AP Psychology Perspectives

Biological/Neuroscience

Interaction between physical bases- brain, nervous system, endocrine system, immune system- and human behavior

Behavioral Genetics

How genes and environment influence our behavior

Cross-Cultural (Sociocultural)

Focus on how thinking and behavior are affected by cultural and environmental factors such as poverty or environmental setting

Evolutionary

How natural selection, the innate necessary characteristics passed from generation to generation that enable survival and can affect psychological processes

Psychodynamic

Importance of unconscious influences, early life experiences affecting the unconscious conflicts and motivations, known as psychoanalysis

Behavioral

Focus on observable behavior through observation and measurement. Studies how behavior develops and how it could be modified through behavioral techniques such as reinforcement and punishment

Humanistic

Importance of the self-concept and how the self-concept develops through free will, self-determination and reaching one's potential

Cognitive

Importance of mental processes that include thinking, language development, problem-solving strategies, and memory