ap psych vocab terms unit 1

Question 1

empiricism

Answer 1

the idea that knowledge comes from experience & that experimentation enables scientific knowledge

Question 1

structuralism

Answer 1

used the process of introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

Question 2

introspection

Answer 2

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

Question 3

functionalism

Answer 3

explored how mental & behavioral processes function and enable an organism to adapt and survive

Question 4

one of the three major issues in psych

nature v nurture

Answer 4

longstanding controversy over contributions between genes & experience to psychological development

Question 5

positive psychology

Answer 5

scientific study of human flourishing with the goals of promoting strengths & virtues to thrive

Question 6

basic research

Answer 6

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Question 7

applied research

Answer 7

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Question 8

hindsight bias

Answer 8

believing an outcome is obvious only after recieving the results

Question 9

overconfidence

Answer 9

the tendency to believe we have more knowledge than we actually do

Question 10

operational definition

Answer 10

precise, measurable definitions of procedures & concepts

Question 11

survey technique

Answer 11

looks at manay cases not in depth, asks people to report their behavior or opinion

Question 12

case study

Answer 12

examines one individual or group in depth in the hope of revealing something true of us all

Question 13

naturalistic observation

Answer 13

records behavior in natural environments, describes, not explains behavior

Question 14

correlations

Answer 14

when one trait or behavior tends to coincide with another (related relationship)

Question 15

experiment

Answer 15

research method in which an investiagtor manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect

Question 16

dependent variable

Answer 16

the variable that gets measured

Question 17

independent variable

Answer 17

the variable that gets manipulated

Question 18

confounding variable

Answer 18

any variable that can influence the results

Question 19

random assignment

Answer 19

assigning participants to experimental & control groups by chance, minimizing preexisting differences

Question 20

controls

Answer 20

in an experiment the group not exposed to the treatment contrasts and serves as a comparison to evaluate treatment

Question 21

experimenter bias

Answer 21

any systematic errors in the research process or interpretation of the results because of a researcher’s behavior, beliefs, expectancies, and desires

Question 22

single-blind procedure

Answer 22

procedure in which participants are unaware of all procedures

Question 23

double-blind procedure

Answer 23

procedure in which participants and staff are unaware of all procedures

Question 24

placebo

Answer 24

experimental results caused by expectations alone

Question 25

hypothesis

Answer 25

testable predicitons that specify what would support/disprove the theory

Question 26

theory

Answer 26

explains behaviors or events by offering ideas that organize observations

Question 27

informed consent/assent

Answer 27

giving participants enough information about an experiment to allow them to participate

Question 28

population

Answer 28

all those in a group being studied from those which samples may be drawn

Question 29

correlation coefficient

Answer 29

a scientific measure that helps figure out how closely two things vary together/ predict each other

Question 31

one of the three major issues in psych

change vs stability

Answer 31

depends on the situation vs consitency

traits changing through age

Question 32

one of the three major issues in psych

irrationality vs rationality

Answer 32

quick decisions vs thinking things through