Review for Midterm Part 1: Confusing Pairs

Here are some terms that sound alike but mean different things. Review them! More to come :)

AP PSYCHOLOGY EXAM REVIEW SHEET: "Confusing Pairs"

Independent Variable (What is tested) vs. Dependent Variable (What is measured)
(Ex: Recess to test attention span; recess is independent, attention span is dependent)

Random selection (of subjects for a study) vs. Random Assignment (of subjects to experimental or control groups in a study)

Experimental Group (group that is tested) vs. Control Group (compared to the experimental, i.e. receives the placebo in a drug experiment.)

Left Brain (Language and Logic) vs. Right Brain (Creative and Spatial)

Corpus Callosum (divides the brain) vs. Cerebral Cortex (covers the brain)

Sympathetic Nervous System ("flight-or-fight") vs. Parasympathetic (calming)

Neurotransmitters (in the nervous system) vs. Hormones (in the endocrine system)

Broca's Area (makes words) vs. Wernicke’s Area (comprehends words)

Identical Twins (Same fertilized egg) vs. Fraternal Twins (Two separate eggs)

Afferent Neurons (Sensory, body to the brain) vs. Efferent Neurons Motor, brain to the body)

Assimilation (All four-legged animals are "doggies") vs. Accommodation ("Doggies are different than "Kitties")

Concrete Operations (logical thinking) vs. Formal Operations (Philosophical thinking)

Sensation (Bottom-up Processing) vs. Perception (Top-Down Processing)

Rods (night vision) vs. Cones (color vision)

Classical Conditioning (Involuntary) vs. Operant Conditioning (Voluntary)

Positive Reinforcement (any reward following a desirable behavior that increases the behavior) vs. Negative Reinforcement (ending “time-out” for bad behavior in playtime increases good behavior in playtime)

Primacy Effect (first items remembered) vs. Recency Effect (last items remembered)

Proactive Interference (loss of the new info) vs. Retroactive Interference (loss of the old info)

Implicit Memory (nondeclarative; skills) vs. Explicit Memory (declarative, facts)

Recall Memory (no cues/fill-in) vs. Recognition Memory (Some hints/multiple choice, matching)