AP Psychology MCQs heavily test near-synonyms and precise distinctions. These key terms are organized by the 5-unit structure and include the distinctions that appear most often on the exam.
Unit 1: Biological Bases of Behavior
Neuron anatomy: Dendrites (receive signals), cell body/soma (integrates), axon (transmits), myelin sheath (speeds transmission), axon terminals (release neurotransmitters), synapse (gap between neurons). Key neurotransmitters: Dopamine (movement, reward), Serotonin (mood, sleep), Acetylcholine (muscle movement, memory), Norepinephrine (arousal, alertness), GABA (inhibitory). Brain regions: Cerebral cortex (higher thinking), hippocampus (memory formation), amygdala (emotion/fear), hypothalamus (hunger, thirst, temperature), cerebellum (balance, motor coordination), brainstem/medulla (autonomic: heart rate, breathing). Central vs. Peripheral nervous system: CNS = brain + spinal cord. PNS = somatic (voluntary muscles) + autonomic (involuntary: sympathetic = fight/flight; parasympathetic = rest/digest).
Unit 2: Sensation, Perception & Consciousness
Absolute threshold — minimum stimulus intensity detectable 50% of the time. Difference threshold/JND — smallest detectable change in a stimulus. Weber's Law — JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus. Perceptual constancies — shape, size, color constancy. Sleep stages: NREM 1-3 (light to deep) → REM (rapid eye movement, dreaming, memory consolidation). Types of sleep disorders: Insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy.
Unit 3: Learning and Cognition
Classical conditioning (Pavlov): US (unconditioned stimulus) → UR (unconditioned response). NS → conditioned stimulus (CS) → CR (conditioned response). Acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination. Operant conditioning (Skinner): Positive reinforcement (add pleasant), negative reinforcement (remove unpleasant — INCREASES behavior). Positive punishment (add unpleasant), negative punishment (remove pleasant — DECREASES behavior). Observational learning (Bandura): Bobo doll study — behavior learned by watching others. Cognitive psychology: Encoding (getting info in), storage, retrieval. Working memory (short-term), long-term memory (procedural, declarative: semantic + episodic). Schemas, cognitive dissonance.
Unit 4: Development & Social Psychology
Piaget's stages: Sensorimotor (0-2, object permanence), Preoperational (2-7, egocentrism, lack of conservation), Concrete Operational (7-11, conservation, logical thinking on concrete), Formal Operational (12+, abstract reasoning). Attachment styles (Ainsworth): Secure, anxious/ambivalent, avoidant. Conformity (Asch): People agree with the group even when wrong. Obedience (Milgram): Authority compliance — 65% delivered max shocks. Fundamental attribution error: Over-attributing others' behavior to character, under-weighting situations.
Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health
DSM-5 disorders to know: Major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder (mania + depression), schizophrenia (positive symptoms: hallucinations/delusions; negative: flat affect, social withdrawal), anxiety disorders (GAD, phobias, panic disorder, OCD, PTSD). Therapies: Psychoanalytic (unconscious), humanistic (Rogers, unconditional positive regard), CBT (cognitive-behavioral — most evidence-based), behavioral (exposure therapy, token economies), biomedical (antidepressants, antipsychotics, ECT).
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