Review major units, high-yield vocabulary, research methods, theories, psychologists, and AP exam strategy.
A lesson of AP Psychology, in AP Psych Exam Readiness, about 10 minutes.
AP Psychology: Full Course Review
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to organize the AP Psychology content into its major units, identify the most frequently tested concepts in each unit, and apply the psychological perspectives framework to review material across topics.
Wilhelm Wundt: First psychology lab (Leipzig, 1879); structuralism (analyzing the structure of consciousness)
William James: Functionalism (what does consciousness DO, not just what is it?); wrote Principles of PsychologyJohn Watson / B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism — only observable behavior is scientific; dismissed consciousness
Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis — unconscious processes; defense mechanisms
Humanistic (Rogers, Maslow): Self-actualization; inherent human goodness
Cognitive revolution (1950s–60s): Mind can be studied through information processing
Modern perspectives: Neuroscience, evolutionary, sociocultural, biopsychosocial model
Research Methods
Descriptive: Case study (one person), survey (self-report), naturalistic observation
Correlational: Measures relationship between variables; correlation coefficient (-1 to +1); CANNOT establish causation
Independent variable (what you manipulate) → dependent variable (what you measure); control vs. experimental group; random assignment eliminates confounds
Mean, median, mode; standard deviation; statistical significance (p < .05); effect size
Lateralization: Language (left hemisphere for most); left brain controls right side, vice versa; split-brain research (Sperry)
Neuroscience methods: EEG (electrical), fMRI (blood flow), PET scan (glucose use)
Genetics: Twin studies separate nature from nurture; heritability tells how much variation in a population is due to genes
Unit 3: Sensation and Perception
Transduction: Converting physical stimulus into neural signal
Absolute threshold: Minimum stimulus level detectable 50% of the time
Signal detection theory: Response depends on stimulus AND on observer's decision criterion (bias)
Weber's Law: Just-noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus
Sensory adaptation: Decreased sensitivity after continuous stimulation
Vision: Rods (black/white, low light); cones (color, detail); fovea (sharpest vision); feature detectors (Hubel and Wiesel)
Hearing: Frequency = pitch; amplitude = loudness; place theory + frequency theory for pitch perception
Erikson's stages (8 stages, lifespan):
Key: Trust vs. Mistrust (infant); Autonomy vs. Shame (toddler); Initiative vs. Guilt (preschool); Industry vs. Inferiority (school-age); Identity vs. Role Confusion (adolescence); Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adult); Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle age); Integrity vs. Despair (old age)
Kohlberg's moral development: Preconventional (rules for reward/punishment), Conventional (social rules), Postconventional (principled ethics)
Adolescence: Identity formation (Marcia's statuses); Elkind's personal fable and imaginary audience
Unit 7: Motivation, Emotion, and Personality
Motivation:
Drive reduction theory; Maslow's hierarchy; Self-determination theory (intrinsic vs. extrinsic)
Hunger: hypothalamus (lateral = hunger, ventromedial = satiety); ghrelin (hunger) vs. leptin (satiety); set point theory
Group therapy advantages (cost, support, modeling)
Unit 9: Social Psychology
Attribution: Internal (dispositional) vs. external (situational)
Fundamental attribution error: overestimate dispositional, underestimate situational for OTHERS
Self-serving bias: internal for success, external for failure for SELF
Actor-observer effect: situational for self, dispositional for others
Attitudes and persuasion: Elaboration likelihood model (central vs. peripheral route)
Conformity: Asch's lines (75% conformed at least once); normative vs. informational social influence
Obedience: Milgram's shock study (65% went to 450V); situational factors (authority, distance, gradualism)
Group dynamics: Groupthink, social facilitation, social loafing, deindividuation, group polarization
Helping behavior: Bystander effect (diffusion of responsibility); Kitty Genovese case
AP Exam Tip: AP Psychology tests conceptual understanding and application, not just memorization. For each major concept, be able to identify an example of it in a novel scenario — this is how the FRQ works and how many MC questions are designed.