ap psych semester 1 review
Biological Bases of Behavior (20 Questions)
Differentiate among the subsystems of the human nervous system and their functions.
1.2.A.1 The central nervous system includes the brain and the spinal cord and interacts with all processes in the body.
1.2.A.2 The peripheral nervous system relays messages from the central nervous system to the rest of the body and includes the autonomic and somatic nervous systems.
1.2.A.2.i The autonomic nervous system governs processes that are involuntary and includes the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
1.2.A.2.ii The somatic nervous system governs processes that are voluntary.
Explain how the basic process of neural transmission is related to behavior and mental processes.
1.3.B.1 The process of neural transmission most commonly occurs in an orderly, systematic way and involves the all-or-nothing principle, depolarization, refractory period, resting potential, reuptake, and threshold. Disruptions to this process could lead to disorders such as multiple sclerosis or
myasthenia gravis.1.3.B.2 Each neurotransmitter has specific function(s) related to behavior and mental processes, which may depend on the neurotransmitter’s location in the nervous system. Neurotransmitters generally communicate either excitatory (making an action potential more likely) or inhibitory (making an action potential less likely) messages. Neurotransmitters related to behavior and mental processes for study in AP Psychology are limited to dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate, GABA, endorphins, substance p, and acetylcholine.
Explain how psychoactive drugs affect behavior and mental processes.
1.3.C.1 Psychoactive drugs can influence neurotransmitter function in various ways throughout the neural communication process. Some act as agonists which encourage neural firing. Some act as antagonists which discourage neural firing. Some act as reuptake inhibitors which block the reabsorption of neurotransmitters back into the cell.
1.3.C.2 Psychoactive drugs have psychological and physiological effects.
1.3.C.2.i Stimulants, such as caffeine and cocaine, typically cause increased neural activity.
1.3.C.2.ii Depressants, such as alcohol, typically cause decreased neural activity.
1.3.C.2.iii Hallucinogens, such as marijuana, typically cause distortions in perception and/or cognition.
1.3.C.2.iv Opioids, such as heroin, typically act as pain relievers.
Explain how the structures and the functions of the brain apply to behavior and mental processes.
1.4.A.1 The brain stem (including the medulla) generally controls basic functioning such as breathing and heart rate.
1.4.A.2 The reticular activating system and the brain’s reward center generally control some voluntary movement, eye movement, and some types of learning, cognition, and emotion.
1.4.A.3 The cerebellum generally controls coordination of muscle movement, balance, and some forms of procedural learning.
1.4.A.4 The cerebral cortex is divided into two hemispheres and includes the limbic system (thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, hippocampus, amygdala), corpus callosum, and the lobes of the cortex.
1.4.A.4.i The occipital lobes generally control visual information processing and are located in the rear of the brain.
1.4.A.4.ii The temporal lobes generally control auditory and linguistic processing and are located on the sides of the brain.
1.4.A.4.iii The parietal lobes generally control association areas, which process and organize information, and the somatosensory cortex, which processes touch sensitivity. These lobes are located near the back crown of the brain.
1.4.A.4.iv The frontal lobes, located just behind the forehead, generally control linguistic processing, higher-order thinking, and executive functioning, especially in the prefrontal cortex. The motor cortex is located at the rear of the frontal lobes and controls most types of skeletal movement.
1.4.A.5 Split brain research, achieved by severing the corpus callosum (often a treatment for severe epilepsy), reveals that the right and left hemispheres of the brain may specialize in different activities and functions.
1.4.A.5.i Areas of the brain that affect language are typically located in the left hemisphere and include Broca’s area (responsible for speech production) and Wernicke’s area (responsible for speech comprehension). Damage to these parts of the brain can lead to aphasia.
1.4.A.5.ii Researchers test for cortex specialization with split-brain patients by showing information in each visual field, taking advantage of the brain’s contralateral hemispheric organization.
Explain how the sleep/wake cycle affects behavior and mental processes throughout the day and night.
1.5.A.2 The sleep/wake cycle is a circadian rhythm, which in humans is about a 24-hour cycle. Jet lag and shift work are disruptions of the circadian rhythm.
1.5.A.3 The stages of sleep are identified by their specific EEG patterns.
1.5.A.3.i NREM sleep occurs in Stages 1 through 3 and decreases in duration throughout the cycle. Hypnogogic sensations occur as one enters Initial Stage 1 sleep.
1.5.A.3.ii REM sleep is considered paradoxical because it produces waves similar to wakefulness, but the body is at its most relaxed. Dreaming typically occurs in REM sleep. The frequency of REM sleep typically increases as the cycle progresses. When deprived of REM sleep, REM rebound can occur.
1.5.A.4 Theories regarding the structure and function of dreams include activation-synthesis and consolidation theory.
1.5.A.6 Many disorders interrupt healthy sleep, and their effects on waking behavior and health vary. Sleep disruptions can affect physical and cognitive performance during wakefulness. Treating sleep disorders and following regular schedules for sleeping can improve waking performance and overall well-being. Disorders commonly studied in introductory psychology include insomnia, narcolepsy, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep apnea, and somnambulism.
Explain how the process of sensation is related to behavior and mental processes.
1.6.A.1 Sensation is the process of detecting information from the environment that meets a certain threshold and transducing stimuli into neurochemical messages for processing (perception) in the brain. The absolute threshold occurs when a stimulus can be detected at least 50% of the time.
1.6.A.3 The sensory systems constantly work together in a process called sensory interaction. Synesthesia is an experience of sensation in which one system of sensation is experienced through another.
Explain how the structures and functions of the visual sensory system relate to behavior and mental processes.
1.6.B.1 The retina is the photosensitive surface at the back of the eye. Cells in the retina capture visual information that is transduced to the brain for processing. Evidence of incomplete images captured by the retina is demonstrated by the presence of the blind spot, where the visual nerve exits the eye. The brain fills in the gaps in the incomplete retinal images to perceive a relatively complete picture of the world.
1.6.B.3 Cells that lie in the periphery of the eye and detect shapes and movement, but not color, are called rods. These cells are mainly activated in low-light environments. These cells play a role in light and dark adaptation.
1.6.B.4 Color vision is explained by both the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory.
1.6.B.4.i Photoreceptor cells located in the fovea of the eye that process color and detail are called cones. Researchers have identified blue (detecting short wavelengths), green (detecting medium wavelengths) and red (detecting long wavelengths) cones in the retina.
1.6.B.4.ii Afterimages result when certain ganglion cells in the retina are activated while others are not. The ganglion cells involved in this opponent process are red/green, blue/ yellow/ and black/white.
1.6.B.4.iii Color vision deficiency involves damage or irregularities to one or more cones or ganglion cells (red/green, blue/ yellow).
Color vision deficiency includes dichromatism or monochromatism.
Explain how the structure and functions of the chemical sensory systems relate to behavior and mental processes.
1.6.D.1 Structures in the nose and brain process and/or transduce olfactory stimuli. Smell is the only sense not processed first in the thalamus of the brain.
Pheromones produce chemical messages for the olfactory system.
Explain how the structures and functions that maintain balance (vestibular) and body movement (kinesthetic) relate to behavior and mental processes.
1.6.G.1 The vestibular sense controls balance and is primarily detected by the semicircular canals and structures in the brain.
1.6.G.2 Kinesthesis the sense of one’s body movement. Kinesthesis allows the body to move in coordinated ways without having to look at the various parts of the body as it moves.
Cognition (17 Questions)
Explain how internal and external factors influence perception.
2.1.A.1 Perception is influenced by whether one primarily relies on external sensory information (bottom-up processing) or internal prior expectations (top-down processing).
2.1.A.4 Perceptual principles proposed by Gestalt psychology (closure, figure and ground, proximity, and similarity) help explain how humans organize their perceptual world.
2.1.A.5 Attention is an interaction of sensation and perception that is affected by internal and external processes.
2.1.A.5.i Some experiences of attention can be selective, such as with the cocktail party effect, where people attend to mentions of their names or specific topics in loud or distracting environments.
Explain how visual perceptual processes produce correct or incorrect interpretations of stimuli.
2.1.B.1 Binocular depth cues of retinal disparity (the difference between the images projecting onto
the retina) and convergence (the merging of the retinal images by the brain) utilize images from each eye to provide perception of depth.2.1.B.2 Monocular depth cues (relative clarity, relative size, texture gradient, linear perspective, and interposition) give the illusion of depth on flat or two-dimensional surfaces.
Explain how psychological concepts and theories account for thinking, problem-solving, judgment, and decision-making.
2.2.A.4 Heuristics address problems by using mental shortcuts to make judgments. Using heuristics
can lead to errors in judgment when decisions are made according to prior expectations or stereotypes (representativeness heuristic) or recalling the first or most vivid example that comes to mind (availability heuristic).2.2.A.5 Decision making can be influenced by prior experiences that were successful (mental set) or circumstances surrounding a decision (priming and framing).
Explain how the types, structures, and processes of memory work.
2.3.A.1 Memories for learned knowledge, events, and experiences are differentiated by how they are
processed by, stored in, and retrieved by the brain.2.3.A.1.i Explicit memory is a type of memory that iis more easily described or explained to
others. Types of explicit memory include episodic and semantic.2.3.A.1.ii Implicit memory is more challenging to describe or explain to others. Procedural memory is a type of implicit memory for procedures and processes.
2.3.A.1.iii Prospective memory is a type of memory related to future actions.
Explain how different encoding processes work to get information into memory.
2.4.A.5 Encoding processes can be affected by the order of how the information is presented, called the serial position effect. The serial position effect predicts that information presented at the beginning of a list (primacy effect) or the end of a list (recency effect) will be more memorable than information presented in the middle of a list.
Explain possible reasons why memory failure or errors may occur.
2.7.A.1 The forgetting curve shows that time is a significant factor in forgetting. Forgetting occurs rapidly after initial learning and levels off over time.
2.7.A.4 The accuracy of memories may be affected by the misinformation effect, source amnesia,
or constructive memory (via memory consolidation and imagination inflation).
Explain how intelligence is measured.
2.8.B.1 Early formal intelligence tests yielded an intelligence quotient (IQ), which divided mental age by chronological age. In modern times, IQ scores are often used to identify students for educational services.
2.8.B.2 All psychological assessments, including intelligence tests, should adhere to sound psychometric principles to be considered useful.
2.8.B.2.i A test is said to be standardized when it is administered using consistent procedures and environments.
2.8.B.2.ii A test is considered valid if it measures what it is designed to measure. Types of validity include construct and predictive.
2.8.B.2.iii A test is considered reliable if it yields similar results each time it is administered. Types of reliability include test-retest and split-half.
Explain how systemic issues relate to the quantitative and qualitative uses of intelligence assessments.
2.8.C.1 IQ scores across much of the world have generally increased over time (Flynn Effect) due to societal factors, such as higher socioeconomic status and access to better health care and better nutrition.
Research (10 Questions)
2.A. Determine whether a study is using experimental or non-experimental methodologies.
Experimental methodology involves the use of independent variable(s) and random assignment to groups.
Non-experimental methodologies include case study, correlation, meta-analysis, and naturalistic observation.
2.B. Evaluate the appropriate use of research design elements in experimental methodology.
Identify operational definitions of variables in research scenarios to determine how well the definitions allow for the study to be replicated.
Identify the independent variable(s), dependent variable(s), and/or confounding variable(s) in a research scenario.
In a research scenario, identify the participants of a study who make up the sample that is drawn from a population.
Determine whether the sample used is representative of the population and is selected by either random sampling or convenience sampling.
Evaluate whether the sampling procedure involves sampling bias.
Determine to what extent the sampling method allows for results of the study to be generalized.
Identify the experimental and control groups, including the process and purpose for assigning people to groups, whether a placebo was used with the control group, and the effect of the placebo on the results.
Determine whether the study used single-blind or double-blind procedures to control for confounding variables like experimenter bias or the social desirability bias.
Explain how conclusions from experimental research evolve via scientific processes such as peer review and replication.
2.C.Evaluate the appropriate use of research design elements in non-experimental methodologies.
State the hypothesis of a research scenario, including whether the hypothesis is falsifiable.
Identify operational definitions of variables in research scenarios to determine how well the definitions allow for the study to be replicated.
Identify the variables of interest in a research scenario.
Evaluate whether the results of a correlational study have a directionality problem or third variable problem that demonstrates that correlation does not equal causation.
Describe the impact of appropriate representation of participants in conducting research and on the outcomes of research.
Explain how conclusions from non-experimental evolve via scientific processes such as peer review and replication.
2.D Evaluate whether a psychological research scenario followed appropriate ethical procedures.
Explain the importance of institutional review for research involving human and nonhuman animals.
Determine whether proper informed consent and/or informed assent was used in a research scenario.
Determine whether researchers took steps to protect participants from harm.
Determine whether researchers kept participant information confidential and/or anonymous.
Determine whether deception was used in the research (possibly with the help of research confederates).
Determine whether researchers used proper debriefing techniques with participants at the conclusion of the research.
3.A Identify psychologyrelated concepts in descriptions or representations of data.
Identify variables in descriptions or representations of data.
Identify statistical and psychological concept(s) depicted in a table, graph, chart,or figure.
3.B Calculate and interpret measures of central tendency, variation, and
percentile rankin a given data set.Calculate mean, median, mode, and range from a set of data.
Explain the elements of the normal curve including percentages of distributions of scores across the curve, how to interpret skewness in a graph, and how to interpret a bimodal distribution.
Interpret mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, and
percentile rankfrom a set of data.Explain how regression toward the mean occurs as more data are collected.
3.C Interpret quantitative or qualitative inferential data from a given table, graph, chart, figure, or diagram.
Describe trends in and relationships between the variables as depicted in the data presented, such as interpreting correlational data from a scatterplot, including the correlation coefficient.
Interpret results from research that could be expressed as
effect sizesor statistical significance.
Perspectives (4 Questions)
Explain the relationship between heredity and environment in shaping behavior and mental processes.
1.1.A.2 The evolutionary perspective explores how natural selection affects the expression of behavior and mental processes to increase survival and reproductive success. Some theorists have sought to apply principles of tthe evolutionary perspective in ways that discriminate against others (eugenics).
Explain how the psychodynamic theory of personality defines and assesses personality.
4.4.A.1 According to the psychodynamic theory of personality, unconscious processes drive personality.
Explain how the humanistic theory of personality defines and assesses personality.
4.4.B.1 According to humanistic psychology, personality focuses on unconditional regard and the self-actualizing tendency as primary motivating factors.
Explain how psychological perspectives define psychological disorders.
5.3.B.2 The behavioral perspective proposes that tthe causes of mental disorders focus on
maladaptive learned associations between or among responses to stimuli.5.3.B.3 The psychodynamic perspective proposes that the causes of mental disorders focus on unconscious thoughts and experiences, often developed during childhood.
5.3.B.4 The humanistic perspective proposes that the causes of mental disorders focus on a lack of
social support and being unable to fulfill one’s potential.5.3.B.5 The cognitive perspective proposes that the causes of mental disorders focus on maladaptive thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, or emotions.
5.3.B.6 The evolutionary perspective proposes that tthe causes of mental disorders focus on behaviors and mental processes that reduce the likelihood of survival.
5.3.B.7 The sociocultural perspective proposes thatthe causes of mental disorders focus on maladaptive social and cultural relationships and dynamics.
5.3.B.8 The biological perspective proposes that tthe causes of mental disorders focus on physiological or genetic issues.
Social Psychology (4 Questions)
Explain how the social situation affects behavior and mental processes.
4.3.A.1 Social norms define expectations and roles a society may have for its members in individual
and social situations.4.3.A.2 Social influence theory proposes that social pressure to behave or think in certain ways can
be normative or informational.4.3.A.4 Research on conformity clarifies the conditions that strengthen the likelihood of people adhering to unspoken rules, norms, or expectations.
4.3.A.5 Research on obedience clarifies the conditions that strengthen the likelihood of people complying with the directives of an authority figure.
Explain how being in a group can affect an individual's behavior and mental processes.
4.3.B.2 Being a member of a group can influence how one behaves or experiences mental processes via
group polarization, groupthink, diffusion of responsibility, social loafing, anddeindividuation.
These phenomena highlight the powerful impact that group dynamics have on individual decision-making and actions, often leading to outcomes that differ significantly from those an individual might pursue alone.