AP Psychology All Terms
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,psychology the science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue the long-standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes and
experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
natural selection 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 the perspective of psychological science that deals with how the body and brain
create emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
evolutionary the perspective of psychological science that deals with how nature selects traits
that promote the perpetuation of one's genes
behavior genetics the perspective of psychological science that deals with how much our genes, and
our environment, influence our individual differences
psychodynamic the perspective of psychological science that deals with how behavior springs from
unconscious drives and conflicts
behavioral the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we learn observable
responses
cognitive the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we encode, process,
store, and retrieve information
social-cultural the perspective of psychological science that deals with how behavior and thinking
vary across situations and cultures
basic research pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
applied research scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
,clinical psychology a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological
disorders
psychiatry 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) the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
critical thinking thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it
examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses
conclusions
theory an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts
observations
hypothesis a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
operational definition 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 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 an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of
revealing universal principles
survey a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people,
usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them
false consensus effect the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and
behaviors
population all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study
, random sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal
chance of inclusion
naturalistic observation observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to
manipulate and control the situation
correlation coefficient a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of
how well either factor predicts the other
scatterplot 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 the perception of a relationship where none exists
experiment 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 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 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 any effect on behavior caused by a placebo
experimental condition the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to
one version of the independent variable
control condition 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 assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus
minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups
2026 | Complete
Vocabulary Study Guide,
Practice Questions,
Answers, Rationales &
Exam Review | Complete
Ethics Study Guide
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep and Comprehensive
Rationales
Included
,psychology the science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue the long-standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes and
experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
natural selection 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 the perspective of psychological science that deals with how the body and brain
create emotions, memories, and sensory experiences
evolutionary the perspective of psychological science that deals with how nature selects traits
that promote the perpetuation of one's genes
behavior genetics the perspective of psychological science that deals with how much our genes, and
our environment, influence our individual differences
psychodynamic the perspective of psychological science that deals with how behavior springs from
unconscious drives and conflicts
behavioral the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we learn observable
responses
cognitive the perspective of psychological science that deals with how we encode, process,
store, and retrieve information
social-cultural the perspective of psychological science that deals with how behavior and thinking
vary across situations and cultures
basic research pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
applied research scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
,clinical psychology a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological
disorders
psychiatry 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) the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
critical thinking thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it
examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses
conclusions
theory an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts
observations
hypothesis a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
operational definition 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 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 an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of
revealing universal principles
survey a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people,
usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them
false consensus effect the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and
behaviors
population all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study
, random sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal
chance of inclusion
naturalistic observation observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to
manipulate and control the situation
correlation coefficient a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of
how well either factor predicts the other
scatterplot 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 the perception of a relationship where none exists
experiment 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 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 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 any effect on behavior caused by a placebo
experimental condition the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to
one version of the independent variable
control condition 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 assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus
minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups
