Question 1

What is mind-body dualism?

Accepted Answer

An early theory that there are two realms: the physical and the mental - the physical is measurable while the mental is immeasurable

Question 2

What is empiricism?

Accepted Answer

Idea that the only source of knowledge is experience through senses

(John Locke and David Hume were famous for this thinking)

Question 3

What is eugenics?

Accepted Answer

The controversial and discredited idea that humanity can be improved through selective breeding

(the Nazis used eugenics to justify their treatment of Jews and other minority groups)

Question 4

What are principles of association?

Accepted Answer

Rules about how the mind connects ideas and constructs complex ideas from simpler ones

Question 5

What is phrenology?

Accepted Answer

False idea that personal traits are determined by size and location of bumps on the skull

(developed by Gall and Spurzheim; later disproved)

Question 6

What is psychophysics?

Accepted Answer

Study of relationships between physical stimuli and the sensations they cause

Question 7

Who was René Descartes?

Accepted Answer

French philosopher and mathematician who is famous for the concept of mind-body dualism

(precursor to modern psychology)

Question 8

Who was John Locke?

Accepted Answer

English empiricist and philosopher who believed humans minds begin as blank slates that are shaped by experiences (precursor to modern psychology)

Question 9

Who is David Hume?

Accepted Answer

Scottish empiricist who developed several principles of association (precursor to modern psychology)

Question 10

Who was Alfred Adler?

Accepted Answer

Austrian doctor and psychotherapist who was an early user of the psychodynamic approach

Question 11

Who was Jerome S. Bruner?

Accepted Answer

American cognitive psychologist who developed a theory of cognitive growth and was influential in educational psychology

Question 12

Who was Mary Whiton Calkins?

Accepted Answer

First woman to lead the APA; known for self-psychology, an introspective field

Question 13

Who was Noam Chomsky?

Accepted Answer

Linguist and cognitive psychologist who believed in a universal grammar in all languages

Question 14

Why is Charles Darwin important in psychology?

Accepted Answer

His theories of evolution influenced early psychologists

Question 15

Who was Dorothea Dix?

Accepted Answer

Advocate for the mentally ill and won them more humane treatment

Question 16

Who was Gustav Fechner?

Accepted Answer

Founder of psychophysics who examined relations between sensations and stimuli

Question 17

Who was Leon Festinger?

Accepted Answer

Social psychologist known for cognitive dissonance theory

Question 18

Who was Sigmund Freud?

Accepted Answer

Founder of psychoanalysis who developed the model of personality of id, ego, and superego

Question 19

Who was Franz Joseph Gall?

Accepted Answer

Founder of phrenology who believed different regions in the brain had different functions

Question 20

Who was G. Stanley Hall?

Accepted Answer

First president of the APA who was influential in the study of child development

Question 21

Who was Hermann von Helmholtz?

Accepted Answer

Researcher on the nervous system, eyes, and ears

Question 22

Who was William James?

Accepted Answer

Founder of functionalism who established one of the first psychological laboratories in the US

Question 23

Who was Carl Jung?

Accepted Answer

Psychodynamic thinker who developed the theory of archetypes and the collective unconscious

Question 24

Who was Abraham Maslow?

Accepted Answer

Humanistic psychologist known for his hierarchy of needs: "Maslow's hierarchy of needs"

Question 25

Who was Ivan Pavlov?

Accepted Answer

Russian physiologist who influenced behaviorism with his dogs experiment

Question 26

Who was Jean Piaget?

Accepted Answer

Swiss psychologist who developed the stage theory of cognitive development

Question 27

Who was Carl Rogers?

Accepted Answer

Humanistic psychologist who developed client-centered therapy

Question 28

Who was B. F. Skinner?

Accepted Answer

Behaviorist known for operant conditioning theory and the "Skinner box"

Question 29

Who was Edward Titchener?

Accepted Answer

Psychologist that brought structuralism to the United States and helped establish experimental psychology

Question 30

Who was Lev S. Vygotsky?

Accepted Answer

Soviet psychologist who is known for the zone of proximal development and advocated the sociocultural approach

Question 31

Who was Margaret Floy Washburn?

Accepted Answer

First woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology and advocated the study of mental phenomena

Question 32

Who was John B. Watson?

Accepted Answer

Founder of behaviorism who contributed to classical conditioning theory

Question 33

Who was Ernst H. Weber?

Accepted Answer

A founder of psychophysics

Question 34

Who was Max Wertheimer?

Accepted Answer

Founder of Gestalt psychology, emphasizing the study of perception as a whole

Question 35

Who was Wilhelm Wundt?

Accepted Answer

Structuralist who founded the first psychological laboratory and is regarded the "father of psychology"

(also did a series of experiments on sensation and perception)

Question 36

What is introspection?

Accepted Answer

Examination of one's own thoughts and feelings, often in response to stimuli presented by a researcher

(used by early psychologists; not too reliable)

Question 37

What is structuralism?

Accepted Answer

Theoretical approach that attempts to uncover structures of consciousness and how they fit together

(developed in 19th century by Wundt and Titchener)

Question 38

What is functionalism?

Accepted Answer

Approach that emphasizes the functions of the mind over its structures and how consciousness allows humans to adapt to their environment

(developed in response to structuralism by William James)

Question 39

What is the biological approach?

Accepted Answer

Approach that emphasizes biological bases for psychology, including neuroscience, genetics, and evolution

Question 40

What is behaviorism?

Accepted Answer

Belief that psychology should only study observable and measurable behavior

Question 41

What is Gestalt psychology/gestaltism?

Accepted Answer

Approach that looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole

Emphasizes that our minds perceive objects as a whole, not as individual pieces

(created in response to structuralism by Max Wertheimer)

Question 42

What is psychoanalysis?

Accepted Answer

Therapeutic approach that believed symptoms are the results of problems and conflicts in the unconscious mind

(developed by Sigmund Freud and used in his therapy)

Question 43

What is psychodynamic psychology?

Accepted Answer

Approach that sees human behavior as based upon the interactions of drives and forces in that person

(used by thinkers such as Freud, Jung, Adler, and Horney)

Question 44

What is humanistic psychology?

Accepted Answer

Approach that emphasizes human freedom and self-development

Assumes all humans are unique and have free-will

Question 45

What is the cognitive revolution?

Accepted Answer

Rise of the cognitive approach in psychology, which investigated processes such as language, memory, and attention

Question 46

What is the sociocultural approach?

Accepted Answer

Approach that emphasizes social and cultural contexts influencing the development of human behavior and cognition

Question 47

What is client-centered therapy?

Accepted Answer

A form of psychotherapy where therapists are urged to be warm, kind, and gentle

(developed by Carl Rogers)

Question 48

What is quantitative research?

Accepted Answer

Research that uses precise measurements and statistical techniques to draw conclusions from numerical data

(correlational studies)

Question 49

What is qualitative research?

Accepted Answer

Research that collects non-numerical data

Question 50

What is a correlation coefficient?

Accepted Answer

A number that represents how strongly two variables are correlated

(closer to -1 or +1 means a stronger correlation)

Question 51

What is a positive correlation?

Accepted Answer

When one variable increases, so does the other

(correlation coefficient above 0)

Question 52

What is a negative correlation?

Accepted Answer

When one variable increases, the other decreases

(a correlation coefficient below 0)

Question 53

What is naturalistic observation?

Accepted Answer

Research method that attempts to document behavior as it occurs in a real setting

(qualitative)

Question 54

What is structured observation?

Accepted Answer

Research conducted in a laboratory setting, where the researcher can control the environment

Question 55

What is coding in psychology research?

Accepted Answer

Classification of behaviors into categories

Question 56

What is inter-rater reliability?

Accepted Answer

Having multiple people/researchers assess a characteristic and getting similar values

(if different researchers get very different values, the data is not reliable)

Question 57

What is participant observation?

Accepted Answer

Research where the researcher becomes a member of the studied group (either overtly or covertly)

Question 58

What is the Hawthorne effect?

Accepted Answer

Phenomena of research subjects altering their behavior when they know they are being observed

Question 59

What is a longitudinal study?

Accepted Answer

Research design that examines how individuals develop by studying the same people for a long period of time

Question 60

What is a cross-sectional study?

Accepted Answer

Research design comparing groups of different ages to make conclusions about development

Question 61

What is a case study?

Accepted Answer

Research design involving an detailed examination of a single subject, such as an individual or group

Question 62

What is a survey?

Accepted Answer

A research method involving a list of questions for participants to fill out

Question 63

What is non-response bias?

Accepted Answer

Distortion of data that occurs when people who don't want to take a survey have a factor that makes them very different than people who would take the survey

Question 64

What is surveyor bias?

Accepted Answer

Distortion of data that occurs when survey questions are written in a way that prompts a certain answer

AP Psychology Flashcards