AP Psychology Exam Notes

AP Psychology Exam Review Breakdown of Question Categories

  • History: 2-4%
  • Methods and Approaches: 6-8%
  • Biological Bases of Behavior: 8-10%
  • Sensation and Perception: 7-9%
  • States of Consciousness: 2-4%
  • Learning: 7-9%
  • Cognition: 8-10%
  • Motivation and Emotion: 7-9%
  • Developmental Psychology: 7-9%
  • Personality: 6-8%
  • Testing and Individual Differences: 5-7%
  • Abnormal Psychology: 7-9%
  • Treatment of Psychological Disorders: 5-7%
  • Social Psychology: 7-9%

Famous People to Know

  • Frances Galton: Genetic inheritance influences personality and ability.
  • Charles Darwin: Theory of evolution, survival of the fittest.
  • William Wundt: Introduced introspection, founding father of scientific psychology and structuralism.
  • John Watson: Founder of behaviorism, known for the Little Albert experiment.
  • Alfred Adler: Emphasized social tensions in personality formation.
  • Carl Jung: Introduced concepts of collective unconscious, introversion, and extroversion.
  • Gordon Allport: Identified three levels of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary traits.
  • Albert Ellis: Developed Rational Emotive Therapy focusing on irrational thought patterns.
  • Albert Maslow: Established the hierarchy of needs, culminating in self-actualization.
  • Carl Rogers: Known for client-centered therapy and the concept of unconditional positive regard.
  • B.F. Skinner: Pioneer of operant conditioning, known for the Skinner box.
  • Ivan Pavlov: Discovered classical conditioning through dog salivation studies.
  • Noam Chomsky: Proposed innate ability to develop language and grammar.

Important Theories and Concepts

  • Jean Piaget: Four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational.
  • Erik Erikson: Eight stages of psychosocial development.
  • Lawrence Kohlberg: Three levels of moral reasoning: pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional, with two stages each.
  • Carol Gilligan: Critiqued Kohlberg's theory for a male-centered perspective.
  • S. Schachter: Proposed that emotions require physical arousal and cognitive labeling.
  • Alfred Binet: Introduced IQ tests to measure intelligence.
  • David Wechsler: Developed intelligence tests for adults.
  • Philip Zimbardo: Conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment on social roles.
  • David Rosenhan: Investigated the validity of psychiatric diagnoses.
  • Harry Harlow: Studied attachment theory with infant rhesus monkeys.
  • Sigmund Freud: Introduced psychoanalysis focusing on the unconscious and psychosexual stages.

Developmental Psychology

  • Developmental Psychology: Focuses on changes over life; key figures include Piaget, Erikson, Freud, Kohlberg.
  • Piaget's Stages:
    • Sensorimotor (0-2): Object permanence develops.
    • Preoperational (2-6): Thinking is egocentric, belief in fantasy.
    • Concrete Operational (6-12): Logical thinking about concrete objects.
    • Formal Operational (12+): Abstract reasoning develops.
  • Erikson's Stages:
    • Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, Integrity vs. Despair.

Theories of Learning

  • Classical Conditioning: Learning through association (Pavlov).
  • Operant Conditioning: Learning based on reinforcement or punishment (Skinner).
  • Social Learning Theory: Learning through observation (Bandura).

Important Terms in Research

  • Hypothesis: Prediction based on a theory.
  • Population/Sample: Group being studied versus the specific individuals selected.
  • Independent/Dependent Variables: What is manipulated versus what is measured.
  • Control/Experimental Group: Group receiving treatment versus group not receiving treatment.

Important Terms in Statistics

  • Mean, Median, Mode: Summary statistics to describe data.
  • Standard Deviation: Measure of data spread.

Brain and Behavior Connections

  • Neurotransmitters: Substances that transmit signals in the nervous system.
    • Acetylcholine: Involved in muscle movements and memory; associated with Alzheimer's.
    • Dopamine: Related to movement, pleasure; linked to Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

Therapeutic Approaches

  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Goal is to change negative thought patterns.
  • Humanistic Therapy: Focuses on the individual's potential and stresses the importance of growth and self-actualization.