AP Psychology 2020 Review

Operational Definition

A description of something in terms of the operations by which it could be observed and measured. Example: If we claim teenagers need more sleep to improve test scores, we must define how much sleep is "more" and what constitutes "improved" scores.

Mary Whiton Calkins

A famous Philosopher/Psychologist. Researched memory (among other things). Studied at Harvard and outscored male classmates, but Harvard would not give her a degree. First female President of the APA.

Experimental Group

A group in an experiment that is exposed to a particular change in the IV.

Control Group

A group in an experiment that receives no intervention at all.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

A longitudinal, clinical study. Study started in 1932. Designed to study the effect of Syphilis on the African American population. Ethical until the 1940s when Penicillin was found to be a cure for Syphilis. After this, they were purposely denied treatment in order to study the long term effect of the disease. Study continued until 1972.

Informed Consent

A person's voluntary agreement to participate in a procedure on the basis of understanding the purpose, risks, and benefits of that procedure.

Naturalistic Observation

A research method where you observe, but don't interfere. Describes but does not explain behavior. Cannot control for all the variables that may influence behavior.

Representative Sample

A selection of study participants from a larger population, so that the sample accurately reflects the total population. You want your participants to look like the larger population you are studying.

Null Hypothesis

A statement that a study will find no meaningful differences between the groups or conditions under investigation.

Inferential Statistics

Data that allows one to infer or generalize the probability of something being true. It is safe to generalize when we have: Representative samples. Less variable observations. More cases are better than fewer.

Ivan Pavlov

Described and studied Classical Conditioning.

B.F. Skinner

Described and studied Operant Conditioning. Reinforcement and Punishment. Behaviorist. Remember all your thoughts, etc. are just learned behaviors to Skinner.

John B. Watson

Dismissed introspection and defined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior. Can't observe a feeling - can observe behavior. Behavior is influenced by conditioning.

Aristotle

More scientific - Derived principles from careful observation. Knowledge is not pre-existing - it grows from experiences stored in our memory.

Francis Bacon

One of the founders of modern science (influence in modern experimentation). Fascinated by the human mind. Foresaw findings on remembering/recalling events that confirm our beliefs.

APA Guidlines Humans

Participants must participate voluntarily and give informed consent . You are free to leave the study at any time. Deception must be minimal. Must cause a minimal amount of stress or harm. Must maintain the confidentiality of the participants. This includes data from the study, clinical testing, and/ or any identifying information. In many cases, specific client/ subject data can only be given with consent of that person. Must debrief participants when the experiment is over.

Bystander Effect

Phenomena in which individuals do not offer help to a victim when others are present.The probability that someone will help is inversely related to the amount of bystanders.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Philip Zimbardo wanted to test if the personality of guards and prisoners led to abuse behavior in prison. Participants chosen to be either guards or prisoners. Prisoners actually "arrested" by police before being sent to the "prison." Prisoners were strip searched and forced to wear uncomfortable smocks. Guards dressed as such. Many guards became abusive. ○ They took mattresses, would not allow prisoners to use the bathroom, or would lock them in solitary. One third of guards exhibited sadistic tendencies. The experiment was set to last two weeks, but only lasted six days. It only stopped because Zimbardo's girlfriend said it was not moral/ ethical. Some guards were upset it ended early.

Debreifing

Provide a fuller explanation of the study than was possible before or during, such as explaining any deceptions and their purpose.

Demand Characteristic

Refers to a situation where a participant interprets the purpose of the study and changes their response to suit it. Can work to attempt to help the research ("Good Participant Effect") or damage it.

APA guidlines animals

Research should have a clear scientific purpose. The purpose should be significant enough to require non-human participants. Non-animal subjects must be considered. Research must be reviewed by an appropriate animal care committee (such as the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee). This is the Institutional Review Board for Animals. Minimal levels of harm to maintain research parameters. Animals will often be harmed by the same things that harm humans. Animals must be obtained legally. Animals must be humanely cared for.

Social Desirability Bias

Respondents will answer questions in the way that will be viewed as favorable by others. Over report good behavior. Under report bad.

Experimenter Bias

Scientists performing research influence the results to achieve a certain outcome.

The Milgram Experiment

Set out to test obedience to authority in response to the Nazi defense of following orders. Participants drew lots to be the teacher or learner. Milgram's confederate was always the learner. The learner was moved to another room. The teacher was instructed to shock the learner with steadily increasing voltage whenever they got a question incorrect. If a teacher refused the experimenter prodded them on. The learner begged to stop and eventually fell silent. 65% of participants (26 out of 40) shocked all the way to 450 volts. ○ These participants were very stressed, upset, and tried to stop, but ultimately reached the end of the experiment. ● All participants made it to 300 volts.

Humanistic Psychology

Started in response to Freud/Skinner. Believe that all humans are inherently good. Emphasizes the drive towards self-actualization (realizing your own capacity).

Functionalism

Started to counter Structuralism. More concerned about the capability of the mind than the process of thought. So instead of the structure, they wanted to study the purpose of the mind and consciousness.

Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic

Studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable in an experiment that is specifically manipulated in order to assess its effect or influence.

Framing

The way you ask a question can significantly influence the responses you receive. Think about the terrible practice of washing your epidermis.

Charles Darwin

Theory of Evolution/Natural Selection

Longitudinal Studies

These studies follow a group of participants over a long period of time. Often observational. Allows researchers to follow trends over the subject's lifetime. Less likely to have problems with cultural differences. However they are expensive and take a lot of time.

Standard Deviation

This is a better measure of how much scores deviate from one another. It can also be clarified as a Measure of Spread or Variation. Therefore, Standard Deviation measures the difference between numbers. It will look at how scores differ from the mean.

Descriptive Statistics

This is numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes Measures of Central Tendency and Measures of Variation. Central Tendency refers to Mean, Median and Mode. The Mean and Median are Measures of Center. This information is useful, but does not show us variation.

Range

This is simply the gap between the lowest and highest scores. This can also be skewed by very high or very low data.

Institutional Review Board

This is the agency or institution that will review research proposals for their ethical acceptability. These boards are mandatory at any institution receiving Federal funding.

The Normal Curve

This is the standard Bell shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data. Large numbers of data typically form this curve. The mean can be labeled as μ (mu). A standard deviation can be labeled as σ (sigma). You can also think about a standard deviation as a (z) score.

Cognitive Dissonance

This is the theory that tension producing situations make you want to get out of them, such as by ignoring them

Regression to the Mean

This is when data extremely higher or lower than the mean it will measure closer to the mean if looked at a second time. First noted with height - Taller parents had taller children, but those children's children were shorter. ○ You may score an average of 20 points in a game, but will have a really good game and score 40. It is likely that the next time you play, you will score closer to 20 (the mean) again. Basically, data tends to move back towards the mean from extreme points.

Pluralistic Ignorance

This is when we act a certain way because we believe that others are accepting or believing something, and so we do it too even if it conflicts with our belief.

Outliers

Watch out for extreme scores or outliers. Outliers can skew the data. Bill Gates would drive up the average wealth on Cape Cod. This would make the Mean biased. Median might give us better information as to a middle of the road salary. With that in mind it is important to continue to use Critical Thinking when considering these statistics.

Diffusion of Responsibility

We are less likely to help when others are around since we assume that other people should or already have acted.

Animal Ethics

We study animals to look at how they learn, think, and behave, but also to study common traits between us. Psychologists ask: Is it OK to cause the suffering of animals in order to reduce future suffering? Is it OK to cause harm to animals in order to reduce human suffering? Are some animals more important to safeguard? Is medical research different than using animals as food?

Ambiguity

-When we are unsure if a person needs help. We help more in low ambiguity situations.

Kitty Genovese

28 year old woman who was attacked and stabbed as she got home from work at around 2:30am. Neighbors did not react to her cries for help. Lead to "Ambiguity" and "Cohesiveness" and "Diffusion Of Responsibility" and "Bystander Effect"

Case Study Methodology

A Case Study is an intensive observation of a particular individual or small group of individuals. They show us what can happen and often show directions for further study. They can mislead if the subject is not typical.

Carl Rogers

A Humanist Psychologist. Current environmental influences nurture or limit our growth/behavior. Must be loved/accepted. Talked about things like Unconditional Positive Regard/Person centered therapy.

Developmental Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social changes through the lifespan. (Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg etc.)

Placebo Effect

A clinically significant response to non-treatment, which results from the participants expectations regarding the experiment/ procedure.

Anchoring Bias

A cognitive bias to rely on the first piece of information seen (the "anchor") when making decisions.

correlation coefficient

A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. Represented by "r", as in "r=" ○ Varies between -1.0 and 1.0 The relationship is weaker the closer it gets to 0 For example: The Correlation Coefficient measuring the relationship between S.A.T. scores and Freshman College G.P.A. is +.61.

G. Stanley Hall

A student of Wilhelm Wundt - established the first formal US Psych lab at John Hopkins.

Hypothesis

A testable proposition about some fact, behavior, relationship, or the like, usually based on theory, that states an expected outcome.

Rene Descartes

Agreed with Socrates and Plato (innate knowledge and mind is separate). Tried to look at how the mind and body communicate. Dissected animals and decided brain fluids contain animal spirits that travel down hollow nerves to stimulate the muscles. Memories form as pores open in the brain to let the animal spirits in. Obviously not accurate, but he was close to nerve paths/reflexes.

Double Blind Procedure

An experimental procedure in which both the participants and researchers do not know who has been assigned to which group.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behavior or events.

Biopsychosocial Approach

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors for analyzing any given phenomenon. Basically, all behavior is going to have biological, psychological, and social factors.

Random Assignment

Assignment of participants to the different conditions of the experiment randomly. This helps to equalize the groups and decrease confounding variables.

Mean

Average of the scores

Cognitive Dissonance

Can choose to ignore situations that cause stress.

Central Tendency

Central Tendency is a single score that represents a set of scores.

William James

Considered the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings. Consciousness serves a function - allows us to consider our past, adjust the present, and plan the future. Was a functionalist. Admitted Mary Whiton Calkins into his graduate seminar at Harvard. James also wrote a famous Psychology text - The Principles of Psychology.

Correlation.

Correlation works to identify relationships between two variables.

Gestalt Psychology

Emphasized that organisms perceive entire patterns or configurations, not just individual components. Basically, we like to organize the world into meaningful wholes.

Harlow's Monkeys

Experimented with rhesus monkeys. Deprived monkeys of social interaction to test if the mother-child relationship was based on food or affection. Placed infant monkeys with wire and cloth surrogate mothers to test attachment. ○ Wire mothers had food while the cloth mothers did not. Placed monkeys in a "pit of despair" for up to one year after they had already bonded with their mothers. These experiments produced disturbed monkeys that were unable to function in a social group or take care of their own children. Showed the Mother/Child relationship was more than food- it needed to be loving as well.

Confounding Variables

Factors that you didn't control for that might account for the differences between your groups.

Dorothea Dix

Famous for advocating for the mentally ill in the US.Her research led to the first mental asylums in the US.

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of Psychology - First to call himself a psychologist. Made psychology a science. Attempted to measure the atoms of the mind through study of reaction time/awareness.

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female Psychology Ph.D. (since Harvard didn't give Calkin's her's). Second female APA president (1921).

How TO Find Standard Deviation

First you find the mean. Then you subtract the mean from each number and square the result. Then you add those numbers up. Find the mean of the result. (This is variance) Finally, square root that and you have... The Standard Deviation!

Structuralism

Founded by Wilhelm Wundt/Mostly identified with Edward Titchener. Uses introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind. Wanted to look at describing the human mind in terms of the simplest components and then see how they fit together into complex forms. Simply put, the goal of structuralism was to study the structure of the mind and consciousness.

Cohesiveness

If a group is more familiar with each other, they are more likely to pursue the social norm and help.

Negative COrrelation

If there is a negative correlation the two scores are inverse. As one goes up, the other goes down. As one goes down, the other goes up. The Correlation Coefficient is Negative.

Positive Correlation

If there is a positive correlation the two scores being looked at rise or fall together. The Correlation Coefficient is positive.

Statistical Significance

If your measures are reliable, then the difference is likely to be reliable as well. The difference is statistically significant if the p-value is less than 5%. This means that there is a less than 5% chance that the results are by chance. If something is not statistically significant, then it is possible that the difference occurred by chance.

Big Dan's Tavern

In 1983 a woman was raped by multiple men in a bar. Other patrons of the bar did not intervene. During the trial, the Defense questioned the victim about her lifestyle, which turned the case against her. Lead to "Blaming The Victim" and "The Just World Phenomenom"

Skew

In a skewed curve, the mean is like a dog chasing its tail. If the tail is on the right, the mean is greater than the median and it is positive (right) skewed.

Edward Titchener

Introduced structuralism to Cornell. Engaged people in introspection to have them report elements of their experience. (Think about what we feel and why we feel it.)

Cross Sectional Studies

Looks at an entire population at a single point in time. Is often observational. Allows us to gather information about a population.

Survey Methodology

Looks at many cases in less depth. Good for estimating opinions of a population. Have to be careful with wording. Must think critically when examining results. Can use "lie scale items" (fake questions, repeated questions, etc) to weed out fake responses.

Biological Psychology

Looks at the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. AKA Behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, etc.

Gambler's Fallacy.

Meaning that if something happens more frequently than normal, then it will happen less in the future and vice versa.

Behaviorism

Study of observable behavior and its explanation by the principles of learning. Early Behaviorism think of Thorndike: "responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation." Remember Pavlov and Skinner- All thoughts and actions are learned behaviors.

Validity

The degree to which evidence supports the conclusions drawn from some form of assessment.

Percentile

The location of a score in a distribution expressed as the percentage of cases in the data set with scores equal to or below the score in question. If you are 98th percentile, that means that 98% of scores fell below your score. You can think of it as you scored better than 98% of people that took that test, etc.

Low vs High Standard Deviation

The low standard deviation curve has less variance than the high standard deviation curve. A thin curve means that everything is closer to the average (low). A fat curve means that there is a wider spread (high).

Transformations/Translations.

The measure of spread (the shape of the curve) does not change with addition or subtraction. I created a curve of your heights, it would look one way. If I then asked you to stand on a stool (the same stool) and measured your heights again, the shape of the curve or the Standard Deviation would not change. Really, the curve would just shift over to the right a bit as the center point would shift.

Probability

The measure of the likelihood that an event will occur. Flipping a coin is a 1/ 2 chance you will get heads.

Median

The middle score in the distribution

John Locke

The mind at birth is a blank slate (Tabula Rasa) on which experience writes. Added to Bacon. What we know comes from experience, and observation/experimentation enable scientific knowledge.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score

Sample Size

The number of observations (cases, participants, etc.) included in a selection of items to be studied. The sample size is indicated by the letter N (Capital for whole study, lower case for subgroups). Example: For the legless rats, we had 100 rats, therefore N=100 and subgroups were n=20.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The outcome that is observed to occur or change after the variation of the independent variable in an experiment.

Replication

The repetition of an original experiment or research study to verify or bolster confidence in its results.

Cognitive Psychology

The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with knowing, remembering, and communicating. (Thinking, Memory, and Language). Studies how the human thought process drives behavior.

Personality Psychology

The study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. (Big Five, etc.)

Educational Psychology

The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.

Social-Cultural Psychology

The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

Evolutionary Psychology

The study of the evolution of behavior and mind using the principles of natural selection.Remember everything in human behavior is related to survival and reproduction.

No Relationship

r=0

Socrates and Plato -

the mind is separable from the body and continues after the body dies. Knowledge is innate.