AP Psychology Exam Terms PART 1 Flashcards
All the vocab needed for the 2024 AP Psychology Exam on May 9.
Structuralism
WILHELM WUNDT
Used INTROSPECTION (act of looking inward to examine mental experience) to determine the underlying STRUCTURES of the mind.
How does this structure of the brain cause this?
Functionalism
WILLIAM JAMES
Need to analyze the PURPOSE of the behavior.
Why is this part of the brain functioning that way?
Evolutionary
CHARLES DARWIN
Genes - anything passed down from generation to generation.
Humanistic
CARL ROGERS AND ABRAHAM MASLOW
Free will, choice, ideal, actualization.
Biological
CHARLES DARWIN
The Brian, Neurotransmitters.
Cognitive
JEAN PIAGET
Perceptions and thoughts.
Behavioral
JOHN B. WATSON, BF SKINNER, AND IVAN PAVLOV
Learned and reinforced.
Psychoanalytic/dynamic
SIGMUND FREUD
Unconscious, childhood.
Sociocultural
LEV VYGOTSKY
Society.
Experiment
An advantage is that the researcher controls variables to establish cause and effect.
Biopsychosocial
Combo of sociocultural and Psychoanalytic.
Independent Variable (IV)
Manipulated by the researcher
Experimental Group
Received the treatment (part of the IV)
Control Group
Placebo, baseline (part of the IV)
Control = Constant
Placebo Effect
Shows behaviors associated with the exp. group when having received placebo.
Double-Blind
Exp. where neither the participants or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to.
Dependent Variable
Measured variable (is DEPENDENT on the independent variable).
Operational Definition
Clear, precise, typically quantifiable definition of your variables - allows replication.
Confound
Error/flaw in study.
Random Assignment
Assigns participants to either control of experimental group at random - minimizes bias, increase chance of equal representation.
Random Sample
Method for choosing participants - minimizes bias
Reliability
Same results every time.
Naturalistic Observation
Observing people in their own setting. A disadvantage is NO CAUSE AND EFFECT.
Correlation
Advantage: identify the relationship between two variables.
Disadvantage: No Cause and Effect.
Inferential Statistics
Establishes significance (meaningfulness).
Significant Results = NOT due to chance.
Ethical Guidelines (APA)
Confidentiality, Informed Consent, Debriefing, Deception must be warranted.
Neuron
Basic cell of the NS.
Dendrites
Receive incoming signals from other cells.
Soma
The Cell Body (includes nucleus).
Axon
Passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands.
Myelin Sheath
Speeds up signal down axon
DISEASE IS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Terminals
Release Neurotransmitters - send signal onto the next neuron.
Synapse
The gap between neurons and also releases Neurotransmitters.
Action Potential
Movement of sodium and potassium ions across a membrane that sends an electrical charge down the axon.
All or none response/law
Stimulus must trigger the AP (action Potential) past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity of the response (flush the toilet).
Refractory Period
Neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP (like a toilet resetting).
Sensory Neurons
Receive signals.
Motor Neurons
Send the signals.
Efferent Neurons
Signal exits.
Central Nervous System
Central Brain and Spinal Cord.
Peripheral Nervous System
The rest of the Nervous System.
Somatic Nervous System
Voluntary Movement.
Autonomic Nervous System
Involuntary Movement (heart, lungs, etc.).
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons.
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
Major inhibitory Neurotransmitter. Slows down your brain by blocking specific signals in your central nervous system
Glutamate
Major Excitatory Neurotransmitter.
Important to memory, cognition, and mood regulation.
Dopamine
Reward and Movement. Lack = parkinson’s disease. Overabundance = schizophrenia.
Serotonin
Moods and Emotion.
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Memory. Lack leads to Alzheimer’s disease.
Epinephrine & Norepinephrine
Sympathetic NS arousal.
Endorphins
Pain control and happiness.
Oxytocin
Love and bonding.
Agonist
Drug that mimics a NT.
Antagonist
Drug that blocks a NT.
Reuptake
Unused NT’s are taken back up into the sending neuron.
SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)
Block Reuptake - treatment for depression.
Hindbrain
Oldest part of the brain. Controls basic biological structures.
It is on top of our spinal cord.
Cerebellum
Movement and balance.
Medulla
Vital Organs (heart rate and breathing rate).
Just above the spinal cord.
Pons
Located above the Medulla and connects hindbrain with the midbrain and forebrain.
It is involved with facial expressions and sleep/arousal (ponzzzzzzz).
Midbrain
Coordinates simple movements with sensory information.
Most important structure.
Reticular formation: attention.
Forebrain
What makes us human.
It is the largest part of the brain.
Made up of the Thalamus, Limbic System and Cerebral Cortex. Higher thought processes.
Cerebellum
Bottom rear of the brain.
- means “little brain”
- coordinates fine muscle movements
Limbic System
Processes and regulates emotion and memory while also dealing with sexual stimulation and learning.
Amygdala
Emotions, fear.
Hippocampus
Memory.
Thalamus
“Relay Center”
- received signals from the spinal cord and sends them to other parts of the forebrain.
Hypothalamus
Reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors.
MOST POWERFUL.
LINKED WITH ENDOCRINE SYSTEM.
Broca’s Area and Broca’s Aphasia
Area: Responsible for controlling muscles that produce speech.
Aphasia: Inability to produce speech (Broca = Broken speech).
Wernicke’s Area and Wernicke’s Aphasia
Area: Interprets written and spoken speech.
Aphasia: Inability to comprehend speech (Wernicke’s = “what?”).
Cerebral Cortex
Outer portion of the brain - higher order thought processes.
Occipital Lobe
Located in the back of the head - vision.
Frontal Lobe
Decision making, planning, judgment, movement, and personality.
Parietal Lobe
Located on the top of the head - sensations.
Temporal Lobe
Located on the sides of the head (temples) - hearing and face recognition.
Somatosensory Cortex
Map of our sensory receptors - in parietal lobe.
Motor Cortex
Map of our motor receptors - located in the frontal lobe.
Corpus Callosum
Bundle of nerves that connect the 2 hemispheres - sometimes severed in patients with severe seizures - leads to “split-brain patients.”
Brain Lateralization can “fill in” the severed part unconsciously.
ENDOCRINE System
Sends hormones throughout the body.
Pituitary Gland
Controlled by the hypothalamus, releases growth hormones.
Adrenal Glands
Related to sympathetic NS: release adrenaline.
Absolute Threshold
Detection of a signal 50% of time.
Difference Threshold
(Also called a Just Noticeable Difference: JND and follows WEBER’s LAW) two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion.
Sensory Adaptation
Diminished sensitivity as a result of constant stimulation.
Perceptual Set
Tendency to see something as part of a group - speeds up signal processing.
Inattentional Blindness
Failure to notice something because you’re so focused on another task.
Cocktail party effect
Noticing your name across the room when it’s spoken, when you weren’t previously paying attention.
SELECTIVE ATTENTION
Cornea
Protects the eye.
Pupil/Iris
Controls the amount of light entering eye.
Lens
Focuses light on retina.
Fovea
Ear of best vision (cones here).
Rods
Black/white, dim light.
Cones
Color, bright light.
Bipolar Cells
Connects rods/cones and Ganglion cells.
Ganglion cells
Opponent-processing occurs here.
Blind spot
Occurs where the optic nerve leaves the eye.
Feature Detectors
Specialized cells that see motion, shapes, lines, etc. (experiments by Hubel & Wiesel).
Trichromatic
Three cones for receiving color (blue, red, green).
Explains color blindness - they are missing a cone type.
Opponent Process
Complementary colors are processed in ganglion cells.
Explains why we see an after image.
Visual Capture
The visual system overwhelms all others.
Constancies
Recognize that objects do not physically change despite changes in sensory input.
Phi Phenomenon
Adjacent lights blink on/off in succession - looks like movement.
