AP Psychology Course Study Guide

 Use this study guide (arranged by unit) as the basis for your prep reading and notetaking
as well as a method to document what we do in class.
 The percentages next to each unit title show what portion of that unit comprises the AP
Exam.
 Use the outline to provide structure for your note taking. Handwritten notes are preferred.
 Answer the learning objectives to ensure that you know and understand the concepts.
 For the key vocabulary, be sure to define each term, provide an example of the term, and
show how the term is applied in real-world situations.
 This is for the entire course so print it out and put in the front of your notebook. Follow
and reference the course calendar for the specific unit (whether YOYO units or the ones
being covered in class) so you stay on pace with our coverage of the content.

I. History and Approaches. 2–4%

A. History of Psychology
B. Approaches
1. Biological
2. Behavioral
3. Cognitive
4. Humanistic
5. Psychodynamic
6. Sociocultural
7. Evolutionary
8. Biopsychosocial
C. Subfields in Psychology

Topics and Learning Objectives

Psychology has evolved markedly since its inception as a discipline in 1879. There
have been significant changes in the theories that psychologists use to explain
behavior and mental processes. In addition, the methodology of psychological
research has expanded to include a diversity of approaches to data gathering.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Recognize how philosophical and physiological perspectives shaped the
development of psychological thought.
• Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior:
— structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism in the early years;
— Gestalt, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, and humanism emerging later;
— evolutionary, biological, cognitive, and biopsychosocial as more
contemporary approaches.
• Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior.
• Distinguish the different domains of psychology (e.g., biological, clinical,
 cognitive, counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, human factors,
industrial–organizational, personality, psychometric, social).
• Identify major historical figures in psychology (e.g., Mary Whiton Calkins,
Charles Darwin, Dorothea Dix, Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, William James,
Ivan Pavlov, Jean Piaget, Carl Rogers, B. F. Skinner, Margaret Floy Washburn,
John B. Watson, Wilhelm Wundt).

Key Vocabulary
1. empiricism 13. biological 23. social psychology
2. structuralism psychology 24. applied research
3. functionalism 14. cognitive 25. industrial-
4. experimental psychology organizational
psychology 15. evolutionary psychology
5. behaviorism psychology 26. human factors
6. humanistic 16. psychodynamic psychology
psychology psychology 27. counseling
7. cognitive 17. social-cultural psychology
neuroscience psychology 28. clinical psychology
8. Psychology 18. psychometrics 29. psychiatry
9. nature-nurture 19. basic research 30. positive
debate 20. developmental psychology
10. natural selection psychology 31. community
11. levels of analysis 21. educational psychology
12. behavioral psychology 32. testing effect
psychology 22. personality 33. SQ3R
psychology

II. Research Methods. 8–10%

A. Experimental, Correlational, and Clinical Research
B. Statistics
1. Descriptive
2. Inferential
C. Ethics in Research

Topics and Learning Objectives

Psychology is an empirical discipline. Psychologists develop knowledge by doing
research. Research provides guidance for psychologists who develop theories to
explain behavior and who apply theories to solve problems in behavior.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Differentiate types of research (e.g., experiments, correlational studies, survey
research, naturalistic observations, case studies) with regard to purpose,
strengths, and weaknesses.
 • Describe how research design drives the reasonable conclusions that can be
drawn (e.g., experiments are useful for determining cause and effect; the use of
experimental controls reduces alternative explanations).
• Identify independent, dependent, confounding, and control variables in
experimental designs.
• Distinguish between random assignment of participants to conditions in
experiments and random selection of participants, primarily in correlational
studies and surveys.
• Predict the validity of behavioral explanations based on the quality of research
design (e.g., confounding variables limit confidence in research conclusions).
• Distinguish the purposes of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.
• Apply basic descriptive statistical concepts, including interpreting and
constructing graphs and calculating simple descriptive statistics
(e.g., measures of central tendency, standard deviation).
• Discuss the value of reliance on operational definitions and measurement in
behavioral research.
• Identify how ethical issues inform and constrain research practices.
• Describe how ethical and legal guidelines (e.g., those provided by the American
Psychological Association, federal regulations, local institutional review boards)
protect research participants and promote sound ethical practice.

Key Vocabulary
1. hindsight bias 14. correlation 26. validity
2. critical thinking coefficient 27. descriptive
3. theory 15. scatterplot statistics
4. hypothesis 16. illusory correlation 28. mode
5. operational 17. experiment 29. mean
definition 18. experimental group 30. median
6. replication 19. control group 31. skewed distribution
7. case study 20. random assignment 32. range
8. naturalistic 21. double-blind 33. standard deviation
observation procedure 34. normal curve
9. survey 22. placebo effect 35. inferential statistics
10. sampling bias 23. independent 36. statistical
11. population variable significance
12. random sample 24. confounding 37. culture
13. correlation variable 38. informed consent
25. dependent variable 39. debriefing

III. Biological Bases of Behavior. 8–10%

A. Physiological Techniques (e.g., imaging, surgical)
B. Neuroanatomy
 C. Functional Organization of Nervous System
D. Neural Transmission
E. Neuroplasticity
F. Endocrine System
G. Genetics
H. Evolutionary Psychology

Topics and Learning Objectives

An effective introduction to the relationship between physiological processes and
behavior — including the influence of neural function, the nervous system and the
brain, and genetic contributions to behavior — is an important element in the AP
course.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Identify basic processes and systems in the biological bases of behavior,
including parts of the neuron and the process of transmission of a signal
between neurons.
• Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e.g., reuptake
mechanisms, agonists, antagonists).
• Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior.
• Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions:
— central and peripheral nervous systems;
— major brain regions, lobes, and cortical areas;
— brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization.
• Discuss the role of neuroplasticity in traumatic brain injury.
• Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that
support research (e.g., case studies, split-brain research, imaging techniques).
• Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and
evolution work together to shape behavior.
• Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value.
• Identify key contributors (e.g., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga,
Roger Sperry, Carl Wernicke).

Key Vocabulary
1. biological 11. neurotransmitters 20. sensory (afferent)
psychology 12. reuptake neurons
2. neuron 13. endorphins 21. motor (efferent)
3. dendrites 14. agonist neurons
4. axon 15. antagonist 22. interneurons
5. myelin sheath 16. nervous system 23. somatic nervous
6. action potential 17. central nervous system
7. refractory period system (CNS) 24. autonomic nervous
8. threshold 18. peripheral nervous system
9. all-or-none system (PNS) 25. sympathetic
response 19. nerves nervous system
10. synapse
 26. parasympathetic 40. thalamus 60. cognitive
nervous system 41. reticular formation neuroscience
27. reflex 42. cerebellum 61. dual processing
28. endocrine system 43. limbic system 62. behavior genetics
29. hormones 44. amygdala 63. environment
30. adrenal glands 45. hypothalamus 64. chromosomes
31. pituitary gland 46. cerebral cortex 65. DNA
32. lesion 47. glial cells (glia) (deoxyribonucleic
33. electroencephalogr 48. frontal lobes acid)
am (EEG) 49. parietal lobes 66. genes
34. CT (computed 50. occipital lobes 67. genome
tomography) scan 51. temporal lobes 68. identical twins
35. PET (positron 52. motor cortex 69. fraternal twins
emission 53. somatosensory 70. molecular genetics
tomography) scan cortex 71. heritability
36. MRI (magnetic 54. association areas 72. interaction
resonance imaging) 55. plasticity 73. epigenetics
37. fMRI (functional 56. neurogenesis 74. evolutionary
MRI) 57. corpus callosum psychology
38. brainstem 58. split brain 75. natural selection
39. medulla 59. consciousness 76. mutation

IV. Sensation and Perception. 6–8%

A. Thresholds and Signal Detection Theory
B. Sensory Mechanisms
C. Attention
D. Perceptual Processes

Topics and Learning Objectives

Everything that organisms know about the world is first encountered when stimuli in
the environment activate sensory organs, initiating awareness of the external world.
Perception involves the interpretation of the sensory inputs as a cognitive process.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Discuss basic principles of sensory transduction, including absolute threshold,
difference threshold, signal detection, and sensory adaptation.
• Describe sensory processes (e.g., hearing, vision, touch, taste, smell, vestibular,
kinesthesis, pain), including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant
anatomical structures, and specialized pathways in the brain for each of the
senses.
• Explain common sensory disorders (e.g., visual and hearing impairments).
• Describe general principles of organizing and integrating sensation to promote
 stable awareness of the external world (e.g., Gestalt principles, depth
perception).
• Discuss how experience and culture can influence perceptual processes (e.g.,
perceptual set, context effects).
• Explain the role of top-down processing in producing vulnerability to illusion.
• Discuss the role of attention in behavior.
• Challenge common beliefs in parapsychological phenomena.
• Identify the major historical figures in sensation and perception (e.g., Gustav
Fechner, David Hubel, Ernst Weber, Torsten Wiesel).

Key Vocabulary
1. sensation 21. hue 44. monocular cues
2. perception 22. intensity 45. phi phenomenon
3. bottom-up 23. pupil 46. perceptual
processing 24. iris constancy
4. top-down 25. lens 47. color constancy
processing 26. retina 48. perceptual
5. selective attention 27. accommodation adaptation
6. inattentional 28. rods 49. audition
blindness 29. cones 50. frequency
7. change blindness 30. optic nerve 51. pitch
8. transduction 31. blind spot 52. middle ear
9. psychophysics 32. fovea 53. cochlea
10. absolute threshold 33. feature detectors 54. inner ear
11. signal detection 34. parallel processing 55. sensorineural
theory 35. Young-Helmholtz hearing loss
12. subliminal trichromatic (three- 56. conduction hearing
13. priming color) theory loss
14. difference 36. opponent-process 57. cochlear implant
threshold theory 58. place theory
15. Weber’s law 37. gestalt 59. frequency theory
16. sensory adaptation 38. figure-ground 60. gate-control theory
17. perceptual set 39. grouping 61. kinesthesia
18. extrasensory 40. depth perception 62. vestibular sense
perception (ESP) 41. visual cliff 63. sensory interaction
19. parapsychology 42. binocular cues 64. embodied cognition
20. wavelength 43. retinal disparity

V. States of Consciousness. 2–4%

A. Sleep and Dreaming
B. Hypnosis
C. Psychoactive Drug Effects
Topics and Learning Objectives
Understanding consciousness and what it encompasses is critical to an appreciation
of what is meant by a given state of consciousness. The study of variations in
consciousness includes an examination of the sleep cycle, dreams, hypnosis, circadian
rhythms, and the effects of psychoactive drugs.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Describe various states of consciousness and their impact on behavior.
• Discuss aspects of sleep and dreaming:
— stages and characteristics of the sleep cycle;
— theories of sleep and dreaming;
— symptoms and treatments of sleep disorders.
• Describe historic and contemporary uses of hypnosis (e.g., pain control,
psychotherapy).
• Explain hypnotic phenomena (e.g., suggestibility, dissociation).
• Identify the major psychoactive drug categories (e.g., depressants, stimulants)
and classify specific drugs, including their psychological and physiological
effects.
• Discuss drug dependence, addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.
• Identify the major figures in consciousness research (e.g., William James,
Sigmund Freud, Ernest Hilgard).

Key Vocabulary
1. consciousness 14. narcolepsy 27. alcohol use
2. hypnosis 15. sleep apnea disorder
3. posthypnotic 16. night terrors 28. barbiturates
suggestion 17. dream 29. opiates
4. dissociation 18. manifest content 30. stimulants
5. circadian rhythm 19. latent content 31. amphetamines
6. REM sleep 20. REM rebound 32. nicotine
7. alpha waves 21. substance use 33. cocaine
8. sleep disorder 34. methamphetamine
9. hallucinations 22. psychoactive drug 35. Ecstasy (MDMA)
10. delta waves 23. tolerance 36. hallucinogens
11. NREM sleep 24. addiction 37. LSD
12. suprachiasmatic 25. withdrawal 38. near-death
nucleus (SCN) 26. depressants experience
13. insomnia 39. THC

VI. Learning. 7–9%

A. Classical Conditioning
B. Operant Conditioning
C. Cognitive Processes
 D. Biological Factors
E. Social Learning

Topics and Learning Objectives

This section of the course introduces students to differences between learned and
unlearned behavior. The primary focus is exploration of different kinds of learning,
including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. The
biological bases of behavior illustrate predispositions for learning.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Distinguish general differences between principles of classical conditioning,
operant conditioning, and observational learning (e.g., contingencies).
• Describe basic classical conditioning phenomena, such as acquisition, extinction,
spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination, and higher-order learning.
• Predict the effects of operant conditioning (e.g., positive reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, punishment).
• Predict how practice, schedules of reinforcement, and motivation will influence
quality of learning.
• Interpret graphs that exhibit the results of learning experiments.
• Provide examples of how biological constraints create learning predispositions.
• Describe the essential characteristics of insight learning, latent learning, and
social learning.
• Apply learning principles to explain emotional learning, taste aversion,
superstitious behavior, and learned helplessness.
• Suggest how behavior modification, biofeedback, coping strategies, and selfcontrol
can be used to address behavioral problems.
• Identify key contributors in the psychology of learning (e.g., Albert Bandura,
John Garcia, Ivan Pavlov, Robert Rescorla, B. F. Skinner, Edward Thorndike,
Edward Tolman, John B. Watson).

Key Vocabulary
1. learning 11. conditioned 20. law of effect
2. habituation response (CR) 21. operant chamber
3. associative learning 12. conditioned 22. reinforcement
4. stimulus stimulus (CS) 23. shaping
5. cognitive learning 13. acquisition 24. discriminative
6. classical 14. higher-order stimulus
conditioning conditioning 25. positive
7. behaviorism 15. extinction reinforcement
8. neutral stimulus 16. spontaneous 26. negative
(NS) recovery reinforcement
9. unconditioned 17. generalization 27. primary reinforcer
response (UR) 18. discrimination 28. conditioned
10. unconditioned 19. operant reinforcer
stimulus (US) conditioning
 29. reinforcement 36. punishment 47. emotion-focused
schedule 37. biofeedback coping
30. continuous 38. respondent 48. learned
reinforcement behavior helplessness
31. partial 39. operant behavior 49. external locus of
(intermittent) 40. cognitive map control
reinforcement 41. latent learning 50. internal locus of
32. fixed-ratio schedule 42. insight control
33. variable-ratio 43. intrinsic motivation 51. self-control
schedule 44. extrinsic 52. observational
34. fixed-interval motivation learning
schedule 45. coping 53. modeling
35. variable-interval 46. problem-focused 54. mirror neurons
schedule coping 55. prosocial behavior

VII. Cognition. 8–10%

A. Memory
B. Language
C. Thinking
D. Problem Solving and Creativity

Topics and Learning Objectives

In this unit students learn how humans convert sensory input into kinds of
information. They examine how humans learn, remember, and retrieve information.
This part of the course also addresses problem solving, language, and creativity.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Compare and contrast various cognitive processes:
— effortful versus automatic processing;
— deep versus shallow processing;
— focused versus divided attention.
• Describe and differentiate psychological and physiological systems of memory
(e.g., short-term memory, procedural memory).
• Outline the principles that underlie effective encoding, storage, and construction
of memories.
• Describe strategies for memory improvement.
• Synthesize how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitate
acquisition, development, and use of language.
• Identify problem-solving strategies as well as factors that influence their
effectiveness.
• List the characteristics of creative thought and creative thinkers.
• Identify key contributors in cognitive psychology (e.g., Noam Chomsky,
Hermann Ebbinghaus, Wolfgang Köhler, Elizabeth Loftus, George A. Miller).
Key Vocabulary
1. memory 26. recognition 46. heuristic
2. encoding 27. relearning 47. insight
3. storage 28. priming 48. confirmation bias
4. retrieval 29. mood-congruent 49. mental set
5. parallel processing memory 50. intuition
6. sensory memory 30. serial position 51. representativeness
7. short-term memory effect heuristic
8. long-term memory 31. anterograde 52. availability
9. working memory amnesia heuristic
10. explicit memory 32. retrograde amnesia 53. overconfidence
11. effortful processing 33. proactive 54. belief perseverance
12. automatic interference 55. framing
processing 34. retroactive 56. language
13. implicit memory interference 57. phoneme
14. iconic memory 35. repression 58. morpheme
15. echoic memory 36. misinformation 59. grammar
16. chunking effect 60. babbling stage
17. mnemonics 37. source amnesia 61. one-word stage
18. spacing effect 38. déjà vu 62. two-word stage
19. testing effect 39. cognition 63. telegraphic speech
20. shallow processing 40. concept 64. aphasia
21. deep processing 41. prototype 65. Broca’s area
22. hippocampus 42. creativity 66. Wernicke’s area
23. flashbulb memory 43. convergent 67. linguistic
24. long-term thinking determinism
potentiation (LTP) 44. divergent thinking
25. recall 45. algorithm

VIII. Motivation and Emotion. 6–8%

A. Biological Bases
B. Theories of Motivation
C. Hunger, Thirst, Sex, and Pain
D. Social Motives
E. Theories of Emotion
F. Stress

Topics and Learning Objectives

In this part of the course, students explore biological and social factors that motivate
behavior and biological and cultural factors that influence emotion.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Identify and apply basic motivational concepts to understand the behavior of
 humans and other animals (e.g., instincts, incentives, intrinsic versus extrinsic
motivation).
• Discuss the biological underpinnings of motivation, including needs, drives, and
homeostasis.
• Compare and contrast motivational theories (e.g., drive reduction theory, arousal
theory, general adaptation theory), including the strengths and weaknesses of
each.
• Describe classic research findings in specific motivation systems (e.g., eating,
sex, social)
• Discuss theories of stress and the effects of stress on psychological and physical
well-being.
• Compare and contrast major theories of emotion (e.g., James–Lange, Cannon–
Bard, Schachter two-factor theory).
• Describe how cultural influences shape emotional expression, including
variations in body language.
• Identify key contributors in the psychology of motivation and emotion (e.g.,
William James, Alfred Kinsey, Abraham Maslow, Stanley Schachter, Hans Selye).

Key Vocabulary
1. motivation 13. sexual dysfunction 24. general adaptation
2. instinct 14. estrogens syndrome (GAS)
3. drive-reduction 15. testosterone 25. tend and befriend
theory 16. emotion response
4. homeostasis 17. James-Lange 26. psychophysiologica
5. incentive theory l illness
6. Yerkes-Dodson law 18. Cannon-Bard 27. psychoneuroimmun
7. hierarchy of needs theory ology
8. glucose 19. two-factor theory 28. lymphocytes
9. set point 20. polygraph 29. coronary heart
10. basal metabolic rate 21. facial feedback disease
11. sexual response effect 30. Type A
cycle 22. health psychology 31. Type B
12. refractory period 23. stress

IX. Developmental Psychology. 7–9%

A. Life-Span Approach
B. Research Methods (e.g., longitudinal, cross-sectional)
C. Heredity–Environment Issues
D. Developmental Theories
E. Dimensions of Development
1. Physical
2. Cognitive
3. Social
4. Moral
 F. Sex and Gender Development

Topics and Learning Objectives

Developmental psychology deals with the behavior of organisms from conception to
death and examines the processes that contribute to behavioral change throughout
the life span. The major areas of emphasis in the course are prenatal development,
motor development, socialization, cognitive development, adolescence, and adulthood.
AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Discuss the interaction of nature and nurture (including cultural variations) in

the determination of behavior.
• Explain the process of conception and gestation, including factors that influence
successful fetal development (e.g., nutrition, illness, substance abuse).
• Discuss maturation of motor skills.
• Describe the influence of temperament and other social factors on attachment
and appropriate socialization.
• Explain the maturation of cognitive abilities (e.g., Piaget’s stages, information
processing).
• Compare and contrast models of moral development (e.g., Kohlberg, Gilligan).
• Discuss maturational challenges in adolescence, including related family
conflicts.
• Explain how parenting styles influence development.
• Characterize the development of decisions related to intimacy as people mature.
• Predict the physical and cognitive changes that emerge as people age, including
steps that can be taken to maximize function.
• Describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of
development.
• Identify key contributors in developmental psychology (e.g., Mary Ainsworth,
Albert Bandura, Diana Baumrind, Erik Erikson, Sigmund Freud, Carol Gilligan,
Harry Harlow, Lawrence Kohlberg, Konrad Lorenz, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky).

Key Vocabulary
1. developmental 12. accommodation 21. formal operational
psychology 13. sensorimotor stage stage
2. zygote 14. object permanence 22. stranger anxiety
3. embryo 15. preoperational 23. attachment
4. fetus stage 24. critical period
5. teratogens 16. conservation 25. imprinting
6. fetal alcohol 17. egocentrism 26. temperament
syndrome (FAS) 18. theory of mind 27. basic trust
7. habituation 19. autism spectrum 28. self-concept
8. maturation disorder (ASD) 29. gender
9. cognition 20. concrete 30. aggression
10. schema operational stage 31. gender role
11. assimilation 32. role
 33. gender identity 41. emerging 48. menarche
34. social learning adulthood 49. AIDS (acquired
theory 42. X chromosome immune deficiency
35. gender typing 43. Y chromosome syndrome)
36. transgender 44. testosterone 50. sexual orientation
37. adolescence 45. puberty 51. menopause
38. identity 46. primary sex 52. cross-sectional
39. social identity characteristics study
40. intimacy 47. secondary sex 53. longitudinal study
characteristics 54. social clock

X. Personality. 5–7%
A. Personality Theories and Approaches
B. Assessment Techniques
C. Growth and Adjustment

Topics and Learning Objectives

In this section of the course, students explore major theories of how humans develop
enduring patterns of behavior and personal characteristics that influence how others
relate to them. The unit also addresses research methods used to assess personality.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Compare and contrast the major theories and approaches to explaining
personality (e.g., psychoanalytic, humanist, cognitive, trait, social cognition,
behavioral).
• Describe and compare research methods (e.g., case studies and surveys) that
psychologists use to investigate personality.
• Identify frequently used assessment strategies (e.g., the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory [MMPI], the Thematic Apperception Test [TAT]), and
evaluate relative test quality based on reliability and validity of the instruments.
• Speculate how cultural context can facilitate or constrain personality
development, especially as it relates to self-concept (e.g., collectivistic versus
individualistic cultures).
• Identify key contributors to personality theory (e.g., Alfred Adler, Albert
Bandura, Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Abraham
Maslow, Carl Rogers).

Key Vocabulary
1. personality 7. superego 11. fixation
2. free association 8. psychosexual 12. defense
3. psychoanalysis stages mechanisms
4. unconscious 9. Oedipus [ED-uh- 13. repression
5. id puss] complex 14. psychodynamic
6. ego 10. identification theories
 15. collective 23. unconditional 30. behavioral
unconscious positive regard approach
16. projective test 24. self-concept 31. reciprocal
17. Thematic 25. trait determinism
Apperception Test 26. personality 32. positive
(TAT) inventory psychology
18. Rorschach inkblot 27. Minnesota 33. self
test Multiphasic 34. spotlight effect
19. false consensus Personality 35. self-esteem
effect Inventory (MMPI) 36. self-efficacy
20. terror-management 28. empirically derived 37. self-serving bias
theory test 38. narcissism
21. humanistic theories 29. social-cognitive 39. individualism
22. self-actualization perspective 40. collectivism

XI. Testing and Individual Differences. 5–7%

A. Standardization and Norms
B. Reliability and Validity
C. Types of Tests
D. Ethics and Standards in Testing
E. Intelligence

Topics and Learning Objectives

An understanding of intelligence and assessment of individual differences is
highlighted in this portion of the course. Students must understand issues related to
test construction and fair use.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Define intelligence and list characteristics of how psychologists measure
intelligence:
— abstract versus verbal measures;
— speed of processing.
• Discuss how culture influences the definition of intelligence.
• Compare and contrast historic and contemporary theories of intelligence (e.g.,
Charles Spearman, Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg).
• Explain how psychologists design tests, including standardization strategies and
other techniques to establish reliability and validity.
• Interpret the meaning of scores in terms of the normal curve.
• Describe relevant labels related to intelligence testing (e.g., gifted,
cognitively disabled).
• Debate the appropriate testing practices, particularly in relation to culture-fair
test uses.
• Identify key contributors in intelligence research and testing (e.g., Alfred Binet,
Francis Galton, Howard Gardner, Charles Spearman, Robert Sternberg, Louis
 Terman, David Wechsler).

Key Vocabulary
1. intelligence 10. intelligence 18. content validity
2. intelligence test quotient (IQ) 19. predictive validity
3. general intelligence 11. achievement test 20. cohort
(g) 12. aptitude test 21. crystallized
4. factor analysis 13. Wechsler Adult intelligence
5. savant syndrome Intelligence Scale 22. fluid intelligence
6. grit (WAIS) 23. intellectual
7. emotional 14. standardization disability
intelligence 15. normal curve 24. Down syndrome
8. mental age 16. reliability 25. heritability
9. Stanford-Binet 17. validity 26. stereotype threat

XII. Abnormal Behavior. 7–9%

A. Definitions of Abnormality
B. Theories of Psychopathology
C. Diagnosis of Psychopathology
D. Types of Disorders
1. Anxiety
2. Bipolar and Related
3. Depressive
4. Dissociative
5. Feeding and Eating
6. Neurodevelopmental
7. Neurocognitive
8. Obsessive-Compulsive and Related
9. Personality
10. Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic
11. Somatic Symptom and Related
12. Trauma- and Stressor-Related

Topics and Learning Objectives

In this portion of the course, students examine the nature of common challenges to
adaptive functioning. This section emphasizes formal conventions that guide
psychologists’ judgments about diagnosis and problem severity.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Describe contemporary and historical conceptions of what constitutes
psychological disorders.
• Recognize the use of the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric
Association as the primary reference for making diagnostic judgments.
 • Discuss the major diagnostic categories, including anxiety disorders, bipolar
and related disorders, depressive disorders, dissociative disorders, feeding
and eating disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, neurocognitive
disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, personality disorders,
schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, somatic symptom and
related disorders, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders and their
corresponding symptoms.
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of various approaches to explaining
psychological disorders: medical model, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive,
biological, and sociocultural.
• Identify the positive and negative consequences of diagnostic labels (e.g., the
Rosenhan study).
• Discuss the intersection between psychology and the legal system (e.g.,
confidentiality, insanity defense).

Key Vocabulary
1. psychological 13. post-traumatic 26. illness anxiety
disorder stress disorder disorder
2. attention-deficit/ (PTSD) 27. dissociative
3. hyperactivity 14. post-traumatic disorders
disorder (ADHD) growth 28. dissociative
4. medical model 15. mood disorders identity disorder
5. DSM-5 16. major depressive (DID)
6. anxiety disorders disorder 29. anorexia nervosa
7. generalized anxiety 17. mania 30. bulimia nervosa
disorder 18. bipolar disorder 31. binge-eating
8. panic disorder 19. rumination disorder
9. phobia 20. schizophrenia 32. personality
10. social anxiety 21. psychosis disorders
disorder 22. delusions 33. antisocial
11. agoraphobia 23. hallucination personality disorder
12. obsessive- 24. somatic symptom
compulsive disorder
disorder (OCD) 25. conversion disorder

XIII. Treatment of Abnormal Behavior. 5–7%

A. Treatment Approaches
1. Psychodynamic
2. Humanistic
3. Behavioral
4. Cognitive
5. Biological
B. Modes of Therapy (i.e., individual, group)
C. Community and Preventive Approaches
Topics and Learning Objectives
This section of the course provides students with an understanding of empirically
based treatments of psychological disorders. The topic emphasizes descriptions of
treatment modalities based on various orientations in psychology.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Describe the central characteristics of psychotherapeutic intervention.
• Describe major treatment orientations used in therapy (e.g., behavioral,
cognitive, humanistic) and how those orientations influence therapeutic planning.
• Compare and contrast different treatment formats (e.g., individual, group).
• Summarize effectiveness of specific treatments used to address specific
problems.
• Discuss how cultural and ethnic context influence choice and success of
treatment (e.g., factors that lead to premature termination of treatment).
• Describe prevention strategies that build resilience and promote competence.
• Identify major figures in psychological treatment (e.g., Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis,
Sigmund Freud, Mary Cover Jones, Carl Rogers, B. F. Skinner, Joseph Wolpe).

Key Vocabulary
1. psychotherapy 16. systematic 27. evidence-based
2. biomedical therapy desensitization practice
3. eclectic approach 17. virtual reality 28. therapeutic alliance
4. psychoanalysis exposure therapy 29. resilience
5. resistance 18. aversive 30. psychopharmacolo
6. interpretation conditioning gy
7. transference 19. token economy 31. antipsychotic drugs
8. psychodynamic 20. cognitive therapy 32. antianxiety drugs
therapy 21. rational-emotive 33. antidepressant
9. insight therapies behavior therapy drugs
10. client-centered (REBT) 34. electroconvulsive
therapy 22. cognitive- therapy (ECT)
11. active listening behavioral therapy 35. repetitive
12. unconditional (CBT) transcranial
positive regard 23. group therapy magnetic
13. behavior therapy 24. family therapy stimulation (rTMS)
14. counterconditionin 25. regression toward 36. psychosurgery
g the mean 37. lobotomy
15. exposure therapies 26. meta-analysis

XIV. Social Psychology. 8–10%

A. Group Dynamics
B. Attribution Processes
C. Interpersonal Perception
D. Conformity, Compliance, Obedience
E. Attitudes and Attitude Change
 F. Organizational Behavior
G. Aggression/Antisocial Behavior
H. Cultural Influences

Topics and Learning Objectives

This part of the course focuses on how individuals relate to one another in social
situations. Social psychologists study social attitudes, social influence, and other social
phenomena.

AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:

• Apply attribution theory to explain motives (e.g., fundamental attribution error,
self-serving bias).
• Describe the structure and function of different kinds of group behavior (e.g.,
deindividuation, group polarization).
• Explain how individuals respond to expectations of others, including groupthink,
conformity, and obedience to authority.
• Discuss attitudes and how they change (e.g., central route to persuasion).
• Predict the impact of the presence of others on individual behavior (e.g.,
bystander effect, social facilitation).
• Describe processes that contribute to differential treatment of group members
(e.g., in-group/out-group dynamics, ethnocentrism, prejudice).
• Articulate the impact of social and cultural categories (e.g., gender, race,
ethnicity) on self-concept and relations with others.
• Anticipate the impact of behavior on a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Describe the variables that contribute to altruism, aggression, and attraction.
• Discuss attitude formation and change, including persuasion strategies and
cognitive dissonance.
• Identify important figures in social psychology (e.g., Solomon Asch, Leon
Festinger, Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo).

Key Vocabulary
1. social psychology 11. normative social 23. just-world
2. attribution theory influence phenomenon
3. fundamental 12. informational 24. ingroup
attribution error social influence 25. outgroup
4. attitude 13. social facilitation 26. ingroup bias
5. peripheral route 14. social loafing 27. scapegoat theory
persuasion 15. deindividuation 28. other-race effect
6. central route 16. group polarization 29. aggression
persuasion 17. groupthink 30. frustration-
7. foot-in-the-door 18. culture aggression
phenomenon 19. norm principle
8. role 20. prejudice 31. social script
9. cognitive 21. stereotype 32. mere exposure
dissonance theory 22. discrimination effect
10. conformity 33. passionate love
34. companionate love 40. reciprocity norm 45. self-fulfilling
35. equity 41. social- prophecy
36. self-disclosure responsibility norm 46. superordinate goals
37. altruism 42. conflict 47. GRIT
38. bystander effect 43. social trap
39. social exchange 44. mirror-image
theory perceptions