AP Psych Midterm Review

believed in tabula rasa

the mind is a blank slate; Nurture over nature; knowledge through observation enlightenment changes way people think

• Father of Experiment Psychology
• 1st Psych lab
• Examined reaction to sensory stimuli

• used by William Wundt/Tictchner
• self reflection observation of one's own sensation and feelings
• Established structuralism

mind combines objective sensations and subjective feelings

First Psych textbook

• Established by William James
• heavier patterns are learned and maintained because they are successful

• started by Maslow and Rogers
• individual choice and free will
• focuses on positive healthy growth potential
• Attempt to seek self-actualization

• started by Sigmund Freud
• Behavior comes from unconscious drives
• Childhood

Focus on how your culture effects your behavior

Focuses on diagnosis and treatment of people with psychological disorders

the tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that you knew it all along

repeating an earlier research study

basing decisions or conclusions on observable evidence

Where one or a few persons (or situations) are observed in depth

observing and recording behavior in natural environment vs. in a lab

• Correleation does not imply causation
• Detects relationships between variables
• Positive Correlation- the variables go in the same direction

experimental procedure in which neither the subjects nor experimenter know the critical aspects of the experiment

average

number in the middle

number appears most frequently

Difference between highest and lowest numbers

• the variance of scores around the mean
• Higher SD=more spread out data

Electric charge that spreads down the length of a neuron after the threshold is achieved

level of neurotransmitters required to fire a neuron

Space in-between neurons where neurotransmitters are sent across to cause the next neuron to fire

chemical messengers released into the spatial junctions between neurons

space between the terminal buttons of one neuron and the dendrites of the next neuron

neural cell

reabsorption of excess neurotransmitter molecules by a sending neuron

• physiological reaction in response to stress; increased heart rate and blood pressure, elevation of glucose levels, slow down digestion;
• sympthatetic nervous system

brain functions on a conscious and unconscious level

threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain genes

the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; segments of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein

a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes

the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes

more likely to have similar personalities

evolutionary psychologists are more likely to predict that men will mary women who are younger than they are

the focusing on conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular event half of the time

fluid-filled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

time lag between left and right auditory stimulation is important

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological and social psychology

detect odor molecules

the study of ESP

sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing of instances of shallow or infrequent breathing during sleep

a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks

• reduced effect of a drug resulting from its regular use
• may develop physical dependance

• dependence on psychoactive drugs can be psycho/phsyical
• Psych dependent endives feel desire for drug
• Phsy dependent experience negative physical effects without the drug

• slow down body processes
• slow down reaction and judgment
• alcohol, barbituarates
• sometimes accompanied by euphoria

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

when you associate a new neutral stimulus with a conditioned stimulus

the diminishing of a conditioned response

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

• unconditioned stimulus
• Ex:Food

• unconditioned response
• Ex: Salivating

• conditioned stimulus
• Ex: Bell

• Conditioned response
• Ex: Salivating

the process of reinforcing successively closer approximations to a desired behavior

adding something pleasant for a desired behavior

removal of something negative for a desired behavior

reinforces a response after a specified number of responses

reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

reinforces a response after a certain about of time has passed

reinforces a response after a random amount of time

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

frontal lobe neurons become active when watching an action be done

activated memory that holds a few items briefly +/- 7

relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

• memory aid for encoding
• specific example of chunking

organizing items in familiar manageable units; often occurs automatically

the loss of memory

I've experienced this before

can't remember the old

can't remember the new

the incorporation of misleading information into one's memory of an event

simple thinking strategies that allow us to solve problems and make judgments efficiently

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

a sudden realization of the solution to a problem

our tendency to judge the likelihood of category membership by how closely an object of event resembles a particular prototype

spoken, written, or signed words and the ways they are combined to communicate meaning

a complex, unlearned, and fixed pattern of behavior common to all members of a species

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

suggests our behavior is motivated by a need to maintain an optimum level of arousal

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior