AP Psych: 10-Question Blitz

AP Psych: 10-Term Blitz

Database Loaded

Click below to generate a random 10-question quiz.

(300+ terms loaded from packet)

Evolutionary Perspective : Mental processes exist because they serve an evolutionary purpose, they aid in survival & reproduction.
Psychodynamic Perspective : Emphasizes behavior is determined by your past experiences that are left in the unconscious mind and childhood experiences.
Cognitive Perspective : Focuses on internal processes of the mind influencing behavior.
Biological Perspective : The influence of genetics and brain chemistry (physical & biological processes).
Sociocultural Perspective : Focuses on society and culture in terms of our behavior and shaping cognition.
Behavioral Perspective : Focus on observable behaviors, people/animals are controlled by their environment.
Humanistic Perspective : Human capacity for choice and growth, motivation for people to fulfill their potential.
Biopsychosocial Perspective : Eclectic approach linking between genetics, psychology, and environment.
Empirical Evidence : Information acquired by observation or experimentation.
Scientific Method : Systematic procedure of gathering data and testing hypotheses.
Confirmation Bias : Favoring information that confirms your beliefs.
Hindsight Bias : Believing events were predictable after they happened.
Overconfidence : Overestimating the accuracy of knowledge and judgments.
Hypothesis : A testable prediction, often derived from a theory.
Falsifiable : Capable of being proven wrong.
Peer Review : Evaluation of work by others in the same field.
Replication : Repeating a study to test its findings.
Reliability : Consistency of measurement.
Validity : Accuracy of a test in measuring what it is supposed to measure.
Quantitative Data : Data that can be quantified and verified, susceptible to statistical manipulation.
Qualitative Data : Descriptive data which can be observed but not measured.
Naturalistic Observation : Observing subjects in their natural environment.
Case Study : Study of a single subject or group in detail.
Correlational Research : Research determining the relationship between variables.
Third Variable Problem : A confounding variable that influences both variables of interest.
Correlation Coefficient : Numerical measure of the type and degree of the relationship between two variables.
Experimental Method : Method involving manipulation and controlled testing of variables.
Independent Variable : Variable that is manipulated in an experiment (Cause).
Dependent Variable : Variable that is measured to see the effect of the independent variable (Effect).
Confounding Variable : Variable that might influence the experiment’s outcome unexpectedly.
Operational Definitions : Clear, precise descriptions of variables.
Random Assignment : Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance.
Placebo Effect : Improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement.
Double-Blind Study : Neither participants nor researchers know who is in the experimental or control group.
Random Sample : A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
Generalizability : The extent to which findings can be applied to the larger population.
Standard Deviation : A measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values.
Statistical Significance : The likelihood that a result or relationship is caused by something other than mere chance.
Meta Analysis : A procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies.
Informed Consent : Agreement to participate in psychology research after being informed of the risks and benefits.
Debriefing : Explaining the purposes and methods of a completed procedure to a participant.
Natural Selection : Process where traits enhancing survival are passed on more frequently.
Twin Studies : Research assessing genetic and environmental influences using twins.
Plasticity : The brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways.
Cerebral Cortex : The brain’s outer layer responsible for thinking and processing information.
Frontal Lobes : Involved in speaking, muscle movements, and making plans.
Prefrontal Cortex : Part of the frontal lobes involved in decision making and cognitive behavior.
Motor Cortex : Area at the rear of the frontal lobes responsible for voluntary movements.
Parietal Lobes : Responsible for processing sensory information like touch.
Somatosensory Cortex : Registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
Occipital Lobes : The back part of the brain involved in visual processing.
Temporal Lobes : Lower part of the cerebral cortex that plays roles in hearing, understanding language, and memory.
Corpus Callosum : The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres.
Brainstem : The oldest part of the brain, responsible for automatic survival functions.
Medulla : The base of the brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing.
Reticular Activating System : Network of neurons in the brainstem essential for arousal and attention.
Cerebellum : Part of the brain that coordinates movement and balance.
Limbic System : Brain region involved in emotions and drives.
Thalamus : Brain’s relay station for sensory information.
Hypothalamus : Brain region controlling metabolic processes, including temperature, hunger, and emotions.
Pituitary Gland : The master gland of the endocrine system.
Hippocampus : Essential for memory formation.
Amygdala : Almond-shaped clusters in the limbic system linked to emotion, especially fear.
Central Nervous System : Consists of the brain and spinal cord.
Peripheral Nervous System : The sensory and motor neurons connecting the CNS to the rest of the body.
Sympathetic Nervous System : Arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.
Parasympathetic Nervous System : Calms the body, conserving its energy.
Action Potential : A brief electrical charge that travels down a neuron.
All-or-Nothing Principle : A neuron’s reaction of either firing fully or not firing at all.
Refractory Period : A period of inactivity after a neuron has fired.
Reuptake : The process by which neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles.
Neurotransmitters : Chemicals that transmit information across the synapse.
Agonists : Drugs that increase neurotransmitter action.
Antagonists : Drugs that inhibit neurotransmitter action.
Glutamate : A major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in information transmission.
GABA : A major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain.
Dopamine : Neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention, learning, and the brain’s reward system.
Serotonin : Neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal.
Acetylcholine : Neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and triggers muscle contraction.
Circadian Rhythm : The biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle.
REM Sleep : A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity.
Insomnia : Difficulty in falling or staying asleep.
Narcolepsy : A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks.
Sleep Apnea : A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep.
Sensation : The process by which our sensory receptors receive stimulus energies from our environment.
Transduction : Conversion of one form of energy into another (e.g., light to neural impulses).
Perception : The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.
Absolute Threshold : The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
Sensory Adaptation : Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Retina : The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye containing receptor rods and cones.
Rods : Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision.
Cones : Retinal receptors that detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
Trichromatic Theory : Theory stating that the retina contains three different color receptors (Red, Green, Blue).
Opponent-Process Theory : Theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black).
Cochlea : A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.
Vestibular Sense : The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.
Kinesthesis : The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
Top-down Processing : Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes and expectations.
Bottom-up Processing : Analysis starting with the sensory receptors and working up to the brain.
Classical Conditioning : Learning where a stimulus gains the power to cause a response because it predicts another stimulus.
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) : A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) : An originally irrelevant stimulus that comes to trigger a conditioned response.
Acquisition : The initial stage in classical conditioning where the association is made.
Extinction : The diminishing of a conditioned response when the UCS does not follow the CS.
Spontaneous Recovery : The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
Operant Conditioning : Learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.
Positive Reinforcement : Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli.
Negative Reinforcement : Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli.
Positive Punishment : The administration of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring.
Negative Punishment : The removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring.
Fixed Ratio Schedule : Reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.
Variable Interval Schedule : Reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.
Observational Learning : Learning social behavior by observing and imitating others.
Latent Learning : Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.
Encoding : The processing of information into the memory system.
Storage : The retention of encoded information over time.
Retrieval : The process of getting information out of memory storage.
Sensory Memory : The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information.
Short-Term Memory : Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.
Long-Term Memory : The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.
Implicit Memory : Retention of learned skills independent of conscious recollection.
Explicit Memory : Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare.
Chunking : Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.
Serial Position Effect : Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
Anterograde Amnesia : An inability to form new memories.
Retrograde Amnesia : An inability to retrieve information from one’s past.
Proactive Interference : The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
Retroactive Interference : The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.
Misinformation Effect : Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.
Algorithm : A step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution.
Heuristic : A simple thinking strategy or shortcut that allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently.
Confirmation Bias : A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions.
Functional Fixedness : The tendency to perceive the functions of objects as fixed and unchanging.
Availability Heuristic : Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.
Crystalized Intelligence : Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.
Fluid Intelligence : The ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.
General Intelligence (g) : A factor that underlies specific mental abilities and is measured by every task on an intelligence test.
Teratogens : Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.
Object Permanence : The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
Conservation : The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.
Egocentrism : In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.
Theory of Mind : The ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others.
Zone of Proximal Development : The range of tasks that are too difficult for a child to master alone but can be learned with guidance.
Authoritarian Parenting : Parenting style characterized by high demands and low responsiveness.
Authoritative Parenting : Parenting style characterized by high demands and high responsiveness.
Permissive Parenting : Parenting style characterized by low demands with high responsiveness.
Secure Attachment : Attachment where individuals feel comfortable with intimacy and autonomy.
Id : Contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives.
Ego : The largely conscious, “executive” part of personality that mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality.
Superego : The part of personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment.
Defense Mechanisms : The ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality.
Repression : Banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.
Self-Actualization : The ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved.
Unconditional Positive Regard : An attitude of total acceptance toward another person.
Big Five Traits : Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness, and Extraversion.
Reciprocal Determinism : The interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.
Self-Efficacy : One’s sense of competence and effectiveness.
Fundamental Attribution Error : The tendency to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.
Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon : The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
Cognitive Dissonance : The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.
Social Facilitation : Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.
Social Loafing : The tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts.
Deindividuation : The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.
Group Polarization : The enhancement of a group’s prevailing inclinations through discussion within the group.
Groupthink : The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder : An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.
Panic Disorder : An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread.
Phobia : An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) : A disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions).
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) : A disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, and anxiety lingering after a traumatic experience.
Major Depressive Disorder : A mood disorder in which a person experiences two or more weeks with significantly depressed moods.
Bipolar Disorder : A mood disorder in which a person alternates between the hopelessness of depression and the overexcited state of mania.
Schizophrenia : A psychological disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished emotional expression.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) : A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities.
Antisocial Personality Disorder : A personality disorder in which a person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing.
Psychoanalysis : Therapy that explores childhood events and unconscious dynamics.
Client-Centered Therapy : Humanistic therapy using active listening and unconditional positive regard.
Systematic Desensitization : A type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) : A popular integrative therapy that combines cognitive therapy with behavior therapy.
Conformity : Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.
Normative Social Influence : Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.
Social Norms : Expected standards of conduct, which influence behavior.
Social Comparison : Evaluating one’s abilities and opinions by comparing oneself with others.
Relative Deprivation : The perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.
Informational Social Influence : Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality.
Obedience : Following direct commands, usually from an authority figure.
Social Facilitation : Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.
Bystander Effect : The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.
Diffusion of Responsibility : Reduction in feelings of personal responsibility in the presence of others.
Attribution Theory : The theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition.
Dispositional Attributions : Assigning the cause of behavior to personal dispositions, traits, abilities, and feelings.
Situational Attributions : Assigning the cause of behavior to environmental factors.
Actor-Observer Bias : The tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities.
Self-Serving Bias : The tendency to perceive oneself favorably.
Internal Locus of Control : The perception that one controls one’s own fate.
External Locus of Control : The perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate.
Altruism : Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.
Stereotype : A generalized belief about a group of people.
Out-Group Homogeneity Bias : Perception of out-group members as more similar to one another than are in-group members.
In-Group Bias : The tendency to favor one’s own group.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy : A belief that leads to its own fulfillment.
Prejudice : An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members.
Discrimination : Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members.
Just-World Phenomenon : The tendency for people to believe the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve.
Mere Exposure Effect : The phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them.
Ethnocentrism : Believing in the superiority of one’s own ethnic and cultural group.
Superordinate Goals : Shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation.
Social Traps : Situations where conflicting parties become caught in mutually destructive behavior by pursuing self-interest.
Central Route of Persuasion : Persuasion that involves high elaboration and deep processing of arguments.
Peripheral Route of Persuasion : Persuasion that involves low elaboration and is swayed by surface characteristics.
Halo Effect : The tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinion in another area.
Foot-in-the-Door Technique : The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
Door-in-the-Face Technique : The tendency for people who won’t admit to a large task to agree when a smaller request is made.
False Consensus Effect : The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.
Cognitive Dissonance : The discomfort felt when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.
Drive-Reduction Theory : The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused state that drives the organism to reduce that need.
Homeostasis : The tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state.
Incentive Theory : A theory asserting that behavior is directed toward attaining desirable stimuli and avoiding unwanted stimuli.
Extrinsic Motivation : A desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment.
Intrinsic Motivation : A desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake.
Yerkes-Dodson Law : The principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.
Facial-Feedback Hypothesis : The idea that facial expressions can influence emotions as well as reflect them.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) : Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress: alarm, resistance, exhaustion.
Type A Personality : Competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.
Type B Personality : Easygoing, relaxed people.
Repression : Defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.
Regression : Defense mechanism in which an individual retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage.
Reaction Formation : Defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites.
Projection : Defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others.
Rationalization : Defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, unconscious reasons for one’s actions.
Displacement : Defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person.
Sublimation : Defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities.
Denial : Defense mechanism by which people refuse to accept reality.
DSM-5-TR : The current authoritative guide for classifying and diagnosing mental disorders in the U.S.
Agoraphobia : Fear of open spaces or being in crowded, public places where escape might be difficult.
Social Anxiety Disorder : Intense fear of social situations, leading to avoidance of such.
Persistent Depressive Disorder : A depressive disorder characterized by a chronically sad and melancholy mood.
Delusions : False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.
Hallucinations : False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.
Flat Affect : A marked lack of expressed emotions; a symptom of schizophrenia.
Positive Symptoms : Symptoms of schizophrenia marked by excesses in functioning (hallucinations, delusions).
Negative Symptoms : Symptoms of schizophrenia marked by deficits in functioning (apathy, flat affect).
Dopamine Hypothesis : The theory that schizophrenia results from excessive activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Dissociative Amnesia : A disorder characterized by the sudden and extensive inability to recall important personal information.
Borderline Personality Disorder : Instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, marked impulsivity.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder : Grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.
Histrionic Personality Disorder : Excessive emotionality and attention seeking.
Free Association : A method where patients are encouraged to say whatever comes to mind without filter.
Active Listening : Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies.
Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) : A confrontational cognitive therapy that vigorously challenges people’s illogical attitudes.
Aversion Therapy : A type of behavior therapy that involves repeated pairing of an unwanted behavior with discomfort.
Token Economy : An operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token for exhibiting a desired behavior.
Antipsychotic Drugs : Medications that are used to treat schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.
Tardive Dyskinesia : Involuntary movements of the facial muscles, tongue, and limbs; a possible neurotoxic side effect of long-term use of antipsychotic drugs.
Antidepressants : Medications designed to alleviate symptoms of depression by altering levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin.
Lithium : A chemical used to counteract mood swings of bipolar disorder.
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) : A biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain.
Lobotomy : A now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients.

Score: 0 Term 1 / 10

Definition…