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ap psych vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
psychology | the study of the mind and human behavior |
behavioral perspective | looks at the "observable behavior", we learn based off our environment (rewards and punishments) |
biological perspective | *physical* and *chemical* changes in the brain and body influence our behavior |
introspection | careful, systematic observation of one's own conscious experience. "how does that make you feel?" |
structuralism | breaking down mental processes into basic elements/components building blocks of conscious experience |
psychodynamic perspective | how *unconscious* motives and conflicts affect our lives |
functionalism | school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish |
hindsight bias | the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome that one would have foreseen it. |
theory vs. hypothesis | T- using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events. H- a testable prediction, often implied by a theory. |
operational definition | specific instructions on what you are doing, and how it can be replicated |
reliability | test gets consistent results |
validity | test measures what it is supposed to measure |
case study | study that follows one or a small group of people over a *unique* topic |
survey | *questionnaire* |
false consensus effect | tendency to “see one's own behavioral choices and judgments as relatively common and appropriate to existing circumstances while viewing alternative responses as uncommon, deviant, or inappropriate |
population | the whole group |
random assignment | dividing participants, every person in the group has an equal chance of participating |
naturalistic coefficient | observe a subject in their own environment without interfering |
experiment | testing a hypothesis by manipulating variables (cause and effect) |
confounding variable/third variable | influences both the dependent and independent variables |
evolutionary perspective | how primal survival instincts can influence our behavior, inherit behavioral characteristics (natural selection) |
gestalt psychology | looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole |
humanistic perspective | believe that people are free to direct their own destinies, potential for growth, reach their *full potential* |
sociocultural perspective | explores how behavior is shaped by history, society, and culture |
cognitive perspective | how the mind encodes, stores, and processes things and how we behave because of those processes |
nature-nurture debate | - what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors. - generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception |
empiricism | states that the only source of knowledge comes through our senses |
placebo | an inert treatment or substance that has no known effects, fake independent variable |
double-blind | researcher and participant doesn't know what group their in |
control condition | does not receive any manipulation |
experimental condition | receives the manipulation/IV |
longitudinal study | researchers repeatedly examine the same individuals to detect any changes that might occur over a period of time. |
standard deviation | a measure which shows to what extent the values in a data set deviate from the mean |
statistically significant | indicate whether or not the difference between groups can be attributed to chance or if the difference is likely the result of experimental influences. |
correlation | statistical index used to represent the strength of a relationship between two factors, how much and in what way those factors vary, and how well one factor can predict the other. |
normal distribution | an arrangement of data that is symmetrical and forms a bell-shaped pattern where the mean, median and/or mode falls in the centre at the highest peak. |
descriptive statistics vs inferential | descriptive statistics summarize the characteristics of a data set. Inferential statistics allow you to test a hypothesis or assess whether your data is generalizable to the broader population. |
informed consent | the process by which researchers working with human participants describe their research project and obtain the subjects' consent to participate in the research based on the subjects' understanding of the project's methods and goals. |
cross-sectional study | research that involves different groups of people who do not share the same variable of interest (like the variable you're focusing on), but who do share other relevant variables. |
debriefing | a set of procedures including counselling and the giving of information aimed at preventing psychological morbidity and aiding recovery after a traumatic event. |
confirmation bias | the seeking or interpreting of evidence in ways that are partial to existing beliefs, expectations, or a hypothesis in hand. |