Exhaustive Psychology Semester Psychology Review Guide
Unit Zero – Research Design
Correlation: This research design is used to identify the relationship between two variables. Notably, correlation does not equal causation. * Experiments: These involve purposefully manipulating variables to determine cause and effect. * Naturalistic Observation: Researchers observe individuals in their natural settings without interference. * Case Study: These studies involve examining one person, usually in great detail. * Meta-analysis: This method combines multiple studies to increase sample size and examine effect sizes.
Basic Research Vocabulary and Statistics
Hypothesis: A tentative explanation that must be falsifiable, meaning it must be able to be supported or rejected.
Operational Definition: A clear, precise, and quantifiable definition of variables that allows for replication and the collection of reliable data.
Qualitative Data: Descriptive data, such as eye color.
Quantitative Data: Numerical data, which is ideal and necessary for performing statistics.
Population: Everyone to whom the research could potentially apply.
Sample: The specific people or person chosen for the study.
Correlation Advantages and Disadvantages: * Advantage: Useful when experiments are unethical. * Disadvantage: Does not establish causation. * Directionality Problem: Uncertainty regarding which direction the correlation goes (e.g., does depression cause low self-esteem, or vice versa?). * 3rd Variable Problem: A different variable may be responsible for the relationship (e.g., ice cream sales and murder rates both increasing due to heat).
Correlation Types and Strength: * Positive Correlation: Variables increase and decrease together. * Negative Correlation: As one variable increases, the other decreases. * Strength: The closer the number is to or , the stronger the relationship, regardless of the sign. It cannot be less than or greater than . Tighter clusters on a graph indicate stronger relationships.
Experiment Advantages and Disadvantages: * Advantage: The only type of research that establishes cause and effect. * Disadvantage: Can be unethical or too artificial.
Experimental Variables: * Independent Variable (IV): Purposefully altered by the researcher to look for an effect. * Experimental Group: Receives the treatment; there can be multiple experimental groups. * Control Group: Receives a placebo or baseline; there can only be one. * Dependent Variable (DV): The measured variable that is dependent on the independent variable.
Experimental Vocabulary: * Placebo Effect: Any observed effect on behavior caused by the placebo, used to show the effectiveness of the experimental treatment. * Double-Blind Study: An experiment where neither the participant nor the experimenter knows which condition people are assigned to (common in drug studies). * Single-Blind Study: Only the participant is blind; used if the experimenter cannot be blind (e.g., gender or age studies). * Confound (Confounding Variable): An error or flaw accidentally introduced into a study. * Random Assignment: Assigning participants to control or experimental groups at random to increase the chance of equal representation (e.g., spreading left-handed people across both groups), allowing for cause-and-effect claims.
Other Study Types: * Naturalistic Observation: Real-world validity but no cause and effect. * Case Study: Collects lots of information but no cause and effect.
Descriptive Statistics: * Measures of Central Tendency: * Mean: The average, used in normal distributions. * Median: The middle number, used in skewed distributions. * Mode: The number that occurs most often. * Bimodal: Having two modes, usually indicating both good and bad scores. * Skews: Created by outliers. * Negative Skew: The mean is to the left (negative side), and the mode is to the right. * Positive Skew: The mean is to the right. * Measures of Variation: * Range: The distance between the smallest and biggest numbers. * Standard Deviation: The average amount scores are spread from the mean; a bigger number indicates more spread.
Inferential Statistics: * Statistical Significance: Results are not due to chance, indicating experimental manipulation caused the difference in means. A value of p < .05 is statistically significant, and smaller values are better. * Effect Size: Indicates the data has practical significance; bigger is better.
Ethical Guidelines for Research
IRB Approval: Needed for research involving people.
Confidentiality: Keeping participants' names secret.
Informed Consent: Participants must agree to be part of the study.
Informed Assent: Required for minors, alongside parental agreement.
Debriefing: Telling participants the true purpose of the study after it is completed (necessary if deception was used).
Deception: Must be warranted and followed by debriefing.
No Harm: No mental or physical harm allowed.
Additional Psychological Research Vocabulary
Surveys: Often turned into correlation; subject to self-report bias. * Social Desirability: People lying to look good. * Wording Effects: How a question is framed impacts the answers.
Sampling: * Random Sample (Selection): Choosing participants so everyone has a chance to take part, increasing generalizability. * Representative Sample: A sample that mimics the general population (ethnicity, gender, age). * Convenience Sample: Selecting participants based on availability; results in less representation and generalizability. * Sampling Bias: Occurs when a sample is not representative due to convenience sampling.
Biases and Norms: * Cultural Norms: Behaviors of a particular group that influence research results. * Experimenter/Participant Bias: Expectations influencing the outcome. * Cognitive Bias: Biased thinking or judgment. * Confirmation Bias: Seeking info that supports preexisting beliefs. * Hindsight Bias: The "I knew it all along" phenomenon. * Overconfidence: Overestimating our knowledge or abilities.
Hawthorne Effect: People changing behavior when they know they are being watched.
Peer Review: Necessary for research, along with adequate sample sizes.
Heredity vs. Environment (Heredity vs Environment)
Evolutionary Psychologists: Study how natural selection influences behavior.
Heredity (Nature): How genes influence behavior.
Environment (Nurture): How outside situations (e.g., school) influence behavior.
Nature vs. Nurture Answer: Both matter. Support found in Twin and Adoption studies. Genetics show an identical twin has a higher percentage chance of developing a disease if the other has it, while environment shows differences in twins raised apart.
The Nervous System
Central Nervous System (CNS): Composed of the brain and spinal cord.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): The rest of the nervous system; relays to the CNS. * Somatic Nervous System: Controls voluntary movement; contains sensory and motor neurons. * Autonomic Nervous System: Controls involuntary organs (heart, lungs). Divided into: * Sympathetic Nervous System: Activates "fight or flight" (exception: digestion is inhibited). * Parasympathetic Nervous System: Activates "rest and digest" (exception: digestion is stimulated).
Neuron Function and Structure
Neuron: The basic cell of the nervous system. * Dendrites: Receive incoming neurotransmitters. * Axon: The structure the action potential travels down. * Myelin Sheath: Protects the axon and speeds up the action potential. * Synapse: The gap between neurons.
Neuron Types: * Sensory Neurons: Receive signals from the environment and send them to the brain. * Motor Neurons: Send signals from the brain to move muscles. * Interneurons: Cells in the spinal cord/brain responsible for the reflex arc. * Reflex Arc: Stimuli skip the brain and route through the spinal cord for immediate reactions (e.g., hand on a hot flame).
Glia: Support cells that provide nutrients and clean up around neurons.
Neural Firing Process: * Action Potential (AP): Ions moving across the membrane send an electrical charge down the axon. * Resting Potential: The neuron maintains a charge when inactive. * Depolarization: The charge switches briefly from negative to positive, triggering the AP. * Threshold of Depolarization: Stimulus strength must reach this point to start the AP. * All-or-Nothing Principle: Stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold; it does not increase intensity or speed (like flushing a toilet). * Refractory Period: The neuron must rest and reset before sending another AP.
Neurotransmitters and Hormones
Neurotransmitters (NT): Chemicals released in the synaptic gap; can be excitatory (increase APs) or inhibitory (decrease APs). * GABA: Major inhibitory NT. * Glutamate: Major excitatory NT. * Dopamine: Associated with rewards (short-term), addiction, and fine movement; found in the hypothalamus. * Serotonin: Mood (long-term), emotion, and sleep; found in the amygdala; too little is associated with depression. * Acetylcholine (ACh): Memory and movement; found in the hippocampus; associated with Alzheimer’s. * Norepinephrine: Associated with the sympathetic nervous system; too little linked to depression. * Endorphins: Decrease pain. * Substance P: Pain regulation; abnormalities increase pain and inflammation.
Hormones: * Oxytocin: Love, bonding, childbirth, lactation. * Adrenaline: Fight or flight response. * Leptin: Stops hunger (fullness). * Ghrelin: Induces hunger. * Melatonin: Regulates sleep.
Drug Interactions: * Agonist: Mimics a neurotransmitter. * Antagonist: Blocks a neurotransmitter. * Reuptake: Unused NTs are taken back into the sending neuron. SSRIs (antidepressants) cause reuptake inhibition to treat depression.
Psychoactive Drugs
Depressants: Decrease nervous system activity (e.g., alcohol).
Stimulants: Increase nervous system activity (e.g., caffeine, cocaine).
Hallucinogens: Cause hallucinations and altered perceptions (e.g., marijuana).
Opioids: Relieve pain; they are endorphin agonists (e.g., heroin).
Tolerance: Needing more of a drug to achieve previous effects.
Addiction: Needing a drug to avoid withdrawal.
Withdrawal: Symptoms associated with sudden stoppage of a drug.
Brain Anatomy and Function
Cerebellum: Controls movement, balance, coordination, and procedural memory.
Brainstem / Medulla: Controls vital organs (heart rate, blood pressure, breathing).
Reticular Activating System: Involved in alertness, arousal, sleep, and eye movement.
Cerebral Cortex: Outer portion for higher-order thought; includes the limbic system, lobes, and corpus callosum.
Limbic System: * Amygdala: Emotional processing, specifically fear. * Hippocampus: Episodic and semantic memory. * Hypothalamus: Reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors, homeostatic regulation; links to the endocrine system. * Thalamus: Relay center for all senses except smell. * Pituitary Gland: Releases hormones; communicates with the endocrine system and hypothalamus.
Lobes of the Brain: * Occipital Lobe: Vision. * Frontal Lobe: Decision making, planning, judgment, movement, personality, language, executive function. * Prefrontal Cortex: Front of the frontal lobe; executive function. * Motor Cortex: Back of the frontal lobe; map of motor receptors for skeletal movement. * Parietal Lobe: Sensations and touch; contains the Somatosensory Cortex. * Temporal Lobe: Hearing, face recognition, and language.
Language Centers (Left Hemisphere): * Broca’s Area: Speech production; damage causes inability to produce speech. * Wernicke’s Area: Speech comprehension; damage causes inability to understand speech.
Corpus Callosum: Nerves connecting the two hemispheres; severed in split-brain patients to treat seizures. * Split-brain experiments: Image shown to the right eye (processed in left hemi) allows a patient to say what they saw; image shown to the left eye (processed in right hemi) results in the patient being unable to name the object.
Brain Plasticity, Endocrine System, and Research
Brain Plasticity: The brain's ability to change via damage or experience.
Endocrine System: Sends hormones through the body via the Pituitary gland (controlled by the hypothalamus).
Brain Research Tools: * EEG: Shows broad electrical brain activity. * fMRI: Shows brain activity in specific regions by measuring oxygen. * Lesion: Purposeful destruction of brain tissue.
Diseases and Disorders to Know (Biological)
Multiple Sclerosis: Destruction of myelin sheath, disrupting APs, causing impaired mobility and pain.
Myasthenia Gravis: Acetylcholine is blocked, causing poor motor control and paralysis.
Blindsight: Caused by lesions to the primary visual cortex; evidence for association areas as people can "see" without awareness.
Prosopagnosia: Face blindness; damage to occipital/temporal lobes.
Aphasia: Broca’s aphasia (stuttered speech) and Wernicke’s aphasia (jumbled speech).
Phantom Limb Pain: Pain from an amputated limb caused by brain plasticity.
Epilepsy: Seizures caused by imbalances in Glutamate or GABA.
Alzheimer’s: Destruction of acetylcholine in the hippocampus, leading to memory loss.
Sleep and Consciousness
Consciousness: Awareness of cognitive processes.
Circadian Rhythms: The -hour biological clock regulating body temperature and sleep. Disruptions result in jet lag or shift work issues.
Brain Waves: * Beta Waves: Awake state. * Alpha Waves: High amplitude; drowsy state. * Delta Waves: Deep sleep state (NREM ).
Sleep Stages: * NREM 1: Light sleep, hypnagogic sensations (falling feeling). * NREM 2: Bursts of sleep spindles. * NREM 3: Deep sleep. * Rapid Eye Movement (REM): Dreaming and cognitive processing. Occurs between cycles. Body is relaxed but HR and brain are active (paradoxical sleep).
Sleep Cycle: Takes minutes. REM lasts longer as the night progresses; deep sleep decreases.
REM Rebound: Increased REM sleep following deprivation.
Dream Theories: * Activation Synthesis: Brain produces random energy bursts stimulating the limbic system; dreams develop meaning thereafter. * Consolidation: Brain processes and combines memories for storage.
Sleep Disorders: * Insomnia: Inability to fall or stay asleep due to stress. * Somnambulism (Sleep walking): Happens during stage , not REM. * Narcolepsy: Falling into REM suddenly; treated with stimulants. * Sleep Apnea: Stopping breathing during sleep, often due to obesity. * REM Behavior Disorder: Failure of the mechanism that paralyzes the body during REM.
Sensation and Perception
Sensation: Receiving stimulus energy from the environment.
Transduction: Converting that energy into APs.
Perception: Brain interpreting information.
Thresholds: * Absolute Threshold: Detection of a signal of the time. * Just Noticeable Difference (JND): The ability to tell the difference between two stimuli.
Weber’s Law: Two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion for a difference to be perceived.
Synesthesia: A condition where senses blend (e.g., seeing sounds).
Sensory Adaptation: Diminished sensitivity due to constant stimulation as receptors fire less.
The Visual System
Structure: * Lens: Focuses light on the retina. * Accommodation: Lens changing curvature to focus images. * Retina: Contains photoreceptors (Rods, Cones, Ganglion cells). * Fovea: Area of best vision containing only cones. * Rods: For black/white vision and dark adaptation; located on the sides of the retina. * Cones: For color and bright light (red, green, blue); located in the fovea. * Ganglion Cells: Create the optic nerve; site of opponent process theory. * Blind Spot: Where the optic nerve leaves the eye.
Vision Defects: Nearsightedness (better vision near) and Farsightedness (better vision far).
Color Vision Theories: * Trichromatic: Three cones (Blue-short; Green-medium; Red-long). * Opponent Process: Complementary colors (Red/Green, Blue/Yellow, Black/White) are processed in ganglion cells, explaining afterimages.
Color Deficiency: Caused by damage to cones or ganglion cells. Red/green is most common. Dichromatism (missing cone); Monochromatism (only rods).
The Auditory System
Sound Properties: * Wavelength: Distance between peaks, determining pitch. Long waves = low pitch; Narrow waves = high pitch. * Amplitude: Height of the wave, determining loudness. Tall waves = loud; Short waves = soft.
Hearing Theories (in the Cochlea): * Place Theory: Location of hair cell bending determines sound (high pitches). * Frequency Theory: Rate of APs determines sound (low pitches). * Volley Theory: Groups of neurons fire APs out of sync.
Hearing Phenomena: * Sound Localization: Which ear receives waves first. * Conduction Deafness: Damage to bones or eardrum. * Sensorineural Deafness: Damage to cochlea, hairs, or nerve due to age or noise.
Other Senses and Perception Practices
Vestibular: Sense of balance via semicircular canals in the inner ear.
Kinesthetic: Sense of body position without looking.
Pain: Gate-control theory states a "gate" controls pain experience (mental and physical).
Taste (Gustation): receptors: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami, oleogustus. Density of receptors determines taster status. Sensory interaction with smell is vital.
Smell (Olfaction): Does not route through the thalamus. Pheromones are chemical signals within a species.
Processing: * Top-Down: Whole idea/expectations to smaller parts. * Bottom-Up: Sensory info to the whole idea.
Perceptual Concepts: * Schemas: Mental concepts of how things should look. * Perceptual Set: Tendency to see things as part of a group. * Gestalt Psychology: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Principles: Figure/ground, Closure, Proximity, Similarity. * Constancies: Recognizing objects don’t change despite sensory changes (size, shape, brightness). * Apparent Movement: Perceiving movement in stationary objects (e.g., flip books).
Attention: * Selective Attention: Focusing on one thing. * Inattentional Blindness: Failure to notice a stimulus when focused elsewhere (e.g., gorilla video). * Change Blindness: Failure to notice a change in a scene. * Cocktail Party Effect: Noticing your name across a room.
Depth Cues
Binocular Cues: * Retinal Disparity: Slightly different images on each retina helps determine depth. * Convergence: Eye strain as objects get closer.
Monocular Cues: * Interposition: Overlapping images are closer. * Relative Size: Smaller of two similar objects is further. * Linear Perspective: Parallel lines converging in the distance. * Relative Clarity: Hazy objects are further. * Texture Gradient: Coarser objects are closer.
Thinking and Problem Solving
Concepts: Categories used to group objects.
Prototypes: Ideal examples of a concept.
Problem Solving Strategies: * Algorithms: Step-by-step strategies guaranteeing a solution. * Heuristics: Shortcut strategies. * Representative Heuristic: Judging based on stereotypes/experience. * Availability Heuristic: Judging based on the first thing that comes to mind.
Metacognition: Reflecting on one's own thinking.
Obstacles: * Mental Set: Using the same strategy despite new problems. * Functional Fixedness: Only seeing common uses for items. * Sunk Cost Fallacy: Continuing an investment because you are already invested. * Gambler’s Fallacy: Belief that something is "due" to happen.
Thinking Types: * Divergent Thinking: Thinking of many different things at once (creative). * Convergent Thinking: Limits to one answer.
Executive Functioning: Organizing and carrying out goal-directed behaviors.
Memory Encoding
Automatic Encoding: Requires no effort (e.g., what you ate for breakfast).
Effortful Encoding: Requires work.
Levels of Processing: * Structural (Shallow): Physical structure. * Phonemic (Intermediate): Sound of words. * Semantic (Deep): Meaning of words (leads to best memory).
Elaborative Rehearsal Strategies: * Imagery: Attaching images. * Dual Encoding: Using multiple methods (photos + words). * Chunking: Breaking info into smaller units (e.g., phone numbers). * Mnemonics: Shortcuts like Acronyms (PEMDAS) or Method of Loci (using locations).
Encoding Contexts: * Context Dependent: Remembering where you learned. * State Dependent: Remembering in the same physical state. * Mood Congruent: Remembering happy events when happy.
Forgetting Dynamics: * Forgetting Curve: Recall decreases rapidly then plateaus. * Distributed Practice (Spacing Effect): Reviewing a little every night. * Massed Practice: Cramming. * Testing Effect: Periodic quizzing helps memory.
Memory Storage and Retrieval
Multi-Store Model: * Sensory Memory: Stores all incoming stimuli. * Iconic: Visual ( seconds). * Echoic: Auditory ( seconds). * Short Term Memory (STM): Lasts seconds; capacity is items. Reset by Maintenance Rehearsal. * Long Term Memory (LTM): Lasts a lifetime. * Explicit (Conscious): Episodic (events) and Semantic (facts). * Implicit (Automatic): Classical conditioning, Priming, and Procedural (skills).
Working Memory Model: STM split into Visual Spatial, Phonological Loop, and a Central Executive.
Memory Types: * Prospective: Remembering to do a task. * Autobiographical: Personal history (Episodic + Semantic).
Organization: Hierarchies, Categories, and Semantic Networks (Webs of info). Tip of the tongue phenomenon is a failure to navigate these webs.
Piagetian Memory Concepts: Assimilation (new info into old schema) and Accommodation (adjusting schema).
Biological Memory: Hippocampus (Explicit), Cerebellum (Implicit), Amygdala (Emotional), Frontal Lobe (Encoding/Retrieval). Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the neural basis of memory.
Retrieval Phenomena: * Serial Position Effect: Remembering the beginning (Primacy) and end (Recency) best. * Recall vs. Recognition (MCQs are recognition).
Forgetting: * Repression: Unconscious burying of memories. * Encoding Failure: Information was never paid attention to. * Interference: Proactive (Old blocks New) and Retroactive (New blocks Old). * Source Amnesia: Forgetting where info was heard. * Misinformation Effect: Distortion by suggestion. * Framing: Question wording impacts recall. * Imagination Inflation: Confidence in false imagined events. * Amnesia: Anterograde (forgetting new) and Retrograde (forgetting old).
Intelligence and Achievement
Theories: Single Form (g factor) vs. Multiple Intelligences.
First IQ Test Formula: . Average is , Standard Deviation is .
Psychometrics: Creating tests. * Standardization: Consistent procedures/environments. * Reliability: Consistency (Split-half or Test-retest). * Validity: Accuracy (Construct: measuring what you want; Predictive: predicting a trait).
Test Types: Aptitude (ability to learn) and Achievement (what you know).
Historical and Social Issues: * Eugenics: Improving the gene pool by discouraging reproduction of certain individuals. * Flynn Effect: Steady rise in IQ over years. * Stereotype Threat: Being at risk of conforming to a negative stereotype; Stereotype Lift is the opposite. * Mindsets: Fixed (intelligence is birth-fixed) vs. Growth (it can be developed).
Developmental Psychology
Thematic Issues: Nature/Nurture, Continuity/Discontinuity, Stability/Change.
Study Types: Cross-sectional (diff. ages at once) vs. Longitudinal (same people over time).
Prenatal Development: Impacted by Teratogens (alcohol, drugs).
Physical Development: * Maturation: Natural course of development. * Movement: Gross first, then Fine. * Reflexes: Rooting, Sucking, Grasping, Moro, Babinski. * Visual Cliff: Babies learn depth perception via experience. * Critical Period: Time when development must happen (e.g., language). * Imprinting: Birds following the first thing they see.
Puberty: Sexual maturation. * Primary Characteristics: Needed for reproduction (Menarche, Spermarche). * Secondary Characteristics: Nonreproductive (Breasts, Body hair). * Adulthood: Frontal lobe fully develops at . Physical abilities decline later in life.
Piaget’s Cognitive Stages: * Sensorimotor (0-2 yrs): Object Permanence (knowing objects exist when hidden). * Pre-operational (2-7 yrs): Pretend play. Lack Conservation (volume stays same despite shape change), Reversibility (), and Theory of Mind. Exhibit Egocentrism and Animism. * Concrete Operational (7-11 yrs): Logical concrete thinking. * Formal Operational (11-15 yrs): Abstract and hypothetical thoughts.
Vygotsky’s Theory: Social process. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is the gap between solo ability and supported ability; needs Scaffolding.
Intelligence Types: Crystallized (increases with age) and Fluid (decreases with age).
Language Stages: Cooing, Babbling, One-word, Telegraphic (two-word) with Overregularization (e.g., "I go-ed").
Socioemotional Development: * Temperament: Emotional reactions (Easy, Difficult, Slow to warm up). * Harlow's Monkeys: Contact comfort is more important than feeding. * Attachment Styles (Strange Situation): Secure, Avoidant, Anxious, Disorganized. * Parenting Styles: Authoritarian, Permissive, Authoritative (best).
Identity Theories: * Erikson’s 8 Stages: From Trust vs. Mistrust to Integrity vs. Despair. * Marcia’s Identity: Diffusion, Foreclosure, Moratorium, Achievement.
Ecological Systems: Microsystem (immediate), Mesosystem (inter-micro relations), Exosystem (indirect), Macrosystem (culture), Chronosystem (time/history).
Learning Pillars
Classical Conditioning (Involuntary): * Elements: UCS (food), UCR (salivation), CS (bell), CR (salivation to bell). * Acquisition: Learning the pairing; requires Contiguity ( second timing). * Extinction: Response dies out. * Spontaneous Recovery: CR returns suddenly. * Generalization: Responding to similar stimuli; Discrimination: Responding to ONLY the CS. * Conditioned Taste Aversion: One-trial learning due to biological preparedness.
Operant Conditioning (Voluntary): * Law of Effect: Positive outcomes strengthen behavior; negative outcomes weaken it. * Reinforcement: Positive (add good) or Negative (remove bad). Primary (innate) or Secondary/Token (learned/money). * Punishment: Positive (add bad) or Negative (remove good). Generally ineffective. * Shaping: Successive approximations. * Schedules: Fixed Ratio (reward after X responses), Fixed Interval (after X time), Variable Ratio (random responses - most resistant to extinction), Variable Interval (random time). * Learned Helplessness: Giving up when positive outcomes feel impossible.
Social and Latent Learning: * BoBo Doll Experiment: Modeling behaviors. * Latent Learning: Learning shown only when useful, involving Cognitive Maps. * Insight Learning: "Aha!" moments.
Social Psychology
Attributions: Dispositional (personality) vs. Situational (circumstances). * Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE): Blaming personality, ignoring the situation in others. * Self-Serving Bias: Successes are mine, failures are not.
Biases: Stereotypes (label), Prejudice (belief), Discrimination (behavior). In-group bias, Out-group homogeneity, Ethnocentrism, Just-world phenomenon.
Social Situations: * Cognitive Dissonance: Conflicting thoughts causing discomfort, leading to justification. * Social Influence: Normative (to be liked) or Informational (to be right). * Persuasion: Central route (logic) vs. Peripheral route (beauty/influence).
Compliance and Conformity: * Foot-in-the-door / Door-in-the-face. * Asch Experiment: Line length study on conformity. * Milgram Experiment: Obedience to lethal shocks ( participation). * Groups: Group Polarization (stronger opinions), Groupthink (harmony over logic), Bystander Effect (diffusion of responsibility), Social Loafing, Deindividuation (mob mentality), Social Facilitation (performing better when watched).
Stanford Prison Experiment: Zimbardo's study on role-taking.
Personality
Psychodynamic: Id (desires), Superego (morals), Ego (mediator). Use of Defense Mechanisms: Repression, Regression, Denial, Rationalization, Displacement, Projection, Reaction Formation, Sublimation.
Traits: The Big Five (OCEAN): Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.
Humanistic: Personal growth, self-actualization, and Unconditional Positive Regard.
Social-Cognitive: Reciprocal Determinism (Behavior, Cognition, and Environment interaction), Self-efficacy.
Motivation and Emotion
Motivation Theories: Instinct, Drive Reduction (Homeostasis), Lewin’s Approach Conflicts (App-App, App-Avoid, Avoid-Avoid), Self-Determination (Intrinsic/Extrinsic), Yerkes-Dodson Law (moderate arousal is best).
Hunger: Leptin (full) vs. Ghrelin (hungry).
Emotion: Six universal emotions (Happiness, Anger, Sadness, Surprise, Disgust, Fear). Amygdala handles fast processing; Frontal Lobe handles long routes (cognitive labeling).
Mental and Physical Health
Stress: GAS phases (Alarm, Resistance, Exhaustion). Problem-focused vs. Emotion-focused coping.
Positive Psych: Signature strengths (Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, Transcendence).
Disorders: * Neurodevelopmental: ADHD, Autism. * Feeding/Eating: Anorexia ( ideal weight loss), Bulimia (binge-purge). * Mood: MDD, Persistent, Bipolar I (manic) and II (hypomanic). * Schizophrenia: Positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions) and Negative symptoms (flat affect, catatonia). Linked to the Dopamine Hypothesis. * Anxiety: Phobias, Agoraphobia, Panic Disorder (Ataque de nervios), Social Anxiety (Taijin kyofusho), GAD. * Dissociative: Amnesia with Fugue, DID. * OCD: Obsessions (thoughts) and Compulsions (behaviors). * Personality Disorders: Cluster A (Odd), B (Dramatic, e.g., Antisocial, Borderline), C (Anxious, e.g., Avoidant, OCPD).
Treatment: * Biological: Meds (Anti-psychotics cause Tardive Dyskinesia), ECT, TMS. * Humanistic: Person-centered, Active listening. * Cognitive: Restructuring the Cognitive Triad. * Behavioral: Systematic Desensitization, Aversive Conditioning, Token Economies.
AP Exam Formatting
Part I: Multiple Choice Questions in minutes ( weight).
Part II: Two FRQs (Article Analysis and Evidence Based) in minutes ( weight).