AP Psychology Terms + Concept Mapping
Worksheets/AP Psychology ALL Terms 100% VERIFIED
CORRECT NEW!! 2025/2026
psychology - Answers the science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue - Answers the long-standing controversy over the rela ve contribu ons
that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
natural selec on - Answers the principle that, among the range of inherited trait varia ons,
those contribu ng to reproduc on and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding
genera ons
neuroscience - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how the body
and brain create emo ons, memories, and sensory experiences
evolu onary - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how nature
selects traits that promote the perpetua on of one's genes
behavior gene cs - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how much
our genes, and our environment, influence our individual differences
psychodynamic - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how
behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
behavioral - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how we learn
observable responses
,cogni ve - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how we encode,
process, store, and retrieve informa on
social-cultural - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how behavior
and thinking vary across situa ons and cultures
basic research - Answers pure science that aims to increase the scien fic knowledge base
applied research - Answers scien fic study that aims to solve prac cal problems
clinical psychology - Answers a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people
with psychological disorders
psychiatry - Answers a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, prac ced by
physicians who some mes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as
psychological therapy
hindsight bias (I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon) - Answers the tendency to believe, a$er
learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
cri cal thinking - Answers thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions.
Rather, it examines assump ons, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses
conclusions
theory - Answers an explana on using an integrated set of principles that organizes and
predicts observa ons
hypothesis - Answers a testable predic on, o$en implied by a theory
, opera onal defini on - Answers a statement of the procedures (opera ons) used to define
research variables. For example, intelligence may be opera onally defined as what an
intelligence test measures
replica on - Answers repea ng the essence of a research study, usually with different
par cipants in different situa ons, to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other
par cipants and circumstances
case study - Answers an observa on technique in which one person is studied in depth in the
hope of revealing universal principles
survey - Answers a technique for ascertaining the self-reported a*tudes or behaviors of
people, usually by ques oning a representa ve, random sample of them
false consensus effect - Answers the tendency to overes mate the extent to which others
share our beliefs and behaviors
popula on - Answers all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study
random sample - Answers a sample that fairly represents a popula on because each member
has an equal chance of inclusion
naturalis c observa on - Answers observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring
situa ons without trying to manipulate and control the situa on
correla on coefficient - Answers a sta s cal measure of the extent to which two factors vary
together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
, sca,erplot - Answers a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two
variables. The slope of the points suggests the direc on of the rela onship between the two
variables. The amount of sca,er suggests the strength of correla on (li,le sca,er indicates high
correla on).
illusory correla on - Answers the percep on of a rela onship where none exists
experiment - Answers a research method in which an inves gator manipulates one or more
factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the
dependent variable). By random assignment of par cipants the experimenter controls other
relevant factors)
placebo - Answers an inert substance or condi on that may be administered instead of a
presumed ac ve agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize
the ac ve agent
double-blind procedure - Answers an experimental procedure in which both the research
par cipants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research par cipants
have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evalua on studies.
placebo effect - Answers any effect on behavior caused by a placebo
experimental condi on - Answers the condi on of an experiment that exposes par cipants to
the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
control condi on - Answers the condi on of an experiment that contrasts with the
experimental condi on and serves as a comparison for evalua on the effect of the treatment
random assignment - Answers assigning par cipants to experimental and control condi ons by
chance, thus minimizing preexis ng differences between those assigned to the different groups
Worksheets/AP Psychology ALL Terms 100% VERIFIED
CORRECT NEW!! 2025/2026
psychology - Answers the science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue - Answers the long-standing controversy over the rela ve contribu ons
that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
natural selec on - Answers the principle that, among the range of inherited trait varia ons,
those contribu ng to reproduc on and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding
genera ons
neuroscience - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how the body
and brain create emo ons, memories, and sensory experiences
evolu onary - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how nature
selects traits that promote the perpetua on of one's genes
behavior gene cs - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how much
our genes, and our environment, influence our individual differences
psychodynamic - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how
behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
behavioral - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how we learn
observable responses
,cogni ve - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how we encode,
process, store, and retrieve informa on
social-cultural - Answers the perspec ve of psychological science that deals with how behavior
and thinking vary across situa ons and cultures
basic research - Answers pure science that aims to increase the scien fic knowledge base
applied research - Answers scien fic study that aims to solve prac cal problems
clinical psychology - Answers a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people
with psychological disorders
psychiatry - Answers a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, prac ced by
physicians who some mes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as
psychological therapy
hindsight bias (I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon) - Answers the tendency to believe, a$er
learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
cri cal thinking - Answers thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions.
Rather, it examines assump ons, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses
conclusions
theory - Answers an explana on using an integrated set of principles that organizes and
predicts observa ons
hypothesis - Answers a testable predic on, o$en implied by a theory
, opera onal defini on - Answers a statement of the procedures (opera ons) used to define
research variables. For example, intelligence may be opera onally defined as what an
intelligence test measures
replica on - Answers repea ng the essence of a research study, usually with different
par cipants in different situa ons, to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other
par cipants and circumstances
case study - Answers an observa on technique in which one person is studied in depth in the
hope of revealing universal principles
survey - Answers a technique for ascertaining the self-reported a*tudes or behaviors of
people, usually by ques oning a representa ve, random sample of them
false consensus effect - Answers the tendency to overes mate the extent to which others
share our beliefs and behaviors
popula on - Answers all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study
random sample - Answers a sample that fairly represents a popula on because each member
has an equal chance of inclusion
naturalis c observa on - Answers observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring
situa ons without trying to manipulate and control the situa on
correla on coefficient - Answers a sta s cal measure of the extent to which two factors vary
together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
, sca,erplot - Answers a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two
variables. The slope of the points suggests the direc on of the rela onship between the two
variables. The amount of sca,er suggests the strength of correla on (li,le sca,er indicates high
correla on).
illusory correla on - Answers the percep on of a rela onship where none exists
experiment - Answers a research method in which an inves gator manipulates one or more
factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the
dependent variable). By random assignment of par cipants the experimenter controls other
relevant factors)
placebo - Answers an inert substance or condi on that may be administered instead of a
presumed ac ve agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize
the ac ve agent
double-blind procedure - Answers an experimental procedure in which both the research
par cipants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research par cipants
have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evalua on studies.
placebo effect - Answers any effect on behavior caused by a placebo
experimental condi on - Answers the condi on of an experiment that exposes par cipants to
the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
control condi on - Answers the condi on of an experiment that contrasts with the
experimental condi on and serves as a comparison for evalua on the effect of the treatment
random assignment - Answers assigning par cipants to experimental and control condi ons by
chance, thus minimizing preexis ng differences between those assigned to the different groups
