AP Psychology Vocabulary Review

These flashcards cover key vocabulary from AP Psychology, providing definitions for important terms that are essential for understanding psychological concepts and preparing for the exam.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A neurotransmitter that plays a role in memory and movement; low levels are correlated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Accommodation

Changing our current understandings (schemas) or creating new schemas to incorporate new information.

Achievement tests

Tests designed to assess what a person has already learned.

Action potential

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Active listening

Empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies; a feature of Carl Rogers’ client-centered therapy.

Adaptation-level phenomenon

Our tendency to form judgments relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.

Addiction

Compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences.

Adolescence

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

Altruism

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Amnesia

Loss of memory.

Amygdala

Two lima bean-sized parts of the brain in the limbic system, linked to emotion (fear and aggression).

Antidepressant drugs

Drugs used to treat depression; increasingly prescribed for anxiety.

Anxiety disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety.

Aphasia

Impairment of language.

Applied research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A psychological disorder marked by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

Attribution Theory

Theory that we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition.

Autism

A disorder that appears in childhood, marked by deficient communication and social interaction.

Behavior therapy

Therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors.

Belief perseverance

Clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.