AP Psychology Key Psychologists

Key Psychologists for AP Psychology Exam

  • Sigmund Freud:

    • Psychoanalysis: Focused on the unconscious mind and its influence on behavior.
    • Development Stages: Proposed psychosexual stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital).

  • Erik Erikson:

    • Development Stages: Proposed psychosocial stages of development across the lifespan, each with a unique conflict (e.g., trust vs. mistrust, identity vs. role confusion).

  • Albert Bandura:

    • Social Learning Theory: Emphasized learning through observation, imitation, and modeling.
    • Modeling: Demonstrated that people learn by watching others and imitating their behavior.

  • Solomon Asch:

    • Conformity: Studied how individuals conform to group pressure, even when the group is wrong.

  • Stanley Milgram:

    • Obedience: Investigated the extent to which individuals obey authority figures, even when instructed to perform acts that conflict with their conscience.

  • Lawrence Kohlberg:

    • Moral Development: Developed a theory of moral reasoning based on cognitive development, with stages ranging from preconventional to conventional to postconventional morality.

  • Abraham Maslow:

    • Hierarchy of Needs: Proposed a hierarchy of needs, starting with basic physiological needs and culminating in self-actualization.

  • William Wundt:

    • Father of Psychology: Established the first psychology laboratory, marking the beginning of psychology as a separate scientific discipline.
    • Introspection: Used introspection to study the structure of consciousness.

  • William James:

    • Functionalism: Focused on the function and purpose of consciousness and behavior in adapting to the environment.

  • John B. Watson:

    • Behaviorism: Advocated for studying observable behavior rather than mental processes.
    • "Little Albert" Experiment: Demonstrated that fears can be learned through classical conditioning.

  • Harry Harlow:

    • Attachment: Studied attachment in monkeys, demonstrating the importance of contact comfort.

  • Albert Ellis:

    • Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): Developed REBT, which focuses on challenging irrational beliefs to improve mental health.

  • Phineas Gage:

    • Case Study: His case provided early evidence that the frontal lobe plays a role in personality and behavior.