The Top Ten or so Concepts Most Frequently

The Top Ten (or so) Concepts Most Frequently Confused by Students of Psychology

10. Fundamental Attribution Error vs. Actor-Observer Bias

Fundamental Attribution Error Tendency to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional or internal causes Sometimes behavior can be explained by enduring personality traits but not always.

Actor Observer Bias (or effect) The likelihood to attribute others behavior to dispositional or internal causes while attributing our own behavior to external or situational causes. You are in the situation!

Actor Observer Bias (or effect) Often occurs when something negative happens.

Self-Serving Bias Tendency to attribute your own successes to personal factors and your own failures to situational ones. People serve themselves by making themselves look good.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy This is how our feelings about others can shape the behavior of others. Labeling students create selffulfilling prophecies

False Consensus Effect Tendency of people to overemphasize the number of other people that agree with them.

False Consensus Effect If Tanya dislikes rap music she is likely to think most others also do. Martin who loves Star Wars may overestimate the enthusiasm of others for Star War

9. Population v. Sample (usually on AP exam)

Population: defined by the objective of the research study. ALL Possible Participants

Population If the study intended to answer the question of how voting activity related to civic involvement the population would be all of those over the age of 18.

Population Each person in the population should have an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study.

Sample: Because it is not usually possible to test or survey ALL members of a population researchers seek a smaller amount that is a representative sample of the population

Sample: Sample members should have random assignment to either the control and experimental groups.

Sample: This can be achieved by using a random number table. Each participant in the study has an equal chance of being placed in either the experimental or control group.

Population v. Sample Population: All the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study. Random Sample: A sample of individuals that fairly represents a population

8. Sleep Stages

Sleep Stages The stages of sleep in order occur 1 (sleep onset), 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM, 2, 3,

Beta Alpha Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 3 Stage 2 REM Awake. . but resting Theta waves Sleep Spindles Delta- night tremors, sleep walking Delta Spindles Dreams occur

7. Negative Reinforcement v. Punishment (part of free response often)

Negative Reinforcement v. Punishment Negative Reinforcement: increases a behavior by taking away something bad.

Negative Reinforcement v. Punishment Ex. Negative Reinforcement: OCD patients wash their hands because it decreases their level of anxiety. Because the anxiety goes away, they are more likely to wash their hands again and again.

Negative Reinforcement v. Punishment: seeks to decrease the likelihood of a behavior by either adding something bad (positive punishment) or taking away something good (negative punishment).

6. Availability v. Representative Heuristic (’ 06 FRQ & has been a FRQ a total of 3 times)

Availability Heuristic: Judging how likely a certain event is to happen, based on how easily information regarding this topic is available.

Availability Heuristic: After seeing a horror film, they believe they are in danger alone in a dark house when in reality they are in the same danger as they were before they watched the film.

Representative Heuristic: A mental shortcut in which one thinks of the best example of a given category, which often leads to stereotyping.

Representative Heuristic: Ex. When people think of librarians they often think of middle age women with glasses and hair in buns, because that is what they believe represents the majority of librarians, even if this is not true.

5. Proactive v. Retroactive Interference

Proactive Interference (Negative Transfer) Old learning interferes with new learning. P represents Present – the person cannot do the task at hand (because of old info)

Retroactive Interference: Old information is forgotten because new info is in the way. If you are assigned a new locker this year, you will likely forget their locker combination from the previous year. New info interferes with old. “Retro” = old stuff - cant remember the retro

4. Retrograde v. Anterograde Amnesia

Retrograde Amnesia Old memories are forgotten while recent memories are recalled.

Retrograde Amnesia Inability to remember events that occurred before the incidence of trauma or the onset of the disease that caused the amnesia

Retrograde Amnesia Think of “ograde” as can’t remember In this case…. “cant remember the retro (old)

Retrograde Amnesia ** A Gymnast that sustains a serious head injury may not remember the three, seven or all years prior to fall. Bourne Identity

Anterograde Amnesia Cannot lay down any new memories but old memories are intact. Inability to remember ongoing events after (antero) the incidence of trauma or the onset of the disease that caused the amnesia

Anterograde Amnesia st 1 50 Dates Antero: means after “Can’t remember the Antero (after)

3. Kohlberg v. Piaget Stages

Kohlberg = Moral Development K. C. and the Conventional Society K= Kohlberg C= Conventional Preconventional Morality (Pre- society) Conventional Morality (Society morality) Post Conventional Morality (Post society morality)

Kohlberg = Moral Development Preconventional Avoid Punishment Gain Reward Conventional Approval Seeking (Good boy / Good Girl) Law and Order Authority Post Conventional Social Order Universal Ethics

Piaget = Cognitive Development Sensorimotor no object permanence Preoperational egocentric & cannot conserve

Piaget = Cognitive Development Concrete Operational Can conserve Formal Operational Capable of abstract thought

2. DID v. Schizophrenia (2007 Free Response)

Dissociative Identity Disorder Type of Dissociative Disorder in which part of one’s personality separates from the rest of the individual. However, some part of the individual is in touch with reality at all times.

Dissociative Identity Disorder Key symptom is amnesia. Personalities can be of different ages and genders. This disorder is associated with traumatic abuse.

Schizophrenia Classified by a loss of touch with reality. Various types of schizophrenia with different degrees of positive and negative symptoms.

Schizophrenia Positive symptoms include poor reality testing, hallucinations, and delusions. Negative symptoms include loss of affect or inappropriate affect.

1. IV v. DV

Hypothesis A prediction about an experiment or study worded as If … Then

IV v. DV. The IV is the If & the DV is then

Independent Variable (IV) In an experiment the factor that is being studied and manipulated. The “If” of the hypothesis Examples:

Dependent Variable (DV) In an experiment the factor that may changes as a result of manipulations of the IV. “This is what you get” The “Then” of the hypothesis

Bonus. Hallucination v. Delusion Obsession v. Compulsion

Hallucination v. Delusion Hallucination: a false sensory experience (sight, sound, feel, etc. ) Delusion: a false belief

Obsession v. Compulsion Obsession: the cognition or thought that causes anxiety in an OCD patient Compulsion: the action or behavior that the OCD patient does to relieve anxiety

0. Psychology is FUN!