AP Psych Summer Assignment Part II - Reading Comprehension Questions

In the first week of school, you will have a 30-40 point quiz (15-20 multiple choice questions) on the summer assignment readings. (For comparison, exams in our course are 100 points). The following is your “review guide” for the quiz. We strongly recommend that you have this document open and accessible while you read so you can either annotate the document or take relevant notes.

The rider

represents the conscious mind - the rational, controlled, and deliberate part of the brain responsible for planning, setting goals, and making decisions.

The elephant

represents the unconscious mind - the automatic, emotional, and instinctive part of the brain that drives immediate reactions, impulses, and behaviors.

split brain studies

show that the brain's hemispheres can generate behaviors without conscious awareness, and the conscious mind later rationalizes (confabulates) these actions

limbic system

controls basic instincts like aggression and hunger and can override rational thoughts when stimulated.

frontal cortex damage

leads to increased impulsivity and a lack of control over automatic urges

ironic process theory

demonstrates that trying to suppress automatic thoughts often make them stronger ("don't think of a white bear" makes you think of it more).

confabulation

when the brain invents reasons for behaviors it doesn't understand, revealing that many actions are driven by unconscious processes.

retrieval practice

the act of trying to actively recall information from memory without having the text or notes in front of you

spaced practice

Spreading out your study sessions over an extended period of time instead of trying to cram all at once

interleaving

Alternating or mixing up the study of two or more different topics or problem types within a single study sequence

rereading

creates a false "illusion of mastery" because the growing familiarity with the text makes the student feel like they know it when they are actually just recognizing it.

most effective strategy

Retrieval practice is the most effective strategy because forcing the brain to work hard to reconstruct a memory physically anchors and strengthens the neural pathways required for long-term retention.

availability heuristic

a mental shortcut where you judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples of it come to mind

affect heuristic

a cognitive shortcut where people let their emotional likes and dislikes determine their beliefs about the world's risks and benefits

system 1 thinking

the brain's fast, automatic, and default operational mode that relies on instincts and shortcuts to make immediate decisions

vivid or recent events

heavily influence us because system 1 automatically measures frequency by memory ease, making highly memorable events feel much more common than they actually are.

availability heuristic causes

leads people to miscalculate actual risks by substituting objective data with emotional reactions, leading to systematic errors, unnecessary panic, or distorted safety choices.

External rewards myth

challenges the widespread business assumption that external motivators like higher pay or bonuses always make people work harder.

Flawed controls

shows that external forces ("carrots and sticks") actually lead to worse performance on conceptual or creative tasks.

The Sawyer Effect

Extrinsic rewards turn play into work and transform interesting tasks into a dreary chore.

Narrowed focus

conditional incentives stifle creative thinking and problem-solving by forcing the brain to fixate narrowly on getting the reward.

Loss of inner drive

sing money as an external reward destroys a person's natural, long-term interest in doing the activity for its own sake.

Intrinsic rewards

Doing a task because the work itself is interesting, challenging, and absorbing.

Natural curiosity

The deep-seated human drive to solve puzzles, learn, and find personal gratification in the activity.

Meaningful engagement

Focusing on mastery and self-directed purpose rather than external bribes or punishments.

milgrams guiding question

Wanted to know why citizens followed orders during WWII atrocities.Asked if regular people would inflict pain on a stranger simply because an authority figure commanded it.

65% obedience rate

Two-thirds of participants delivered the maximum 450-volt level despite hearing distress.

35% defiance rate

One-third stopped the experiment and refused to continue further.

results: Severe emotional strain

Obedient subjects sweated, squirmed, and suffered nervous laughter while obeying.

Ethical concerns of expiriment

High psychological stress and trauma inflicted on naive participants without proper screening.

Methodological debate of experiment

Critics like Bernie Mixon argued the results measured trust in the scientist rather than obedience.

Ecological validity of experiment

Doubts over whether a lab setting reflects real-world behavior and moral choices.

Temperament vs. Destiny

investigating whether inborn biological traits completely dictate who people become or if life experiences can alter that path.

Identical Twins

Separated identical twin studies reveal shared traits like introversion due to identical genes.

The Amygdala

Acts as the brain's emotional switchboard to trigger fight-or-flight responses to threats.

SERT Gene

The short allele variation correlates with high reactivity, introversion, and mood processing differences.