<p>My AP Psych teacher typed up a list of the most commonly confused terms on the exam, so I thought this might help you all out as you review:</p>
<p>“Commonly Confused Terms:”</p>
<p>1) Independent Variable (What is tested) vs. Dependent Variable (What is measured)
2)Experimental Group (Group that is tested) vs. Control Group (Compared to experimental; receives placebo in drug experiment)
3) Left Brain (Language and Logic) vs. Right Brain (Creative and Spatial)
4) Corups Collosum (Divides the brain/connects two hemispheres) vs. Cerebral Cortex (gray film covering the brain)
5) Sympathetic Nervous System (flight-or-fight response) vs. Parasympathetic (calming, as is a parachute)
6) Neurotransmitters (chemical messages in the nervous system) vs. Hormones (neurotransmitters in the endocrine system)
7) Lateral Hypothalamus (Stimulates hunger) vs. Ventromedial Hypothalamus (suppresses hunger)
8) Broca’s Area (Makes words) vs. Wernickes Area (comprehends words)
9) Identical Twins (same fertilized egg) vs. Fraternal Twins (two separate eggs) <– both used extensively in the nature/nurture issue
10) Afferent Neurons (Sensory/body to brain) vs. Efferent Neurons (Motor/brain to body)
11) Assimilation (generalizing a stimulus, such as all four legged animals are cows) vs. Accommodation (discrimating a stimulus; horses and cows are different)
12) Concrete Operations (logical thinking) vs. Formal Operations (philosophical thinking)
13) Rods (Night vision) vs. Cones (color vision)
14) Classical Conditioning (involuntary) vs. Operant Conditioning (Voluntary)
15) Primacy Effect (first items remembered) vs. Recency Effect (last items remembered) –> combine to make Serial Positioning Effect
16) Proactive Interference (loss of new info) vs. Retroactive Interference (loss of old info)
17) Implicit Memory (nondeclarative skills) vs. Explicit Memory (declarative, facts that are semantic)
18) Recall Memory (no cues to remembering) vs. Recognition (some hints as to memory, such as multiple choice test)
19) Algorithms (step by step) vs. Heuristics (rule-of-thumb)
20) Representative Heuristics (stereotypes) vs. Availability Heuristic (Based on available info; planes safer than cars)
21) Phonemes (Basic sound units) vs. Morphemes (Basic units of meaning)
22) Fluid Intelligence (“Brain power”) vs. Crystallized Intelligence (Acquired knowledge over time)
23) Validity (test measures what it should) vs. Reliability (Same scores on retest)
24) Achievement test (What you’ve learned) vs. Aptitude test (what you can potentially do)
25) Intrinsic Motivation (for personal satisfaction) vs. Extrinsic Motivation (for rewards or to avoid punishment)
26) Theory Y (democratic) vs. Theory X (rewards or punishment) <– theories of work ethic in the workplace
27) Internal Locus (we have control) vs. External Locus (the environment controls us)
28) Lithium (treats bipolar disorder) vs. Librium (treats anxiety)
29) Type A Personality (high stress) vs. Type B (laid back; low stress)</p>