AP Psych EXAM

which research method involves a researcher engaging in careful observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects

Naturalistic observation

which research method involves an in-depth investigation of an individual subject

a case study

a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables is

a hypothesis

the brain organism which plays a role in emotional memories

amygadala

part of the limbic system involved with emotion and aggression

amygdala

A variable, other than the independent variable, that appears to have influenced the dependent variable in a study is referred to as

an extraneous variable

a bridge of fibers passing information between the two cerebral hemispheres

corpus callosum

the method of retrieval that gives you significant hints to help you remember

cued recall

the type of memory for factual, explicit information

declarative

If a person has a prejudice involving a group of people, it is most accurate to state that the person also ________ the same group of people

has a stereotype involving

a sample is representative if

its composition is similar to the composition of the population

the main advantage associated with the experimental method is

its precise control

when variability in a data set is large, the standard deviation will be ______; when variability is small, the standard deviation will be _________

large, small

the distinction of three types of encoding: structural, phonemic, semantic

levels of processing

the relatively permanent storage of meaningful information

long term memory

William always does what his friends want to do because he is afraid of being criticized if he does not conform. WIlliam appears to be conforming because of

normative influences

the fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency of

observers to favor internal attributions in explaining the behavior of others

the "eyes in the back of your head" it processes visual signals

occipital lobe

A psychologist measures blood alcohol level to determine intoxication. In this example, blood alcohol level is the ___________ definition of intoxication

operational

registers the sense of touch

parietal lobe

whenever Scott sees Diana he can feel his heart start to pound with excitement. Even though Scott and Diana have only dated a few times, Scott often becomes jealous when Diana talks to other men. He also finds he can't get her out of his mind when they are apart. Scott is experiencing

passionate love

the four processes of working memory

phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive, episodic buffer

in the research on romantic attraction which of the following did researchers discover to be the key determinant of a person's initial attraction to someone else

physical attractiveness

this structure acts as a bridge between the brainstem and the cerebellum and is involved in sleep and arousal

pons

harboring negative thoughts and feelings about a person simply because of his or her membership in a particular group defines

prejudice

when old memories block new learning

proactive

holds the memory of motor skills, actions, conditioned reflexes

procedural

the final step in a scientific investigation is to

report the findings

unconsciously pushing unwanted memories out of awareness

repression

new learning interferes with old memories

retroactive

memory of general knowledge

semantic

the stage of memory for the very brief storage of sensory information

sensory store

when items learned from the beginning and end of a list are recalled better than items in the middle

serial effect

the principal disadvantage of the descriptive/ correlational research method is

since researchers cannot control variables of interest, conclusionis concerning cause-effect relationships are not appropriate

in terms of personality characteristics, people who are good looking tend to be viewed as

sociable, friendly, and warm

the branch of psychology concerned with the way individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others is

social psychology

the primary explanation(s) suggested to explain the behavior of the prison guards and prisoners in the Stanford Prison Simulation was

social roles and situational factors

according to the romatic love as an attachment perspective, one's intimate relationships in adulthood follow the same form as one's attachments first formed

to caregivers in infancy

the number of items short term memory can hold

7 plus or minus 2

A correlation coefficient will always have a value between

-1 and +1

the number of seconds an item can be held in short term memory

20-30

a degenerative condition that gradually destroys brain cells and impairs attention and memory

Alzheimer's

this method of recall asks you to tell what you remember

Free recall

which of the following psychologists is known for conducting classic research on obedience to authority

Stanley Milgram

a researcher interested in studying individuals' attitudes toward "animal rights issues" would MOST likely conduct

a survey

Dr. Marqueta believes that "misery loves company." Based on this belief, Dr. Marqueta predicts that people who have received bad news will seek out other people. Dr. Marqueta's belief is an example of _______ and her prediction is an example of ___________

a theory; a hypothesis

statistical procedures are used during which step in conducting a scientific investigation

analyze the data and draw conclusions

adults who experience love relationships that are volatile, marked by jealousy, and reflect expectations of rejection exhibit

anxious-ambivalent attachment

this process of encoding focuses on a narrow range of stimuli and filters out other stimuli

attention

inferences that people draw about the causes of events and theirs and others' behaviors are known as

attribution

coordinates fine muscle movement and balance

cerebellum

this large, multi-folded structure is responsible for sensing, thinking, learning, emotion, consciousness and voluntary movement

cerebrum

the process of grouping letters or numbers into meaningful sequences

chunking

Putting group goals ahead of personal goals and defining one's identity in terms of the group is called

collectivism

research has revealed higher levels of conformity in

collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures

Steve and Stacey have been a couple for several years. their love is characterized by warm feelings and affection. They enjoy spending time together and describe themselves as lovers and friends. Steve and Stacey's love is best described as

companionate love

yielding to real or imagined social pressure defines which of the following terms

conformity

when two variables are linked and their individual effects cannot be separated out, we speak of the variables as being

confounded variables

the "typical" subject in his study experienced __________ psychological distress __________ to administer stronger electric shocks

considerable, but continued

the experimental group

consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment

according to social psychologists, a group

consists of two or more people who interact and are interdependent

the two basic types of statistics are

descriptive and inferential

denying a person equal social treatment based on his or her group membership defines

discrimination

the process of forming a memory code

encoding

associations formed at the time of learning which act as the best retrieval cues

encoding specificity principle

dated recollections of personal experiences

episodic memory

the two main types of research methods used in psychology are the

experimental and descriptive/correlational research methods

person perception refers to the process of

forming impressions of others

contains the principal areas that control the movement of muscles

frontal lobe

a shift toward more extreme decisions in a group as a function of discussion is referred to as

group polarization

as part of the limbic system, this part is involved with learning and memory

hippocampus

the part of the brain that sends information to brain areas for storage and memories

hippocampus

responsible for regulating basic biological needs: hunger, thirst, temperature control

hypothalamus

In an experiment, the variable that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher is called the

independent variable

If we view an experiment as an attempt to establish a cause-effect relationship, the _______ variable would be the cause, and the ________ variable would be the effect

independent; dependent

the name of the model which compares the memory process to the working of a computer

information processing

a group that one belongs to and identifies with is known as an

ingroup

You've just been awarded a full scholarship for next year, which you perceive as confirmation of your superior intellectual ability. According to Winer's model, you are making an ________ attribution about your success

internal-stable

cognitive dissonance

is a state of tension produced when related cognitions are inconsistent

the purpose of the control group is to

isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable

Tina recently lost over half the money she had put away for her retirement. If Webster concludes that Tina lost the money because the stock market took a significant downturn, he has

made an external attribution

tally just heard that her neighbor, Rupert, was involved in a car crash. If Tally concludes that Rupert's reckless driving habits caused the accident, she has

made an internal attribution

the score that falls exactly in the center of a distribution of scores, such that half the scores fall below that score and half the scores fall above it, is the

median

regulates largely unconscious functions like breathing and circulation

medulla

you are sitting on a park bench in a major metropolitan area from 7 am. to 7 pm and you note the number of people who walk by, whether or not they litter, and their gender. You are engaging in

naturalistic observationi

The ________ is an index of the amount of variability in a set of data

standard deviation

the use of mathematics to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical information is referred to as

statistics

Newton believes that all airline pilots are calm, cool individuals who never get excited or show any strong emotional responses. In this case, Newton's beliefs about the traits and behaviors of airline pilots are one example of

stereotypes

diffusion of responsibility refers to the

tendency of others to assume that someone else will take responsibility in a crisis

a scientific theory has to be

testable

a dependent variable in a experiment refers to the variable

that changes value because of the systematic manipulation in the experiment

a group of researchers wanted to determine if people will eat more food in a room with red paint and red decorations than in a room that is decorated blue. Half the participants in this study ate in a red room and half ate in a blue room. The researchers then measured how much food was consumed in each of the two rooms. In this study, the independent variable was

the color of the decorations in the room

the correlation coefficient is a measure of

the degree of relationship between two variables

manipulating a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observing the changes in a second variable defines

the experimental approach

In a study designed to test the effects of a new drug developed to treat Alzheimer's disease, half the patients were given the actual drug while the other half were gien a placebo (sugar pill). In this study, the experimental group is

the group that received the actual drug

a correlation coefficient of 0 describes

the lack of a relationship between two variables

researchers studying the effects of sleep deprivation tested the physical coordination skills of 25-year-old males who had been sleep deprived for 24, 36, or 48 hours. In this study, the dependent variable would be

the physical coordination skills of the men in the study

the bystander effect is the finding that

the probability that a witness to an emergency will help decreases as the number of bystanders increases

Any measureable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviors that are controlled or observed in a study are called

variables

statistically significant means that the results of an experiment most likely

were not due to chance