AP Psychology ALL Terms With
The Correct Explanations
2026/2027
psychology - ANSWER-the science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue - ANSWER-the long-standing controversy over the relative
contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological
traits and behaviors
natural selection - ANSWER-the principle that, among the range of inherited trait
variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on
to succeeding generations
neuroscience - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how
the body and brain create emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
evolutionary - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how
nature selects traits that promote the perpetuation of one's genes
behavior genetics - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with
how much our genes, and our environment, influence our individual differences
psychodynamic - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with
how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
behavioral - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we
learn observable responses
cognitive - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we
encode, process, store, and retrieve information
social-cultural - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how
behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
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 (I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon) - ANSWER-the tendency to believe,
after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
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, 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 generalizes 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
false consensus effect - ANSWER-the tendency to overestimate the extent to which
others share our beliefs and behaviors
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
scatterplot - ANSWER-a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of
two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between
the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of correlation (little
scatter indicates high correlation).
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 controls 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 evaluation 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 if 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
the manipulations of the independent variable
mode - ANSWER-the most frequently occurring score in a distribution
, mean - ANSWER-the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores
and then dividing by the number of scores
median - ANSWER-the middle score in a distribution; the scores are above it and half
are below it
range - ANSWER-the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
standard deviation - ANSWER-a computed measure of how much scores vary around
the mean score
statistical significance - ANSWER-a statistical criterion for rejecting the assumption of
no differences in a particular study
culture - ANSWER-the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a
large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
Biological psychology - ANSWER-concerned with links between biology and behavior
Neuron - ANSWER-building blocks of the nervous system
Dendrite - ANSWER-Branches designed to receive/send/and transport information
Axon - ANSWER-transports messages to different muscles/glands in the body
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 it will generate a neural impulse
Acetylcholine - ANSWER-a neurotransmitter that, among its functions, triggers muscle
contraction
The Correct Explanations
2026/2027
psychology - ANSWER-the science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue - ANSWER-the long-standing controversy over the relative
contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological
traits and behaviors
natural selection - ANSWER-the principle that, among the range of inherited trait
variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on
to succeeding generations
neuroscience - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how
the body and brain create emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
evolutionary - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how
nature selects traits that promote the perpetuation of one's genes
behavior genetics - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with
how much our genes, and our environment, influence our individual differences
psychodynamic - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with
how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
behavioral - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we
learn observable responses
cognitive - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we
encode, process, store, and retrieve information
social-cultural - ANSWER-the perspective of psychological science that deals with how
behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
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 (I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon) - ANSWER-the tendency to believe,
after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
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, 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 generalizes 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
false consensus effect - ANSWER-the tendency to overestimate the extent to which
others share our beliefs and behaviors
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
scatterplot - ANSWER-a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of
two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between
the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of correlation (little
scatter indicates high correlation).
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 controls 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 evaluation 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 if 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
the manipulations of the independent variable
mode - ANSWER-the most frequently occurring score in a distribution
, mean - ANSWER-the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores
and then dividing by the number of scores
median - ANSWER-the middle score in a distribution; the scores are above it and half
are below it
range - ANSWER-the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
standard deviation - ANSWER-a computed measure of how much scores vary around
the mean score
statistical significance - ANSWER-a statistical criterion for rejecting the assumption of
no differences in a particular study
culture - ANSWER-the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a
large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
Biological psychology - ANSWER-concerned with links between biology and behavior
Neuron - ANSWER-building blocks of the nervous system
Dendrite - ANSWER-Branches designed to receive/send/and transport information
Axon - ANSWER-transports messages to different muscles/glands in the body
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 it will generate a neural impulse
Acetylcholine - ANSWER-a neurotransmitter that, among its functions, triggers muscle
contraction
