EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AP PSYCH

AP exam 5/16/25

motivation

process that initiate, direct, and sustain behavior

self determination theory

intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation influence

extrinsic motivation

motivation driven by an external reward or punishment . do something because you get rewarded

intrinsic motivation

motivation driven by internal factors such as enjoyment and satisfaction. doing something simply because you want too.

approach- approach conflicts

conflicts in which you must decide between desirable options. two great choice, which one do you pick

approach-avoidance conflicts

conflicts in which you must decide between options with both desirable and undesirable factors. pro and con lists

avoidance -avoidance conflicts

conflicts in which you must decide between undesirable options. two bad choice and you have to choose one.

instincts

inborn, fixed patterns of behaviors that present in response to certain stimuli and often species-specfic. respond a certain way to survive and reproduce

drive

a state of unrest or irritation that energizes particular behaviors to alleviate it.

primary drives

innate need that are found in all human and animals and are vital to survival, such as the needs for food and water and warmth.

secondary drives

non instinctual. money grades

Homeostasis

a dynamic state of equilibrium maintained by fulfilling drives and regulating internal conditions such as body temperature and blood pressure.

drive-reduction theory

a theory stating that imbalance to your body’s internal environment generate drives that cause you to act in ways that restore homeostasis

arousal theory

a theory stating that individuals are motivated to perform behaviors in order to maintain an optimal arousal level, typically a moderate level.

Yerkes-Dodson law

a moderate level of arousal allows for optimal performance, through this optimal level can vary based on the individual and the nature of the task. easy task=high arousal, hard task=low arousal

incentive theory

a theory of motivation stating that behaviors are motivated by the desire to attain reward and avoid punishments.

need

an internal desire or deficiency that can motivate behavior

obesity

a medical condition characterized by a body mass index greater than 30 and associated with various health problems, such as increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Gherlin/Leptin

controlled by the pituitary glad. Ghreline is a hormone that makes us feel hungry. Leptin is a hormone that makes us feel full. Gherlin=growling. Leptin = not hungry

Anorexia Nervosa

drop 15% below normal weight and still feel as if one is fat. fear of gaining weight. over exercise. starve oneself. 3 out of 4 females/ family history/ personality types. ( norms) socially and culturally driven family hard driven, competitive

Bulimia Nervosa

binge and purge cycle. starve oneself and than eats thousands of calories and than get rid of the food. vomiting/ laxatives. family history/ personality types. triggered by weight loss diet. mental health and substance abuse.

socially and culturally driven.

sexual orientation

a persons identity in relation to the group or gender to which they are attracted; most commonly homosexual, heterosexual, bi, pan, asexual. womens sexuality is more fluid, mens are more straight forward.

emotional

a psychological and physiological response characterized by pleasure, pain, and/or other feelings.

James-Lange theory

a theory stating that emotional responses occur as a result of physiological arousal.

see bear→physiological response( HR)→emotion psych ( scared)

Cannon-Bard theory

a theory stating that physiological arousal and an emotional experience in response to a stimulus occur simultaneously.

see bear →physical changes ( HR), psych emotion ( fear)

Two-factor theory

it states that physiological arousal and proper cognitive labeling of that arousal are necessary for an individual to experience emotions.

see bear< physiological(HR)< emotion fear

cognitive appraisal ( scared)

Appraisal theory of emotion

cognition precedes both physiological arousal and emotional experience. Primary appraisal is the determination of the meaning of the stimulus and secondary appraisal is the determination of the ability to cope with the stimulus.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

emotions are controlled by facial expressions. which would mean physiological experiences occur prior to cognitive appraisal.

Social norms and experiences influence the expression of emotions

some emotions are universal across cultures. the display of emotions may differ across cultures and across various genders, ages, races, and socioeconomic classes.

Peripheral

composed of motor neurons, sensory neurons, effector cells, affector cells,

Affector cells

in your skin

sensory neurons

move to skin to the brain/ S.C

motor neurons

move away from the brain & S.C

what is somatic nervous system composed of

skeletal tissue, motor neurons, connected in muscles, glands and tendons

skeletal tissue

creating movement

Sympathetic

Fight or flight using a lot of energy increase of HR, Respiration, Temp

Parasympathetic

calm, decrease HR and respiration, bladder contracts, digestions acceleration. pupils get smaller.

Reflex arc

affcetor cells, sensory neurons, interneuron, motor neuron, effector cells

interneuron

spinal cord

Medilla

is in charge of heart beat and respiration back of the head connected to the s.c and brain

pons

in charge of respiration.

Redundancy

you have two things doing the same job

RAS R-Reticular A-activation S-system

helps us wake up and fall asleep

Thalamus

sensory relay station

hypothalmus

Reward center ( hunger, thirst, sex) last stop before a behavior.

Cerebellum

for balance, muscle memory, body movement positioning.

lymbic system

emotional center

Amygdala

fear and aggression

hippocampus

memory and emotion

corpus callosum

band of tissues that help our two brain hemispheres to communicate

brocas area

helps us speak in the left frontal lobe

motor cortex

helps us to move

Pre frontal cortext

judgment and decision making

auditory cortex

hearing

Wernickes area

understanding spoken language

Baroca’s aphasia

cant talk

Somatosensory cortex

sense of touch

angular gyrus

converts symbols into words

occpitial lobe

eyes in the back of your head (seeing)

agnosia

inability to recognize objects

assosiation areas

associate memory’s, emotion, decsions

Receptor sites

located on dendrites N.T attach

dendrites

tenticle like structures they contain receptors

cell body/ soma

contains nucleous

axon

thread like, produces electrical activity.

mylein shleath

insulates and speeds up electrical activity

axon terminal

end of the axon it contains vesicles. has terminal buttons

vesicles

contains N.T

neurotransmitters ( N.T)

chemical messages

Senaps

space between neurons look for receptor sites

resting potential

-70

threshold

all or nothing

depolarization

Na+rush in

action potential

electoral charge

Repolarization

K+ out of the axon

refactor period

cannot fire

Which of the following is true of a neuron in the resting state?

The inside of the cell membrane is negative compared to the outside.

brain plasticity

at a young age when your brain inst developed so it can recover and intake knowledge

damage in the werinickes area

aphasia

Acetylcholine

a neurotransmitter, a chemical that carries messages from your brain to your body through nerve cells. It's an excitatory neurotransmitter. This means it “excites” the nerve cell and causes it to “fire off the message. involves with muscle contraction

automatic nervous system

internal activities of the organs, such as food digestion.

antagonist

Curare blocks action at acetylcholine synapses and causes paralysis

Dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine are all

neurotransmitters that excite or inhibit a neural signal across a synapse

When a person is suffering from severe pain, the type of drug that will best help alleviate that pain is

an opiate

multiple sclerosis M.S

Neural messages will travel slowly down the axon, leading to motor impairment.

electroencephalography (EEG)

electrodes attached to scalp

Which of the following findings provides the strongest evidence for the role of heredity in intellectual performance?

Identical twins reared apart have more similar intelligence test scores than do fraternal twins reared together.

endorphins

neurotransmitters released by the pituitary gland and hypothalamus in the brain. As natural hormones, they can alleviate pain, lower stress, improve mood, and enhance your sense of well-being.

Reticular formation

arousal, awake fullness

reuptake

what happens after a signal is transmitted:

temporal

hearing, recognizing faces

pituitary gland

Master gland, controlled by the hypothalamus.

consciousness

an awareness of yourself and your environment

Biological Rhythms

cycles that we go through

circadian rhythms

an biological rhythm that occurs once during a 24 hour period Ex: sleep wake cycle

what results in disrupting your circadian rhythms

Jet lag

Stage 1 of NREM

You’re awake, Alpha waves, hypnogogic sensations

Stage 2 of NREM

fall asleep ( when sleep spindles happen)

Stage 3 of NREM

Deep sleep ( Delta waves)

what happens in REM sleep

dreaming, brain activity, your body is paralyzed.