SEMESTER FINAL 2012 AP PSYCHOLOGY

Summarize the nature-nurture debate.

What was the major argument between the early philosophers? Identify who was on each side of the argument.

“Correlation is NOT!”

A measure of the extent to which 2 variables relate to each other Provide an example of: Positive= Negative=

The professor who established the first psychology lab, employing the method of introspection (structuralism)

What is the difference between dependent variable & independent variable? (be sure you can identify these!)

 What is the experimental procedure in which both subjects and researchers are ignorant about the control & experimental groups?

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without manipulating the situation

Observation technique in which one person is studies in depth to identify universal principles

Identify: Mean Median Mode These are all measures of

Tendency to search for information that agrees with our ideas & evade evidence that contradicts our ideas

Perceiving a relationship between two things where none exists.

The tendency to believe that we could have foreseen the outcome of an event

Name the four lobes of the cerebral cortex. What is the function of each?

Areas of the cerebral cortex involved in learning & thinking

Define neurotransmitter. Give 4 examples & what each is responsible for.

Where are the Broca’s Area & Wernicke’s Area located? What does each control?

Impairment of language (either speaking or hearing) Name 2 areas that, if damaged, can cause this

Which limbic system structure controls hunger, sex drive, thirst, temperature?

Identify the differences between identical twins & fraternal twins.

Complete set of instructions for making an organism; consists of all the genetic material in organism’s chromosomes

Which body functions is/are controlled by the “little brain?”

Explain the difference between gender-role, gender-schema, & gender-type.

Other than identical genes, what else do identical twins have in common?

Name four ways in which scientists can “see” what is happening in our brain. What does each detect?

What are the 2 theories of color vision? What are afterimages?

Contrast absolute threshold & difference threshold.

We have a tendency to group things together. This is known as List & explain 4 ways we do this.

List & define the monocular cues of perception.

Diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus

Perceiving objects as unchanging (lightness, color, shape, size) even as retinal image changes

Focusing your conscious awareness on a particular stimulus Ex: if you are texting in class you are probably not really paying attention to the lecture

The central focal point in the retina in which cones are concentrated What do cones detect?

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the brain computes distance by comparing images from both eyeballs

Describe signal detection theory.

What sense coordinates with the cerebellum & cochlea to be responsible for balance?

What is the biological explanation for our learning? (hint: it has an abbreviation)

What is the formula for classical conditioning? Make sure you can identify these!

Pioneer of behaviorist school of learning; almost as famous as his dog!

What is the “Law of Effect?” Whose idea?

Contrast the 4 schedule of reinforcement

An operant conditioning process in which reinforcers guide behavior closer & closer toward the desired behavior

The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

Contrast operant & classical conditioning Identify the important individuals associated with each

Learning by watching and imitating the behavior of others Name the study & experimenter

The tendency, after conditioning, for similar stimuli to elicit similar responses

Another term for observational learning

Principle of concrete operational thought (Piaget); properties of an object (mass, volume) remain constant despite changes in form

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information; according to Piaget, young children develop these

Processing sensory input by encoding its meaning

Clinging to one’s initial beliefs even after they have been discredited

What is the difference between proactive interference & retroactive interference?

Mental short—cuts to problem solving (it is prone to errors) Explain both types

Which types of memory are processed by the: Hippocampus Cerebellum Amygdala

o What occurs in each of the different stages of language development?

Organizing items into familiar manageable units in order to remember them Provide an example

Attributing an event we have heard or read about to our own experience; source of false memories

 What is the 3 step process of memory?

Define:phoneme morpheme syntax semantics Why is each important in language development?

The best example of a concept in a category (your mental image)

Mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, problem-solving, & communicating

Contrast recall & recognition.

What are “mnemonics devices?” Give an example.

When is the “critical period” for learning a language? What happens if a language is not acquired during this time?

Why do we “forget?” (make sure you can explain this!)

Tendency to recall best the first and last items in a list.

Identify & explain the 3 major theories of language development (and the theorist).

Type of study that tests the same subjects at different points over the course of their lives

Name the psychologist who developed each theory: Moral Development Cognitive Development Psychosocial Development

Process by which animals (ducks, geese, monkeys…) form attachments during an early critical period

Identify & contrast the 3 parenting styles.

Name 2 primary sex characteristics and 2 secondary sex characteristics

Which reproductive event is signaled by a reduction in estrogen levels in women?

List the 3 levels of moral development identified by Kohlberg. Explain each.

An emotional tie with another person Shown by young children toward caregiver (and by Harlow’s baby monkeys!) Who else conducted research on this when mothers would leave the room and child’s reaction when mother returned?

How are nutrients and oxygen transferred from a mother to her fetus?

Contrast achievement and aptitude tests

Identify the 4 major theories of intelligence & the founder of each.

How is the IQ calculated?