The AP Exam

1. The AP Exam Tuesday, May 12, 2009

2. Overview of Course Content I. History and Approaches (2–4%) II. Research Methods (6–8%) III. Biological Bases of Behavior (8–10%) IV. Sensation and Perception (7–9%) V. States of Consciousness (2–4%) VI. Learning (7–9%) VII. Cognition (8–10%) VIII. Motivation and Emotion (7–9%) IX. Developmental Psychology (7–9%) X. Personality (6–8%) XI. Testing and Individual Differences (5–7%) XII. Abnormal Psychology (7–9%) XIII. Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5–7%) XIV. Social Psychology (7–9%)

3. 2006 AP Psychology Scores Four classes of AP Psychology (I taught two and another teacher taught two) 43 students out of 84 students took the AP Psychology Exam Our average was a 3.28 and the national average was a 3.14

4. 2007 AP Psychology Scores Three classes of AP Psychology (Mrs. Smith taught all three) 50 students out of 59 students took the AP Psychology Exam Our average was a 4.12 and the national average was a 3.09

5. 2008 AP Psychology Scores Four classes of AP Psychology (I taught two and another teacher taught two) 83 students out of 96 students took the AP Psychology Exam Our average was a 3.904 and the national average was a 3.13

6. The AP EXAM Tuesday, May 13 (sign ups are usually in March through the Guidance Department) TWO-PART EXAM • 70 minutes to complete 100 multiple choice questions • 50 minutes to complete 2 free response questions

7. The Scoring of the Exam • Multiple Choice counts for 2/3 of your score • Free-Response (FRQ) counts 1/3 of your score

8. Multiple Choice • 100 questions • 70 minutes TIMED • Questions arranged easy to very difficult

9. TIPS for MC portion • Read the question, think about your answer, THEN read the answer choices • Read ALL of the answer choices • Use ACTIVE READING strategies (write on the test!)

10. Should I GUESS? • If you can eliminate a choice from the list, then guess. • Are you penalized for wrong answers, YES—1/4 of a point. You can get 4 wrong before it adds up to a point. • Each question answered correctly is worth 1 point • VOCAB knowledge will assist you in times of doubt—know your vocabulary!

11. So how many points on the MC do I need to get at least a 3? According to Barron’s How to Review for the AP Psychology Exam, you would need to get about 60 questions on the MC correct and have average essays to get a score of 3. EASY I know you can do much better than that!!!

12. FRQs (THE ESSAYS) • 2 FRQs • 50 minutes to answer both questions • Each question is worth a certain number of POINTS • You can figure out how many points the question is worth by what the question is asking (more later)

13. FRQs • AP Readers (psychology teachers, professors, etc) score your responses • In order to be objective, they utilize a rubric specific to the question you’ve been asked • They are looking for CONTENT knowledge and APPLICATION of this knowledge rather than style of writing

14. TIPS for FRQs • Answer the question in the order it was asked—use the College Board’s implied organization • Answer ALL PARTS of the question. It will help you to underline your use of the terms in the question in your answer. • Don’t ADD EXTRA information—if it doesn’t relate directly to the question, you may be wasting your time and you won’t get any extra points for the information

15. Is there a penalty for incorrect information in a response to a FRQ? • No. (unless you contradict yourself later in the response) • Readers are trained to look for the CORRECT information. They award points based on your CORRECT info.

16. TIPS for FRQs • Use organization of question • Address ALL of parts of a question • Be CLEAR in your answer • Include only information RELEVANT to the question • Underline when you address a term or part of a question • Write legibly • Watch your time (you have 50 minutes for two questions)

17. Sample MC questions The ability to choose specific stimuli to learn about, while filtering out or ignoring other information is called • Selective attention • Subliminal perception • Time-sharing • Masking • shadowing

18. Neurosurgeons cut the corpus callosum in the brain disrupting communication between the right and left hemispheres to Prevent the spread of epileptic seizures Reduce anxiety attacks and phobic reactions Reduce the incidence of violent behaviors Treat schizophrenia Reduce mood swings

19. John B. Watson was a pioneer in which of the following perspectives of psychology? Biological Functionalism Psychoanalytic Structuralism Behaviorism

20. 1995 FRQ 2 Define each of the following concepts and explain how each contributes to the phenomenon of prejudice. • Stereotyping • Self-fulfilling prophecy • Fundamental attribution error • Projection • schema

21. 1995 FRQ 2 Define each of the following concepts andexplain how each contributes to the phenomenon of prejudice. • Stereotyping • Self-fulfilling prophecy • Fundamental attribution error • Projection • schema

22. WHO CAN….???? DIRECTIONS: Find a different person who can help you fill in each box. Put your answers in your notebook and/or on the board.

23. 2002 AP Psychology FRQ Question #2 2. Five-year old Jessie went to a fire station with her kindergarten class. When she got home, Jessie, who is in the preoperational stage of cognitive development, eagerly told the story of her adventure to her older brother. Describe how the following factors might have influenced the story she told. Be sure to define and provide an appropriate example of EACH factor. Egocentrism Observational learning Overregularization overgeneralization in language Reconstructive memory Schema

24. Scoring Guidelines & Sample Responses Scoring Guidelines http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/sg_psych_02_11560.pdf Sample Responses to Q2 from 2002 http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/sample_psych_q2_18305.pdf Scoring Commentary for Q2 from 2002—go to page 3 http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/comment_psych_02_18497.pdf