2011 AP PSYCHOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION SAMPLE/ Remember our format- TDA (Term, Define, Analysis)

1. A researcher designs a study to investigate the effect of feedback on perception of incomplete visual figures. Each
participant stares at the center of a screen while the researcher briefly projects incomplete geometric figures one at a
time at random positions on the screen. The participant’s task is to identify each incomplete figure. One group of
participants receives feedback on the accuracy of their responses. A second group does not. The researcher compares
the mean number of figures correctly identified by the two groups.

A. Identify the independent and dependent variables in the study. The independent variable is the experimental factor
that is manipulated, the variable whose effect is being studied. Dependent variable- the experimental factor that may
change in response to manipulations of the independent variable, in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental
process. The IV (Time Spent Studying) causes a change in DV (Test Score) and it isn't possible that DV (Test Score) could
cause a change in IV (Time Spent Studying).

B. Identify the role of each of the following psychological terms in the context of the research.

• Foveal vision- the fovea is a part of the eye, located in the center of the macula region of the retina. The fovea is
responsible for sharp central vision (also called foveal vision), which is necessary in humans for reading, watching
television or movies, driving, and any activity where visual detail is of primary importance. It is different from peripheral
vision which would be very blurry…

•Feature detectors- the feature detectors are neurons in the visual cortex that receive visual information and respond to
certain features such as lines, angles, movements, etc. When visual information changes, the feature detector neurons
will quiet down, to be replaced with other more responsive neurons.

• Gestalt principle of closure-

The principle of closure applies when we tend to see complete

figures even when part of the information is missing. We see
three black circles covered by a white triangle, even though it
could just as easily be three incomplete circles joined together.
Our minds react to patterns that are familiar, even though we
often receive incomplete information. It is speculated this is a
survival instinct, allowing us to complete the form of a predator
even with incomplete information.

C. Describe how each of the following terms relates to the conclusions that can be drawn based on the research.

• Random assignment- assigning subjects to experimental and control conditions by chance and minimizes pre-existing
differences between those assigned to the different groups. Random assignment might involve such tactics as flipping a
coin, drawing names out of a hat or assigning random numbers to participants.

• Statistical significance- a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance. When a
statistic is significant, it simply means that you are very sure that the statistic is reliable. Ex. Give an IQ test to 1,000
males and females. Males score 100 and females score 98. When you have a large sample size, very small differences
will be detected as significant. This means that you are very sure that the difference is real (i.e., it didn't happen by
fluke). It doesn't mean that the difference is large or important. If we had only given the IQ test to 25 people instead of
1,000, the two-point difference between males and females would not have been significant
2. Savannah is a junior in high school and is preparing for an exam in her beginning Japanese course. The exam will
consist of both written and spoken portions. Although it is her first course in Japanese, Savannah is confident that she
will do very well on the exam.

A. Describe how each of the following relates to Savannah’s successful learning and performance. TDA

• Broca’s area- left frontal lobe, directs muscle movements involved in speech, damage= struggle to speak words while
still being able to sing familiar songs and comprehend speech.

• Use of phonemes- need three building blocks: phonemes (b,a,t), morphemes (un,desir,able,s), grammar (semantics,
syntax)

•Modeling- process of observing and imitating a specific behavior, monkey see, monkey do, memes- one person copying
another

•Chunking- more easily recall information when we can organize it into meaningful parts (form of organization)

B. Describe how each of the following may hinder Savannah as she prepares for and takes the exam. TDA

•Encoding failure- we can’t remember what we fail to encode. Penny example, what letters correspond with number 5
on the phone, must encode to get it from working short term memory to long term memory, leads to forgetting

•Age and language acquisition- age can effect encoding efficiency, less responsive among older adults, older people
recall less but can remember as well, Skinner says we learn language through association, imitation and reinforcement,
Chomsky says we are biologically predisposed to learn but childhood is the critical period to learn

C. After the exam, Savannah tells her family and friends that she believes that she spoke fluently and did extremely well
on the exam. Describe how each of the following concepts may have influenced her opinion. TDA

• Self-efficacy- corresponding to a person's belief in their own competence, It has been defined as the belief that one is
capable of performing in a certain manner to attain certain goals, One's sense of self-efficacy can play a major role in
how one approaches goals, tasks, and challenges. The concept of self-efficacy lies at the center of Bandura’s social
cognitive theory, which emphasizes the role of observational learning

• Confirmation bias- Confirmation bias (also called confirmatory bias or myside bias) is a tendency for people to favor
information that confirms their preconceptions or hypotheses regardless of whether the information is true. As a result,
people gather evidence and recall information from memory selectively, and interpret it in a biased way. Wishful
thinking, can lead to overconfidence.

Free Response Words of Wisdom/ Remember our format- TDA (Term, Define, Analysis)

 Thou shalt not write an introductory paragraph or concluding paragraph or statements!

 Thou shalt not be overly concerned with grammar, spelling, etc. it is not graded: psychological knowledge is.
 Thou shalt always write in paragraph format; listing is neither accepted nor appropriate.
 Thou shalt write in black ink. Therefore scratching out misinformation is fully acceptable!
 If thou findeth contradictions in your free response, leave it—only the correct information will be scored!
 Thou shalt write legibly. If your essay happens to be graded at the end of the day, your free response may not
get as correct of reading!
 Thou shalt not use the ‘root’ word when asked to define a term within your definition. (i.e. “repression is when
you repress memories”)