distributed more to the right), or negative (distributed more to the left)

Question 42

Range

Answer 42

Distance between highest and lowest scores in a set of data

Question 43

Standard Deviation

Answer 43

A measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Question 44

Statistical Significance (p-value)

Answer 44

The likelihood that an error would be made concerning a hypothesis in behavioral psychological research, generally an 5% error rate is reasonable

Question 45

Ethical Guidelines (APA)

Answer 45

1. No coercion (people are doing it of their own accord) 2. Informed consent (if deception is used, there must be a debriefed afterwards) 3. Protect participants from harm and discomfort (put people at minimal risk) 4. Respect confidentiality 5. Must have a debrief afterwards

Question 46

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 46

German physiologist opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879 (structuralism and introspection)

Question 47

William James

Answer 47

American psychologist who studied how humans use perception to function in our environment (functionalism)

Question 48

Max Wertheimer

Answer 48

Gestalt psychologist who argued against dividing human thought and behavior into discrete structures

Question 49

Sigmund Freud

Answer 49

Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality - founded psychoanalysis

Question 50

Dorothea Dix

Answer 50

A pioneering force in the movement to reform the treatment of the mentally ill in America