AP Psychology Exam Vocabulary

The minimum Stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Adapting ones current understanding (schemas) to incorporate new information

The process by which the eyes lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

A neurotransmitter that enables learning, memory and triggers muscle contraction.

A desire for significant accomplishment for mastery of things, people, or ideas attaining a high standard

A test designed to assess what a person has learned

The encoding of sound.

The initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with a unconditioned stimulus so that neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strenghthening of a reinforced response

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down the axon. The action potential is generated by movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axons membrane.

Emphathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of roberts client centered therapy.

The Sharpness of Vision

Our tendency to form judgments of sounds, lights,income relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

Compulsive drug craving and use.

The transistion period from childhood to adulthood extending from puberty to independence.

A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenal glands secrete the hormones epinephrine (adrenalin) and norephinephrine (noradrenalin) which help the body arouse in time of stress.