1. Biological Basis of Behavior
* Neurons & Neurotransmitters: How neurons communicate, the role of chemicals in brain function.
* Brain Structure: Key areas (e.g., hippocampus, amygdala) and their functions.
* Endocrine System: Hormones and their impact on behavior.
2. Sensation & Perception
* Sensation: How we detect physical energy (e.g., light, sound).
* Perception: How we interpret sensory information.
* Gestalt Principles: How the brain organizes visual information.
3. Learning
* Classical Conditioning: Associative learning (Pavlov, Watson).
* Operant Conditioning: Reinforcements and punishments (Skinner).
* Cognitive Learning: Observational learning (Bandura).
4. Cognition
* Memory: Stages (encoding, storage, retrieval) and types (short-term, long-term).
* Thinking & Problem Solving: Concepts, heuristics, and biases.
* Language: How we acquire and produce language.
5. Development
* Cognitive Development: Piaget’s stages.
* Moral Development: Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning.
* Attachment: Theories of attachment (Bowlby, Ainsworth).
6. Motivation & Emotion
* Motivation Theories: Drive theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
* Emotion Theories: James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer.
7. Personality
* Freud's Psychoanalysis: Id, ego, superego.
* Humanistic Theories: Rogers and Maslow.
* Trait Theories: Big Five personality traits.
8. Psychological Disorders
* Types of Disorders: Anxiety, mood disorders, schizophrenia.
* Etiology & Treatment: Biological, cognitive, and behavioral approaches.
9. Social Psychology
* Attraction & Relationships: Theories of interpersonal attraction, love.
* Conformity & Obedience: Asch, Milgram, and the power of social influence.
* Group Behavior: Groupthink, deindividuation, social loafing.
10. Testing & Individual Differences
* Intelligence: Theories of intelligence (Spearman, Gardner, Sternberg).
* Tests & Assessments: Standardized tests, reliability, and validity.
Each unit builds on understanding the brain and behavior, applying it to real-world scenarios, and understanding how we grow, interact, and change over time.
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Absolutely! Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the core concepts in AP Psychology 2025:
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1. Biological Basis of Behavior
* Neurons & Neurotransmitters:
* Neurons are the basic building blocks of the brain and nervous system. They communicate via electrical impulses.
* Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help transmit signals between neurons. Common examples: dopamine (pleasure/reward), serotonin (mood regulation), acetylcholine (memory), endorphins (pain relief).
* Synaptic Transmission: The process where neurotransmitters cross the synapse and bind to receptors on the receiving neuron.
* Brain Structure:
* Cerebral Cortex: The outer layer responsible for high-level functions like thinking, memory, and decision-making.
* Limbic System: Includes the hippocampus (memory), amygdala (emotion), and hypothalamus (homeostasis and motivation).
* Brainstem: Controls basic life functions (heart rate, breathing). Includes the medulla, pons, and midbrain.
* Endocrine System:
* Involves glands that release hormones into the bloodstream.
* The pituitary gland is the master gland, controlling other glands like the adrenal glands (fight or flight), thyroid (metabolism), and gonads (reproduction).
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2. Sensation & Perception
* Sensation: The process of receiving stimuli from the environment (light, sound, pressure) via sensory organs.
* Perception: The brain’s interpretation of sensory information, turning raw data into meaningful experiences.
* Transduction: The conversion of sensory signals (like light or sound) into electrical signals that the brain can interpret.
* Sensory Adaptation: The tendency to become less responsive to unchanging stimuli (e.g., getting used to the smell of a room).
* Perceptual Organization:
* Gestalt Principles: We tend to perceive objects as a whole rather than as a collection of parts (e.g., proximity, similarity, continuity).
* Depth Perception: How we perceive three-dimensional space. Binocular cues (e.g., retinal disparity) and monocular cues (e.g., linear perspective) help us judge distance.
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3. Learning
* Classical Conditioning (Pavlov): Learning through association. A neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response (e.g., Pavlov’s dogs salivating to a bell).
* Operant Conditioning (Skinner): Learning through consequences. Reinforcements (positive or negative) increase a behavior, while punishments decrease it.
* Schedules of Reinforcement: Fixed-interval, variable-interval, fixed-ratio, and variable-ratio schedules affect how behaviors are learned.
* Cognitive Learning:
* Latent Learning (Tolman): Learning that occurs but is not demonstrated until there's an incentive.
* Observational Learning (Bandura): Learning by observing others (e.g., Bobo doll experiment).
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4. Cognition
* Memory:
* Encoding: Getting information into memory (e.g., visual, acoustic, semantic encoding).
* Storage: Maintaining information over time (short-term, long-term).
* Retrieval: Getting information out of memory.
* Types of Memory:
* Sensory Memory: Brief, initial recording of sensory information.
* Short-Term Memory (STM): Holds a limited amount of information for a short time (e.g., 7 +/- 2 items).
* Long-Term Memory (LTM): Long-lasting storage with potentially unlimited capacity.
* Thinking & Problem Solving:
* Concepts: Mental groupings of similar objects or events (e.g., the concept of a “dog” includes all breeds).
* Heuristics: Simple rules or shortcuts for decision-making (e.g., the availability heuristic).
* Cognitive Biases: Systematic errors in thinking (e.g., confirmation bias, anchoring bias).
* Language:
* Language Development: Stages like babbling, one-word stage, two-word stage, and telegraphic speech.
* Theories of Language: Chomsky’s Nativist Theory (humans are biologically programmed to acquire language) vs. Skinner’s Behavioral Theory (language is learned through reinforcement).
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5. Development
* Cognitive Development (Piaget):
* Sensorimotor: Infants learn through sensory input and motor activities.
* Preoperational: Development of language and imagination, but lacking logical thought.
* Concrete Operational: Ability to perform logical operations on concrete objects.
* Formal Operational: Ability to think abstractly, logically, and systematically.
* Moral Development (Kohlberg):
* Preconventional: Focus on obedience and punishment.
* Conventional: Focus on social approval and law/order.
* Postconventional: Focus on abstract principles like justice and human rights.
* Attachment (Bowlby & Ainsworth):
* The emotional bond between infants and caregivers.
* Strange Situation Experiment (Ainsworth): Identified attachment styles—secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-ambivalent.
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6. Motivation & Emotion
* Motivation Theories:
* Drive-Reduction Theory: We are motivated to reduce drives (e.g., hunger, thirst).
* Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Basic needs (food, safety) must be satisfied before higher-level needs (esteem, self-actualization).
* Emotion Theories:
* James-Lange Theory: Emotions occur as a result of physiological reactions (e.g., we feel afraid because we tremble).
* Cannon-Bard Theory: Emotions and physiological responses happen simultaneously.
* Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory: Emotions arise from physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal.
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7. Personality
* Freud's Psychoanalysis:
* Focus on the unconscious mind, consisting of the id (pleasure principle), ego (reality principle), and superego (moral conscience).
* Humanistic Theories:
* Carl Rogers: Self-actualization and the importance of unconditional positive regard in personal growth.
* Abraham Maslow: Self-actualization is the highest need on the hierarchy.
* Trait Theories:
* Big Five Personality Traits (OCEAN): Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.
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8. Psychological Disorders
* Types of Disorders:
* Anxiety Disorders: Generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, panic disorder, OCD.
* Mood Disorders: Depression, bipolar disorder.
* Psychotic Disorders: Schizophrenia (hallucinations, delusions).
* Etiology & Treatment:
* Biological: Genetic predispositions, neurochemical imbalances.
* Cognitive-behavioral approaches: Changing thought patterns and behaviors (e.g., CBT for depression).
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9. Social Psychology
* Attraction & Relationships:
* Proximity, similarity, and reciprocity influence attraction.
* Love: Theories of passionate vs. companionate love (Sternberg’s Triangular Theory).
* Conformity & Obedience:
* Asch’s Conformity Experiment: How group pressure influences individual choices.
* Milgram’s Obedience Experiment: How authority figures influence people’s actions (e.g., shock experiment).
* Group Behavior:
* Groupthink: The tendency for groups to make decisions that discourage dissent.
* Social Loafing: People tend to put in less effort when they are in a group compared to when they are alone.
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10. Testing & Individual Differences
* Intelligence:
* Spearman’s G Factor: General intelligence as a single factor.
* Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences: Different types (e.g., linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic).
* Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory: Analytical, creative, and practical intelligence.
* Testing & Assessments:
* IQ Tests (e.g., Wechsler, Stanford-Binet): Assess intelligence, but influenced by cultural and environmental factors.
* Reliability & Validity: A test must consistently measure what it claims to measure (reliability) and accurately measure the intended concept (validity).