AP Psychology Exam Review Flashcards

Key terms and concepts from the AP Psychology curriculum review.

Cerebral Cortex

Responsible for higher-order brain functions.

Limbic System

Deals with processing emotions, memories, and motivation.

Brain Stem

Connects the brain with the spinal cord.

Basal Ganglia

Important for motor control, learning, and decision-making.

Thalamus

Relay station for sensory and motor information.

Hypothalamus

Regulates many of the body's major functions and homeostasis.

Dendrites

Receives signals in a neuron.

Soma

Contains the cell body of a neuron.

Axon

Carries signals away from the neuron's cell body.

Myelin

Fatty insulation that speeds up signal transmission in a neuron.

Neurotransmitters

Signals released at the synapse that bind with other receptors.

Action Potential

Electrical impulse that travels down a neuron.

Dopamine

Deals with pleasure, reward, and motor control.

Serotonin

Affects mood, sleep, appetite, and emotions.

Norepinephrine

Helps with control, alertness, and arousal.

GABA

The brain's main inhibitory neurotransmitter: calms and controls anxiety.

Central Nervous System

The brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System

Nerves outside the central nervous system.

Somatic Nervous System

Deals with voluntary movements.

Autonomic Nervous System

Deals with involuntary movements.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Natural response associated with fight or flight.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Maintains homeostasis and balance.

Hormones

Chemical messengers released by the endocrine system.

Cortisol

Related to stress.

Testosterone

Linked to aggression.

Estrogen

Female sex hormone.

Melatonin

Regulates the sleep-wake cycle.

Cognition

Everything from knowing, thinking, remembering, to communicating.

Central Executive

Deals with attention control.

Phonological Loop

Handles verbal information.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Deals with visual and spatial information.

Episodic Buffer

Integrates various sources of information.

Vygotsky

Dealt with social interaction and the role of culture in cognitive development.

Chomsky

Innate language acquisition device.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Language influences thought and perception.

Sternberg's triarchic theory

Analytical, creative, and practical intelligence.

Divergent thinking

Ability to generate multiple unique solutions to a problem.

Convergent thinking

Ability to focus on the single best solution to a problem.

Zone of proximal development

Use of scaffolding and support through social interaction.

Sensory motor stage

Object permanence and basic problem-solving skills.

Pre-operational stage

Emergence of egocentrism, animism, and symbolic thinking.

Concrete operational stage

Logical thinking and conservation.

Formal operational stage

Abstract thinking and incorporating different viewpoints.

Bandura's doll experiment

Emphasizing the critical role of observation.

Attachment theory

Focuses on trust, comfort, and exploratory behavior.

Preconventional morality

Self-interest and avoiding punishment.

Conventional morality

Based more on social norms and laws.

Postconventional morality

Guided by abstract and universal ethical principles.

Phonology

Deals with sounds.

Morphology

Word structure.

Syntax

Grammar.

Semantics

Meaning.

Pragmatics

Language use in different social contexts.

Classical conditioning

Learning associations with a neutral stimulus and a reflexive response.

Social psychology

Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors impacted by the presence of others.

Attribution theory

Explains how we attribute the causes of behavior.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Handling psychological discomfort when faced with conflicting thoughts.

Fundamental attribution error

Overestimates dispositional factors and underestimates situational factors.

Schemas

Organizes and interprets information, impacting our perception.

Heuristics

Our mind creates mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making.

Primacy effect

More likely to remember information that is presented first.

Groupthink

Desire for consensus that overrides critical thinking.

Personality

Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

General adaptation syndrome

Alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.