AP Psychology Review Discussion Questions

AP Psychology Review Discussion Questions: Extra Credit Opportunity

You may earn up to 10 Bonus points on your midterm exam by completing the following assignment. (The number of points earned will depend on the specificity and accuracy of your responses. Note: Do not submit if all questions have not been answered.) Refer to your notes, the website power points, the textbook and me, if necessary. These are the only resources permitted.)

History and Perspectives ofPsychology

1. Explain briefly the influence of Structuralism and Functionalism in psychology’s early attempts to understand the mind’s structure and function. (We will address this together in class.)

1. Describe briefly the focus of each of the following major perspectives (or fields) of psychology: a) Biological b) Cognitive c) Psychoanalysis d) behaviorism e) evolutionary f) behaviorism g) humanistic h) social (We will review in class.)

1. Explain psychology’s biopsychosocial approach to understanding the individual. Provide onespecific example that illustrates each component, as well as their complementary nature.

Research

1. Identify one major strength and weakness of each type of correlational study below.
2. Case study
3. Survey
4. Naturalistic Observation
5. Identify any three major controls used in an experiment and explain briefly how each is a critical element in eliminating bias.

1. Measures of central tendency (mean, median and mode) are helpful in understanding the patterns of data, but why is the standard deviation considered so critical in evaluating statistics?

1. When, (or under what conditions) in psychological studies, is the data thought to have statistical significance?

Neuroscience

1. Briefly explain the role of phrenology in early psychologists’ attempt to explain the human brain and mental processes. (We will review in class.)

1. Describe briefly the process of neurotransmission using the specific parts of the neuron as the basis of your response. (You may list in noteform.) Briefly summarize its role in regards to human function.

1. Identify the subdivisions of the Peripheral nervous system and briefly explain the role of each. (You may diagram and list roles if you want.)

1. Describe the role of plasticity in the brain and provide one specific example.

1. What insight does parallel processing provide in understanding the complexity of the human brain? Provide one specific example. (Hint: refer to feature detection or memory)

Developmental

1. Provide any two real life examples that demonstrate thedifficulty associated with the nature-nurture debate in understanding the human condition.

1. Summarize briefly the fundamental perspective of the evolutionary psychologist.

1. Analyze briefly the role of maturation in human development and list two specific examples.

1. Summarize Piaget’s contribution to psychology’s understanding of cognitive development.

1. Why is Kohlberg’s theory on moral development considered to be paralleled with Piaget’s cognitive development?

Sensation / Perception

1. Summarize briefly the role of transduction in human sensation. Provide two specific examples.

1. Explain the role of frequency and amplitude of sound and light waves to our 1) vision and 2) hearing.

1. What is Gestalt’s theory of perception and why is it so critical to our perception?

States of Consciousness

1. Summarize briefly how each of the following affects our state of consciousness and provide a specific example for each.

1. Biological rhythm
2. Circadian rhythm
3. Sleep cycle

1. Briefly explain the progression of brain waves in both frequency and amplitude during the sleep cycle.

1. Identify the major sleep disorders and what specific treatments might be used, if necessary.

1. Summarize, from a neurological perspective, how psychoactive drugs affect our state of consciousness. Provide one specific example for each drug classification.

Learning

1. Provide a brief, real life example that demonstrates how 1) classical and 2)operant conditioning affect our lives on any given day. Identify the specific principles that apply to each example.

1. Provide one major strength and one major weakness of Watson and Skinner’s behaviorist argument.