AP Review Material 2016
PROLOGUE-
Prescientific period- Socrates, Aristotle, Plato debated nature v. nurture, where the mind was and the relationship between thought and behavior
· John Locke / Tabula Rasa – at birth mind is a blank slate…Watson “give me a dozen healthy babies and I can make them into anything (doctor, beggar)
· Meta-analysis- combining results from several independent studies.
· Evolutionary Psychology (aka sociobiology) Darwin, natural selection, behavior traits that help us survive get passed down.
History (1-3%)
(Wave one)
James- wrote Psychology’s first textbook - functionalism
Wundt- set up the first psychology laboratory trained subjects in introspection (Germany) - structuralism
Mnemonic Device- J before W and F before S.
(Wave two)
· Gestalt – (Wertheimer) criticized James and Wundt for not considering the “whole” self
Next set of waves of psychological thought were (Wave three) psychoanalysis (Freud) then (Wave four) Behaviorism (Skinner).
Today it is the (Wave five) eclectic approach (multiple perspectives).
Research Methods (8-10%)
Hindsight Bias – “I knew it all along,” upon hearing research findings, people have the tendency to believe that they could have predicted the findings. Goal of scientific research is to predict what will happen.
Applied research-(Ex.- sports, consumer psychology
o industrial/organizational psychology- how to boost workers productivity, morale
o Human Factors Psychology – psychologists keep human factors in mind when designing machines / technology. Ex. gas pedals are located a few feet away from the car seat so that a human can reach it.
Basic research- Ex. social or developmental psychology.
RESEARCH TERMINOLOGY
Hypothesis- (Ex.-If given 6 alcoholic drinks a person’s driving skill score will decrease)
Theory- (Ex-Alcohol consumption is correlated with driving skills)
Operationalized definition- explaining how you will measure a variable. (Ex. - abusive husband will be defined as a husband that physically hits his wife at least 2 times per year.) We operationally define variables so that we can replicate.
Sampling- process by which subjects (participants) are selected
Random selection- guarantees every member of a population has an equal chance of being picked. Ex-.Picking out of a hat OR Computer generated sample of 100 Butler students for survey. (Only use one of these examples). This increases likelihood of sample being representative
Representative Sample- goal of sampling, select a sample representative of a larger population. (Example- a representative sample at Butler would have roughly 15% Latino-Americans).
Stratified Sample – allows researchers to ensure that a sample is directly representative of the population on some criteria. For example: Representative by race. If a population of 1000 has 500 white, 300 black, 200 latino then one would choose 50 white, 30 black, and 20 latino individuals for a sample of 100 total participants.
EXPERIMENT
Experimental method- this is the preferred method because it expresses a cause and effect relationship. You can do this by manipulating a variable. The disadvantage is that sometimes you cannot generalize what happens in a controlled laboratory environment to the real world.
Experiemntal/Control condtions- experiments requires these 2 groups. The experimental group
receives the independent variable to see if had any effect.
Independent variable- manipulated variable. (Ex.-the pill if you’re testing a pill to see if it relieves hyperactivity or
depression.). This is given to the experimental group only.
Dependent variable- (measured variable) change in this is dependent on change in independent variable. This is the outcome
and is often a score or number.
Confounding variable- any difference between the experimental and control conditions that might affect the dependent
variable (rule out anything that might affect validity of experiment) (example: the time of day or the room temperature in
which two experiment were conducted. This is called situation relevant confounding variable)
Random assignment- participants are randomly assigned to either the control (group not receiving the treatment) or experimental group. (group receiving treatment) . This controls for any preexisting differences in the groups (bias). Differences in the participants is called participant relevant confounding variable.
Experimental bias- unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control group differently
because he/she knows what the experiment is about
Double-blind procedure- neither the subjects nor researchers are aware of control/experiment (or those receiving placebo). This eliminates experimenter or subject bias. A single blind controls foe subject bias (he/she does not know about the experiment)
Hawthorne Effect- study in which workers were monitored to see if the amount of light in a room would affect worker productivity. Under both conditions, performance increased because they were being watched. This cause need for control group.
Placebo/ Placebo Effect- (example is a sugar pill) this controls for possible subject bias where the subjects knowledge of the treatment may cause them to think they are having the effects.
CORRELATION
Correlation- expresses a relationship between 2 variables. Correlations may be positive or negative, strong or weak. A Positive correlation is when both variables increase or both variables decrease at the same time. (Hint: when multiplying integers in math a negative times a negative equals a positive.) Negative correlation is when one variable increases, the other variable decreases. Sometimes a survey is used
Correlation does not mean causation- there are usually several different causes of something.
Naturalistic observation- . Research conducted in natural habitat (animals or humans). No interaction with subjects.
Case study- Positive: in-depth detailed study of individual or small groups. Criticism is that findings cannot be generalized to larger population.
STATISTICS
Measures of central tendency- mean (avg.), median (middle score), mode (most frequently occurring score)
Outliers – Extreme scores - these can distort the mean (Ex. Bill Gates moves into a poor town and the average net worth rises to one million, If a student scores a zero on a test this brings down the class average)
Skewed Distributions – Positively skewed – contains more low scores than high scores (Bill Gates example) Negatively skewed – contains more high scores. (Student with zero on test)
Measures of variability- range, variance, standard deviation, percentiles
Standard Deviation and variance -relates to the average distance of any score in a distribution from the mean. EX. If the mean on a standardized test is 78 and 1 SD (1z) = 7. Then 68% of test takers score between 71 and an 85. Then 2SD (2z) = 14. Then 95% of test takers score between 64 and 92. Then 3SD (3z) = 21, Then 99.9% of test takers score between 57 and 99.
Variance – Standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Ex. If Variance is 25 then standard deviation is 5
Z-score – measures the distance of a score from the mean in units of standard deviation (1 z score = 1 Standard Deviation) If the score is below the mean, the z score is negative, above the mean then the z-score is positive.
Normal Curve – theoretical bell-shaped curve. In a normal distribution, 68% fall within one Standard Deviation from the mean. 95% fall within 2SD and 99% fall within 3 SD
Correlational Coefficient- a number given showing the strength of the correlation. This ranges from positive 1 to negative 1. The farther away from 0 (either pos. or neg.) the stronger the correlation.
Scatter plots- used to show positive/negative correlations. If line goes up it’s positive.
Inferential Statistics – statistical methods that determine if findings can be applied to a larger population. (ex. T-tests, ANOVAs and MANOVAs)
Statistical Significance and P Value – Inferential statistics tests yield a p-value. If a p-value is equal to or less than .05 then the test is statistically significant. This means that there is a 5% chance exists that the results occurred by chance. A p-value will never be 0 because we can never be 100% certain the results are not due to chance.
All research must first be proposed to the Institutional Review Board and meet the following APA Ethical Guidelines
Animal Research-
- Clear, scientific purpose
- Humane treatment
- Acquire subjects legally
- Use procedures’ employing least amount of suffering feasible
Human Research-
- Informed consent (explain research and receive a signature).
- No coercion (cannot force to do)
- Debriefing (explain to subject the purpose (even if deceived a little) and results.
- No mental/physical risk/harm
-anonymity/confidentiality must be guaranteed.
Social Psychology (8-10%)
Mere exposure effect - the more you see something or someone familiarity occurs, which breeds acceptance. EX.- buying advertised namebrands, ad jingles often use popular songs, jingles. EX. once politicians win one term in office they are much more likely to win again
Central Route to Persuasion – using facts and logic to persuade someone, message would be deeply processed
Peripheral Route to Persuasion – using emotional appeal to persuade someone, message would be shallowly processed
. Ex. Car companies using beautiful women to sell cars OR polticians putting fear into voters minds.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory: if behaviors and attitudes/beliefs do not match then tension arises. Attitudes or behaviors must become consistent to relieve tension. EX. You think speeding is wrong and yet, you speed. You either stop speeding or say speeding is ok.
Festinger and Carlsmith Study – participants complete a boring task. Some were paid $1 to lie to incoming participants and say the task was enjoyable. Others were paid $20 to lie. The subjects who were only paid $1 were more likely to feel dissonance because they receive insufficient justification for lying. As a response to the dissonance those paid $1 changed their mind and said the task was actually enjoyable, to remove the dissonance. Those paid $20 believed their lies were justified and did not feel dissonance and maintained that the task was boring.
Compliance Strategies
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon: tendency for people who first agree with small request to larger one. EX.- Get someone to lend you 5$ he/she is more likely to lend you 15$ later.
Door-in-the face Ex. Ask someone for $100, he says “No” – easier to get $20.
Norms of Reciprocity- after giving something to somebody it is easier to receive something back because they feel as if they owe you. EX- Companies send something free in the mail.
Attribution Theory: tendency to give causal explanation of behavior to persons’ situation (external) or disposition (biological trait).
Ex. Johnny is a bad kid. Situation attribution – Johnny feeds off of other bad kids in the class. Disposition attribution – Johnny is bad in all situations
Self-fulfilling prophecy- ones beliefs/expectations about others leads one to act in ways that induce the others to appear to confirm the belief. (EX. - teacher is told specific students are on the verge of significant academic growth. By the end of the year these students IQ’s grew more than the others. This was attributed to how the teacher treated them and was called the Pygmalion in the classroom experiment.
Fundamental Attribution error: tendency to overestimate impact of personal disposition
False Consensus Effect – tendency for people to overestimate the number of people that agree with them
Self-serving bias: to take more credit for good outcomes than deserve. ( EX. coach emphasizes his/her role in win, blames players, referees when lose)
Just world phenomenon tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve. (EX- poor are poor because they’re lazy)
Outgroup homogeneity – tendency to see members of your own group as more diverse than members of other groups
In-group bias– preference for members of own group (most similar to you in gender, race, class, age, proximity (EX- belief that Butler students are better than Providence students (even though this is a fact).
Prejudice and Contact Theory – Contact between hostile groups will reduce animosity if the two groups are made to work toward a superordinate goal.
Sherifs’ study– combative boys’ at summer camp began getting along after working cooperatively toward a shared superordinate goal. This led to the use of cooperative learning groups to help alleviate prejudice. This also caused an increased use of cooperative learning (groupwork- with one grade) in schools during integration.
Frustration-aggression hypothesis- frustration creates anger
Bystander effect (aka bystander intervention) tendency for bystanders to be less likely to give aid the larger the amount of bystanders that are present. This is known as a diffusion of responsibility- EX. Kitty Genovese raped in NY.. Pluralistic Ignorance is the tendency for people to look to others to decide what is right in a situation. Ex:seeing smoke in a room while taking a test. Also people will judge the seriousness of situation before intervening.
Altruism – unselfish giving
Attraction Studies -we are attracted to people based on similarity, proximity and reciprocal liking. Thus, opposites do not usually attract, absence does not usually make the heart grow fonder. Also, better looking people are perceived as being more intelligent and confident.
Social facilitation tendency to perform better (on easier tasks) with an audience
Social Impairment (aka social inhibition): tendency to perform worse (on difficult tasks) with an audience
Conformity- changing one’s attitudes/behaviors to match a group norm.
Asch’s study of Conformity –Q. Which line matches the standard line? Group pressure caused participants to change opinions (even when answer is obvious) about a third of the time. Conformity did not increase after 3 members were in group.
Individualism- behaviors/decisions relatively uninfluenced from that of the majority groups.
Milgram’s study of Obedience: Subjects were deceived into thinking that they were shocking someone. Participants continued shocking other participants while they were screaming to Stop! Obedience increased when: 1) authority close at hand 2) authority by prestigious institution 3) victim depersonalized (in another room) 4) no role models for defiance. This experiment has been criticized on ethical grounds. 63% went to XXX. It showed how ordinary people can be influenced by authority figures to do immoral things.
Norms- rules about how group members should act
Social loafing: individual tendency for effort to decrease when working in groups
Group polarization- enhancement of group’s attitudes more toward the extreme through discussion in a group .EX. after spending 3 hours on a hate group chat line one feels even more hatred toward that group.