AP Psychology Exam Info

Composite Score AP Grade (approx.)

96-150 5

74-95 4

55-73 3

36-54 2

0-35 1

150 total possible points (100 multiple choice, 50 free response)

Intro Review Topics

Important People to Know Wilhelm Wundt William James Sigmund Freud

Terms/Ideas psychology phrenology structuralism introspection functionalism Gestalt psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory

○ unconscious behaviorism humanistic psychology cognitive psychology social psychology nature vs. nurture psychology vs. psychiatry

Methods Review Topics Terms/Ideas, cont.

random assignment Reliability validity placebo effect double-blind design Descriptive statistics

○ measures of central tendency

Inferential statistics○ statistical significance

informed consent debriefing Institutional Review Boards

(IRBs)

Terms/Ideas hypothesis theory operational definition population sample (random sampling) Descriptive research

○ case study○ surveys○ naturalistic observation

Correlational research○ correlation coefficient (r)○ direction and size of correlations

Experimental research○ independent & dependent variables○ experimental & control conditions○ confounds

Neurobio Review Topics

Terms/Ideas, cont. agonists & antagonists Nervous system

○ central and peripheral○ PNS = Skeletal and autonomic○ ANS = sympathetic and

parasympathetic Endocrine system

○ hormones○ pituitary gland

Mapping Brain Functions○ EEG○ CT scan○ PET scan○ MRI & fMRI

Terms/Ideas glial cells Neuron

○ cell body/soma○ nucleus○ dendrites○ axon○ myelin sheath○ Nodes of Ranvier○ terminal buttons/terminal branches

resting potential action potential threshold (“all or none law”) synapse/synaptic cleft Neurotransmitters

○ vesicles○ receptors○ reuptake

Neurobio Review Topics

Terms/Ideas, cont.Forebrain, cont.

○ cerebral cortexfrontal lobeparietal lobetemporal lobeoccipital lobe

○ corpus callosumplasticity

Important People to KnowPhineas Gage

Terms/IdeasHindbrain

○ medulla○ pons○ reticular formation○ cerebellum

Midbrain○ thalamus

Forebrain○ limbic system

hippocampushypothalamusamygdala

S&P Review Topics Terms/Ideas, cont.

Visual Sensation & Perception, cont.○ cues to depth perception

(monocular vs. binocular)○ motion perception

stroboscopic effectphi phenomenon

○ Stroop task Auditory Sensation &

Perception○ amplitude & frequency of

sound waves○ parts of the ear○ pitch theories (place theory,

frequency theory)○ cocktail party effect

gate-control theory of pain synesthesia

Terms/Ideas sensation vs. perception bottom-up & top-down processing absolute threshold

○ just-noticeable difference (JND)○ Weber’s Law

sensory adaptation transduction Visual Sensation & Perception

○ amplitude & frequency of light waves○ parts of the eye○ theories of color vision

trichromatic theoryopponent-process theory

(afterimages)○ feature detector neurons

Consciousness Review Topics

Terms/Ideas, cont. Sleep, cont.

○ sleep disorders insomnia narcolepsy sleep apnea night terrors

Hypnosis○ applications of hypnosis

Psychoactive drugs○ addiction, tolerance, & withdrawal○ 3 classes:

depressants stimulants hallucinogens

Terms/Ideas consciousness (normal/waking vs.

altered states) Sleep

○ circadian rhythm (roles of hypothalamus, melatonin)

○ stages of sleepbrain wave activity

○ Why do we sleep?○ Why do we dream?

Freud (manifest vs. latent content)

activation-synthesis theorymemory consolidation

Behaviorism Review Topics Terms/Ideas, cont.

Operant conditioning○ Law of Effect○ shaping○ positive & negative reinforcement○ 4 schedules of partial reinforcement:

fixed ratiovariable ratiofixed intervalvariable interval

○ positive & negative punishment Other types of learning besides

conditioning○ latent learning○ insight learning○ social/observational learning

(modeling)

Terms/Ideas Classical conditioning

○ 4 aspects:unconditioned stimulus (US)conditioned stimulus (CS)unconditioned response (UR)conditioned response (CR)

○ acquisition○ extinction○ spontaneous recovery○ stimulus discrimination○ stimulus generalization○ biological preparedness○ taste aversion○ systematic desensitization

Behaviorism Review Topics

Important People to KnowIvan PavlovJohn WatsonEdward ThorndikeBF SkinnerAlbert Bandura

Classical Conditioning Examples#1 Find the UCS/UCR/CS/CR in the next five examples

1. A college guy spends a summer going down to the football field every day, scattering birdseed all over the field while blowing a whistle, then walking off. Fall arrives, and the school’s first home game

starts. The referee walks out and blows his whistle - and the game has to be delayed half an hour to remove the birds who flocked when they heard the sound of the whistle.

Classical Conditioning #2 2. This story is from the U.S. Army’s

Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. MaryBeth Garrigan of the University of Minnesota recalls a bird-watching assignment there during explosives testing. “Looking through my binoculars, I saw a pair

of red-tailed hawks sitting on a telephone pole, and as the bombing started, I expected the birds to fly away in a panic. Instead they flew to a platform closer to the explosions!”

She made sense of this when the bombing subsided, and the hawks began flying slowly over the field, diving down and picking up what looked like shell-shocked mice and rabbits.

Classical Conditioning#3

3. It’s your first day of college! Ah yes, your first experiences with dorm life. You are standing in the shower, trying to wake up, when you hear someone flush the toilet, then a few seconds later the shower water turns scaldingly hot! You yell and jump out of the way. After the water temperature returns to normal,

you resume the shower, but someone else flushes the toilet, the water gets hot, you jump again.

Sooner or later (sooner, I hope!), you begin to jump out of the way as soon as you hear a toilet flush without waiting to get burned.

4. While crossing an intersection, you are nearly run down by a car. The next time you approach that intersection, you find yourself feeling nervous (e.g. palms sweating, heart racing, etc.)

Classical Conditioning #4

Classical Conditioning #5

5. In order to punish your cat even when you’re not close enough to reach him, you have paired the sound of a clicker with getting squirted with water. Now the sound of the clicker causes him to startle.

Memory Review Topics Terms/Ideas, cont.

Memory, cont.○ retrograde & anterograde

amnesia○ flashbulb memories○ memory interference

(proactive & retroactive)○ repression○ mnemonic devices

Terms/Ideas Memory

○ 3 steps to forming a memory (encoding, storage, retrieval)

○ 3 Stage Model of Memorysensory memory short-term (working)

memory long-term memory○ rehearsal○ chunking○ levels/depth of processing○ Serial Position Effect

primacy & recency effects

○ types of memoriesexplicit vs. implicitepisodic, semantic

Thinking and Language Review Topics

Important People to Know Noam Chomsky

Terms/Ideas Thinking

○ algorithms vs. heuristicsheuristics: availability,

representativeness

Language○ phonemes, morphemes○ grammar (syntax, semantics)○ Broca’s aphasia, Wernicke’s

aphasia

Motivation and Emotion Review Topics

Terms/Ideas, cont. Emotion

○ 3 important theories of emotion1. James-Lange2. Cannon-Bard3. two-factor theory

(Schacter & Singer)○ polygraph tests

Important People to Know Abraham Maslow Paul Ekman – Facial Feedback Schacter & Singer

Terms/Ideas Motivation

○ drive-reduction theory○ law of optimal arousal (aka.

Yerkes-Dodson Law)○ hunger (hypothalamus)

anorexia nervosa,bulimia nervosa

○ evolutionary perspective on mating habits

Development Review Topics Terms/Ideas, cont.

Psychosocial Development○ attachment styles○ critical period/imprinting○ parenting styles…next slides!○ Erikson’s stage model

Moral Development○ Kohlberg’s stage model

dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease Important People to Know

Jean Piaget Harry Harlow Lawrence Kohlberg Erik Erikson

Terms/Ideas Physical/Prenatal

Development○ zygote embryo fetus○ teratogens

Cognitive Development○ Piaget’s stage model

object permanenceconservationegocentrism/theory of

mind

Child Rearing Practices:Level of Control?

1. authoritarian style impose rules, expect unquestioning

obedience & conformity high expectations, but no explanation of

rules (“Why? Because I said so.”) most likely to use physical punishment kids: low in social competence

rarely take initiative, look to others for what is right

lack spontaneity

Child Rearing Practices:Level of Control?

2. permissive stylewarm, but lax, stylesubmit to children’s wishes, make

few demands, use little punishment, few rules

kids: selfish, impulsive, aggressive, insecure, low achievers often lacking in social responsibility

Child Rearing Practices:Level of Control? 3. authoritative style

both demanding & responsiveset rules & enforce them...

...but explain reasons for rules ...and explain why punishment is

happeningencourage independencekids: high self-esteem,

independence ability to reason, form own

opinions & arguments

Personality Review Topics

Terms/Ideas, cont. Trait approach

○ five-factor theory of personality (“the Big Five”)

learned helplessness Important People to Know

Sigmund Freud Carl Jung Alfred Adler

Terms/Ideas Psychoanalytic theory (aka.

psychodynamic)○ the unconscious○ accessing the unconscious:

dreams (manifest vs. latent content) free associationhypnosisprojective tests

○ id, superego, & ego○ Freud’s stage model of

psychosexual development○ Oedipus complex○ defense mechanisms:

repression, projection, regression, reaction formation, sublimation

Intelligence Review Topics

Important People to KnowCharles SpearmanHoward GardnerAlfred Binet & Theodore

SimonLewis Terman

Terms/Ideas Intelligence

○ general intelligence (g)○ emotional intelligence○ convergent vs. divergent thinking

(creativity?)○ crystallized vs. fluid intelligence

Intelligence testing○ Intelligence quotient (IQ)○ famous IQ tests:

Binet-SimonStanford-BinetWAIS/WISC

○ standardization○ reliability (test-retest, split-half)○ validity (criterion)

Stray Topic #1: Stress General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)3 stage model of reactions to stress:

○ 1. Alarm (fight-or-flight, sympathetic NS, prepare body)○ 2. Resistance (remain physically “ready”; can deplete energy if

too long)○ 3. Exhaustion (parasympathetic NS)

more vulnerable to disease, illness in Exhaustion stage

Stray Topic #2: Opponent-Process Theory

Not just for color vision…also opposing processes in emotions, addictionEmotions & skydivers

○ inexperienced = more scared before, less pleasure upon landing○ experienced = less scared before, more pleasure upon landing

Disorders Review Topics

Terms/Ideas, cont.Mood disorders

○ Major depressive disorder (MDD)Seasonal affective disorder

(SAD)

○ Bipolar disorder (BD)○ Disthymic/Cyclothymic

Schizophrenia○ delusions, hallucinations,

language disruptions○ Four subtypes

Personality disorders○ especially antisocial (APD)

Terms/Ideas Diagnostic & Statistical

Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV)○ American Psychiatric

Association○ 5 Axes, “Medical Model”

Anxiety Disorders○ Generalized anxiety disorder

(GAD)○ Panic disorder (PD)○ Phobias○ Obsessive-compulsive

disorder (OCD)○ Post-traumatic stress disorder

(PTSD)

Disorders Review Topics Terms/Ideas

Somatoform Disorders○ Somatization Disorder○ Conversion Disorder○ Body Dysmorphic Disorder○ Hypochondriasis

Dissociative Disorders○ Dissociative Amnesia○ Dissociative Fugue○ Dissociative Identity Disorder

Personality Disorders○ Axis II○ Definition?○ Antisocial Personality Disorder

Therapy Review Topics

Terms/Ideas, cont.Types of Medication

○ antipsychotics, antidepressants, antianxiety, mood-stabilizers

“Alternative” Therapies○ electroconvulsive therapy

(ECT), lobotomy

Important People to KnowSigmund FreudCarl Rogers

Terms/Ideas Psychoanalytic Therapy

○ resistance○ transference

Humanistic Therapy○ client-centered therapy○ active listening

Behavioral therapy○ counterconditioning○ token economies○ systematic desensitization

Cognitive therapy/cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

Stray Topic #4: Types of Intelligence Tests

aptitude tests: ability, what you can do

achievement tests: knowledge, what you have learned

Stray Topic #5: Group Dynamics besides social facilitation, social loafing group polarization: groups make more

extreme decisions than they would individually

groupthink: group members suppress concerns about ideas that group supports

Social Psych Review Topics Terms/Ideas, cont.

Persuasion○ persuasion techniques:

foot-in-the-door Attraction & relationships

○ mere exposure effect Group processes

○ social facilitation, social loafing

Terms/Ideas Fundamental attribution error Social roles (Stanford Prison

Study) Cognitive dissonance Conformity Obedience to authority Helping behavior

○ Bystander effect, diffusion of responsibility

Social Psych Review Topics Important People to Know

Phil Zimbardo○ Prison experiment

Stanley Milgram○ Obedience Shock