AP Psychology Unit 1

1 standard deviation

68%

standard deviation

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

confounding variable

A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment.

scatterplot

A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables.

median

A measure of center in a set of numerical data. The median of a list of values is the value appearing at the center of a sorted version of the list - or the mean of the two central values if the list contains an even number of values.

correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

sample

A part of the population you are studying.

cognitive perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behavior

sociocultural perspective

A psychological approach that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior such as race, sex, and culture

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one factor to observe the effect on another; the only way to determine causality

random sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

operational definition

A statement of the procedures used to define research variables that is specific and allows research to be replicated

correlation coefficient

A statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1); closer to 1, the stronger the relationship is.

statistical significance

A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance, and not a causation of one variable to the other. (Do a T-Test and yield a p-value of less than 0.05)

survey

A study, generally in the form of an interview or questionnaire, that provides researchers with information about how people think and act.

experimental group

A subject or group of subjects in an experiment that is exposed to the factor or condition being tested.

hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

debriefing

A verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study

informed consent

A written agreement to participate in a study made by an adult who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail.

random assignment

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

range

Distance between highest and lowest scores in a set of data.

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

mode

Measure of central tendency that uses most frequently occurring score.

Psychoanalysis

School of thought that stresses early childhood experiences and the unconscious drives

Humanistic Perspective

stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment and the importance of consciousness, self-awareness, and the capacity to make choices

validity

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

nature-nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

dependent varibale

the outcome factor the cariable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variables --what you are measuring (ex. obesity rates)

natural selection

the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

population

the whole group that you want to study and describe

positive correlation

two variable rise and fall together, such as height and weight

negative correlation

variables are related inversely, one goes up and the other goes down, such as inner speech and psychological distress

Behaviorism

The theory that psychology should only study observable behaviors, not mental processes.

Histogram

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

naturalistic observation

a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Placebo

a fake drug used in the testing of medication

skewed disribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

biopsychological approach

an approach that views behavior as strongly influenced by physiological functions such as hormones and the activity of the nervous system

mean

arithmetic average

measures of variability

depict diversity of the distribution (range, standard deviation)

Wilhelm Wundt

father of psychology, structuralism

John B. Watson

founder of behaviorism

Sigmund Freud

founder of psychoanalysis

positive skew

high outlier

negative skew

low outlier

replication

replicate the original study in attempt to yield similar results

independent variable

(statistics) a variable whose values are independent of changes in the values of other variables

APA

American Psychological Association, a national association that sets ethical guidelines and provides resources and support in the field.

double-blind study

An experiment in which neither the participant nor the researcher knows whether the participant has received the treatment or the placebo

case study

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

Behavioral/Learning Perspective

Personal experience and reinforcement guide individual development

ethics in research

informed consent protection from harm/discomfort maintain confidentiality debriefing