AP Psychology

Psychology studies behavior 行为 (what a person does) and mental processes 心理过程 (what a person thinks and feels). Unit 1 asks where these come from in the body.

Every trait grows from two sources working together. Heredity 遗传 is what a person inherits from their parents. Environment 环境 is everything that happens around them. Neither one acts alone.

• Nature and nurture 先天与后天 always interact. Height is inherited, but poor nutrition lowers it.
• The evolutionary perspective 进化论视角 explains behavior that helped ancestors survive and reproduce. Fear of snakes is easy to learn because it once kept people alive.
• Twin and adoption studies 双生子与收养研究 separate the two sources. If identical twins raised apart are still similar, heredity matters for that trait.

Note: the exam does not ask about genes, DNA, or chromosomes. It asks how heredity and environment together shape behavior.

The nervous system 神经系统 carries information around the body. It has two main parts.

The central nervous system (CNS) 中枢神经系统 is the brain and the spinal cord 脊髓. It interacts with every process in the body.

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) 周围神经系统 relays messages between the CNS and the rest of the body. It divides again:

• The somatic nervous system 躯体神经系统 controls voluntary 随意的 movement, such as raising your hand.
• The autonomic nervous system 自主神经系统 controls involuntary 不随意的 processes, such as heartbeat and digestion. It has two branches that work against each other: the sympathetic nervous system 交感神经系统 prepares the body for action (the "fight or flight" response), and the parasympathetic nervous system 副交感神经系统 calms the body down afterwards.

Two kinds of cell do the work. Neurons 神经元 transmit information. Glial cells 神经胶质细胞 provide structure, insulation, communication, and waste transport. Together they are the building blocks of all behavior and mental processes.

A neuron has dendrites 树突 that receive signals, a cell body 细胞体, and an axon 轴突 that carries the signal away. Many axons are wrapped in a myelin sheath 髓鞘, which speeds the signal up.

Neural transmission follows a set order:

• At rest the neuron holds a resting potential 静息电位, ready but not firing.
• If incoming signals pass the threshold 阈限, the neuron depolarizes 去极化 and fires.
• Firing follows the all-or-none principle 全或无原则: the neuron fires at full strength or not at all. A stronger stimulus makes it fire more often, not harder.
• Straight after firing there is a refractory period 不应期 when the neuron cannot fire again.
• At the synapse 突触, the gap between neurons, chemicals cross to the next cell. Leftover chemicals are taken back in a process called reuptake 再摄取.

Damage to this process can cause disorders such as multiple sclerosis 多发性硬化 or myasthenia gravis 重症肌无力.

In the spinal cord, the reflex arc 反射弧 shows the system working as a unit. Sensory neurons 感觉神经元 carry information in, interneurons 中间神经元 connect inside the cord, and motor neurons 运动神经元 carry the command out - all before the brain is involved.

Neurotransmitters 神经递质 are the chemicals that cross the synapse. Each has its own job, and the effect can depend on where in the nervous system it acts. A message is either excitatory 兴奋性的 (making firing more likely) or inhibitory 抑制性的 (making firing less likely).

Only these are examinable: dopamine 多巴胺 (reward and movement), serotonin 血清素 (mood and sleep), norepinephrine 去甲肾上腺素 (alertness), glutamate 谷氨酸 (the main excitatory transmitter), GABA γ-氨基丁酸 (the main inhibitory transmitter), endorphins 内啡肽 (pain relief), substance P P物质 (pain signalling), and acetylcholine 乙酰胆碱 (muscle movement and memory).

Hormones 激素 act outside the nervous system but do a similar job, travelling more slowly through the blood. Again only five are examinable: adrenaline 肾上腺素, leptin 瘦素 (reduces hunger), ghrelin 胃饥饿素 (increases hunger), melatonin 褪黑素 (sleep), and oxytocin 催产素 (bonding).

Psychoactive drugs 精神药物 change behavior by acting on neurotransmission in three ways:

• An agonist 激动剂 encourages neural firing.
• An antagonist 拮抗剂 discourages it.
• A reuptake inhibitor 再摄取抑制剂 blocks reabsorption, leaving more transmitter in the synapse.

Drug categories: stimulants 兴奋剂 (caffeine, cocaine) increase neural activity; depressants 抑制剂 (alcohol) decrease it; hallucinogens 致幻剂 (marijuana) distort perception; opioids 阿片类药物 (heroin) relieve pain. Repeated use can lead to tolerance 耐受性, where more is needed for the same effect, and to addiction 成瘾, with withdrawal 戒断反应 symptoms when use stops.

The brain is studied from the bottom up, because the lower structures handle the most basic jobs.

• The brain stem 脑干, including the medulla 延髓, controls breathing and heart rate.
• The reticular activating system 网状激活系统 controls alertness and arousal.
• The cerebellum 小脑 controls coordination, balance, and some procedural learning 程序性学习.
• The limbic system 边缘系统 sits inside the cerebral cortex and includes the thalamus 丘脑 (a relay station for the senses), the hypothalamus 下丘脑 (hunger, thirst, temperature), the pituitary gland 脑垂体, the hippocampus 海马体 (forming new memories), and the amygdala 杏仁核 (fear and emotion).

The cerebral cortex 大脑皮层 is divided into two hemispheres 半球 and four lobes: the occipital lobes 枕叶 process vision at the rear; the temporal lobes 颞叶 process hearing and language at the sides; the parietal lobes 顶叶 hold the somatosensory cortex 体感皮层 for touch; and the frontal lobes 额叶 handle higher-order thinking and executive function 执行功能.

Language sits mainly in the left hemisphere: Broca's area 布罗卡区 for speech production and Wernicke's area 韦尼克区 for comprehension.

Split-brain research 裂脑研究, done on patients whose corpus callosum 胼胝体 was cut to treat severe epilepsy, shows the two hemispheres can work independently. Researchers present information to one visual field 视野 at a time, because each field is processed by the opposite hemisphere.

Brain plasticity 大脑可塑性 is the brain's ability to rewire itself and form new connections, which supports recovery after damage. Research methods include EEG 脑电图 and fMRI 功能性磁共振成像 scans, case studies, and lesioning 损毁法.

Consciousness 意识 is awareness of internal and external events, and it varies in level.

The sleep/wake cycle is a circadian rhythm 昼夜节律 of about 24 hours. Jet lag 时差反应 and shift work disrupt it.

Sleep stages are identified by EEG patterns. NREM sleep 非快速眼动睡眠 covers stages 1 to 3; hypnagogic sensations 入睡幻觉 occur as you fall asleep. REM sleep 快速眼动睡眠 is called paradoxical sleep 异相睡眠 because the brain looks awake while the body is most relaxed, and most dreaming happens here.

Two examinable theories explain dreams: activation-synthesis theory 激活-综合理论 (the brain interprets random activity) and consolidation theory 巩固理论 (dreams reflect memory processing). Sleep itself is explained by memory consolidation 记忆巩固 and restoration 恢复 theories.

Note: the psychoanalytic theory of dreams is outside the exam's scope.

Sleep disorders disrupt waking behavior and health: insomnia 失眠, narcolepsy 发作性睡病, sleep apnea 睡眠呼吸暂停, somnambulism 梦游 (sleepwalking), and REM sleep behavior disorder 快速眼动睡眠行为障碍.

Sensation 感觉 is detecting information from the environment and transducing 转导 it into neural signals the brain can use. Detection needs a certain absolute threshold 绝对阈限.

• The just-noticeable difference 最小可觉差 is the smallest change a person can detect.
• Sensory adaptation 感觉适应 is reduced sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus - you stop noticing a smell.
• Sensory interaction 感觉相互作用 means the senses work together. Synesthesia 联觉 is when one sense triggers another.

Vision. Light is focused onto the retina 视网膜 by the lens 晶状体 changing shape, a process called visual accommodation 视觉调节; when this fails the result is nearsightedness 近视 or farsightedness 远视. Rods 视杆细胞 lie in the periphery and detect shape and movement in low light. Cones 视锥细胞 sit in the fovea 中央凹 and detect colour and detail. Colour vision needs two theories: trichromatic theory 三色理论 (blue, green and red cones) and opponent-process theory 对立过程理论, which explains afterimages 后像. Damage to the occipital lobes can cause prosopagnosia 面孔失认症, or face blindness.

Hearing. Sound is air movement; wavelength gives pitch 音高 and amplitude gives loudness 响度. Pitch perception is explained by place theory 位置理论, volley theory 齐射理论, and frequency theory 频率理论. Sound localization 声源定位 tells us where a sound comes from. Hearing loss may be conduction deafness 传导性耳聋 or sensorineural deafness 感音神经性耳聋.

The chemical senses. Olfaction 嗅觉 is the only sense not relayed first through the thalamus. Gustation 味觉 covers sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami 鲜味, and oleogustus 脂味. The two interact: without smell, taste is muted.

Touch, pain, and body position. Skin receptors transduce touch; "hot" comes from warm and cold receptors firing together. Pain is processed in body and brain, and gate control theory 闸门控制理论 explains why attention changes how much it hurts; phantom limb 幻肢 sensations show the brain's role. The vestibular sense 前庭觉 controls balance through the semicircular canals 半规管, and kinesthesis 动觉 is the sense of body movement.

Worked example (a real AP exam question). The 2025 Article Analysis Question asked students to "Identify the research method used in the study" and then to "Explain the extent to which the research findings may or may not be generalizable using specific and relevant evidence from the study." A full-mark answer to the second part names the limitation and ties it to evidence: "The findings may not generalize widely because participants were undergraduate students at one university, so the sample was not representative of the general population." Notice the shape: Explain needs a claim plus the evidence behind it. Naming the method alone answers part A, not part E.

• Learn only the listed neurotransmitters and hormones; the exam will not ask about others, and the endocrine glands are out of scope apart from the pituitary.
• Keep sensation separate from perception: sensation is detecting and transducing, perception is interpreting (Unit 2).
• The all-or-none principle means intensity is coded by how often a neuron fires, never by how strongly.
• Match structure to job before you write: hippocampus forms memories, amygdala handles fear, cerebellum coordinates movement.
• Sympathetic arouses, parasympathetic calms. If a question describes a racing heart, name the sympathetic branch.
• Say what a scan can and cannot show. fMRI shows activity over time; EEG shows electrical patterns and identifies sleep stages.

Unit 1 ended with sensation, the detection of a stimulus. Perception 知觉 is what the brain does next: it organises and interprets that information. The same signal can be perceived in more than one way.

Two directions of processing work together:

• Bottom-up processing 自下而上加工 starts from the raw sensory information and builds upwards.
• Top-down processing 自上而下加工 starts from what you already expect and know.

Internal filters shape perception. A schema 图式 is a mental framework built from past experience. A perceptual set 知觉定势 is a readiness to see something in a particular way. External filters matter too: context 情境 and cultural expectations change what people report seeing.

Gestalt psychology 格式塔心理学 described how the brain groups parts into wholes: closure 闭合 (filling in gaps), figure and ground 图形与背景 (separating an object from its background), proximity 邻近性 (grouping things that are close), and similarity 相似性 (grouping things that look alike).

Attention 注意 sits between sensation and perception. It is limited, so some information is lost:

• Selective attention 选择性注意 focuses on one input. The cocktail party effect 鸡尾酒会效应 is hearing your own name across a noisy room.
• Inattentional blindness 无意视盲 is failing to see something visible because attention was elsewhere; change blindness 变化盲视 is failing to notice that something has changed.

To perceive a three-dimensional world from a flat retinal image, the brain uses depth cues 深度线索.

Binocular cues 双眼线索 need both eyes. Retinal disparity 视网膜像差 is the small difference between the two images; the greater the difference, the closer the object. Convergence 辐辏 is the inward turn of the eyes for near objects.

Monocular cues 单眼线索 work with one eye: relative clarity 相对清晰度, relative size 相对大小, texture gradient 纹理梯度, linear perspective 线条透视, and interposition 遮挡 (a nearer object blocks a further one).

Perceptual constancy 知觉恒常性 keeps an object looking the same even when its retinal image changes - a door stays rectangular as it swings open. The brain can also perceive apparent movement 似动 when nothing actually moves, which is why a series of still frames looks like a film.

Concepts 概念 are the basis of thought, and a prototype 原型 is the best example of a concept. People build and change schemas through assimilation 同化 (fitting new information into an existing schema) and accommodation 顺应 (changing the schema to fit new information).

Two ways to solve a problem:

• An algorithm 算法 tries every possible solution and is guaranteed to work, but is slow.
• A heuristic 启发式 is a mental shortcut. It is fast but can lead to error - the representativeness heuristic 代表性启发式 judges by how well something matches a prototype, and the availability heuristic 可得性启发式 judges by how easily examples come to mind.

Thinking can also get stuck. A mental set 心向 is the tendency to repeat a solution that worked before. Functional fixedness 功能固着 is seeing an object only in its usual use. The gambler's fallacy 赌徒谬误 (believing a run must end) and the sunk-cost fallacy 沉没成本谬误 (continuing because of what is already spent) both hinder good decisions.

Executive functions 执行功能 let people generate, organise, plan, and carry out goals. Creativity 创造力 involves divergent thinking 发散思维 (generating many ideas) rather than convergent thinking 聚合思维 (narrowing to one answer).

Memory is divided by how information is processed.

Explicit memory 外显记忆 can be described to others. It splits into episodic memory 情景记忆 (personal events) and semantic memory 语义记忆 (facts). Implicit memory 内隐记忆 is harder to describe, and includes procedural memory 程序性记忆 (skills such as riding a bike). Prospective memory 前瞻记忆 is remembering to do something later.

Long-term potentiation 长时程增强 is the biological basis: synaptic connections grow stronger with repeated use.

Three models are examinable:

• The multi-store model 多重存储模型 proposes sensory memory 感觉记忆 (including iconic 图像记忆 and echoic 声像记忆 stores), short-term memory 短时记忆, and long-term memory 长时记忆.
• The working memory model 工作记忆模型 treats the middle stage as active, not a waiting room. It has a phonological loop 语音回路, a visuospatial sketchpad 视空间模板, and a central executive 中央执行系统.
• The levels of processing model 加工水平模型 says deeper processing gives better memory: shallow processing of appearance, then sound, then deep processing of meaning.

Encoding 编码 gets information into memory, and how you encode changes how well you remember.

• Mnemonic devices 记忆术 such as the method of loci 位置法 aid encoding.
• Chunking 组块 groups items into meaningful units, which raises how much short-term memory can hold.
• The spacing effect 间隔效应 shows that spreading study over time beats massed practice 集中练习 (cramming).
• The serial position effect 系列位置效应 means items at the start (primacy 首因效应) and end (recency 近因效应) of a list are remembered best.

Storage differs by system. Maintenance rehearsal 保持性复述 repeats information to hold it; elaborative rehearsal 精细复述 links it to what you already know and works better.

A few people show highly superior autobiographical memory 超常自传体记忆, which suggests biological differences. Storage can also be impaired: Alzheimer's disease 阿尔茨海默病 and infantile amnesia 婴儿期遗忘 both limit what can be stored or recovered.

Retrieval takes two forms: recall 回忆 (producing information without cues) and recognition 再认 (identifying it among options). Recognition is easier, which is why a multiple-choice question feels easier than an essay.

Retrieval improves with matching conditions. Context-dependent memory 情境依存记忆 works better in the same place; state-dependent memory 状态依存记忆 works better in the same physical state; mood-congruent memory 心境一致性记忆 recalls material matching your current mood. Practising retrieval helps too - the testing effect 测试效应 shows that testing yourself beats rereading.

Forgetting has several causes. The forgetting curve 遗忘曲线 shows loss is fastest right after learning. Encoding failure 编码失败 means it never got in. Interference 干扰 can be proactive 前摄干扰 (old learning blocks new) or retroactive 倒摄干扰 (new blocks old). Retrieval failure 提取失败 includes the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon 舌尖现象.

Memory is also reconstructive 重构的, not a recording. The misinformation effect 错误信息效应 occurs when later information changes what a person remembers. Source amnesia 来源遗忘 is remembering the information but not where it came from.

Worked example (a real AP exam question). The 2025 Article Analysis Question presented a study in which participants read a summary containing 20%, 50% or 80% misleading sentences, then answered questions about a video. Correct responses fell from 74% (low misinformation) to 63% (high). One part asked students to "Explain how at least one of the research findings supports or refutes the misinformation effect." A full-mark answer states the finding and connects it to the concept: "Participants in the high misinformation condition answered 63% correctly compared with 74% in the low condition. Because exposure to more misleading detail lowered accuracy, the finding supports the misinformation effect, in which information received after an event changes the memory of it." Notice the shape: quote the data, then name the concept the data supports. A restated definition with no number does not answer Explain.

Psychologists still disagree about how to define intelligence 智力. Spearman's g 一般智力因素 proposes one general ability; other theories propose several, including fluid intelligence 流体智力 (reasoning with novel problems, which declines with age) and crystallised intelligence 晶体智力 (accumulated knowledge, which does not).

Early tests produced an intelligence quotient (IQ) 智商 by dividing mental age by chronological age. Modern scores are compared with a normal curve 正态曲线 of the population.

Any psychological assessment must meet psychometric principles 心理测量学原则:

• Standardization 标准化 - the test is given under consistent procedures and scored against a comparison group.
• Validity 效度 - it measures what it claims to. Construct validity 构念效度 and predictive validity 预测效度 are both examinable.
• Reliability 信度 - it gives similar results each time, checked by test-retest reliability 重测信度 and split-half reliability 分半信度.

IQ scores have risen worldwide over generations (the Flynn effect 弗林效应), which points to societal rather than biological causes. Scores vary more within groups than between them, and stereotype threat 刻板印象威胁 can lower performance when a person fears confirming a negative stereotype about their group.

• Keep sensation and perception apart: detecting is sensation, interpreting is perception.
• Bottom-up starts with the stimulus; top-down starts with expectation. Say which the scenario shows.
• Learn the interference pair by direction: proactive means old material acts forward onto new.
• For encoding questions, name a specific strategy - chunking, spacing, elaborative rehearsal - not "studying harder".
• On testing questions, separate reliability from validity. A test can be reliable and still measure the wrong thing.
• When data are given, quote a figure before naming the concept. Findings-based parts award the link between the number and the term.

Developmental psychology 发展心理学 studies how people change across the lifespan. Two questions run through the whole unit.

• Is change continuous 连续的 (gradual and smooth) or discontinuous 不连续的 (in stages)?
• Is a trait stable 稳定的 across life, or does it change?

Researchers answer these with two designs. A cross-sectional study 横断研究 compares different age groups at one time - fast, but differences may come from the groups' different generations. A longitudinal study 纵向研究 follows the same people over years - slower, but it shows real change within a person.

Development before birth can be disrupted by teratogens 致畸物 (harmful agents such as alcohol), maternal illness, genetic mutations, and hormonal or environmental factors.

Infant physical development follows the same general order everywhere, though the rate varies. Newborns show reflexes 反射 that indicate healthy development, such as the rooting reflex 觅食反射 (turning towards a touch on the cheek). The visual cliff 视崖 experiment shows that infants perceive depth early.

A critical period 关键期 is a window in which a particular experience has an unusually strong effect; a sensitive period 敏感期 is a softer version of the same idea.

Adolescence 青春期 brings the adolescent growth spurt 青春期发育突增 and puberty 青春发育期, including primary sex characteristics 第一性征 and secondary sex characteristics 第二性征. Adulthood spans most of life and is marked by a gradual levelling off, then decline - including menopause 更年期 in women.

Sex 生理性别 refers to biological characteristics, while gender 社会性别 refers to the roles and expectations a society attaches to them. Gender roles 性别角色 are learned through socialization 社会化: family, school, peers, and media all teach what behaviour is expected. Sexual orientation 性取向 describes a person's enduring pattern of attraction. The exam asks how sex and gender influence socialization and development, not for any evaluation of individuals.

Piaget 皮亚杰 proposed that children build schemas and pass through four stages:

• Sensorimotor stage 感知运动阶段 (infancy to toddlerhood): the child learns through senses and action, and develops object permanence 客体永久性 - knowing an object still exists when hidden.
• Preoperational stage 前运算阶段 (toddlerhood to early childhood): the child uses symbols and pretend play but shows egocentrism 自我中心 (difficulty taking another view) and lacks conservation 守恒 (knowing quantity stays the same when shape changes).
• Concrete operational stage 具体运算阶段 (early to late childhood): the child reasons logically about concrete things and gains conservation.
• Formal operational stage 形式运算阶段 (late childhood onward): abstract and hypothetical reasoning becomes possible.

Vygotsky 维果茨基 saw children as social learners. The zone of proximal development 最近发展区 is the gap between what a child can do alone and what they can do with help; scaffolding 支架 is the support that closes it.

Adult cognition changes too, and here the fluid/crystallised split from Unit 2 returns: reasoning speed declines while accumulated knowledge does not. Dementia 痴呆 is a decline beyond normal ageing.

Language 语言 is a shared system of arbitrary symbols used to communicate. Development follows a common sequence: nonverbal gestures 手势, then cooing 咕咕声, babbling 咿呀语, the one-word stage 单词阶段, and telegraphic speech 电报式语言 (two-word combinations).

Children generalise rules before they master exceptions, which produces overgeneralization 过度规则化 - saying "goed" instead of "went". This is evidence that they are learning rules, not just copying.

Ecological systems theory 生态系统理论 describes development as nested environments, from the immediate family outwards to culture.

Research identifies parenting styles 教养方式: authoritarian 专制型 (high demands, low warmth), authoritative 权威型 (high demands, high warmth), and permissive 放任型 (low demands, high warmth).

Attachment 依恋 is the emotional bond between infant and caregiver, studied with the strange situation 陌生情境 procedure. Styles include secure attachment 安全型依恋 and insecure forms (avoidant 回避型, anxious 焦虑型, disorganized 混乱型). Separation anxiety 分离焦虑 is heightened distress when away from a caregiver. Studies with monkeys showed that infants prefer contact comfort 接触安慰 over food, which changed how attachment was understood.

Peer relationships develop through parallel play 平行游戏 and pretend play 假装游戏 in childhood, and adolescents rely on peers more as they age.

Erikson 埃里克森 proposed a stage theory of psychosocial development 心理社会发展, in which each stage poses a conflict to resolve - the adolescent stage being identity versus role confusion 同一性与角色混乱. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) 童年不良经历 affect later relationships and health.

The behavioral perspective 行为主义视角 explains behaviour through learning rather than thought.

Classical conditioning 经典条件作用 associates one stimulus with another:

• An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) 无条件刺激 naturally produces an unconditioned response (UCR) 无条件反应 - food causes salivation.
• A neutral stimulus 中性刺激 paired with the UCS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) 条件刺激, producing a conditioned response (CR) 条件反应.
• Acquisition 习得 depends on the order and timing of the pairing.
• Extinction 消退 occurs when the CS is no longer paired with the UCS; spontaneous recovery 自发恢复 is the reappearance of an extinguished CR.
• Generalization 泛化 is responding to similar stimuli; stimulus discrimination 刺激辨别 is responding only to the exact CS.
• In higher-order conditioning 高级条件作用 an established CS acts as a UCS for a new one.

Emotional responses can be conditioned, and taste aversion 味觉厌恶 shows that some associations are learned in a single trial because they aided survival. Habituation 习惯化 is a diminished response to a repeated stimulus.

Operant conditioning 操作性条件作用 associates a behaviour with its consequence.

• Reinforcement 强化 increases a behaviour; punishment 惩罚 decreases it.
• Positive 正 means something is added; negative 负 means something is removed. So negative reinforcement 负强化 increases behaviour by removing something unpleasant - it is not punishment.
• A primary reinforcer 原级强化物 satisfies a biological need; a secondary reinforcer 次级强化物 (money) is learned.
• Shaping 塑造 rewards successive approximations 逐步接近 of a target behaviour.

Reinforcement schedules 强化程式 change how strong and persistent learning is. Continuous reinforcement 连续强化 rewards every response and produces fast learning but fast extinction. Partial reinforcement 部分强化 comes in four kinds - fixed-ratio 固定比率, variable-ratio 变动比率, fixed-interval 固定时距, and variable-interval 变动时距 - and variable-ratio produces the highest, most extinction-resistant rate.

Superstitious behavior 迷信行为 arises when a consequence reinforces an unrelated action. Learned helplessness 习得性无助 develops when an organism repeatedly cannot escape an aversive event and stops trying.

Not all learning needs direct experience. Social learning theory 社会学习理论 shows that behaviour can be learned by observation 观察 and modeling 榜样示范 - the basis of the Bobo doll findings on imitated aggression.

Insight learning 顿悟学习 is a sudden solution with no gradual conditioning. Latent learning 潜伏学习 is learning that occurs without reinforcement and stays hidden until there is a reason to show it, demonstrated by rats forming a cognitive map 认知地图 of a maze.

Worked example (a real AP exam question). The 2024 exam described Gavin, a preschooler at a science museum: he grabbed a large glass marble and tried to bounce it, he was briefly separated from his parents, and the next day he told his grandmother about a picture he had drawn. Students had to "Explain how Jean Piaget's concept of assimilation could relate to Gavin's experience with the glass marble" and "Explain how egocentrism could relate to how Gavin interacted with his grandmother in the car". A full-mark answer defines the term and ties it to the specific detail: "Gavin already had a schema for balls, which bounce. He assimilated the marble into that schema by treating it as a ball and trying to bounce it." Notice the shape: the definition alone earns nothing, and so does retelling the story. The mark is for the join between them.

• Negative reinforcement increases behaviour. If you can say what was removed, and the behaviour went up, it is not punishment.
• Match a Piaget stage to its achievement - object permanence, conservation, abstract reasoning - rather than to an age.
• Classical conditioning links two stimuli and produces an involuntary response; operant conditioning links behaviour to consequence.
• Variable-ratio schedules resist extinction best. Use it whenever a question describes gambling-like persistence.
• Keep critical period for the narrow window and sensitive period for the softer one.
• On scenario questions, name the term and then point at the detail in the scenario that proves it. The detail is what earns the mark.

Social psychology 社会心理学 studies how people think about, influence, and relate to others. It begins with attribution 归因 - how we explain behaviour.

An explanation is either dispositional 内归因 (about the person's personality) or situational 外归因 (about the circumstances). People are not even-handed about which they choose:

• The fundamental attribution error 基本归因错误 is over-using dispositional explanations for other people's behaviour.
• The actor-observer bias 行动者-观察者偏差 is explaining your own behaviour situationally while explaining others' dispositionally.
• The self-serving bias 自利偏差 credits success to yourself and blames failure on the situation.
• The just-world phenomenon 公正世界现象 is the belief that people get what they deserve.

A person's explanatory style 解释风格 can be optimistic 乐观的 or pessimistic 悲观的, and this shapes how they respond to setbacks.

Person perception has its own effects. The mere exposure effect 单纯曝光效应 means repeated contact increases liking. A self-fulfilling prophecy 自我实现预言 occurs when expectations cause the behaviour that confirms them. Social comparison 社会比较 is judging yourself against others, either upward 向上比较 or downward 向下比较.

A stereotype 刻板印象 is a generalised idea about a group; it reduces mental effort but can be inaccurate and harmful. Prejudice 偏见 is an attitude, and discrimination 歧视 is the behaviour. Implicit attitudes 内隐态度 are held without full awareness.

Attitudes resist change. Belief perseverance 信念固着 keeps a belief alive even after the evidence for it is discredited. Confirmation bias 确认偏差 is seeking evidence that fits what you already believe.

Cognitive dissonance 认知失调 is the discomfort felt when actions and attitudes conflict. Because the action has already happened, people often resolve it by changing the attitude - which is why doing something can change what a person believes.

Social norms 社会规范 define the behaviour a group expects. Behaviour changes when others are present:

• Conformity 从众 is adjusting behaviour to match a group. It rises with group size (up to a point), unanimity, and ambiguity, and falls when even one other person dissents.
• Obedience 服从 is following an instruction from an authority. It rises with the authority's perceived legitimacy and closeness, and falls when the victim is close or the authority is distant.
• Normative social influence 规范性社会影响 is conforming to be accepted; informational social influence 信息性社会影响 is conforming because you think others know better.

Persuasion 说服 has two routes in the elaboration likelihood model 精细加工可能性模型: the central route 中心路径 uses the strength of the argument, and the peripheral route 边缘路径 uses cues such as attractiveness. Sequential techniques matter too: the foot-in-the-door 登门槛效应 technique starts with a small request, while the door-in-the-face 留面子效应 technique starts with an unreasonable one.

Group settings change behaviour further. Social facilitation 社会助长 improves performance on simple or well-practised tasks when others watch, but harms performance on difficult ones. Social loafing 社会惰化 is reduced individual effort in a group. Deindividuation 去个体化 is loss of self-awareness in a crowd. Group polarization 群体极化 pushes a group's average view further in its original direction, and groupthink 群体思维 is the suppression of dissent to keep harmony.

Individualism 个人主义 and collectivism 集体主义 shape all of these, and multiculturalism 多元文化主义 describes societies holding several traditions together. The false consensus effect 虚假一致效应 is overestimating how many people agree with you. Superordinate goals 超级目标 - shared aims that need cooperation - reduce hostility between groups.

Altruism 利他行为 is selfless helping, though prosocial behavior 亲社会行为 may also bring benefit to the helper. The bystander effect 旁观者效应 shows people are less likely to help as the number of onlookers rises, because of diffusion of responsibility 责任分散.

Worked example (a real AP exam question). The 2025 Evidence-Based Question asked students to "develop and justify an argument about whether the presence of others improves performance", then to "Explain how the evidence from Part B (i) supports your claim using a psychological perspective, theory, concept, or research finding learned in AP Psychology." A full-mark answer supplies a course concept, not just a restatement of the source: "The participants performed better on the simple task when observed (Source 1). This supports my claim because social facilitation predicts that an audience improves performance on tasks that are simple or well practised, while impairing performance on difficult ones." Notice the shape: cite the source, then name the concept and state what it predicts. Re-describing the study alone does not earn the explanation point.

Personality 人格 is a person's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Four approaches are examinable.

The psychodynamic 精神动力学 approach holds that unconscious 无意识 processes drive personality. Ego defense mechanisms 自我防御机制 protect the person from anxiety, and the examinable set is denial 否认, displacement 转移, projection 投射, rationalization 合理化, reaction formation 反向形成, regression 退行, repression 压抑, and sublimation 升华. It assesses personality with projective tests 投射测验, which present an ambiguous stimulus; these have weak reliability and validity.

The humanistic 人本主义 approach focuses on growth. It emphasises unconditional positive regard 无条件积极关注 and self-actualization 自我实现 - becoming the fullest version of oneself.

The social-cognitive 社会认知 approach explains personality through reciprocal determinism 交互决定论: the person, their behaviour, and the environment each influence the other two. Self-efficacy 自我效能感 - belief in one's own ability to succeed at a task - is central, as is locus of control 控制点, which is internal 内控 or external 外控.

Trait theories 特质理论 describe personality as enduring characteristics. The Big Five 大五人格 traits are openness to experience 开放性, conscientiousness 尽责性, extraversion 外向性, agreeableness 宜人性, and neuroticism 神经质. Traits are measured with self-report inventories, which are more reliable than projective tests.

Several theories explain what drives behaviour:

• Drive-reduction theory 驱力减少理论 says behaviour reduces a physical need to restore homeostasis 内稳态.
• Arousal theory 唤醒理论 says people seek an optimal level of arousal; the Yerkes-Dodson law 耶克斯-多德森定律 states that moderate arousal gives the best performance on most tasks.
• Self-determination theory 自我决定理论 separates intrinsic motivation 内在动机 (from within) from extrinsic motivation 外在动机 (from reward), and incentive theory 诱因理论 focuses on the pull of rewards.
• Instincts 本能 are innate fixed patterns, seen in non-human animals rather than in human behaviour.
• Lewin's motivational conflicts 勒温的动机冲突理论 names three: approach-approach 双趋冲突, approach-avoidance 趋避冲突, and avoidance-avoidance 双避冲突.
• Sensation-seeking theory 感觉寻求理论 explains differences in the need for novelty.

Eating shows physical and mental processes interacting. Ghrelin and leptin, regulated by the hypothalamus, control hunger and fullness, while external factors - the sight of food, the time of day, a shared meal - change how much people eat.

Emotion 情绪, also called affect 情感, combines physical arousal, expressive behaviour, and conscious experience. Examinable theories are the James-Lange theory 詹姆斯-兰格理论 (the body responds first, and emotion is the reading of that response), the Cannon-Bard theory 坎农-巴德理论 (arousal and emotion occur at once), and the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory 沙赫特-辛格两因素理论 (arousal plus a cognitive label 认知标签). Broaden-and-build theory 拓展-建构理论 proposes that positive emotions widen thinking and build lasting resources.

Some facial expressions are recognised across cultures, but display rules 表达规则 - a culture's norms for showing emotion - and the events that trigger emotion both vary.

• Fundamental attribution error applies to explaining others. If the question is about explaining yourself, the answer is usually self-serving bias.
• Social facilitation improves simple tasks and harms difficult ones. Say which kind of task the scenario describes.
• Separate conformity (matching a group) from obedience (following an authority).
• For cognitive dissonance, name the conflict and say which side changed - usually the attitude, because the behaviour already happened.
• Learn the Big Five as a set; questions often ask you to place a described person on one named trait.
• With emotion theories, the difference is order: body first (James-Lange), together (Cannon-Bard), or arousal plus label (two-factor).

Health psychology 健康心理学 studies how psychological factors affect physical health.

Stress 压力 is the process by which people appraise and respond to demands. A stressor 应激源 is the demand itself. Stress raises susceptibility to illness and is linked to poorer immune functioning and to heart disease.

Stressors are not all alike:

• Eustress 良性压力 is motivating; distress 消极压力 is debilitating.
• Stressors range from daily hassles 日常烦扰 to significant life changes 重大生活变化 and catastrophes 灾难性事件.

The general adaptation syndrome (GAS) 一般适应综合征 describes the body's response in three stages: alarm 警觉期 (the sympathetic system mobilises), resistance 抵抗期 (the body copes at a high but sustainable level), and exhaustion 衰竭期 (resources run down and vulnerability to illness rises).

Not everyone responds by fighting or fleeing. Tend-and-befriend theory 照料-结盟理论 proposes that some people respond to stress by caring for others and seeking social support.

Coping takes two broad forms. Problem-focused coping 问题聚焦应对 treats the stressor as a problem to be solved and works on the cause; it suits situations a person can control. Emotion-focused coping 情绪聚焦应对 manages the emotional reaction instead, which suits situations that cannot be changed.

Positive psychology 积极心理学 studies what makes life go well rather than what goes wrong. It looks for the factors behind well-being 幸福感 and resilience 心理韧性.

Three findings are examinable:

• Expressing gratitude 感恩 raises subjective well-being 主观幸福感.
• People who use their signature strengths 标志性优势 report higher objective well-being.
• Posttraumatic growth 创伤后成长 is positive psychological change that can follow a struggle with trauma.

Deciding that behaviour is disordered involves three considerations: the level of dysfunction 功能失调, the person's personal distress 个人痛苦, and deviation from social norms 偏离社会规范. Because norms differ between cultures and change over time, this judgement is not purely objective.

Classifying a disorder has both benefits and costs. A diagnosis guides treatment and gives access to support, but a label can also carry stigma 污名 and change how a person is treated. Diagnosis requires specialised training and evidence-based criteria.

Most psychologists take an eclectic approach 折衷取向, drawing on more than one perspective:

• Behavioral 行为主义: disorders come from maladaptive learned associations.
• Psychodynamic 精神动力学: from unconscious conflict.
• Humanistic 人本主义: from a lack of acceptance and support.
• Cognitive 认知: from maladaptive thought patterns.
• Evolutionary 进化: from behaviours that were once adaptive.
• Sociocultural 社会文化: from the person's social and cultural setting.
• Biological 生物学: from physiological and genetic factors.

Two integrating models are examinable. The biopsychosocial model 生物心理社会模型 assumes any psychological problem may combine biological, psychological, and social causes. The diathesis-stress model 素质-压力模型 proposes that a disorder appears when an underlying vulnerability meets sufficient stress - which explains why two people with the same vulnerability may have different outcomes.

The CED names a limited set of categories, each with its own features and possible causes.

• Neurodevelopmental disorders 神经发育障碍 begin during the developmental period, and causes may be environmental, physiological, or genetic.
• Schizophrenic spectrum disorders 精神分裂症谱系障碍 involve positive symptoms 阳性症状 - delusions 妄想 (false beliefs), hallucinations 幻觉 (false perceptions), disorganized thinking 思维紊乱, and catatonia 紧张症 - and negative symptoms 阴性症状, the absence of typical behaviour such as flat affect 情感淡漠.
• Depressive disorders 抑郁障碍 involve sad, empty, or irritable mood with related changes in body and thinking.
• Bipolar disorders 双相障碍 involve periods of mania 躁狂 alternating with periods of depression.
• Anxiety disorders 焦虑障碍 involve excessive fear or anxiety: specific phobia 特定恐惧症, agoraphobia 广场恐惧症, panic disorder 惊恐障碍 with panic attacks 惊恐发作, social anxiety disorder 社交焦虑障碍, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) 广泛性焦虑障碍.
• Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders 强迫及相关障碍 involve obsessions 强迫思维 (intrusive thoughts) and compulsions 强迫行为 (repeated actions).
• Dissociative disorders 分离障碍 involve dissociation from consciousness, memory, or identity, and are associated with trauma or stress.
• Trauma and stressor-related disorders 创伤及应激相关障碍 follow exposure to a traumatic event; posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 创伤后应激障碍 is the main example.
• Feeding and eating disorders 进食障碍 involve altered consumption or absorption of food.
• Personality disorders 人格障碍 are enduring patterns and fall into three clusters: Cluster A the odd or eccentric, Cluster B the dramatic or erratic, and Cluster C the anxious or fearful.

For every category, the exam expects the same two-part shape: the defining features, and the possible causes - biological, genetic, social, cultural, behavioral, and cognitive.

Meta-analyses 元分析 of psychotherapy conclude that therapy is effective. The rise of effective psychotropic medication 精神药物治疗 also changed care, reducing long hospital stays in favour of community treatment.

Clinicians must follow ethical principles, including informed consent 知情同意, confidentiality 保密, and working within their competence.

Therapies follow the perspectives above:

• Psychodynamic therapies 精神动力学治疗 use free association 自由联想 and dream interpretation to uncover unconscious material.
• Cognitive therapies 认知疗法 use cognitive restructuring 认知重构 and fear hierarchies 恐惧等级表 to change maladaptive thinking.
• Applied behavior analysis 应用行为分析 applies conditioning principles, including systematic desensitization 系统脱敏 and token economies 代币制.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapies 认知行为疗法, such as dialectical behavior therapy 辩证行为疗法 and rational-emotive behavior therapy 理性情绪行为疗法, combine both.
• Person-centered therapy 以人为中心疗法, from the humanistic perspective, uses active listening 积极倾听 and unconditional positive regard.

Hypnosis 催眠 is effective for pain and anxiety, but research does not support its use to recover memories. Medications include antidepressants 抗抑郁药, antianxiety drugs 抗焦虑药, lithium 锂盐, and antipsychotics 抗精神病药. More invasive options include psychosurgery 精神外科手术, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) 经颅磁刺激, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) 电休克治疗.

Worked example (a real AP exam question). The 2025 Article Analysis Question asked, as one of its six parts, to "Identify at least one ethical guideline applied by the researchers." This is an Identify part, so it wants a named guideline pointed to in the study, not an essay: "The researchers obtained informed consent from participants before the study began." Notice the shape: Identify parts are answered in one accurate sentence, and adding explanation earns nothing extra. Save the writing for the Explain parts, where a claim must be supported with evidence.

• Use the three considerations together - dysfunction, distress, deviation - when a question asks what makes behaviour disordered.
• For diathesis-stress, name both halves. A vulnerability with no stressor, or a stressor with no vulnerability, is the point of the model.
• Keep positive and negative symptoms straight: positive means something added (hallucinations), negative means something missing (flat affect).
• Match therapy to perspective. Free association is psychodynamic; cognitive restructuring is cognitive; systematic desensitization is behavioral.
• Obsessions are thoughts, compulsions are actions.
• Read the task verb. Identify wants a name, Describe wants detail, Explain wants a reason with evidence.