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AP Psychology

Tips

AP Psychology covers five units: the biological bases of behaviour, cognition, development and learning, social psychology and personality, and mental and physical health. Together they move from the neuron outwards to the person, the group and the clinic.

Definitions are precise here, and the precision is examinable. Sensation is not perception; negative reinforcement is not punishment; correlation is not causation. Most lost marks come from terms used loosely rather than from material never studied.

Every unit is also a research-methods unit. You are expected to identify the design a study used, read data and graphs, and say what a result does and does not support - so the science practices are assessed alongside the content.

Apply concepts to scenarios. Questions typically describe a situation and ask which concept explains it, which is a different task from reciting the definition.

The framework marks its own boundaries. Exclusion statements say explicitly what is outside the exam's scope; they are kept in the notes below so you can see where to stop.

The notes follow the College Board framework topic by topic, with the essential knowledge behind each learning objective.

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Past Papers
  • 1

    Biological Bases of Behavior

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    • 1.1 Nature and Nurture
    • 1.2 The Nervous System
    • 1.3 Neurons and How They Fire
    • 1.3 Neurotransmitters, Hormones, and Drugs
    • 1.4 The Brain
    • 1.5 Consciousness and Sleep
    • 1.6 Sensation
    • 1.6 Worked example: analysing a study
    • 1.6 Exam tips
  • 2

    Cognition

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    • 2.1 Perception
    • 2.1 Depth, Constancy, and Movement
    • 2.2 Thinking and Problem-Solving
    • 2.3 Memory Systems
    • 2.4 2.5 Encoding and Storing
    • 2.6 2.7 Retrieving and Forgetting
    • 2.8 Intelligence and Testing
    • 2.8 Worked example: analysing a study
    • 2.8 Exam tips
  • 3

    Development and Learning

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    • 3.1 Studying Development
    • 3.2 Physical Development
    • 3.3 Gender and Sexual Orientation
    • 3.4 Cognitive Development
    • 3.5 Language Development
    • 3.6 Social and Emotional Development
    • 3.7 Classical Conditioning
    • 3.8 Operant Conditioning
    • 3.9 Observational and Cognitive Learning
    • 3.9 Worked practice
    • 3.9 Worked example: analysing a study
    • 3.9 Exam tips
    • 3.9 Sources and demand grounding
  • 4

    Social Psychology and Personality

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    • 4.1 Explaining Behaviour: Attribution
    • 4.2 Attitudes and Attitude Change
    • 4.3 Social Situations
    • 4.4 Personality: Psychodynamic and Humanistic
    • 4.5 Personality: Social-Cognitive and Trait
    • 4.6 Motivation
    • 4.7 Emotion
    • 4.7 Worked example: analysing a study
    • 4.7 Exam tips
  • 5

    Mental and Physical Health

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    • 5.1 Health Psychology and Stress
    • 5.2 Positive Psychology
    • 5.3 Explaining and Classifying Disorders
    • 5.4 Categories of Disorders
    • 5.5 Treatment
    • 5.5 Worked example: analysing a study
    • 5.5 Exam tips
    • 5.5 Sources for this lesson

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