Myers AP Psychology exam with 100%
correct answer 2024
empiricism - ANSWER-the view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via the
senses, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiment.
structuralism - ANSWER-an early school of psychology that used introspection to
explore the elemental structure of the human mind
functionalism - ANSWER-a school of psychology that focused on how mental and
behavioral processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and
flourish.
nature-nurture issue - ANSWER-the longstanding controversy over the relative
contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological
traits and behaviors
basic research - ANSWER-pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge
base
applied research - ANSWER-scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
clinical psychology - ANSWER-a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and
treats people with psychological disorders.
psychiatry - ANSWER-a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders;
practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments
as well as psychological therapy
hindsight bias - ANSWER-the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one
would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)
psychology - ANSWER-the science of behavior and mental processes
,critical thinking - ANSWER-thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and
conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates
evidence, and assesses conclusions.
theory - ANSWER-an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes
and predicts observations
hypothesis - ANSWER-a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
operational definition - ANSWER-a statement of the procedures (operations) used to
define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally
defined as what an intelligence test measures
replication - ANSWER-repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different
participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other
participants and circumstances
case study - ANSWER-an observation technique in which one person is studied in
depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
survey - ANSWER-a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors
of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them
population - ANSWER-all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a
study
random sample - ANSWER-a sample that fairly represents a population because each
member has an equal chance of inclusion
naturalistic observation - ANSWER-Observing and recording behavior in naturally
occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
correlation coefficient - ANSWER-A statistical measure of the extent to which two
factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
illusory correlation - ANSWER-the perception of a relationship where none exists
experiment - ANSWER-a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or
more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental
,process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the
experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.
placebo - ANSWER-an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of
a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to
characterize the active agent
double-blind procedure - ANSWER-an experimental procedure in which both the
research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the
research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug
evaluation studies.
placebo effect - ANSWER-Any effect on behavior caused by a placebo
experimental condition - ANSWER-the condition of an experiment that exposes
participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
control condition - ANSWER-the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the
experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the
treatment
random assignment - ANSWER-Assigning participants to experimental and control
conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned
to the different groups.
independent variable - ANSWER-The experimental factor that is manipulated; the
variable whose effect is being studied.
dependent variable - ANSWER-The experimental factor - in psychology, the behavior or
mental process - that is being measured; the variable that may change in response to
manipulations of the independent variable
culture - ANSWER-the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a
large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
SQ3R - ANSWER-a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read,
Rehearse, Review.
biological psychology - ANSWER-a branch of psychology concerned with the links
between biology and behavior
, neuron - ANSWER-a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
dendrite - ANSWER-the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive
messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
axon - ANSWER-the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through
which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
action potential - ANSWER-a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down
an axon. the action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms
in and out of channels in the axon's membrane
myelin sheath - ANSWER-a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of
many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the
impulse hops from one node to the next
threshold - ANSWER-the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
synapse - ANSWER-the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the
dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the
synaptic gap or cleft.
neurotransmitters - ANSWER-chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps
between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel
across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby
influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
endorphins - ANSWER-"morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to
pain control and to pleasure.
nervous system - ANSWER-the body's speedy, electrochemical communication system,
consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
central nervous system - ANSWER-The brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system - ANSWER-the sensory and motor neurons that connect the
central nervous system to the rest of the body
nerves - ANSWER-neural "cables" containing many axons. These bundled axons,
which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous system
with muscles, glands, and sense organs
