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Comprehensive AP Psychology Review Summary

May 15, 2025

AP Psychology Mega Review Summary

Overview

  • The video is a comprehensive review of the entire AP Psychology course, covering all five units in about 4 hours.
  • Accompanied by study guide worksheets for thorough review.

Unit 1: Biological Basis of Behavior

1.1 Interaction of Heredity and Environment

  • Nature vs. Nurture Debate: Genetic predispositions (nature) vs. environmental influences (nurture).
  • Interactionist Perspective: Genetics and environment both influence behavior and development.
  • Evolutionary Perspective: Natural selection influences behaviors and traits.
  • Eugenics: Misuse of evolutionary psychology, now debunked.
  • Research Studies: Twin, family, and adoption studies highlight roles of heredity and environment.

1.2 Overview of the Nervous System

  • Central Nervous System: Brain and spinal cord; processes information and coordinates bodily functions.
  • Peripheral Nervous System: Connects CNS to the body; divided into autonomic and somatic systems.
    • Autonomic System: Involuntary functions; sympathetic (fight or flight) vs. parasympathetic (rest and digest).
    • Somatic System: Controls voluntary movements.

1.3 The Neuron and Neural Firing

  • Neurons and Glial Cells: Neurons transmit signals; glial cells support.
  • Reflex Arc: Sensory, motor, and interneurons work together.
  • Neural Transmission: Resting potential, depolarization, all-or-nothing principle, refractory period, re-uptake.
  • Neurotransmitters: Dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, etc.
  • Psychoactive Drugs: Agonists, antagonists, and their effects on neurotransmitter function.

1.4 Structures of the Brain

  • Brain Stem: Basic life functions; medulla and reticular activating system.
  • Cerebellum and Cerebral Cortex: Movement, perception, thought, and decision-making.
  • Limbic System: Thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala.
  • Lobes of the Brain: Occipital, temporal, parietal, frontal.
  • Split-Brain Research and Plasticity: Hemispheric specialization and brain adaptability.

1.5 Sleep

  • Circadian Rhythm: Regulates sleep-wake cycle.
  • Sleep Stages: NREM (3 stages) and REM sleep.
  • Theories of Dreams: Activation-synthesis, consolidation theory.
  • Sleep Disorders: Insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, etc.

1.6 Sensation

  • Sensation vs. Perception: Detecting vs. interpreting information.
  • Key Concepts: Absolute threshold, Weber's law, sensory adaptation, sensory interaction.
  • Sensory Systems: Visual, auditory, chemical (taste and smell), touch, pain.
  • Vestibular and Kinesthetic Systems: Balance and coordination.

Unit 2: Cognition

2.1 Perception

  • Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Processing: Sensory information vs. past experiences.
  • Schemas and Perceptual Sets: Mental frameworks influencing interpretation.
  • Gestalt Psychology: Principles of organization—closure, figure-ground, proximity, similarity.
  • Attention: Cocktail party effect, inattentional and change blindness.
  • Depth Cues: Binocular (retinal disparity, convergence) and monocular (clarity, size, texture, etc.).

2.2 Thinking, Problem Solving, Judgments, and Decision-Making

  • Concepts and Prototypes: Categorization frameworks.
  • Algorithms vs. Heuristics: Step-by-step problem solving vs. mental shortcuts.
  • Decision Making Influences: Priming, framing, mental sets.
  • Cognitive Errors: Gambler's and sunk cost fallacies.
  • Creativity and Functional Fixedness: Divergent vs. convergent thinking; overcoming limitations.

2.3 Memory Models

  • Types of Memory: Explicit (episodic, semantic) vs. implicit (procedural, prospective).
  • Memory Processes: Long-term potentiation, retrieval.
  • Memory Models: Working memory, multi-store model, levels of processing.

2.4 Encoding Memories

  • Encoding Techniques: Mnemonic devices, chunking, spacing effect, serial position effect.

2.5 Storing Memories

  • Memory Storage: Sensory, short-term, working, long-term.
  • Rehearsal Techniques: Maintenance vs. elaborative.

2.6 Retrieving Memories

  • Recall vs. Recognition: Memory retrieval methods.
  • Enhanced Retrieval: Context-dependent, mood-congruent, state-dependent memory.
  • Testing Effect and Metacognition: Active retrieval strengthens memory.

2.7 Forgetting and Memory Challenges

  • Forgetting Curve: Rapid initial forgetting, slows over time.
  • Retrieval Failures: Encoding failures, interference, inadequate retrieval cues.
  • Memory Reliability Issues: Misinformation effect, source amnesia, constructive memory.

2.8 Intelligence and Achievement Testing

  • Theories of Intelligence: Spearman's G, Gardner's multiple intelligences, Sternberg's triarchic theory.
  • Measurement: IQ, standardization, validity, reliability.
  • Cultural Considerations: Stereotype threat, stereotype lift.

Unit 3: Developmental Psychology

3.1 Themes and Methods

  • Stability vs. Change, Nature vs. Nurture, Continuity vs. Discontinuity.
  • Research Methods: Cross-sectional vs. longitudinal studies.

3.2 Physical Development

  • Prenatal Development: Teratogens, genetic influence, etc.
  • Infancy and Childhood: Motor skills, reflexes, depth perception.
  • Adolescence: Puberty, sex characteristics.
  • Adulthood: Physical decline, menopause.

3.3 Sex and Gender

  • Sex vs. Gender: Biological vs. social roles.
  • Gender Schema Theory and Socialization: Influence on development.

3.4 Cognitive Development

  • Piaget and Vygotsky: Stages of cognitive development, sociocultural theory.
  • Adult Cognitive Change: Crystallized vs. fluid intelligence, dementia.

3.5 Communication and Language

  • Language Development Stages: Cooing, babbling, one-word, telegraphic speech.
  • Language Errors: Overgeneralization.

3.6 Social-Emotional Development

  • Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory: Micro, meso, exo, macro, chrono systems.
  • Parenting Styles: Authoritarian, permissive, uninvolved, authoritative.
  • Attachment Styles: Secure, insecure (avoidant, anxious, disorganized).
  • Peer Relationships and Adolescent Growth: Play styles, egoentrism.
  • Adult Relationships: Social clock, emerging adulthood.
  • Erikson's Psychosocial Development: Trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame, etc.
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences and Identity Status: Impact on development.

3.7 - 3.9 Behavioral Perspective

  • Classical Conditioning: Acquisition, stimuli, responses, etc.
  • Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement, punishment, schedules, shaping.
  • Social Learning Theory: Observational learning, modeling, insight learning.

Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality

4.1 Attribution Theory

  • Types of Attribution: Dispositional vs. situational.
  • Explanatory Style and Biases: Actor-observer, fundamental attribution, self-serving.
  • Beliefs and Perceptions: Locus of control, mere exposure, self-fulfilling prophecy.

4.2 Attitudes and Beliefs

  • Stereotypes, Implicit Attitudes, and Biases: Just world phenomenon, in-group bias.
  • Belief Perseverance and Cognitive Dissonance: Resistance to changing beliefs.

4.3 Social Situations

  • Norms and Influence: Conformity, obedience, social roles.
  • Group Dynamics: Groupthink, polarization, diffusion of responsibility.
  • Cultural Values: Individualism, collectivism, multiculturalism.
  • Altruism and Bystander Effect: Social responsibility, reciprocity norms.

4.4 Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories

  • Freud's Unconscious Mind and Defense Mechanisms.
  • Humanistic Concepts: Unconditional positive regard, self-actualization.

4.5 Social Cognitive and Trait Theories

  • Reciprocal Determinism: Interaction of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors.
  • Big Five Personality Traits: Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability.

4.6 Motivation

  • Theories of Motivation: Drive reduction, arousal, self-determination, incentives.
  • Conflict Theory: Approach-approach, approach-avoidance, avoidance-avoidance.

4.7 Emotion

  • Cognitive and Physiological Aspects: Emotions as responses.
  • Facial Feedback Hypothesis and Universality: Culture and emotion display rules.

Unit 5: Health Psychology

5.1 Understanding Health Psychology

  • Stress and Its Impact: Types of stressors, general adaptation syndrome, coping strategies.

5.2 Positive Psychology

  • Gratitude, Strengths, and Growth: Building well-being and resilience.

5.3 Diagnosing Disorders

  • Factors and Classification Systems: DSM, ICD.
  • Diagnosis Models: Behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, etc.

5.4 Categories of Disorders

  • Neurodevelopmental, Schizophrenic, Depressive, Bipolar, Anxiety, OCD, Dissociative, Trauma, Eating, Personality.

5.5 Psychotherapy and Treatment

  • Effectiveness and Settings: Evidence-based practices, ethical principles.
  • Types of Therapy: Psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, group, hypnosis, medications.

Note: Study guides and answers are available to reinforce understanding.

Full transcript