AP Psychology Mega Set: Units 0–5 (568 Terms)

This is a comprehensive flashcard set covering every key term from AP Psychology Units 0–5, including research methods, brain anatomy, sensation & perception, learning, memory, cognition, motivation, emotion, and mental health. Perfect for full-course review, final exam prep, or AP test practice.

Group Polarization

When people are in groups, they tend to make more extreme decisions than they would individually. For example, a person might not want to go skydiving, but in a group, they may agree due to peer pressure.

Self-Serving Bias

A mental shortcut where someone credits their success to themselves but blames failure on others. For instance, if your team loses a game, you might blame your teammates instead of your own performance.

Activation-Synthesis

The idea that dreams are the brain's way of making sense of random neural activity. Like dreaming about flying because your brain is organizing random signals.

Circadian Rhythm

The body's internal clock that regulates sleep and wake cycles over 24 hours. You feel sleepy at night because your circadian rhythm signals bedtime.

Consciousness

Being aware of yourself and your surroundings. You're conscious when you're paying attention in class.

Consolidation Theory

Sleep strengthens and organizes memories. After studying for a test, sleeping helps lock in the information.

Dream

A series of thoughts, images, and emotions that happen while sleeping. You dream about exploring planets in space.

Hypnagogic Sensations

Strange sensations like falling that occur right before sleep. You feel like you're falling and jolt awake.

Insomnia

Trouble falling or staying asleep. You're in bed but can't fall asleep for hours.

Jet Lag

Sleep disruption after quickly traveling across time zones. You fly to China and can't stay awake during the day because your body is used to U.S. time.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder with sudden sleep attacks. You fall asleep in the middle of a conversation without warning.

NREM

Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep, a restful phase without dreams. You're in deep sleep but not dreaming.

REM Behavior Disorder

A disorder where people physically act out their dreams. You dream of running and your legs move in your sleep.

REM Rebound

An increase in REM sleep after not getting enough. After a sleep-deprived week, you finally rest and have a lot of dreams.

REM Sleep

A sleep stage with rapid eye movement and vivid dreaming. Your eyes move rapidly while dreaming during sleep.

Shift Work

Working hours outside of the typical 9-to-5, which disrupts sleep. You work a night shift and struggle to sleep during the day.

Sleep

A natural and recurring loss of consciousness. You don't notice anything at 3 AM because you're asleep.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder where breathing stops and starts repeatedly. You wake up tired because you stop breathing at night.

Sleep Hygiene

Habits and practices that improve sleep quality. You avoid using your phone before bed to sleep better.

Sleep Spindles

Sudden bursts of brain activity during NREM sleep. While lightly sleeping, your brain has quick activity spikes.

Somnambulism

Walking during sleep, also known as sleepwalking. You walk around your house without waking up.

Sensory Adaptation

Decreased sensitivity to a stimulus over time. You wear a shirt all day but stop noticing its feel.

Sensory Interaction

One sense can affect another. Food tastes bad because it smells horrible.

Synesthesia

When stimulation of one sense leads to experiences in another. You hear a sad song and start seeing dull colors.

Transduction

Converting physical energy into neural signals. Sound waves turn into music in your brain.

Wavelength

The distance between wave peaks in light or sound. You see different colors in a crayon box due to varying wavelengths.

Weber's Law

You notice a change in stimulus only if there's a minimum difference. You barely notice the difference between two similar colors.

Accommodation

The eye's ability to adjust focus between near and far objects. You look at your finger, then a faraway car.

Afterimages

Optical illusions from looking at something then looking away.

Afterimages

Optical illusions from looking at something then looking away. You look at a light, then still see it after it's off.

Blind Spot

The part of your eye where the optic nerve leaves, with no receptors. You miss seeing an object if it lands on this spot.

Cones

Eye cells that detect color and work best in bright light. You see a colorful house on a sunny day using cones.

Dichromatism

A color deficiency where only two colors are seen. You can't tell red from green due to dichromatism.

Farsightedness

Difficulty seeing close objects because the eyeball is too short. You hold a book far from your face to read.

Ganglion Cells

Retinal neurons that send visual data to the brain. You recognize your friend thanks to ganglion cells.

Lens

A clear eye structure that focuses light on the retina. You can clearly see a nearby box because of your lens.

Monochromatism

Seeing only one color, usually shades of gray. You don't see color at all.

Nearsightedness

Difficulty seeing distant objects due to a longer eyeball. You sit close to the board in class to see it.

Opponent-Process Theory

A theory where color vision is based on opposing colors. You look at yellow, then see blue after turning away.

Optic Nerve

Carries visual signals from the eye to the brain. You see a bottle and your optic nerve sends that info to your brain.

Photoreceptors

Light-detecting cells in the retina. You see because photoreceptors turn light into signals.

Prosopagnosia

Inability to recognize faces. You can't tell your friends apart due to this condition.

Retina

The back of the eye where visual information is processed. You see things clearly because your retina sends info to your brain.

Rods

Eye cells for low-light and peripheral vision. You spot an owl at night using your rods.

Trichromatic Theory

Theory that we see colors through red, green, and blue cones. All colors come from combinations of these three.

Audition

The sense of hearing. You hear your teacher during a lecture.

Basilar Membrane

Vibrates in the cochlea based on sound waves. You hear pitch changes in a song due to this.

Cochlea

Inner ear organ that turns sound into neural signals. Music becomes signals your brain can understand.

Conduction

Sound travel through the outer/middle ear to the inner ear. Sound is muffled when water is in your ear.

Frequency

Number of wave cycles per second; relates to pitch. Flutes sound higher than trombones due to more cycles.

Frequency Theory

Neural impulses match the frequency of a sound. Low-pitched notes are processed at the same rate they hit your ear.

Inner Ear

Contains the cochlea and balance structures. You hear and stay balanced thanks to this part.

Middle Ear

Space with tiny bones that carry sound to the inner ear. It amplifies sounds you hear.

Pitch Theory

Pitch is heard based on where the cochlea is stimulated. High notes hit different cochlear areas than low notes.

Place Theory

Different sound frequencies stimulate different cochlear areas. You hear pitch based on where the vibration occurs.

Semicircular Canals

Help control balance and spatial awareness. You spin and don't fall due to these canals.

Sensorineural Deafness

Hearing loss from inner ear or nerve damage. You can't hear well after loud music damages your ear.

Sound Localization

Ability to detect where a sound is coming from. You hear your name and turn toward your friend's voice.

Volley Theory

Neurons take turns firing to process high-speed sound. Your brain hears fast beats by having neurons fire in groups.

Gate Control Theory

Pain is controlled by a "gate" in the spinal cord. You blow on a scraped knee to reduce pain.

Gustation

The sense of taste. You enjoy a slice of pizza because of gustation.

Olfactory System

Controls the sense of smell. You smell food cooking thanks to your olfactory system.

Phantom Limb

Feeling sensations in an amputated limb. You feel an itch in your missing arm.

Pheromones

Chemical signals sent to influence others of the same species.

Pheromones

Chemical signals sent to influence others of the same species. Animals release them to warn others of danger.

Kinesthesis

Sense of body part movement and position. You raise your leg without looking, knowing where it is.

Oleogustus

Taste of fat, considered a basic taste. You recognize the flavor of butter because of oleogustus.

Supertasters

People with more taste buds and stronger taste sensitivity. You dislike coffee because it's too bitter.

Taste Receptors

Cells on the tongue that detect different tastes. You enjoy a sweet treat because of these receptors.

Vestibular Sense

Helps with balance and body position. You walk a balance beam and stay upright using this sense.

Warm/Cold Receptors

Skin receptors that detect temperature. You feel hot after touching a warm plate, and cold from freezer air.

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to make sense of the world.

Attention

The act of focusing on one specific stimulus while ignoring others.

Binocular vs Monocular Depth Cues

Binocular cues use both eyes to judge depth (like convergence), while monocular cues rely on one eye and include things like texture gradient or relative size.

Bottom-Up vs Top-Down Processing

Bottom-up starts with sensory input and builds perception; top-down uses existing knowledge or expectations to interpret sensory info.

Change Blindness

Failing to notice visual changes in the environment because attention is elsewhere.

Closure

A Gestalt principle where the mind fills in missing parts of an incomplete image or shape.

Convergence

A binocular cue for depth where eyes turn inward when focusing on close objects.

Gestalt Psychology

A theory emphasizing that we perceive entire forms or wholes, not just parts.

Perceptual Set

A mental tendency to perceive things in a certain way based on expectations or past experiences.

Proximity

A Gestalt principle where objects close together are grouped as part of the same whole.

Relative Clarity vs Relative Size

Relative clarity means clearer images appear closer; relative size means larger-looking objects are perceived as nearer.

Schema

A mental structure that organizes and interprets information based on past experiences.

Selective Attention

Focusing on one particular thing while filtering out others.

Similarity

A Gestalt principle where items that are alike are perceived to belong together.

Texture Gradient

A depth cue where detailed textures appear closer, and smoother textures seem farther away.

Accommodation

Adjusting existing schemas or creating new ones to include new information.

Algorithm

A logical, step-by-step method that always solves a problem if followed correctly.

Assimilation

Fitting new experiences into existing schemas.

Heuristics

Simple thinking shortcuts that allow quick judgments but may be prone to error.

Availability vs Representativeness Heuristic

Availability is judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind; representativeness is judging based on how well something matches a mental prototype.

Convergent vs Divergent Thinking

Convergent thinking seeks one correct answer; divergent thinking generates many possible ideas or solutions.

Executive Functions

Mental skills used to manage, organize, and plan tasks.

Framing

The way information is presented affects decisions and judgments.

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive bias where people only see typical uses for objects, not alternative ones.

Mental Set

The habit of approaching problems using past solutions, even if they don't work now.

Priming

When exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another, often subconsciously.

Prototypes

The best or most typical example of a category.

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

The tendency to continue an endeavor once time or money has been invested, even if it's not worth continuing.

Automatic Processing

Encoding information unconsciously and effortlessly.