2012 FRQ

1. 2012 FRQ

2. General tips • The FRQ is 1/3 of your AP Psych exam grade. • No need for an intro or conclusion paragraph. • Always read the directions and the prompt, but when in doubt, define and apply for each term. • Don’t freak when you see a word you don’t know. Just do the best you can and move on. • Write in complete sentences. Short paragraphs are fine.

3. First essay part 1 of 2 A. Annabelle is planning to apply to college but has not yet decided where she will apply. Describe how the following psychological concepts and terms relate to her choice. • Availability heuristic • Compliance • Prefrontal cortex • Prospective memory

4. Availability heuristic First, think about what is the availability heuristic.

5. How does this apply to Annabel’s decision? “Annabelle hears an ad for State U. When it’s time to decide on a college, State U will be the first one she thinks of.” You would need to include a phrase similar to “comes to mind easily” Don’t talk about yourself or hypotheticals! Talk about Annabel!

6. Score “Annabelle hears an ad for State U. When it’s time to decide on a college, State U will be the first one she thinks of.” Do not score “She went there because her brother went there.”

7. Compliance Remember! Talk about Annabel! How would compliance affect her decision on where to attend college? Notes • The “request” must either be directly communicated or reasonably inferred by the use of terms such as “encourage,” “want,” or “persuade.” “Advice” or “suggestion” will not score. • References to conformity or a simple mention of “peer pressure” will not score, as they imply a change in behavior owing to implicit group pressure, not a direct request.

8. Score “Annabelle’s parents tell her to go to State U, so she goes there.” Do not score “Annabelle thinks her friends want her to go to State U, so she goes there.” “I am going to apply to State U because everyone else is.”

9. Prefrontal cortex Students must go beyond mentioning “decision” or “choice,” as these terms are part of the question. They must provide an explanation of how the prefrontal cortex helps Annabelle choose a school or decide where to apply. Don’t parrot the question!

10. Examples Score “Annabelle’s prefrontal cortex allows her to think about college choices.” Does not score “Annabelle’s prefrontal cortex would help her decide about college.” (Although, this is a true statement, it just parrots the question.)

11. Prospective memory Sometimes you will see a term that you have never heard of. Don’t freak out! Just do the best you can and move on. Prospective memory deals with remembering a specific task you have to do in the future. Scores: “Annabelle remembers to mail her college applications by the due date.” Does not score “Annabelle imagines herself at each college to help her decide if she would like it there.” “When Annabelle sees her friend signing up for the SAT, she decides to sign up for the SAT.”

12. Part 2 of the first essay. B. Explain how the following psychological concepts could relate to how well Annabelle adapts when she begins her college career. • Agoraphobia • Crystallized intelligence • Ethnocentrism Now, Annabel is already in college but has to adapt!

13. Agoraphobia Once you remember what is agoraphobia, you must apply it to Annabel’s adapting to college. Scores “Annabelle becomes very anxious in crowds, so she doesn’t go to her classes.” Does not score “Annabelle has a fear of public places so she doesn’t adapt well.”

14. Crystalized Intelligence To earn this point students must explain how Annabelle’s acquired skills, knowledge, or experiences (wisdom) relate to how she adapts to college life. Do not score “fluid intelligence” or references to “high IQ,” as intelligence test scores include both crystallized and fluid intelligence. • References to mental set and functional fixedness do not score

15. Score “Annabelle’s knowledge allows her to do well on tests.” “What Annabelle learns in her college introductory psychology class helps her make friends.” Do not score “Because Annabelle’s crystallized intelligence will increase, she will do better in her classes.”

16. Ethnocentrism To earn this point students must demonstrate how Annabelle’s belief that her own ethnic group is superior to others impacts her ability to adapt to college life OR that Annabelle’s understanding, appreciation, or increasing knowledge of different ethnic groups impacts her ability to adapt to college life. Note: Responses must include a reference to ethnicity. Terms such as “culture,” “ethnicities,” “language,” “religion,” “nationality,” or “races” can also be used for “ethnic group.”

17. Score “Annabelle meets students from different cultures but doesn’t think they are as smart as people from her culture, so she doesn’t study with them.” “Because Annabelle is exposed to so many different ethnic groups at school, she becomes less ethnocentric and interacts more with other students.”

18. Do not score • “Annabelle believes that her group is best so it stops her from meeting new people.” Why does this not score? Because this answer does not relate to adapting to college. It might score if it adds the phrase, “. . .thus she would study with fewer people and this could hurt her grades.”

19. Essay 2

20. Essay 2 For each of the following pairs of terms, explain how the placement or location of the first influences the process indicated by the second. • Rods, peripheral vision • A list of unrelated words, word recall • Serotonin, reduction of depression • Retinal disparity, depth perception • Motor cortex, body movement • Presence of others, performance • Proximity, perception Read the prompt several times if you have to.

21. Rods, peripheral vision How does the placement of rods affect peripheral vision?

22. Notes • Students must specify the placement of rods in the eye. They may not simply say rods are “in the periphery” without referring to the periphery of the eye or retina. • Students must use the term “peripheral vision” or describe peripheral vision (e.g.,“outer edges of the visual field”). It is not enough merely to say that rods allow us to detect movement and form or to see in dim light or in black and white, because the question specifies peripheral vision.

23. Score “Rods on the side of the eye produce peripheral vision.” Do not score “Rods on the edge of the pupil allow for peripheral vision.”(Rods are not located in the pupil.)

24. A list of unrelated words, word recall Score “The serial-position effect is demonstrated when people remember words at the beginning of the list.” Do not score “Unrelated words can’t be recalled.”(No cognitive manipulation is explained.)

25. Serotonin, reduction of depression Increased serotonin in the brain (any part of the brain, even if inaccurate) or in neuron-related locations (synapses, receptors, neurons, neural pathways, or the nervous system) reduces depression. • Students must indicate that the increase of serotonin reduces depression. • Must say serotonin is “in the brain”

26. Examples Score “More brain serotonin leads to less depression.” Do not score “More serotonin in the body reduces depression.”(No acceptable location has been identified.)

27. Retinal disparity, depth perception Any of the following are acceptable responses: A. Each eye sees a slightly different view, which facilitates perception of depth, distance, or three dimensions. B. Location/separation of the two eyes (or retinas) facilitates depth perception. C. Two slightly different images of an object facilitate depth perception. D. Retinal disparity provides a binocular cue that facilitates depth perception.

28. Score “Distance between the eyes creates two different images needed for good depth perception.” Do not score “Retinal disparity, which helps depth perception, occurs in the brain.”(The response does not refer to the eye.)

29. Motor cortex, body movement A. The motor cortex is in the frontal lobe and controls movement. B. Adjacent parts of the brain can compensate for damage in the motor cortex, allowing body movement (plasticity). C. The brain (or any part of the brain) corresponds to specific areas of the body. A link can be established by one of the following: i. A “map” of the body (or homunculus) represented in the brain. ii. Crossing over to the opposite side (contralateral control). Note for options C and D: Students MUST identify the motor cortex as a brain area. The use of “motor cortex” alone repeats a term from the question without offering a location.

30. Score “The motor cortex in the brain controls the leg.” Do not score “The motor cortex is what allows the body to move.”(The brain —or specific brain area other than the motor cortex —has not been mentioned.)

31. Presence of others, performance Students must name and accurately describe a psychological concept tied to how the presence of others can affect performance. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: • Social facilitation • Social loafing • Bystander effect • Conformity Note: Students must clearly connect the psychological concept to the presence of others.

32. Score “Social loafing affects performance. Leah works hard on a project when she has to do it herself, but if she’s involved in a group project, she lets the others do most of the work.” Do not score “The presence of others can increase performance if the task is easy, but the presence of others may damage performance if the task is difficult.” (This response does not name a psychological concept.)

33. Proximity, perception Students must indicate an understanding of proximity and its impact on a specific perceptual process. Pathways include the following: A. Near versus far objects, people, or sounds affect perception of a specific quality of objects, people, or sounds. B. When objects, people, or sounds are close to each other, we perceive a whole (Gestalt). C. People or objects in close proximity to the observer are perceived more positively over time (mere exposure).

34. Score “When you look at a bunch of trees, the ones that are smaller and blurrier will seem to be farther from you.” “If you see the same person over and over again, like in your class, after a while you start to like them.” Do not score “If objects have proximity, it affects perception.” (An understanding of proximity is not indicated.)