AP Psychology Exam
Some of the earliest approaches to explaining behavior in psychology include structuralism and functionalism.
Wilhelm Wundt combined physiology and philosophy to create psychology and established the first psychology lab in Germany (1879).
He believed in introspection and structuralism.
Structure is more important than function.
Believed that the mind must be broken into elements to understand the brain and its functions.
With the use of introspection (looking inward), people try to understand the thoughts or emotions they are experiencing at the time.
For structuralism to work, the subject would have to be very intelligent and verbal in order to describe their sensations, images, and feelings in certain moments.
Also, introspection proved unreliable since the results varied from person to person.
As a result, the impact of introspection disappeared, as did structuralism.
Functionalism came after structuralism
It was created to understand how the conscious mind is related to behavior.
Functionalists, such as William James, wanted to know how the mind affected what people did.
Early behaviorism was the study of observable events.
This theory shifted psychology from a study of the unconscious and conscious mind to a more science-based study based on observable events.
John Watson was a behavioral psychologist who studied observable behaviors and led the Little Albert experiment, where he trained an 11-month-old boy to fear a white rat. 🐭
The boy was not initially afraid of the rat, but when the white rat was paired with a loud sound, the boy would show signs of distress.
Eventually, the boy began to cry when just seeing the white rat without the sound.
Watson believed that observable events are the only events that can be proven true, unlike studying the conscious, where results are not verifiable.
Gestalt psychology says that the whole is different than the sum of its parts.
Gestalt psychology looks at the mind and behavior as a whole.
It suggests that human minds do not focus on small components.
Instead, humans see the greater whole.
It focuses on the study of the unconscious mind.
It states that behavior is determined by past experiences.
Sigmund Freud is the key individual that used this approach, and he built his theories based on it.
The humanistic approach believes that humans have free will and the ability to grow.
All individuals are striving to reach self-actualization and their greatest potential with this approach.
The evolutionary approach uses evolutionary biology to explain human behavior.
Also, it looks at how natural selection due to variable traits promotes the survival of genes.
An evolutionary psychologist may study how anger could be a gene inherited from our ancestors.
The biological perspective states that behavior is based on physical processes, such as those relating to the brain, hormones, and other chemicals.
The cognitive approach states that thought processes impact the way people behave.
A cognitive psychologist may study how an emotion, such as fear, affects one’s thinking.
The biopsychosocial perspective acknowledges the person as a whole and tries to look at all of the patient's circumstances.
It looks at biological, psychological, and social factors to understand a person’s behavior.
The sociocultural approach studies how thinking and behavior vary across cultures and situations.
A sociocultural psychologist may study how expressions of sadness vary across cultures.
Biological psychology states that physical processes shape behavior.
For example, a biological psychologist might say that anger is due to a certain hormonal balance in the brain.
Clinical psychology is a section of psychology focused on assessing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.
Cognitive psychology studies the mental processes associated with thinking, knowing, and communicating. 🤔
Counseling psychology focuses on personal issues that are not classified as mental disorders.
These types of therapists help people cope with challenges and crises in life.
For example, they can help a student with social or academic struggles. They could even help an individual with marital issues.
Developmental psychology studies social, physical, and cognitive changes throughout the lifespan. So, they study from “womb to tomb.” 👶
Educational psychology is the study of how psychological processes can impact and improve learning and teaching. 👩🏽🏫
Experimental psychology uses the experimental method to examine relationships between behavior and the mind.
Industrial-organizational psychology studies the relationships between work and people in order to help companies increase productivity, boost morale, and select and train employees.
Personality psychology is the study of how personality affects the way people think and behave.
Psychometric psychology focuses on psychological measurement and is concerned with the design of psychological examinations.
Social psychology studies how humans are influenced by one another and how we relate and think about each other. 👫
Positive psychology focuses on making human existence more fulfilling, rather than focusing on the treatment of mental illness.
It promotes strengths and virtues to improve the lives of people and communities. 💫
Research Method | Purpose/Definition | Strength(s) | Weaknesses |
Experiments | Manipulates one or more independent variables to determine the effects of certain behavior. | - Can determine cause and effect - Can be retested and proven | - Could have potential ethical issues - Artificial environment creates low realism (people know they are being researched, which could impact what they say and do) |
Correlational Studies | Involves looking at the relationships between two or more variables and is used when performing an experiment is not possible. | - Easier to conduct than an experiment - Can be used when an experiment is impossible. For example, a researcher may want to examine the relationship between school grades and Adderall. It would not be ethical to force students to take high doses of Adderall. So, one can only rely on participants’ responses | - Cannot determine cause and effect |
Survey Research | The collection of information reported by people about a particular topic. | - Cost-effective - Mostly reliable | - Low response rates - Can’t verify the accuracy of an individual’s response |
Naturalistic Observations | A researcher observes a subject's behavior without intervention. | - Natural setting is more reliable than a lab setting | - People behave differently when they know they are being watched, which could impact the results (Hawthorne effect) - Two researchers could see the same behavior but draw different conclusions |
Case Studies | A case study is an in-depth study of an individual or a small group. Usually, case studies are done on people with rare circumstances. For example, a girl named Genie was locked in her room, causing a delay in development. Researchers did a case study about her to understand more about language and human development stages. | - Provides detailed information | - Cannot generalize results to a wider population - Difficult to replicate - Time-consuming |
Longitudinal Studies | The same individuals are studied over a long period of time from years up to decades. | - Can show the effects of changes over time - More powerful than cross-sectional studies | - Require large amounts of time - Expensive |
Cross-sectional Studies | A cross-sectional study examines people of different groups at the same time. For example, studying people that are of different ages at the same time | - Quick and easy to conduct - Generalizable results | - Difficult to find a population that differs by only one factor - Cannot measure changes over time |
Some of the earliest approaches to explaining behavior in psychology include structuralism and functionalism.
Wilhelm Wundt combined physiology and philosophy to create psychology and established the first psychology lab in Germany (1879).
He believed in introspection and structuralism.
Structure is more important than function.
Believed that the mind must be broken into elements to understand the brain and its functions.
With the use of introspection (looking inward), people try to understand the thoughts or emotions they are experiencing at the time.
For structuralism to work, the subject would have to be very intelligent and verbal in order to describe their sensations, images, and feelings in certain moments.
Also, introspection proved unreliable since the results varied from person to person.
As a result, the impact of introspection disappeared, as did structuralism.
Functionalism came after structuralism
It was created to understand how the conscious mind is related to behavior.
Functionalists, such as William James, wanted to know how the mind affected what people did.
Early behaviorism was the study of observable events.
This theory shifted psychology from a study of the unconscious and conscious mind to a more science-based study based on observable events.
John Watson was a behavioral psychologist who studied observable behaviors and led the Little Albert experiment, where he trained an 11-month-old boy to fear a white rat. 🐭
The boy was not initially afraid of the rat, but when the white rat was paired with a loud sound, the boy would show signs of distress.
Eventually, the boy began to cry when just seeing the white rat without the sound.
Watson believed that observable events are the only events that can be proven true, unlike studying the conscious, where results are not verifiable.
Gestalt psychology says that the whole is different than the sum of its parts.
Gestalt psychology looks at the mind and behavior as a whole.
It suggests that human minds do not focus on small components.
Instead, humans see the greater whole.
It focuses on the study of the unconscious mind.
It states that behavior is determined by past experiences.
Sigmund Freud is the key individual that used this approach, and he built his theories based on it.
The humanistic approach believes that humans have free will and the ability to grow.
All individuals are striving to reach self-actualization and their greatest potential with this approach.
The evolutionary approach uses evolutionary biology to explain human behavior.
Also, it looks at how natural selection due to variable traits promotes the survival of genes.
An evolutionary psychologist may study how anger could be a gene inherited from our ancestors.
The biological perspective states that behavior is based on physical processes, such as those relating to the brain, hormones, and other chemicals.
The cognitive approach states that thought processes impact the way people behave.
A cognitive psychologist may study how an emotion, such as fear, affects one’s thinking.
The biopsychosocial perspective acknowledges the person as a whole and tries to look at all of the patient's circumstances.
It looks at biological, psychological, and social factors to understand a person’s behavior.
The sociocultural approach studies how thinking and behavior vary across cultures and situations.
A sociocultural psychologist may study how expressions of sadness vary across cultures.
Biological psychology states that physical processes shape behavior.
For example, a biological psychologist might say that anger is due to a certain hormonal balance in the brain.
Clinical psychology is a section of psychology focused on assessing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.
Cognitive psychology studies the mental processes associated with thinking, knowing, and communicating. 🤔
Counseling psychology focuses on personal issues that are not classified as mental disorders.
These types of therapists help people cope with challenges and crises in life.
For example, they can help a student with social or academic struggles. They could even help an individual with marital issues.
Developmental psychology studies social, physical, and cognitive changes throughout the lifespan. So, they study from “womb to tomb.” 👶
Educational psychology is the study of how psychological processes can impact and improve learning and teaching. 👩🏽🏫
Experimental psychology uses the experimental method to examine relationships between behavior and the mind.
Industrial-organizational psychology studies the relationships between work and people in order to help companies increase productivity, boost morale, and select and train employees.
Personality psychology is the study of how personality affects the way people think and behave.
Psychometric psychology focuses on psychological measurement and is concerned with the design of psychological examinations.
Social psychology studies how humans are influenced by one another and how we relate and think about each other. 👫
Positive psychology focuses on making human existence more fulfilling, rather than focusing on the treatment of mental illness.
It promotes strengths and virtues to improve the lives of people and communities. 💫
Research Method | Purpose/Definition | Strength(s) | Weaknesses |
Experiments | Manipulates one or more independent variables to determine the effects of certain behavior. | - Can determine cause and effect - Can be retested and proven | - Could have potential ethical issues - Artificial environment creates low realism (people know they are being researched, which could impact what they say and do) |
Correlational Studies | Involves looking at the relationships between two or more variables and is used when performing an experiment is not possible. | - Easier to conduct than an experiment - Can be used when an experiment is impossible. For example, a researcher may want to examine the relationship between school grades and Adderall. It would not be ethical to force students to take high doses of Adderall. So, one can only rely on participants’ responses | - Cannot determine cause and effect |
Survey Research | The collection of information reported by people about a particular topic. | - Cost-effective - Mostly reliable | - Low response rates - Can’t verify the accuracy of an individual’s response |
Naturalistic Observations | A researcher observes a subject's behavior without intervention. | - Natural setting is more reliable than a lab setting | - People behave differently when they know they are being watched, which could impact the results (Hawthorne effect) - Two researchers could see the same behavior but draw different conclusions |
Case Studies | A case study is an in-depth study of an individual or a small group. Usually, case studies are done on people with rare circumstances. For example, a girl named Genie was locked in her room, causing a delay in development. Researchers did a case study about her to understand more about language and human development stages. | - Provides detailed information | - Cannot generalize results to a wider population - Difficult to replicate - Time-consuming |
Longitudinal Studies | The same individuals are studied over a long period of time from years up to decades. | - Can show the effects of changes over time - More powerful than cross-sectional studies | - Require large amounts of time - Expensive |
Cross-sectional Studies | A cross-sectional study examines people of different groups at the same time. For example, studying people that are of different ages at the same time | - Quick and easy to conduct - Generalizable results | - Difficult to find a population that differs by only one factor - Cannot measure changes over time |
