AP Psych Vocab Flashcards
Psychology
The study of the soul or mind
Structuralism
Structure is more important than function
Functionalism
Function is more important than structure
Wilhelm Wundt
Father of psychology as a science, founded the first psychology lab
Edward Titchner
Founded structuralism
Introspection
Asking someone to observe themselves thinking
William James
Wrote the first psychology textbook, created functionalism
Psychodynamic Approach
One of the oldest approaches, hypnosis, dream analysis, therapy, study of the unconscious. Strength: Flexible and can’t be disproven, weakness: not scientific, hard to study
Psychoanalytic Approach
Founded by Freud, eventually became psychodynamic
Behavioralist Approach
Reflexes and behavior, Ivan Pavlov, BF Skinner, strength: scientifically observable, weakness: doesn’t account for creativity, selflessness, and love
Cognitive Approach
Thoughts, strength: flexible, accounts for differences, helps with treatment, weakness: difficult to study scientifically
Biological Approach
The mind is what the brain does, strength: scientific, easy to study, weakness: too simplistic
Humanistic Approach
Optimistic, how people are unique, rejection of psychodynamic/behavioral, focuses on free will, strength: positive, encourages differences, fosters growth, weakness: not scientific, hard to study
Sociocultural Approach
Religion, family, culture, society, strength: somewhat measurable, works for talking about average behavior, weakness: hard to apply to individuals, leads to stereotypes, hard to measure
Surveys
Questionnaires that gather data about people, gathers large amounts of data quickly, easily processed, allows for anonymity, participants can lie or misunderstand. Correlational Study
Wording Effect
Questions can be written in ways that affect responses
Case Study
Lots of data about a specific individual or group, gives a full picture, chronological data, time consuming, might not be generalizable. Correlational
Naturalistic Observation
Observing people in their own habitats. Authentic data, ethics of informed consent, lack of control. Correlational
Cross Sectional
Compares different groups at one point in time
Longitudinal
Follows a group over time
How can you find a causal relationship?
Experiments
Independent Variable
Causes change in the dependent variable
Hypothesis
Prediction, if/then statement
Placebo Effect
Results occur due to belief, not independent variable
Experimental Group
Gets the independent variable
Control Group
Gets a placebo
Confounding Variable
Variables other than the independent that affect the dependent
Random Sample
Everyone in a population has an equal chance to be chosen
Representative Sample
Group being studied “looks like” general population
Random Assignment
Equal chance of being in experimental or control group
Participant/Subject Bias
Behaving in a way to ensure research outcome fits expectations (theirs or the researchers)
Single Blind Procedure
Participants don’t know what group they’re in, avoids subject bias
Experimenter Bias
Conducting research to ensure outcome fits expectations
Double Blind Study
Neither participants nor experimenters know what group is which
Hawthorne Effect
Change in behavior due to observation, based on the Hawthorne Plant Study
Quantitative Data
Numbers
Qualitative Data
Places results into categories
Descriptive Statistics
Organizing and describing data
Inferential Statistics
Generalizing data to the larger population
Frequency Distribution Table
Determines how often data occurs
Discrete Data
Data which can be counted
Nominal Scale
Data without any structure or order (ex: tall to short)
Ordinal Scale
Count and order but not measure (ex: like or dislike)
Continuous Data
Data which can be measured
Interval Scale
Degrees of difference but not the ratio between them
Ratio Scale
Measures a meaningful measurement with a zero value
Dichotomy Scale
Two categories
Trichotomy Scale
3+ categories
Displaying Methods
Pie chart, bar graph, histogram, frequency polygon
Central Tendency
Mode (most frequent), mean (average), median (middle)
Range
The difference between the highest and the lowest points
Standard Deviation
Average distance from the mean, high SD means less similar
Normal Distribution
Bell curve, mode/median/mean all meet at 0, produced when a large group is tested
Positive Skew
Mean pulled towards higher end of the score
Negative Skew
Mean pulled towards lower end of the score
Correlation Coefficient
The strength of a relationship between two variables. The closer it is to one, the stronger the relationship
Positive Correlation Coefficient
0 to +1, both variables move together
Negative Correlation Coefficient
0 to -1, one variable increases while the other decreases
No Correlation
No relationship between variables
Statistical Significance
The likelihood that data collection is a result of the experiment
P Value
If close to 0, data supports hypothesis
Ethics
Beneficence and Non-Malfience (do no harm), Fidelity and Responsibility (atmosphere built on trust, responsibility, and ethical consideration), Integrity (transparent practices), Justice (aware of biases, competence), Respect for Rights and Dignity
Evolutionary Approach
Inspired by Darwin’s theory of evolution, certain characteristics help the population to thrive
Major Debates in Psychology
Nature vs Nurture
Free Will vs Determinism
Reciprocal Determinism
Genetics are not destiny, environment affects people who affect the environment
Epigenetics
Environmental pressures can change the activity of genes
Polygenic
Trait caused by genes is caused by many genes
Diathesis
Disorders are both environmental and genetic
Maturationism
All children follow the same genetic pattern, but their environment determines what they do
Plasticity
The brain cellularly changes in response to the environment
Endocrine System
Allows for communication
Glands
Use hormones to “talk” via the bloodstream
Pituitary Gland
Controlled by the hypothalamus, regulates all other glands
Adrenal Gland
Releases adrenaline
Pineal Gland
Produces melatonin
Thyroid
Regulates metabolism
Pancreas
Produces insulin, helps get energy from food
Ovary/Testes
Produce estrogen/progesterone/testosterone
Oxytocin
“Us vs them”, “love hormone”, increases contractions during childbirth
Cortisol
Stress hormone
Testosterone
Sexual desire, competition
Estrogen
Sexual desire, reproduction
Leptin
Turns off hunger when full
Ghrelin
Turns on hunger when hungry
Melatonin
Sleep process
Central Nervous System
Brain and spinal cord. Organizes movement, creates thoughts, forms emotions, produces behavior
Spinal Cord
Transmits messages from the brain to the muscles to the glands throughout the body
Spinal Reflex
A simple, automatic response
Peripheral Nervous System
A bundle of nerves that transmits information from the CNS to the body and back, carries out orders from CNS
Somatic Nervous System
Part of peripheral, sensory, voluntary movement, touch, pain, temperature
Autonomic Nervous System
Part of peripheral, involuntary, breathing, digestion, heart rate
Parasympathetic/Sympathetic Nervous System
Part of autonomic, parasympathetic slows you down, sympathetic used for emergencies, work together
Neurons
Make up the nervous system
Glial Cells
Provide nutrients and protect neurons, ex: Schwann cell
Dendrites
Receive information from other neurons
Soma
“Cell body” of the neuron
Axon
Carries info away from cell body, spinal cord is the longest axon
Myelin Sheath
Insulating covering for the axon
Nodes of Ranvier
Gaps between myelin sheath, promote action potential
Axon Terminal
Houses neurotransmitters
Synapse
The space between axon terminals and adjacent dendrites
Sensory Neurons
Afferent, receives info from sensory receptors and sends it to the brain
Motor Neurons
Carry info from the brain to the body, efferent
Mirror Neurons
Activated when we watch others complete an action (ex: yawning)
Neural Transmission
Neurons sending messages between adjacent neurons
Resting Potential
More positive ions on the outside of the neuron than the inside
Permeability
A process where the positive and negative ions come together
Action Potential
Neuron fires an impulse because positive ions sweep down the neuron, firing threshold
“All or None” Response
When an impulse reaches its intensity level, it will fire
Refractory Period
The neuron cannot immediately fire again
Reuptake
Any excess neurotransmitters are recollected after firing
Resting Period
Neuron not firing
Neurotransmitters
Communicate between neurons to perform tasks
Excitatory
Stimulates firing to send message
Inhibitory
Slows firing to slow message
Acetylcholine
Enables muscle action, learning, and memory. Low: Alzheimer’s
Dopamine
Movement, learning, attention, emotion. High: Schizophrenia, Low: Tremors, low mobility, Parkinson’s
Serotonin
Hunger, mood, arousal, sleep. Low: Depression
Endorphins
Pain control and pleasure during great stress. Low: OCD
Epinephrine
Same as adrenaline (energy, sympathetic system, helps with stress), forms memories
Norepinephrine
Sympathetic system, alertness, blood pressure, heart rate, releases glucose, fight or flight
Glutamate
Excitatory, memory. High: migraines, seizures
GABA
Inhibitory. Low: seizures, tremors, insomnia
Synaptic Vesicles
Release neurotransmitters from axon terminal
Receptor Site
Where neurotransmitters bind
Agonists
Mimics a neurotransmitter, enhances the effects/produces more
Antagonists
Blocks neurotransmitter, produces less or no effect
Inhibitors
Affect reuptake, produce more of the neurotransmitter the next time the neuron fires
Dopamine Agonists
Mimic dopamine, often for those with Parkinson’s
Drugs as Agonists/Antagonists
Opiates- Agonist for endorphins
Botox- Antagonist for acetylcholine
Alcohol- Antagonist for glutamate
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
AKA SSRI, stop the reuptake of serotonin
Hindbrain
Most primitive, base of the brain
Midbrain
More complex, buried under forebrain
Forebrain
Most complex, higher level thinking, outer layer
Pons
Hindbrain, regulates sleep cycle, communicates between cerebellum and forebrain, autonomic (bladder)
Medulla Oblongata
Hindbrain, autonomic (reflexes, blood pressure)
Cerebellum
Hindbrain, “little brain”, balance, posture, coordination, implicit memory formation
Reticular Formation
Hindbrain, attention, arousal, consciousness, sleep cycles
Limbic System
Midbrain, center of emotion
Thalamus
Midbrain, sensory and motor relay
Hypothalamus
Midbrain, homeostasis, hormones
Amygdala
Midbrain, emotional reactions
Hippocampus
Midbrain, memory formation, learning, emotional regulation
Frontal Lobe
Forebrain, prefrontal, motor cortex, association areas, Broca’s Area
Parietal Lobe
Somatosensory cortex, association areas, forebrain
Occipital Lobe
Primary visual cortex, association areas, forebrain
Temporal Lobe
Auditory cortex, association areas, Wernicke’s Area, forebrain
Broca’s Area
Speech production
Prefrontal Cortex
Last part of brain to develop, higher level thinking
Wernicke’s Area
Interprets auditory code
HM (Henry Moliason)
Hippocampus removed due to seizures, lost ability to form new memories
Wilder Penfield and Brenda Milner
Discovered the function of the hippocampus from HM
Louis Victor Geborne
Could only say the word “tan” after a stroke but could still use inflection
Pierre Paul Broca
Studied Geborne, named the speech production center after himself
Broca’s Aphasia
The inability to produce speech and select words
Phineas Gage
Had an iron bar driven into his skull but didn’t pass out or die, prefrontal cortex damaged, lost judgement, emotional regulation, and planning
Split Brain Patient
Brain hemispheres do not connect, can describe something they saw in their right visual field and draw what they saw in their left
Left Hemisphere
Language, logic
Right Hemisphere
Visual, spatial recognition, faces
Neuroimaging
Now used to study the brain
Electroencephalogram/EEG
Electrodes placed on head detect electrical activity when neurons fire
Position Emission Topography/PET
Subject is injected with radioactive glucose which neurons consume as they fire, can detect “hot spots” of firing neurons in scan and map activity
Magnetic Resonance Imaging/MRI
MRI machine contains magnetic field that distorts atoms and allows for clear photography, gives info about anatomy
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging/fMRI
Process similar to MRI, measures oxygen from blood flow, gives info about anatomy and activity
Psychoactive Drug
A chemical substance used purposefully to alter mood or perception
Depressants
Reduce neural activity, slow body functions, ex: sleeping pills, tranquilizers, alcohol, opioids
Opioids
Depressant effect, pain relief, ex: morphine, oxycodone, heroin, codeine
Stimulants
Excite neural activity, speed up body functions, ex: caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine
Hallucinogens
Distort perceptions, evoke hallucinations, ex: LSD, marijuana
NREM 1
5-10 mins, light sleep, alpha waves
NREM 2
Transitional, 10-20 mins, harder to awaken, theta waves, spindles, k complexes
NREM 3
Gets shorter through the night, deepest stage, growth/body sleep, delta waves
REM
Gets longer through the night, internally active, dreams, externally paralyzed (“paradoxical sleep”), beta waves
Restoration Theory
Sleep is necessary to restore resources and reenergize body
Adaptive Theory
Sleep protects us, evolved to preserve energy (evolutionary)
Cognitive and Information Processing Theory
Sleep helps us remember, sleep deprivation affects cognitive performance
Psychological Theory
Freud’s interpretation of dreams, dreams are our unconscious mind
Manifest Content
The storyline of a dream that we remember
Latent Content
The hidden, symbolic meaning behind a dream
Biological and Information Processing Theory
Dreams help consolidate memory
Activation Synthesis Model
REM triggers neural activity in the cortex as memories are synthesized, helps preserve and develop neural connections
Insomnia
The inability to fall asleep/stay asleep, most common, caused by stress, irregular sleep schedule, pain, illness, medications, diet
Sleep Apnea
The cessation of breathing while sleeping
Types: Obstructive, central (CNS), complex
Risk factors: Weight, smoking, sex, age, body, nasal obstruction
Narcolepsy
Falling into uncontrollable sleep throughout the day, genetic, treated with medication
Gestalt Psychology
Origin of cognitive psychology, whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Law of Simplicity
Objects appear to us as simply as possible
Gestalt Principles
Organization of visual field into objects that stand out
Proximity, similarity, continuity, connectedness, closure
Depth Perception
The ability to perceive distance of objects
Binocular Cues
Require two eyes, convergence, retinal disparity
Monocular Cues
Require one eye, relative size, interposition, light, shadow, relative height, texture gradient, perspective
Convergence
Neuromuscular, eyes move inward for close objects and straight for far objects
Retinal Disparity
The closer the object, the larger the differences between what each eye sees
Sensory Transduction
Stimulus activates sense receptors, which create a sensation
Absolute Threshold
Smallest amount of energy that produces a sensation 50% of the time
Difference Threshold
The smallest change in stimulus that causes a change in sensation
Just Noticeable Difference
The smallest difference needed for a difference to be detected 50% of the time
Weber’s Law
The ratio of actual change in stimulus to perceived change
Signal Detection Theory
The intensity of the stimuli and the psychological state of the person affect the ability to detect the stimuli
Bottom Up Processing
Sensing the stimulus and then perceiving and processing the experience
Top Down Processing
Perceiving the experience first based on expectations, experience, culture, motivation, emotions, etc, and then sensing the stimulus
Perceptual Set
Our tendency to perceive some parts of sensory data and ignore others
Schemas
Mental frameworks for organizing our understanding of the world
Cornea
Allows light to hit the retina
Iris
Contracts the pupil
Pupil
Changes size according to available light
Retina
Contains vision receptors, which form the optic nerve
Forea
Focuses the eye
Rods and Cones
In the back of the retina, allows for color vision
Blind Spot
No rods or cones
Feature Detectors
Light, color, line, shape, angle, motion
Light Waves
Stimuli for receptor cells in the retina
Wavelength
Determines hue, short is cool, long is warm
Amplitude
Determines intensity, height of wave
Trichromatic Theory
Combinations of cones firing makes up colors, cones work in threes (red, green, blue), strength of signal determines how the brain interprets, light hitting the retina stimulates cones
Opponent Process Theory
Visual information affects neurons, some inhibited and some excited, explains afterimages
Two Stage Theory
Trichromatic and opponent process theories work together to explain color vision
Color Blindness
People who either cannot distinguish excitatory and inhibitory signals or have unresponsive cones
Monochromat
Black/white/gray color blind
Dichromat
Red/green or yellow/blue color blind
Trichromat
Completely color blind
Physical Illusions
Distortion of scale based on manipulation of monocular cues for depth perception
Physiological Illusions
Overstimulation of visual system (photoreceptors, feature detectors)
Cognitive Illusions
Mismatch between perception and sensing (top down, perceptual set, context clues, manipulation of Gestalt principles)
Frequency
How rapidly a sound wave cycles (amplitude affects volume, frequency affects pitch)
Outer Ear
Gather, concentrate, and amplify sound waves (air as medium)
Pinna
Gathers and compresses waves
Ear Canal
Entryway for sound waves
Tympanic Membrane
Transfers to middle ear
Middle Ear
Solid as medium, three tiny bones
Inner Ear
Liquid as medium
Cochlea
Liquid, produces nerve impulses in response to vibrations
Cilia
Hair cells on cochlea
Transduction
Converting information from the environment through sensation into ideas through perception
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Impacts loudness, clarity, and range of sounds heard, affects cilia and auditory nerve, both ears, more common, aging, trauma, disease
Conductive Hearing Loss
Sound waves cannot progress normally through outer/middle ear, affects outer ear, ear drum, and middle ear, one or both ears, blockage, trauma, can be selective
Gustatory Sense
Taste
Olfactory Sense
Smell
Tastes
Bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami
Body Senses
Touch, pain, vestibular (balance, movement), kinesthetic (position/movement of skeletal joints)
Learning
Change in behavior, results from experience, relatively permanent
Albert Bandura
Observational learning, Bobo doll
Ivan Pavlov
Classical conditioning, Pavlov’s dogs
John B Watson
Helped found behaviorism
Robert Rescorla
Contingency and stimulus satience
Edward Tolman
Latent learning
John Garcia
Taste aversion
Insight Learning
Sudden realization of the solution
Emotional Learning
Helps people understand their emotions
Learned Helplessness
Believing you are unable to change a situation, which prevents you from trying
Classical Conditioning
-Unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response
-Conditioned stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus
-Conditioned response is elicited
Extinction
Conditioned and unconditioned stimulus are no longer paired
Spontaneous Recovery
Extinguished response returns
Stimulus Discrimination
Responses differ with different stimuli, opposite of generalization
Higher Order Learning
Associating one conditioned stimulus with another
Operant Conditioning
Learning based on consequences
EL Thorndike
Cat in box experiments, learning requires trial and error, positive reinforcer given to the cat who manages to escape the box by pushing a latch
Law of Effect
Behavior+satisfying effect = reward
BF Skinner
Behaviorist, expanded on Thorndike’s Law of Effect, schedules of reinforcement, Skinner box used to measure behavior
Positive Reinforcement
Adding in a stimulus to increase behavior
Positive Punishment
Adding in a stimulus to decrease behavior
Negative Reinforcement
Removing a stimulus to increase behavior
Negative Punishment
Taking away a stimulus to decrease behavior
Intrinsic Motivation
Desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
Extrinsic Motivation
Desire to perform a behavior for rewards or less punishment
Overjustification
Extrinsic rewards replace intrinsic motivation
Fixed Interval
Same spacing at the same interval of time
Fixed Ratio
Same spacing over different periods of time
Variable Interval
Varied spacing, same length of time