AP Psychology Vocab: Master List WGU
Velocity Vault: OA Challenge Drills, PA
Rubric Breakdowns, Competency
Acceleration & Power Study Blueprint
Description
The WGU Velocity Vault is a high-impact academic
success resource designed specifically for students at
Western Governors University (WGU) who want to
move through courses with greater speed, stronger
understanding, and a more strategic approach to
learning. Built around WGU’s competency-based model,
this resource is designed to help students transform
scattered studying into a focused and results-driven
system that supports both academic performance and
long-term learning confidence.
This is not a traditional study guide filled with passive
notes and generic summaries. The Velocity Vault is
designed as a complete academic performance
framework that combines application-focused practice,
competency-based preparation, assessment strategy
,development, structured revision systems, and
productivity-focused learning methods. It is specifically
created for students who want to study smarter,
improve efficiency, and approach assessments with a
clear sense of direction and control.
Whether you are preparing for an Objective
Assessment, working through a complex Performance
Assessment, or trying to stay consistent in WGU’s self-
paced learning environment, this guide is built to help
you stay organized, confident, and academically
productive.
empiricism - ANSWER the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science
should, therefore, rely and observation and experimentation.
structuralism - ANSWER an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the
elemental structure of the human mind
functionalism - ANSWER a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and
behavioral processes function-how they enable us to adapt, survive and flourish
experimental psychology - ANSWER the study of behavior and thinking using the
experimental method
,behaviorism - ANSWER the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2)
studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today
agree with (1) but not with (2).
humanistic psychology - ANSWER historically significant perspective that emphasized the
growth potential of healthy people and individual's potential for fostering personal growth
cognitive neuroscience - ANSWER the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with
cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)
psychology - ANSWER The science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue - ANSWER the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions
that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.
Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture
natural selection - ANSWER the principle that, among the range of inherited variation, those
contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding
generations.
levels of analysis - ANSWER the differing complementary views, from biological to
psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon
biopsychological approach - ANSWER an integrated approach that incorporates biological,
psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
biological psychology - ANSWER a branch of psychology that studies the links between
biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes
, evolutionary psychology - ANSWER the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes
using the principles of natural selection
psychodynamic psychology - ANSWER a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious
drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with
psychological disorders.
behavioral psychology - ANSWER the scientific study of observable behavior, and its
explanation by principles of learning.
cognitive psychology - ANSWER the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with
thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
social-cultural psychology - ANSWER the study of how situations and cultures affect our
behavior and thinking.
psychometric - ANSWER the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities,
attitudes, and traits
basic research - ANSWER pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
developmental psychology - ANSWER the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social
change throughout the life span
educational psychology - ANSWER The study of how psychological processes affect and can
enhance teaching and learning.
Velocity Vault: OA Challenge Drills, PA
Rubric Breakdowns, Competency
Acceleration & Power Study Blueprint
Description
The WGU Velocity Vault is a high-impact academic
success resource designed specifically for students at
Western Governors University (WGU) who want to
move through courses with greater speed, stronger
understanding, and a more strategic approach to
learning. Built around WGU’s competency-based model,
this resource is designed to help students transform
scattered studying into a focused and results-driven
system that supports both academic performance and
long-term learning confidence.
This is not a traditional study guide filled with passive
notes and generic summaries. The Velocity Vault is
designed as a complete academic performance
framework that combines application-focused practice,
competency-based preparation, assessment strategy
,development, structured revision systems, and
productivity-focused learning methods. It is specifically
created for students who want to study smarter,
improve efficiency, and approach assessments with a
clear sense of direction and control.
Whether you are preparing for an Objective
Assessment, working through a complex Performance
Assessment, or trying to stay consistent in WGU’s self-
paced learning environment, this guide is built to help
you stay organized, confident, and academically
productive.
empiricism - ANSWER the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science
should, therefore, rely and observation and experimentation.
structuralism - ANSWER an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the
elemental structure of the human mind
functionalism - ANSWER a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and
behavioral processes function-how they enable us to adapt, survive and flourish
experimental psychology - ANSWER the study of behavior and thinking using the
experimental method
,behaviorism - ANSWER the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2)
studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today
agree with (1) but not with (2).
humanistic psychology - ANSWER historically significant perspective that emphasized the
growth potential of healthy people and individual's potential for fostering personal growth
cognitive neuroscience - ANSWER the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with
cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)
psychology - ANSWER The science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue - ANSWER the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions
that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.
Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture
natural selection - ANSWER the principle that, among the range of inherited variation, those
contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding
generations.
levels of analysis - ANSWER the differing complementary views, from biological to
psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon
biopsychological approach - ANSWER an integrated approach that incorporates biological,
psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
biological psychology - ANSWER a branch of psychology that studies the links between
biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes
, evolutionary psychology - ANSWER the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes
using the principles of natural selection
psychodynamic psychology - ANSWER a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious
drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with
psychological disorders.
behavioral psychology - ANSWER the scientific study of observable behavior, and its
explanation by principles of learning.
cognitive psychology - ANSWER the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with
thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
social-cultural psychology - ANSWER the study of how situations and cultures affect our
behavior and thinking.
psychometric - ANSWER the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities,
attitudes, and traits
basic research - ANSWER pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
developmental psychology - ANSWER the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social
change throughout the life span
educational psychology - ANSWER The study of how psychological processes affect and can
enhance teaching and learning.
