AP Psych Midterm Study Guide
Complete the following study guide by answering or addressing the following questions or points.
Understand the difference between an agonist and an antagonist. How they work and be able to
recognize an example of each.
Understand the difference between afferent and efferent neurons. How they work.
Know the causes of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and schizophrenia, in regards to malfunctions in
neurotransmitter supply. (Basically which neurotransmitters are associated with which and is it a result
of too much or too little)
Know the whole issue of split brain patients and the ways their functioning can be impaired.
Also know what happens if you damage a certain part (side) of the brain. For instance, damage to the
right side caused what kind of damage, and vice versa.
Functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
The type of research would psychologists study in the following perspectives:
Biological
Cognitive
Psychoanalysis/psychodynamic
Humanistic
Evolutionary
Behavioral
Social/sociocultural
If a doctor stimulates various parts of the brain, know what would happen.
Ex: If the doctor stimulated the occipital lobe.
If the doctor stimulated the amygdala
If he stimulated the sensory cortex; the motor cortex.
Know which sense is more dominant.
Understand selective attention
Be able to recognize a figure that requires you to use figure ground
Understand convergence and what it looks like on paper or in a picture/painting.
Understand Webers Law and be able to apply it. If I give you a problem about just noticeable difference,
and you have numbers to work with, based on the principle of webers law, be able to figure out the just
noticeable difference if the numbers change from situation to situation.
Understand color constancy and shape constancy
Understand sensory adaptation.
Understand the structure and function of the retina. Know which photoreceptors come first, second and
third according to their activation!
Understand feature detection
Understand parallel processing. (If given an example)
Understand accommodation
Understand the function of rods and cones and what would happen if you lacked one or the other.
Understand opponent-processing theory and be able to recognize when given an example of it.
Understand an analogy of sensation and perception.
Understand top-down processing bottom-up processing, and understand it in relation to pain.
Understand the process of transduction. (Essentially the quiz we took)
Understand trichromatic theory
Know absolute and difference threshold and be able to recognize examples of each.
Understand ethical principles and when given an example from an unethical procedure of an
experiment, be able to determine which ethical procedure was violated.
Know what it means to say data is statistically significant.
Know central means of tendency and which is best for help someone understand trends and results.
Also know which one can be disrupted most by certain values.
Given a scenario/experiment, be able to identify the independent variable, the dependent variable, the
experiment and control groups/conditions, etc.
Understand overconfidence, illusory correlation and hindsight bias.
Understand all I've told you about a Gestalt psychology.
Understand what circadian rhythm is and when it can be impacted.
Understand the difference between a sample, random sample and population.
Know what operational definitions are and why they are important.
Understand what industrial-organizational psychologist do and what they study.
Know how to calculate standard deviation (dun dun DUNNNNN! 😱)
Know where transduction occurs in the eye AND ear.
Remember what I said synesthesia.
Which psych perspective would use dream interpretation or free association?
Know the difference between cross-sectional studies, case studies, longitudinal studies, and correlation
all studies. Know when it would be appropriate to use each.
Know what an EEG, CAT scan, MRI, and PET scan do. Like how they work and when they are used.
For a left handed individual, what's the predominant function of the left hemisphere and vice versa, in
right handed person, what's right hemisphere?
What's the absolute refractory phase and an action potential?
When a neuron is polarized, which ions are on the outside of the axon and which are on the inside?
Why do researchers use the double blind procedure?
Know all the sleep disorders and be able to determine which is which when given a scenario:
(narcolepsy, sleep apnea, insomnia, night terrors, etc)
Know the nature-nurture issue and be able to determine which is influencing an individual when given a
scenario.
Know everything about REM sleep. What are its benefits? When does it occur? What happens during
REM sleep?
Know the difference between binocular cues and monocular cues. Know all the things you need
binocular cues for and monocular cues for. (Couple of questions about these)
Know all I told you about the Blind spot. Why is it ironic? How does it help us see?
Location of Broca's and Wernike's areas and know what each does.
What's introspection and which early psychological field used this method?
What's the placebo effect?
Which sense does the olfactory bulb impact?
Know what a schema is. Be able to recognize an example of one.
Know what a perceptual set is and be able to recognize an example of one
Know at least one key psychologist from each major contemporary field of psychology
What are sleep spindles and which stage of sleep do they occur?
What are opiates? They mimic which natural bodily chemical?
What is paradoxical sleep?
What is Lucid dreaming?
How does the pineal gland influence sleep?
What happens when you suffer from sleep deprivation?
Know the bell curve and memorize the percentages associated with standard deviations of +1, + 2, +3
and -1, -2, -3 from the mean of a standard distribution of score (or any set of scores really) (unit 2)
In regards to testing, know what reliable, valid and standardized means.
Be able to identify structures of the brain, neuron, eye and ear, given a diagram.