9 Key Concepts for AP Psychology AP Exams Spring 2021
The Princeton Review
Hi, there!
Welcome back!
I’m Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief at The Princeton Review, and today we’re sharing the top
9 AP Psychology concepts you need to know before exam day.
Before we get started, let’s do a quick overview of the test.
The AP Psychology exam is divided into two sections.
Section one counts for approximately two-thirds of your overall grade and consists of 100
multiple-choice questions to be completed in 70 minutes (that’s less than a minute
per question!).
Section 2 of the exam consists of two free-response questions and together they count for the
final one-third of your grade.
You’ll get 50 minutes to complete this section.
In just 2 short hours, the exam is designed to test your ability to:
(1) Connect psychological theories and concepts to real-life scenarios
(2) Understand and interpret data (3) Analyze psychological research studies
While the exam will certainly cover a ton of information, take a deep breath because
we have you covered!
Grab a pen and notepad, and let’s dig into the concepts you’ll need to know to ace
the exam!
#1 – The Scientific Foundations of Psychology: At the most basic level, psychology is the
study of behavior and the mind.
It seeks to describe, predict, and explain behavior along with the mental processes underlying
behavior.
To understand modern psychology, you’ll need to first understand its scientific foundations
and history.
This includes understanding the contributions of historic scientists and founders of psychology
like Charles Darwin, Wilhelm Wundt, William James, and Dorothea Dix.
You’ll also need to know about the various branches of modern psychology, including biological
psychology, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
The exam will also test you on psychological research methods, including correlational
and clinical research, experimental design, and statistical methods.
#2 – The Biological Bases of Behavior: Physiological psychology is the study of behavior and mental
processes as influenced by biology.
For the exam, you’ll need to understand the interaction of inherited traits, the environment,
and evolution in shaping behavior.
You should know the structures and functions of biological systems, including neuroanatomy,
the endocrine system and nervous system, neural transmission and behavioral genetics.
You should also be familiar with the different imaging techniques used to examine the interrelationship
between the brain and behavior such as EEGs, MRIs, and CAT scans.
There are a few other concepts you should know, too!
Study up on the states of consciousness, including sleeping and dreaming, and familiarize yourself
with the clinical uses of hypnosis and meditation techniques like mindfulness-based stress reduction
(or MBSR).
And, finally, you should aim to understand the various types of psychoactive drugs such
as amphetamines and hallucinogens.
You should know how they affect the central nervous system, brain, and behavior, and how
they contribute to addiction and drug dependence.
#3 – Sensation and Perception: The AP Psychology exam will also examine how we, as humans,
use our senses to process the world around us and convert those observations into perceptions
that influence how we think and behave.
While sensation and perception questions will only account for about 6% of your grade, every
point counts!
So, be sure to understand the basic principles of how humans experience stimuli and the mechanisms
of our 5 senses.
#4 – Learning: It’s important to understand how humans and other animals learn as a result
of experience.
There are various learning methods you should be familiar with, including classical conditioning,
operant conditioning, nonassociative learning, and social learning.
You should know influential researchers like Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, and Albert Bandura.
And, more importantly, you should understand their theories of learning and the results
of their famous learning experiments.
#5 – Cognitive Psychology: Questions related to cognitive psychology could make up a whopping
17% of your exam!
So, folks, you’ll want to understand the complexities of how memory, language, cognition,
and other mental processes affect human behavior.
You should study up on the cognitive and physiological processes that make up memory, and be able
to distinguish between the 3 memory storage areas – sensory, short-term, and long-term
– according to the modal model.
You’ll also need to understand the problem-solving strategies humans use, such as divergent and
convergent thinking, heuristics, and insight.
This also means understanding biases and errors in thinking, such as hindsight bias and confirmation
bias.
Next, you should know the processes of learning and using language.
This includes understanding the stages by which children acquire language, Chomsky’s
transformational grammar system, and the theory of linguistic relativity.
Lastly, you need to know the ways in which intelligence is defined and measured.
Understand the types of tests designed to measure psychological characteristics and
intelligence, as well as how psychologists ensure reliability, validity, and standardization.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with psychologists like Charles Spearman, Robert Sternbern, and
Howard Gardner, and their contributions to our understanding of intelligence.
#6 – Developmental Psychology: Developmental psychology can be defined as the study of
the changes that occur in people’s behavior and mental processes over their lifespan.
The College Board will expect you to know about the physical, social, and cognitive
developments that occur in childhood.
This includes understanding stages of motor development, beginning with rudimentary reflexes
and progressing through the learning of specialized movements.
You should also be prepared to analyze different theories of childhood cognitive development,
including the stages described in Jean Piaget’s developmental theory.
Beyond childhood development, you should understand adolescent and adult development and challenges.
Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development was the first theory to assert that development
is a life-span process.
But Erikson’s theory is not the only social development theory.
Be sure to study the contributions of psychologists like Harry and Margaret Harlow, John Bowlby
(the father of attachment theory), and Mary Ainsworth.
You should also take time to review theories of moral development.
And lastly, you should be familiar with Freud’s psychosexual development.
#7 – Motivation, Emotion, and Personality: By test day, you should understand the social,
biological, humanistic, and cognitive theories of motivation.
This will include understanding concepts such as intrinsic and extrinsic factors of motivation,
cognitive dissonance, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
You’ll also need to understand theories of emotion like the James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard
theory, and Schachter-Singer’s two-factor theory.
Next, you should know about stress, specifically how people appraise and respond to the stressors
of everyday life.
You need to be knowledgeable about the physiological responses to stress, including fight-or-flight
and the general adaptation syndrome.
Research into stress has also revealed that people generally show one of two different
types of behavior patterns in response to stress ––The Type-A pattern and The Type-B
pattern.
Be sure to understand the difference between these two patterns.
Lastly, you should be a near expert on personality theories by test day, especially on the psychoanalytic
theories of Sigmund Freud – the first and most influential personality psychologist.
You’ll also need to understand the personality theories of Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Carl
Rogers – to name a few!
And while you’re at it, be sure to study the tests and assessments used to measure
personality, including the Eysenck Personality Inventory and 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire.
#8 – Clinical Psychology: It should come as no surprise that the AP Psychology exam
includes questions about how psychologists evaluate, study, and treat psychological disorders!
Therefore, you should know the standards for diagnosing psychological disorders.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is the American Psychiatric
Association’s handbook for the identification and classification of behavioral disorders.
Study the major categories of behavioral disorders, including but not limited to neurodevelopmental,
schizophrenic, bipolar, depressive, anxiety, and dissociative disorders.
Once you understand the various disordered behaviors, you’ll also need to understand
the treatment options and methods used to address these disorders, including psychoanalysis,
humanistic therapy, behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, and biological therapies.
You should also be familiar with other modes of therapy such as group, couples, and family
therapy.
#9 – Social Psychology: Social psychology is the study of people in interaction with
each other.
So, you’ll need to understand how social identities are formed and how they affect
self-concept.
Ethnocentrism, assimilation, and culture shock are ideas you should know well.
You’ll also need to understand group dynamics, including conformity, compliance, and obedience
to authority.
Finally, you should know about aggression and antisocial behavior, including discrimination,
prejudice, stereotypes, and dehumanization.
It sounds like a lot — but you’ve got this.
And practice is your friend.
Be sure to check out our AP Psychology prep books.
Our Premium edition gives you access to 5 full-length practice tests!
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