AP Psychology Cram Sheet

Notable Psychologists

• Wundt: "Father of Psychology," known for Introspection.
• Wertheimer: Gestalt Psychology.
• Titchner: Structuralism.
• James: Functionalism.
• Watson: Behaviorism, "Little Albert Study."
• Freud: Psychoanalytic, dream analysis, personality structure, stages of development, defense mechanisms.
• Milgram: Obedience and ethics.
• Broca: Left frontal lobe, expressive language.
• Wernicke: Left frontal lobe, receptive language.
• Pavlov: Classical conditioning with dogs.
• Thorndike: Instrumental learning, law of effect with cats.
• Skinner: Operant conditioning with rats and pigeons, Behaviorism.
• Tolman: Latent learning, cognitive maps.
• Bandura: Observational learning, Bobo Dolls, Social-Cognitive Theory.
• Ebbinghaus: Forgetting, Decay Model.
• Chomsky: Inherent cognitive structures.
• Whorf: Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis.
• Jung: Collective unconscious, archetypes.
• Horney: Basic childhood anxiety.
• Erickson: Psycho-social development, life crises.
• Adler: Inferiority Complex.
• Piaget: Stages of Cognitive Development.
• Rogers: Client-centered therapy, unconditional positive regard.
• Ellis: Rational Emotive Therapy.
• Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs.
• Binet: I.Q. Testing.
• Eysenck: Biological model of personality.
• Harlow: Monkey studies on attachment.
• Lorenz: Imprinting, "Survival of the Fittest."
• Beck: Cognitive therapy for depression.
• Murray: TAT, need to achieve.
• Allport: Trait Theory.
• Cattell: Crystallized and fluid intelligence.
• Kelley: Personal Construct Theory.
• Mishel: Social-learning theory.
• Gilligan: Moral differences between genders, ethic of caring.

Psychological Perspectives

• Behaviorism: Emphasizes learning and environmental influence.
• Biological: Focus on physiology and genetics.
• Cognitive: Studies mental processes.
• Psychoanalytic: Focus on unconscious conflicts.
• Humanistic: Emphasizes free will and inherent goodness.
• Gestalt: Focuses on perception and organization.

Therapy & Treatment Methods

• Psychoanalysis: Free association, dream analysis, transference.
• Behavior Therapy: Systematic desensitization, flooding, aversion therapy.
• Cognitive-Behavior Therapy: Restructuring invalid perceptions.
• Humanistic Therapy: Client-centered approach, unconditional positive regard.
• Biomedical Treatment: Psychosurgery, ECT, medication.

Experimentation Elements

• Independent and dependent variables.
• Confounding variables.
• Experimental and control groups.
• Subject and researcher bias.
• Double-blind techniques and placebo effects.

Key Theories in Psychology

Development Theories

• Piaget's Cognitive Development: Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, Formal Operational stages.
• Kohlberg's Moral Judgment: Preconventional, Conventional, Postconventional.
• Erickson's Psychosocial Development: Stages from infancy to adulthood.
• Kubler-Ross' Stages of Death: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

Sensory and Perception Theories

• Weber's Law: Just noticeable difference.
• Young-Helmholtz Color Theory: Trichromatic theory.
• Opponent-Process Color Theory: Antagonistic color pairs.

Memory and Learning

• Thorndike's Law of Effect: Reward/punishment influences behavior.
• Premack Principle: High-probability behavior as a reward.
• Serial Position Phenomenon: Primacy and recency effects.

Motivation and Emotion

• James-Lange Theory: Emotion from bodily changes.
• Cannon-Bard Theory: Simultaneous emotional and physical responses.
• Schachter's Theory: Combination of bodily changes and cognitive labeling.

Social Psychology Concepts

Social Influence

• Conformity: Adopting behaviors under social pressure.
• Social Norms: Shared behavioral standards.
• Compliance Techniques: Foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, low-balling.
• Obedience: Following authority.

Group Dynamics

• Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups.
• Groupthink: Prioritizing harmony over critical thinking.

Altruism & Bystander Effect

• Bystander Intervention: Likelihood of helping decreases as the number of observers increases.
• Social Facilitation & Loafing: Enhanced performance in presence of others; reduced effort in groups.
• Risky Shift: Group decisions tend to be riskier.

Influential Studies

• Zimbardo's Prison Study: Role influence.
• Milgram's Obedience Study: Authority influence on obedience.
• Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance: Balance between actions and beliefs.
• Asch's Conformity Study: Influence of majority on individual decisions.