AP Psychology What you need to know
Mod 1 - History
Define psychology
Describe nature vs. nurture
Describe the eight perspectives of psychology. You should be able to include an example of the work a psychologist in that perspective does.
Create a timeline that organizes major trends and names in psychology.
Vocabulary
Wundt
structuralism
functionalism
Darwin
Hall
Ebbinghaus
James
Thorndike
Gestalt
S. Freud
Jung
Adler
Pavlov
Watson
Skinner
Maslow
Humanism
Rogers
Bandura
Milgram
Zimbardo
eclecticism
basic research
applied research
Identify elements of the scientific attitude.
Identify elements of critical thinking
Identify elements of the scientific method
Describe an operational definition. Give an example of an operational definition.
Define theory, hypothesis.
Define overconfidence
Define hindsight bias.
Define false consensus.
Give examples of overconfidence and hindsight bias.
Describe a case study.
Describe two kinds of observations a psychologist might use.
What kind of variables can a correlation study use?
Explain what correlation coefficients mean.
Describe the scientific method.
Define dependent and independent variables.
Describe control and experimental groups.
What is a double-blind experiment?
Describe a method to obtain a random sample of a population.
Use an example to explain how to obtain a random and representative sample of a population.
Explain how questions on a survey could skew the results.
Give some examples of experimenter bias and how it might skew the results of a study.
What is debriefing?
Explain what is meant by informed consent?
Under what circumstances might a research cause pain to a subject?
What is the function of an IRB?
Natural light experiment
Hypothesis
Variables
Groups
Subjects
Procedures
Ethics
Define mean, mode and median.
Explain the differences between a normal distribution and a skewed distribution.
Define standard deviation?
Given a data set, how would you find the standard deviation?
What does a correlation tells us about our data?
How would you find the correlation between two data sets?
What qualities must correlation variables have?
Explain the difference between positive and negative correlation coefficients
Why is the endocrine system called the "slow" messenger system?
What is the “fast” messenger system in the body?
What is the role of the hypothalamus in the endocrine system?
What are two roles the pituitary plays in the endocrine system?
What is the role of the thyroid?
What is the role of the adrenal gland?
What is the role of the pancreas?
What is the role of the ovaries?
What is the role of the testes?
What are primary sex characteristics in males and in females?
What are examples of secondary sex characteristics in males and in females?
What is the evolutionary value of the "fight or flight" response?
Vocabulary
insulin
glucagon
hormone
Identify the sub-systems of the nervous system and their functions.
Describe how a neuron receives and transmits information.
Explain the differences between the four types of neurons.
Describe the difference between a reflex and other neural transmissions.
Explain how a neuron might exceed threshold.
Why do you suppose neurons operate on an all-or-nothing basis?
Explain in some detail how a neuron transmits information using an action potential.
How is reuptake used therapeutically?
What is a neural network?
Describe the activity associated with:
dopamine
GABA
serotonin
norepinephrine
acetylcholine
endorphins
Explain the difference between an angonist and an antagonist.
What are the parts of the CNS?
Explain why two individuals who both have severed their spinal cords might have different symptoms.
Can a substance be both a neurotransmitter and a hormone?
Vocabulary
cell body in a neuron
dendrites
axons
terminal branches
synapse-
synaptic gap
myelin sheath
threshold
neuron
nerve
neurotransmitter
Identify two structures in the brainstem.
Describe the functions of the medulla, the pons and the reticular formation.
Where is the thalamus?
What is the function of the thalamus?
Where is the cerebellum located and what is its function?
Identify the four structures of the limbic system.
Describe the functions of the amygdala.
Describe the functions of the hippocampus.
Describe the functions of the pituitary.
Describe the functions of the hypothalamus.
Describe the functions of glial cells.
Describe the structure of the cerebral cortex.
Where is the motor cortex located and what is its function?
Where is the sensory cortex located and what is its function?
What are the lobes called and what are their primary functions?
What are association areas and what is their function?
What is brain plasticity?
Where is the corpus callosum and what is its function?
Generally speaking, what functions are centered in the left brain?
Generally speaking, what functions are centered in the right brain?
Describe how these methods of brain research work and what they can tell us:
· MRI(Magnetic resonance imaging)-
· fMRI (functional MRI):
· CAT scan (Computerized Axial Tomography)
· PET scan (Positron emission tomography)
· lesion
· ablation
· EEG (electroencephalogram)
split brain
Wernicke’s area
Broca’s area
Explain heritability.
Explain why identical twin studies are useful to psychologists.
Explain why fraternal twin studies are useful to psychologists.
Explain why adoption studies are useful to psychologists.
Define temperament.
How does temperament vary over a lifetime?
Discuss nature vs. nurture in light of behavioral genetics.
Explain Darwin's concept of natural selection.
Define the concepts of continuity vs discontinuity, stability vs. change, nature vs nurture
Describe the results of Harlow’s famous attachment experiments
Describe the effects of attachment deprivation and attachment disruption
Describe three parenting styles and their effects
Describe Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral development
Describe Erikson’s stages of social development
Describe Gilligan’s stages of moral development
Describe the physical, cognitive and social characteristics of older (60+) persons
Describe Kubler-Ross’s stages of dying
Vocabulary:
secure attachment insecure attachment
genotype phenotype
critical period schema
imprinting reversibility
cephalocaudal proximodistal
maturation sensorimotor stage
accommodation assimilation
class inclusion egocentrism
animism stranger-anxiety
separation anxiety visual cliff
preoperational stage concrete operational stage
formal operational stage conservation
object permanence authoritarian
permissive authoritative
preconventional conventional
postconventional (principled) maturation
metacognition menopause
Define learning
Give an example of unlearned behavior
Describe the process of classical consitioning
How would you train a person to exhibit certain emotions using classical conditioning?
Describe the process of operant conditioning.
How would you use operant conditioning to help a smoker quit?
Briefly distinguish operant and classical conditioning.
Explain what is meant by higher-order conditioning.
What was Thorndike's Law of Effect?
What is shaping and how would you use it to teach someone a complex skill?
Distinguish between primary and secondary reinforcers.
What is omission training?
What is behavior modification?
Discuss active and passive avoidance.
How do the following affect learning: amount of practice, delay of reinforcement, motivation
What is a cognitive map?
Give an example of a biological constraint on learning.
Describe the results of Bandura's Bobo experiment.
Vocabulary - define the following terms
UCS unconditioned stimulus.
UCR unconditioned response.
CS conditioned stimulus.
acquisition
extinction
spontaneous recovery
stimulus generalization
stimulus discrimination
variable interval
variable ratio
fixed ratio
fixed interval
positive punishment
negative punishment
positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
overjustification
latent learning
observational learning
modeling
prosocial modeling
This is the Personality study guide
How did Freud account for personality development?
Describe 3 characteristics of the ideal humanist personality
Discuss how the behaviorists see personality.
How did Eysenck, Allport and Cattell contribute to personality theory?
What was Rogers’ and Maslow’s contribution to personality theory?
What was Bandura’s and the social cognitive psychologists’ contribution to personality theory?
What are the Big Five traits?
Are the Big 5 traits stable over a lifetime?
Is temperament stable over a lifetime?
What techniques did Freud and psychodynamic psychologists use to access the unconscious?
vocabulary
unconscious
ego
id
superego
free association
identification
pleasure principle
reality principle
defense mechanism
repression
regression
reaction formation
projection
rationalization
sublimation
locus of control
learned helplessness
reciprocal determinism
possible selves
self esteem
self-efficacy
ideal self
unconditional positive regard
empathy
self-serving bias
projective tests
inventories
Explain the difference between sensation and perception
Describe the concept of threshold including absolute and just-noticeable-difference
Explain Weber's Law
Identify and describe the structure and function of the vision system including
· parts of the eye
· 2 theories of color vision
· acuity and adaptation
· vision disorders
Identify and describe the structure and function of the hearing system including
· parts of the ear
· audition theory
· hearing disorders
What are the four basic tastes?
How is smell different from other senses?
How do we organize visual perceptions in order to make sense of them?
Explain perception constancies, 3D perception from 2D images, perception of motion
Explain effects on perception of patterns, experience, culture, learning
Vocab:
receptors transducers
adaptation habituation
photoreceptor visible spectrum
cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina rods, cones
bipolar cells ganglion cells
optic nerve blind spot
optic chiasm visual cortex
wavelength – hue intensity – brightness purity – saturation
Young-Helmholtz opponent process
pinna auditory canal
tympanic membrane ossicles
cochlea basilar membrane
hair cells
frequency – pitch amplitude – loudness complexity – timbre
place theory frequency theory
pheromones kinesthesis
vestibular sense selected attention
divided attention figure-ground
monocular binocular
accommodation motion parallax
texture gradient linear perspective
bottum up processing top down processing