Barron’s AP Psychology Comprehensive Vocabulary Review

Introduction to AP Psychology and the Barron’s Essential 5

• Psychology is a Science: Psychological researchers transition away from intuition and "common sense" to gather data and test hypotheses using the scientific method. Common sense often yields contradictory ideas, such as "opposites attract" versus "birds of a feather flock together."
• Psychological Perspectives: Modern researchers study mind and behavior through specific frameworks, including humanist, psychodynamic, biopsychology, evolutionary, behavioral, cognitive, social-cultural, and biopsychosocial.
• Conceptual Terminology: Understanding specific, scientific definitions is vital. For example, "antisocial" does not mean shy, but rather callous and unfeeling. "Learning" includes specific phenomena like classical and operant conditioning.
• Application-Based Learning: The AP Psychology exam measures the ability to apply concepts to scenarios rather than rote memorization of definitions.
• Cognitive Principles for Studying:     * Distributed Practice: Spacing study over days or weeks is more effective than "massed practice" (cramming).     * Memory Techniques: Chunking, mnemonic devices, and context cues save time.     * Self-Reference Effect: Personalizing terms to apply them to your own life enhances retention.     * Retrieval Practice: The "testing effect" indicates that frequent self-testing is more effective for recall.

Unit 0: Science Practices - History and Perspectives

• Contemporary Perspectives:     * Humanist Perspective: Theorists Abraham Maslow ($1908-1970$) and Carl Rogers ($1902-1987$) emphasized individual choice and free will. They argued that behaviors are guided by physiological, emotional, or spiritual needs.     * Psychodynamic Perspective: Focuses on the unconscious mind—parts of the mind inaccessible to conscious control. Repression is the process of pushing threatening impulses or memories into the unconscious.     * Biopsychology (Neuroscience) Perspective: Explains thought and behavior in terms of biological processes including genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters.     * Evolutionary (Darwinian) Perspective: Based on Charles Darwin’s ($1809-1882$) theory of natural selection. Traits advantageous for survival are passed to the next generation.     * Behavioral Perspective: Explains behavior through conditioning, focusing strictly on observable responses to stimuli.     * Cognitive Perspective: Focuses on how humans interpret, process, and remember environmental events. Notable for Jean Piaget’s ($1896-1980$) developmental stages.     * Social-Cultural Perspective: Examines how thoughts and behaviors vary across cultures and rules of social interaction.     * Biopsychosocial Perspective: A modern comprehensive view that results from combinations of biological ($bio$), psychological ($psycho$), and social ($social$) factors. This perspective objects to "reductionistic" focuses on single factors.
• Eclectic Point of View: The claim that no single perspective has all the answers; psychologists use various viewpoints depending on the specific situation.

Unit 0: Research Methods and Design

• Cognitive Biases in Research:     * Hindsight Bias: The tendency to believe one "knew it all along" after hearing an outcome.     * Confirmation Bias: Paying attention only to information that supports preexisting beliefs.     * Overconfidence: Overestimating the accuracy of one's beliefs.
• Research Categorization:     * Applied Research: Conducted to solve practical problems (e.g., teaching methods).     * Basic Research: Explores interests of psychologists without immediate real-world applications.     * Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative uses numerical measures; Qualitative uses textual responses and themes.
• Hypotheses and Variables:     * Hypothesis: Expresses a relationship between two variables. It must be falsifiable.     * Independent Variable (IV): The variable manipulated by the researcher to see if it produces a change.     * Dependent Variable (DV): The variable that depends on the change in the independent variable.     * Operational Definitions: Explaining exactly how a variable will be measured (e.g., what counts as "violent behavior").     * Validity and Reliability: Good research must be accurate (valid) and consistent/replicable (reliable).
• Sampling Procedures:     * Population: Everyone who could possibly be selected for a sample.     * Representative Sample: A sample that accurately reflects the larger population.     * Random Sampling: Every member of the population has an equal chance of selection. Often done via computer or table of random numbers.     * Stratified Sampling: Ensuring a sample represents the population on specific criteria (e.g., race) by selecting a random subsample from each racial group proportional to the population.     * Convenience Sampling: Selecting a sample from a group easily accessible to the researcher (e.g., one's own students).
• The Experimental Method:     * Only experiments can show cause and effect by manipulating the IV.     * Laboratory Experiments are controlled; Field Experiments are realistic.     * Confounding Variable: Any difference between the experimental and control conditions (besides the IV) that might affect the DV.     * Random Assignment: Every participant has an equal chance of being in either group. This controls for participant-relevant confounding variables.     * Group Matching: Dividing a sample into groups (e.g., by sex) and then assigning half of each group to each condition to ensure equivalence.     * Experimenter Bias: The unconscious tendency for researchers to treat groups differently to confirm their hypothesis.     * Double-blind Study: Neither participants nor researchers know which condition a participant is in.     * Single-blind Study: Only participants do not know their assigned condition.     * Placebo Method: Giving a control group an inert substance to separate physiological effects from psychological expectations (placebo effect).     * Social Desirability Bias: The tendency to give answers that reflect well on oneself.     * Hawthorne Effect: The observation that selecting a group for an experiment affects their performance regardless of treatment.     * Counterbalancing: Using participants as their own control group to eliminate order effects (doing task A then B vs. B then A).
• Non-Experimental Methods:     * Correlational Method: Expresses a relationship without cause. Positive correlation means one predicts the presence of the other; negative means one predicts the absence of the other.     * Ex Post Facto (Quasi-experimental): Study where the independent variable is predetermined (e.g., being a smoker) and cannot be randomly assigned.     * Survey Method: Uses questionnaires or Likert scales. High risk of low response rates and inability to control participant-relevant variables.     * Directionality Problem: The inability to tell which variable came first (temporal precedence).     * Third Variable/Spurious Correlation: An unknown variable causes changes in both studied variables.     * Naturalistic Observation: Unobtrusive observation in a natural habitat; sacrifices control for realism.     * Case Study: A full, detailed picture of an individual or small group; cannot be generalized.

Unit 0: Statistics and Ethics

• Descriptive Statistics:     * Frequency Distributions: Summarizing data using frequency polygons (line graphs) or histograms (bar graphs).     * Measures of Central Tendency:         * Mean: The numerical average. Susceptible to outliers (extreme scores).         * Median: The middle score in an ordered list.         * Mode: The most frequent score. Distributions with two dominant scores are bimodal.     * Skews: Positive skews have very high outliers (making the mean higher than the median); negative skews have very low outliers (mean lower than median).     * Measures of Variability:         * Range: Highest score minus lowest.         * Variance and Standard Deviation: Relationship of the average distance of scores from the mean ($SD = \sqrt{Variance}$).     * Z-scores: Measures score distance from the mean in standard deviation units (negative below, positive above).     * Normal Curve: Theoretical bell shape. $68\%$ fall within $1$ SD; $95\%$ within $2$ SD; $99\%$ within $3$ SD.     * Percentiles: Distance from $0$. A $90th$ percentile score is better than $90\%$ of test-takers.
• Correlational Statistics:     * Correlation Coefficient: Ranges from $-1$ to $+1$. Both extremes are equally strong. $0$ is no relationship.     * Scatterplots: Closer points to a line indicate strong correlation. Upward slope = positive; downward = negative.
• Inferential Statistics:     * Determines if findings from a sample apply to the larger population.     * Sampling Error: The extent to which a sample differs from the population.     * p-value: Probability that the difference occurred by chance. Scientific cutoff for significance is $p ≤ 0.05$.     * Effect Size: Quantity of practical significance.     * Meta-analysis: Combines results of many studies.
• APA Ethics Guidelines:     * Institutional Review Board (IRB): Reviews proposals for ethical violations.     * Animal Requirements: Clear scientific purpose; answer specific question; suited animal for the task; humane housing; legal acquisition.     * Human Standards: No coercion (voluntary); Informed consent; limited deception; Anonymity/Confidentiality; Risk protection; Debriefing.

Unit 1: Biological Bases of Behavior - Genetics and Neuroanatomy

• Genetics:     * Nature vs. Nurture: Combined effects of genetic code and environment. Genetic predisposition is the increased chance of a trait due to code.     * Human Cells: Contain $46$ chromosomes in $23$ pairs. DNA segments are genes.     * Twin Studies (Bouchard): Identical twins (monozygotic) raised apart have an IQ correlation of $0.69$ compared to $0.88$ for those together.     * Chromosomal Abnormalities:         * Turner’s Syndrome: Single X chromosome. Causes short stature/webbed necks.         * Klinefelter’s Syndrome: Extra X chromosome (XXY). Causes minimal sexual development.         * Down Syndrome: Extra 21st chromosome. Causes facial features and intellectual disability.
• Neuron Anatomy:     * Dendrites: Rootlike parts receiving synaptic connections.     * Cell Body (Soma): Contains the nucleus.     * Axon: Extends from soma to terminal buttons.     * Myelin Sheath: Fatty covering speeding impulses ($MS$ is its deterioration).     * Terminal Buttons: Branched ends containing neurotransmitters.     * Synapse: The space between neurons.
• Neural Mission (How a Neuron Fires):     * Resting Potential: Negative charge of $-70\,mV$.     * Action Potential: Stimulated terminal buttons of neuron A release neurotransmitters into the synapse. If they hit the threshold for neuron B, the cell becomes permeable, positive ions rush in, and the charge reaches $+40\,mV$.     * All-or-none Principle: A neuron fires completely or not at all; impulse is constant.     * Depolarization: The shift from negative to positive charge during firing.
• Neurotransmitters:     * Dopamine: Motor movement/alertness. Deficit = Parkinson’s; Excess = Schizophrenia.     * Serotonin: Mood control. Deficit = Depression.     * Endorphins: Pain control/Addiction.     * Acetylcholine ($ACh$): Motor movement. Deficit = Alzheimer’s disease.     * GABA: Important inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Unit 1: Nervous and Endocrine Systems

• Types of Neurons:     * Sensory (Afferent): Information to the brain.     * Motor (Efferent): Instructions to muscles.     * Interneurons: Communication within the brain/spinal cord.
• Nervous System Divisions:     * Central Nervous System (CNS): Brain and Spinal cord.     * Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Nerves outside bone.         * Somatic: Voluntary movement.         * Autonomic: Automatic functions (heart, lungs).             * Sympathetic: Mobilizes stress response ("fight-or-flight"); accelerates heart/respiration.             * Parasympathetic: Slows down toward homeostasis ("brake pedal").
• Reflex Arcs: Sensory impulses reach the spinal cord and trigger immediate motor response (e.g., knee-jerk) before signal reaching the brain.
• Endocrine Glands: Secrete hormones controlled by the hypothalamus.     * Adrenaline (Epinephrine): Released by Adrenal glands for fight-or-flight.     * Leptin/Ghrelin: Regulate hunger (Leptin suppresses, Ghrelin increases).     * Melatonin: Triggers sleep.     * Oxytocin: Promotes trust and bonding.     * Estrogen/Testosterone: Sex hormones produced in ovaries and testes.

Unit 1: The Brain

• Ways of Studying the Brain:     * Accidents: Case studies like Phineas Gage ($1848$) revealed frontal lobe links to emotion.     * Lesioning: Intentional removal/destruction. Historical example: Frontal lobotomy.     * EEG: Detects brain waves; used in sleep research.     * CAT/CT: Sophisticated X-ray; shows structure only.     * MRI: Uses magnetic fields/density; shows structure only.     * PET: Shows activity by tracking chemical use (e.g., glucose).     * fMRI: Ties structure to blood flow and cognitive activity.
• Brain Structure:     * Hindbrain (Old Brain): Medulla (blood pressure, heart rate, breathing), Pons (connects hind/mid/forebrain, facial expressions), Cerebellum ("little brain," habitual muscle coordination).     * Midbrain: Coordinates simple movements with sensory information. Includes the Reticular formation (arousal/focus; failure = coma).     * Forebrain (New Brain): Thalamus (sensory signal relay), Hypothalamus (metabolic controls, libido, rhythms, endocrine system), Amygdala (emotion), Hippocampus (memory process).     * Limbic System: Thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus grouped together for emotion/memory.
• Cerebral Cortex:     * Wrinkled gray surface (fissures) increasing surface area. If unwrinkled, it would require a $3\,sq\,ft$ skull.     * Hemispheres: Left (sensory/motor of right body); Right (sensory/motor of left body). Contralateral hemispheric organization.     * Corpus Callosum: Nerve bundle connecting hemispheres. Cut in split-brain patients (Sperry and Gazzaniga research).     * Lobes:         * Frontal: Prefrontal cortex (central executive; judgment); Broca’s area (left hemisphere; speech production); Motor cortex (voluntary movement).         * Parietal: Somatosensory cortex (touch sensations).         * Occipital: Visual cortex (interprets retina messages).         * Temporal: Auditory cortices; Wernicke’s area (linguistic processing/speech understanding).     * Brain Plasticity: Flexibility of the brain to adapt/compensate for damage; faster in children.

Unit 1: States of Consciousness

• Levels of Consciousness:     * Conscious (current awareness).     * Nonconscious (autonomic processes).     * Preconscious (accessible but not current).     * Subconscious (behavioral priming evidence).     * Unconscious (repressed feelings).
• Common Phenomena:     * Mere Exposure Effect: Preferring stimuli seen before without conscious memory.     * Priming: Responding faster to familiar questions.     * Blind Sight: Accurately describing paths of objects without conscious vision.
• Psychoactive Drugs:     * Agonists: Mimic neurotransmitters; fit into receptor sites.     * Antagonists: Block neurotransmitters; occupy receptor space.     * Reuptake Inhibitors: Prevent neurotransmitter absorption (e.g., Prozac).     * Tolerance: Physiological need for more drug for same effect.     * Withdrawal: Symptoms upon cessation (e.g., night sweats in heroin addicts).
• Drug Categories:     * Stimulants (Caffeine, Cocaine, Nicotine): Arouse autonomic system; euphoria.     * Depressants (Alcohol, Valium): Slow autonomic system. Alcohol affects cerebellum/coordination.     * Hallucinogens (LSD, Marijuana): Sensory distortions; loss of identity. Exhibit reverse tolerance (doses linger for weeks).     * Opiates (Morphine, Heroin, Fentanyl): Endorphin agonists; powerful painkillers.
• Sleep:     * Sleep Cycle: $90$-minute cycles.     * Stages:         * Sleep onset: Alpha waves (drowsy).         * NREM Stage 1 and 2: Theta waves. Stage 2 has sleep spindles (short rapid bursts).         * NREM Stage 3 (Delta Sleep): Low-frequency waves; deep sleep; growth hormone release.         * REM (Paradoxical Sleep): Intense activity; dreaming; muscle twitching. REM rebound occurs after deprivation.     * Sleep Disorders: Insomnia ($10\%$ prevalence), Narcolepsy (sudden REM sleep), Sleep Apnea (stopped breathing), Night Terrors/Somnambulism (Stage 4 phenomenon).
• Dreams:     * Activation-synthesis theory: Biological story made by mind to explain physiological REM activity.     * Information-processing theory: Dreams deal with daily stress/information integration.     * Consolidation theory: Function of encoding short-term to long-term memory.

Unit 1: Sensation

• Sensation Mechanics:     * Transduction: Transformation of signals into neural impulses.     * Sensory Adaptation: Decreased responsiveness due to constant stimulation.     * Sensory Habituation: Perception influenced by focus/attention.     * Cocktail Party Effect: Involuntary switch of attention when hearing one’s name.
• Vision:     * Gathering light: Hue (wavelength); Intensity/Brightness (amplitude).     * Structure: Cornea ($focus$) → Pupil/Iris ($light control$) → Lens ($accommodation$) → Retina.     * Retina Cells: Rods (black/white, $20:1$ ratio) and Cones (color, central concentration in the fovea).     * Transduction Process: Bipolar cells → Ganglion cells (Optic nerve) → LGN region of Thalamus → Visual Cortex (Occipital lobe).     * Blind Spot: Where optic nerve leaves retina.     * Optic Chiasm: Spot where nerves cross.     * Feature Detectors: Hubel and Wiesel discovery of neurons for specific features (lines, curves).     * Color Vision Theories:         * Trichromatic Theory: Three cone types (Red, Green, Blue).         * Opponent-Process Theory: arrangement in pairs (Red/Green, Yellow/Blue, Black/White). Explains afterimages.
• Hearing:     * Amplitude (decibels/loudness); Frequency (megahertz/pitch).     * Anatomy: Pinna → Eardrum (tympanic membrane) → Ossicles (hammer/anvil/stirrup) → Oval window → Cochlea (basilar membrane/hair cells).     * Sound Localization: Brain uses volume/timing differences between ears.     * Pitch Theories: Place theory (high frequency/location) and Frequency theory (low tones/rate of firing).     * Deafness: Conduction (system damage) vs. Sensorineural (nerve/hair cell damage).
• Touch and Pain:     * Pressure/temperature nerve endings.     * Gate Control Theory: Higher-priority pain messages swing the "gate" open while lower-priority ones are blocked. Endorphins swing the gate shut.
• Chemical Senses:     * Taste (Gustation): Bumps (papillae) on tongue. Five tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami, plus oleogustus (fat).     * Smell (Olfaction): Mucous membrane → Receptor cells → Olfactory bulb. Only sense that bypasses the Thalamus, going directly to the Amygdala/Hippocampus.
• Position Senses:     * Vestibular: Semicircular canals (inner ear fluid) feed back on body orientation.     * Kinesthetic Sense: Muscle/joint receptors feed back on specific limb position.

Unit 2: Perception

• Psychophysics and Thresholds:     * Absolute Threshold: Minimal amount of stimulus detected $50\%$ of the time (e.g., candle flame at $30\,miles$). Subliminal stimuli are below this.     * Difference Threshold (Just-Noticeable Difference): Proportional change ($Weber’s Law$: Hearing $5\%$, Vision $8\%$).
• Perceptual Theories:     * Signal Detection Theory: Response criteria effects (Motivation/Expectation). Errors: False Positive (perception of missing stimulus) and False Negative (failure to perceive present stimulus).     * Top-Down Processing: Filling in gaps using background knowledge (Schemata/Perceptual set).     * Bottom-Up Processing: Building perception from individual features analyzed by feature detectors.
• Principles of Visual Perception:     * Figure-ground: Determining what is the subject and what is background.     * Gestalt Rules: Proximity (close = group), Similarity (same appearance = group), Continuity (continuous line = group), Closure (filling in gaps).     * Constancy: Maintaining constant perception despite distance/angle (Size, Shape, Brightness).     * Motion: Stroboscopic (movies), Phi phenomenon (lights on/off), Autokinetic (light on dark wall).
• Depth Cues:     * Visual Cliff: Gibson experiment shows depth perception develops at $3\,months$.     * Monocular Cues: Linear perspective (converging lines), Relative size, Interposition (blocking), Texture gradient, Shadowing.     * Binocular Cues: Retinal disparity (different angles), Convergence (eyes moving together for close objects).
• Extrasensory Perception (ESP): Claims psychclogists are skeptical of due to lack of reliable evidence beyond deception or coincidence.

Unit 2: Thinking and Creativity

• Describing Thought:     * Concepts: Cognitive rules for categorization based on prototypes (typical examples).     * Images: Mental pictures (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.).
• Problem-Solving Methods:     * Algorithms: Foolproof formulas guaranteeing the right solution.     * Heuristics: Mental shortcuts (Availability – based on first examples to mind; Representativeness – similarity to prototypes).     * Heuristic Limitations: Gambler’s fallacy (incorrect likelihood belief), Sunk-cost fallacy (unwillingness to change course due to prior effort).
• Impediments to Thought:     * Rigidity: Mental set (falling into patterns) and Functional fixedness (unpredictable use of objects).     * Confirmation Bias: Ignoring contradictory evidence.     * Framing: Presentation method changes perception (e.g., "$51\%$ pass" vs. "$49\%$ fail").
• Creativity:     * Attributes: Originality and Appropriateness.     * Convergent thinking: Pointed toward one solution.     * Divergent thinking: Searching for multiple possible answers; associated with creativity.

Unit 2: Memory

• Three-Box/Information-Processing Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin):     * Sensory Memory: Holding tank. Visual (Iconic) $<1\,s$; Auditory (Echoic) $3-4\,s$ (Sperling experiment).     * Selective Attention: Determines what is encoded from sensory to short-term memory.     * Short-term/Working Memory: Holds thoughts current ($10-30\,s$). Capacity $7 ± 2$ items (Miller experiment). Manipulated by central executive, using visuospatial sketchpad or auditory loop.     * Rehearsal: Maintenance (repetition) or Elaborative (meaning focus/effortful processing).     * Long-Term Memory: Unlimited capacity.         * Formats: Episodic (events), Semantic (knowledge/facts), Procedural (skills).         * Status: Explicit (conscious active recall) vs. Implicit (nondeclarative/unintentional).     * Prospective Memory: Remembering future plans.     * Eidetic Memory: Photographic; very rare (studied by Luria).
• Levels of Processing Model: Shallowly vs. Deeply (elaboratively) encoded. Time and energy on processing affects retention.
• Neurological Level: Long-term potentiation (LTP) involves strengthening neuron connections through repeated firing.
• Encoding Factors:     * Serial Position Effect: Primacy (recall beginning) and Recency (recall end).     * Method of Loci: Associating items with house locations.     * Spacing Effect: Benefit of distributed practice over massed practice.     * Chunking: Grouping items for better short-term storage.
• Retrieval:     * Recognition (matching) vs. Recall (external cue).     * Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: Retrieval failure explained by semantic network theory (memory web).     * Flashbulb memories: Powerful contextual encoding of important events (e.g., $9/11$).     * Mood-congruent memory: Recall facilitated by matching current mood to event mood.     * State-dependent memory: Retrieval while in a specific state of consciousness (drunk/drowsy).
• Memory Errors:     * Constructed Memory: False recollections caused by misinformation effect (leading questions).     * Forgetting: Decay (non-use) vs. Interference.         * Retroactive Interference: New info blocks old info.         * Proactive Interference: Old info blocks new info.

Unit 2: Testing and Individual Differences

• Standardization and Norms:     * Psychometricians pilot items on populations for achievement norms.     * Standardization ensures mastery levels (e.g., scoring a $5$ on AP) are comparable.
• Reliability vs. Validity:     * Reliability (Consistency): Split-half, equivalent-form, and test-retest measurements.     * Validity (Accuracy): Face (superficial), Content (full range check), Criterion-related (Concurrent/Predictive), and Construct (independent measure correlate).
• Intelligence Theories:     * Fluid intelligence: Solving abstract problems (decreases with age).     * Crystallized intelligence: Using accumulated knowledge (stable/increases with age).     * Spearman: General ability ($g$) measured by factor analysis.     * Gardner (Multiple Intelligences): Linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalist.     * Sternberg (Triarchic Theory): Componential/Analytic, Experiential/Creative, and Contextual/Practical.     * Goleman (EQ): Emotional intelligence importance.
• Intelligence Tests:     * Binet: Mental age concept (average $10$-year-old has $MA=10$).     * Stanford-Binet (Terman): $IQ = \frac{Mental\,Age}{Chronological\,Age} × 100$. Adults arbitrarily assigned age $20$.     * Wechsler (WAIS/WISC/WPPSI): Uses deviation IQ. Normal distribution where Mean $100$, $SD=15$.
• Nature vs. Nurture:     * Heritability: Variation in a population ($0$ to $1$) accounted for genetically.     * Flynn effect: Increasing test performance over time suggesting environmental impact.     * Group Differences: Racial/Gender differences usually dwarfed by diversity within groups; likely environmental.

Unit 3: Developmental Psychology

• Research Methods:     * Cross-Sectional: Comparing different ages simultaneously. Prone to cohort/historical trends.     * Longitudinal: Studying one group over decades. Time-consuming but precise.
• Prenatal/Neonatal Factors:     * Teratogens: Agents causing harm (Alcohol/FAS, Cocaine/Heroin).     * Reflexes: Rooting, Sucking, Grasping, Moro (startle), Babinski (foot stroke).     * Sensory: Hearing dominant; vision focuses at $8-12$ inches (preference for faces).     * Motor Control: Rollover ($5.5\,months$), Stand ($8-9\,months$), Walk ($15\,months$).
• Stage Theories:     * Continuity vs. Discontinuity: Development at steady rate vs. fits and starts.     * Erikson (Psychosocial): Trust vs Mistrust → Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt → Initiative vs Guilt → Industry vs Inferiority → Identity vs Role Confusion (imaginary audience) → Intimacy vs Isolation → Generativity vs Stagnation → Integrity vs Despair.     * Piaget (Cognitive): Sensorimotor (Object permanence) → Preoperational (Mental symbols, Egocentric, Theory of Mind) → Concrete Operational (Conservation) → Formal Operational (Abstract reasoning, Metacognition, Personal Fable).     * Vygotsky: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).
• Language Acquisition:     * Units: Phonemes ($44$ in English), Morphemes (meaningful sound), Syntax, Semantics.     * Stages: Babbling ($4\,months$) → One-word/Holophrastic ($1\,year$) → Telegraphic/Two-word ($18\,months$).     * Nativist Theory (Chomsky): Language acquisition device and critical periods.
• Parenting/Attachment:     * Lorenz: Animal imprinting.     * Harlow: Contact comfort (soft wire mothers vs. food mothers).     * Ainsworth (Strange Situation): Secure ($66\%$), Avoidant ($21\%$), Anxious/Ambivalent ($12\%$).     * Ecological Systems (Bronfenbrenner): Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, Chronosystem.     * Parenting Styles (Baumrind): Authoritarian (strict/low discussion), Permissive (unpredictable/lax), Authoritative (reasonable standards/highest social capability).

Unit 3: Learning

• Classical Conditioning (Pavlov):     * Associative Learning: Pairing neutral stimuli with involuntary responses.     * Unconditioned Stimulus (US/UCS): Elicits natural response (Food).     * Unconditioned Response (UR/UCR): Natural reaction (Salivation).     * Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Neutral stimulus (Bell) after pairing.     * Conditioned Response (CR): Salivation to the bell alone.     * Phenomena: Acquisition (fastest via delayed conditioning), Extinction, Spontaneous recovery, Generalization, Discrimination.     * Second-order/Higher-order: Using CS as US to condition a light.     * Aversive Conditioning: Watson/Little Albert (white rat fear).     * Biology: Garcia effect (Taste aversions/One-trial learning) shows biological preparedness.
• Operant Conditioning (Skinner/Thorndike):     * Law of Effect: Pleasant consequences strengthen stimulus-response connections.     * Reinforcement: Increases likelihood of behavior.         * Positive: Adding pleasant stim.         * Negative: Removing unpleasant stim (Escape vs. Avoidance learning).     * Punishment: Decreases likelihood.         * Positive Punishment: Adding unpleasant stim.         * Negative Punishment (Omission training): Removing pleasant stim.     * Principles: Shaping (approximations), Chaining (successive responses), Continuous vs. Partial reinforcement.     * Schedules:         * Fixed-Ratio ($FR$): Set number of responses (Meal card).         * Variable-Ratio ($VR$): Changing number (Slots).         * Fixed-Interval ($FI$): Passage of fixed time (Noon lunch).         * Variable-Interval ($VI$): Variable time (Mail carrier).     * Biology: Instinctive drift prevents organisms from breaking natural inclinations.
• Cognitive Learning:     * Rescorla (Contingency Model): Reliable prediction required for association.     * Bandura (Observational Learning): Modeling/Vicarious learning; Bobo doll experiment (aggression modeling).     * Tolman (Latent Learning): Learning hidden until reinforcement provided (Cognitive map/rats in maze).     * Köhler (Insight Learning): Sudden problem-solving realization (banana out of chimp reach).

Unit 4: Social Psychology, Personality, Motivation, and Emotion

• Social Psychology:     * Attribution Theory: Dispositional/Person vs. Situational factor explanation. Kelley’s Information: Consistency, Distinctiveness, Consensus.     * Attribution Biases: Fundamental Attribution Error (overstating disposition in others), Actor-Observer bias (situational for self), False-consensus, Self-serving, Just-world.     * Attitudes: Evaluating feelings. Mere exposure effect. Elaboration Likelihood Model (Central vs. Peripheral routes).     * Cognitive Dissonance: Tension between inconsistent attitudes/behaviors (Festinger/Carlsmith payoff experiment).     * Compliance: Foot-in-the-door, Door-in-the-face, Norms of reciprocity.     * Aggression: Instrumental (secure end) vs. Hostile (no purpose). Frustration-aggression hypothesis.     * Prejudice/Stereotypes: In-group bias, Out-group homogeneity bias. Reduced via superordinate goals (Sherif Robbers Cave study).     * Prosocial: Bystander effect (Darley/Latane); factors: Diffusion of responsibility, Pluralistic ignorance.     * Dynamics: Social Facilitation vs. Impairment. Relative Deprivation theory. Conformity (Asch line study). Obedience (Milgram shock study).     * Group Influence: Social loafing, polarization, Groupthink (Janis), Deindividuation (Zimbardo prison study).
• Personality Theories:     * Psychodynamic (Freud): Id (Pleasure principle), Ego (Reality principle/Mediator), Superego (Conscience).         * Defense Mechanisms: Repression, Denial, Displacement, Projection, Reaction formation, Regression, Rationalization, Intellectualization, Sublimation.         * Neo-Freudians: Jung (Collective unconscious/archetypes), Adler (Inferiority/Superiority).     * Humanistic: Rogers (Self-theory/Self-concept), Unconditional positive regard, Self-actualization.     * Trait: Big Five (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism/OCEAN). Allport’s idiographic dispositions (Cardinal, Central, Secondary).     * Social-Cognitive: Bandura (Reciprocal determinism/Triadic reciprocality, Self-efficacy). Rotter (Locus of Control: Internal vs. External).     * Methods: Projective tests (Rorschach/TAT). MMPI-2 self-reports. Barnum effect risks.
• Motivation Theories:     * Drive Reduction: Needs → Drives → Action → Homeostasis. Primary vs. Secondary drives.     * Arousal Theory: Sensation-seeking; Yerkes-Dodson Law (Inverted U relationship).     * Incentives: Learned rewards pull behavior.     * Self-Determination: Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness.     * Hunger: Hypothalamus (Lateral = start, Ventromedial = stop). Set-point theory. Ghrelin (increase), Leptin (suppress). Eating disorders (Anorexia vs. Bulimia).     * Sex: Masters/Johnson cycle (Excitement, Plateau, Orgasm, Resolution). Kinsey orientation research.     * Social Motives: Achievement motivation, Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic reward. Management (Theory X vs. Theory Y). Conflicts: Approach-approach, Avoidance-avoidance, Approach-avoidance, Multiple.
• Emotion Theories:     * James-Lange: Biological changes cause emotion.     * Cannon-Bard: Simultaneous physical and mental experience (Thalamus role).     * Schachter Two-Factor: Physical response + cognitive appraisal/label → Emotion.     * Broaden-and-Build: Positive emotions facilitate expansion.     * Facial Expression: Universal labels (Happiness, Sadness, etc.). Cultural display rules cause variations.

Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health

• Health Psychology:     * Stress: Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) in Life Change Units (LCUs).     * General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye): Alarm reaction (sympathetic arousal), Resistance (hormone maintenance), Exhaustion (parasympathetic return/fatality risk).     * Coping: Tend-and-befriend, Emotion-focused (meditation).     * Positive Psych: Subjective well-being; Virtues (Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, Transcendence).
• Psychological Disorders:     * Defining: Dysfunction, Distress, Deviance. Legal: Insanity. Manuals: DSM-5 and ICD.     * Perspectives: ACEs (Psychodynamic), Reinforcement history (Behavioral), Irrational thoughts (Cognitive), Society (Sociocultural), Biology/Genetics (Biomedical), Diathesis-stress model.     * Neurodevelopmental: Autism Spectrum, ADHD.     * Anxiety: Specific phobias (Arachnophobia), Agoraphobia, Social, GAD, Panic attack (Ataque de nervios).     * Somatic: Conversion disorder (physical problem/no cause).     * Dissociative: Amnesia vs. Identity (DID - abuse history).     * Depressive: Mood Affective. Major (unipolar), Persistent, SAD. Cognitive Triad (Beck). Seligman’s Learned Helplessness.     * Bipolar: Manic episodes (Risky behavior). I vs. II (hypomania).     * Schizophrenia Spectrum: Thinking break. Delusions (persecution/grandeur). Hallucinations. Language (Word salad, Clang associations). Inappropriate affect (flat). Catatonia (waxy flexibility). Dopamine hypothesis/excess.     * Personality: Cluster A (suspicious), B (Antisocial/Narcissistic/Histrionic), C (Anxious/Avoidant/Dependent/OC-Personality).     * OCD/Related: Obsessions/Compulsions. Hoarding. PTSD (flashbacks).     * Feeding: Anorexia, Bulimia (binge-purge), Binge-eating.
• Treatment:     * Psychodynamic: Free association, Dream analysis (Manifest vs. Latent content), Resistance, Transference.     * Humanistic: Client-centered (Rogers). Unconditional positive regard, Active listening, Nondirective. Gestalt (Perls). Existential.     * Behavioral: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Counterconditioning: Systematic desensitization (Anxiety hierarchy, In vivo, Covert), Flooding, Modeling. Aversive therapy. Token Economy.     * Cognitive: Restructuring (Challenging maladaptive style). REBT (Ellis - confrontational), DBT (Emotional reactions).     * Group: Family therapy, Self-help (AA).     * Somatic (Drug/Chemotherapy):         * Antipsychotics/Neuroleptics: (Thorazine, Haldol) Block dopamine. Side effect: Tardive dyskinesia.         * Antidepressants: (MAOs, Tricyclics, SSRIs/Prozac).         * Antianxiety: (Barbiturates/Benzodiazepines: Xanax, Valium).         * Bipolar: Lithium.         * Other: Biofeedback, TMS, ECT (depression - loss of memory side effect), Psychosurgery (Prefrontal lobotomy).     * Therapists: Psychiatrists (Prescribe medication), Clinical (PhDs), Counseling (Masters).     * Principles: Fidelity, Nonmaleficence, Therapeutic alliance.