Back to AI Flashcard MakerPsychology /AP Psychology: Unit 1 Part 3
AP Psychology: Unit 1 Part 3
This deck covers key concepts and figures in psychology, including foundational theories, research methods, and statistical techniques.
René Descartes
17th century French philosopher who asserted that human sensations and behaviors are based on activity in the nervous system
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Key Terms
Term
Definition
René Descartes
17th century French philosopher who asserted that human sensations and behaviors are based on activity in the nervous system
Wolfgang Kohler
Gestalt psychologist who studied insight learning, an overlooked form of learning marked by sudden 'Aha!' experiences
neuroscience
Field devoted to understanding how the brain creates thoughts, feelings, motives, consciousness, memories and other mental processes
cognitions
Mental processes, such as thinking, memory, sensation, and perception
cognitive neuroscience
An interdisciplinary field emphasizing brain activity as information processing; involves cognitive psychology, neurology, biology, computer science, ...
psychodynamic psychology
Modern clinical viewpoint emphasizing the understanding of mental disorders in terms of unconscious needs, desires, memories, and conflicts
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
René Descartes | 17th century French philosopher who asserted that human sensations and behaviors are based on activity in the nervous system |
Wolfgang Kohler | Gestalt psychologist who studied insight learning, an overlooked form of learning marked by sudden 'Aha!' experiences |
neuroscience | Field devoted to understanding how the brain creates thoughts, feelings, motives, consciousness, memories and other mental processes |
cognitions | Mental processes, such as thinking, memory, sensation, and perception |
cognitive neuroscience | An interdisciplinary field emphasizing brain activity as information processing; involves cognitive psychology, neurology, biology, computer science, linguistics, and specialists from other fields who are interested in the connection between mental processes and the brain |
psychodynamic psychology | Modern clinical viewpoint emphasizing the understanding of mental disorders in terms of unconscious needs, desires, memories, and conflicts |
clinical view | Psychological perspective emphasizing mental health and mental illness; psychodynamic and humanistic psychology are variations of this |
empirical investigation | An approach to research that relies on sensory experience and observation as research data |
scientific method | Developing a hypothesis, performing a controlled test, gathering objective data, analyzing results, and publishing, criticizing, and replicating the results |
random presentation | Process by which chance alone determines the order in which the stimulus is presented in an experiment |
ex post facto | Non-experimental method; research in which subjects are chosen based on a pre-existing condition |
correlational studies | Non-experimental method; a type of research that is mainly statistical in nature; determines the relationship between two variables |
survey | Non-experimental method; a quasi-experimental method in which questions are asked to subjects; when being designed, the researcher has to be careful that the questions are not skewed or biased towards a particular answer |
naturalistic observation | Non-experimental method; research in which subjects are observed in their natural environment |
longitudinal study | Non-experimental method; a type of study in which one group of subjects is followed and observed (or examined, surveyed, etc.) for an extended period of time (years.) |
cross-sectional study | A study in which a representative cross section of the population is tested or surveyed at one specific time |
cohort-sequential study | A research method in which a cross section of the population is chosen and then each cohort is followed for a short period of time |
frequency distribution | A summary chart, showing how frequently each of the various scores in a set of data occurs |
histogram | A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution; the height of the bars indicates the frequency of the group of scores |
descriptive statistics | Statistical procedures used to describe characteristics and responses of groups of subjects |
measure of variability | How closely scores bunch up around the central point; a statistic that indicates the spread of distribution |
measures of central tendency | Averages; mean, median, and mode |
hindsight bias | People's tendency upon hearing about research findings to think that they knew it all along |
applied research | Research conducted in order to solve practical problems |
standard deviation | A measure of variability that indicates the average difference between the sources and their mean |
normal distribution | A bell-shaped curve, describing the spread of a characteristic throughout a population |
correlation coefficient | A number between -1 and +1 expressing the degree of relationship between two variables |
inferential statistics | Statistical techniques (based on probability theory) used to assess whether the results of a study are reliable or whether they might be simply the result of chance; often used to determine whether two or more groups are essentially the same or different |
representative sample | A sample obtained in such a way that it reflects the distribution of important variables in the larger population in which the researchers are interested; variables such as age, income level, ethnicity, and geographic distribution |