AP Psych - 2025 Confusing Pairs

Bottom-up processing

individual elements to whole

Top-down processing

whole to the parts

Agontist

chemicals that mimic the actions of neurotransmitter

Antagonist

chemicals that opposes the action of a neurotransmitter

Foot-in-the-door

start small then go big- $5 get $100

Door-in-the-face

start big to get small- want skateboard ask for car

Random Assignment

each participant has equal chance of being placed into any group

Random Sample

process of choosing participants from the population & happens before assignment

Applied Research

clear, practical use

Basic Research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Quantitative data

deals with numbers- height, weight, time

Qualitative data

deals with descriptions- color, smell, taste

Self-Serving Bias

tendency to overstate one's role in a positive venture & underestimate in a failure

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

explains how people's ideas about others can shape the behavior of those others

Collectivist Cultures

Japan- family, company stressed

Individualistic Cultures

USA- uniqueness of individual stressed

Descriptive Statistics

describe as set of data- central tendency: mean, mode, median

Inferential Statistics

is to determine whether or not findings can be applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected: cause and effect.

Syntax

grammar

Semantics

meaning

Anterograde Amnesia

can't remember new stuff​ after head injury (Lucy from 50 first dates)

Retrograde Amnesia

can't remember stuff from before head injury

Systematic Desensitization

exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli

Flooding

immediately expose patient to worst fears

Absolute Threshold

level needed to detect a stimulus 50% of time

Just-noticeable-difference(JND)

perceive change in stimulus level (ex: music level)

Construct Validity

test measures a particular hypothetical concept- creativity, IQ, extraversion

Content Validity

content of a test is representative of the domain it is supposed to cover, such as the unit

Independent Variable

what is tested/manipulated

Dependent Variable

what is measured

Experimental Group

group that is tested

Control Group

compared to the experimental, receives the placebo in a drug experiment

Left Brain

language and logic

Right Brain

creative and spatial

Corpus Callosum

divides the brain

Cerebral Cortex

covers the brain

Sympathetic Nervous System

"fight or flight"

Parasympathetic

"rest and digest"

Neurotransmitters

in the nervous system, faster message chemicals

Hormones

in the endocrine system, slower message chemicals

Lateral Hypothalamus

stimulates hunger

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

suppresses hunger

Broca's Area

makes words

Wernicke's Area

comprehends words

Identical Twins

same fertilized egg

Fraternal Twins

two separate eggs

Afferent neurons

sensory, body to brain

Efferent neurons

motor, brain to body

Assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schema (ex: all 4-legged animals are "doggies")

Accommodation

adapting current understandings to incorporate new info (ex: "dogs" are different than "cats")

Concrete Operations

logical thinking

Formal Operations

philosophical thinking

Sensation

bottom-up processing

Perception

top-down processing

Rods

black, grey white, night and peripheral vision

Cones

color vision and fine detail

Classical Conditioning

involuntary, link two or more stimuli for learning

Operant Conditioning

voluntary, learned behaviors if followed by reinforcement or punishment

Primacy Effect

first items remembered

Recency Effect

last items remembered

Proactive Interference

loss of the new info

Retroactive Interference

loss of the old info

Implicit Memory

non-declarative; skills

Explicit Memory

declarative, facts

Recall Memory

no cues

Recognition Memory

some hints

Algorithms

step-by-step

Heuristics

rule-of-thumb

Representative Heuristics

stereotypes

Availability Heuristics

based on available info

Phonemes

basic sound units

Morphemes

basic units of meaning

Fluid Intelligence

processing speed

Crystallized Intelligence

acquired knowledge

Validity

test measures what it should

Reliability

same scores on a retest

Achievement Test

what you've learned

Aptitude Test

potential

Intrinsic Motivation

for personal satisfaction

Extrinsic Motivation

for rewards

Internal Locus of Control

you control the environment

External Locus of Control

environment controls you

Type A Personality

high stress (higher risk to heart disease)

Type B Personality

low stress

Sensory Adaptation

diminished sensitivity to constant stimulation (ex: not feeling watch on wrist)

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure (ex: not hearing airplanes in military)

Delta Waves

large, slow brain waves - deep sleep

Alpha Waves

slow brain waves - relaxed, awake state

Manifest Content

symbolic, remembered story of a dream

Latent Content

underlying meaning of a dream

Reinforcement

event that strengthens the behavior that it follows

Punishment

event that decreases the behavior that it follows

Positive Reinforcement

increases behaviors by adding positive reinforcers (ex: money, candy)

Negative Reinforcement

increases behaviors by removing aversive stimuli (removal of beep for seat belt)

Ratio Schedule

number amount (ex: every 5 times)

Interval Schedule

time amount (ex: every 30 minutes)

Emotion-focused Coping

alleviate stress by avoiding stressor, attending to emotional needs

Problem-solving Coping

attempt to alleviate stress directly - by changing stressor

Convergent Thinking

narrowing available problem solutions to determine the best solution

Divergent Thinking

expanding number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking)