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.

Heredity and environmental factors interact to shape behavior and mental processes. 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 interact. For example, inherited tendencies and nutrition can both influence height.
• The evolutionary perspective 进化论视角 asks how inherited tendencies may relate to survival and reproductive success. A plausible story about an advantage is not, by itself, proof of a particular behavior's origin.
• Twin and adoption studies 双生子与收养研究 compare patterns of similarity across relatedness and upbringing. Similarity between identical twins raised apart can support an inherited contribution, but it does not cleanly separate all inherited and environmental influences.

Worked interaction. In an illustrative case, assume a student inherits a tendency that helps distinguish musical sounds. Lessons, practice and access to an instrument help develop the ability. Performance improves after the school provides instruments. The inherited tendency is the stated heredity contribution; teaching, practice and access are environmental contributions. The opportunity helps develop the tendency. Improvement with access does not prove that all differences between students are environmental, or that inheritance fixes final performance. Do not infer inherited ability merely because someone performs well.

Evaluate a twin-study conclusion. Identical twins raised apart show similar scores on a behavioral trait. The similarity is consistent with an inherited contribution, not proof that the trait is entirely inherited. They share prenatal conditions and may encounter similar environments; placement into families is not a random experiment. Comparisons with other relatives and adoptive families add evidence about patterns, rather than assigning one person's behavior wholly to one cause.

Scope note: detailed genetics, DNA and chromosome mechanisms are outside this course framework. The relationship between heredity and environment is assessed.

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.

Worked pathway choice. A student deliberately raises a hand, experiences a faster heartbeat before a presentation, and later notices a slowing heart rate during recovery. The deliberate skeletal movement involves the somatic division carrying motor commands. Heartbeat is an autonomic process: the sympathetic branch supports arousal and the parasympathetic branch supports recovery. These are PNS pathways interacting with the CNS. Classify the specific response, not the whole event as only voluntary or automatic. A racing heart alone does not establish one particular emotion.

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 - a withdrawal can be initiated through spinal circuits before conscious awareness, while signals also travel toward the brain.

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 travel through the blood and can influence the brain as well as other organs. Their route differs from communication across a synapse; blood-borne does not mean unable to affect behavior. 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 can change behavior by acting on neurotransmission. Three mechanisms taught in the course are:

• An agonist 激动剂 activates or supports a transmitter's effect. In an introductory excitatory-signal example, this encourages firing.
• An antagonist 拮抗剂 blocks a transmitter's action. With that excitatory signal, blocking it reduces its contribution to firing.
• A reuptake inhibitor 再摄取抑制剂 blocks reabsorption, leaving more transmitter in the synapse.

Worked synapse comparison. Assume a transmitter normally activates a receiving receptor and makes firing more likely. Hypothetical substance X activates the same receptor: it acts as an agonist in this case. Y occupies that receptor without activating it and prevents the transmitter acting: it is an antagonist. Z stops reabsorption into the sending cell: it is a reuptake inhibitor, leaving more transmitter available in the gap without directly copying it at the receiving receptor. State the affected step before predicting its consequence.

The example explicitly uses an excitatory signal. Supporting an inhibitory signal can strengthen inhibition; blocking it can remove inhibition. An agonist is not a universal synonym for stimulation of the whole nervous system. Receptor, transmitter and location matter, and the three taught mechanisms are examples rather than all possible drug mechanisms.

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.

Worked method choice. To identify rapid electrical patterns distinguishing sleep stages, choose EEG: scalp electrodes record electrical patterns with fine timing, although locating a precise source is more limited. To compare where blood-oxygen signals change during a memory task and a comparison task, choose fMRI: it commonly tracks regional blood-oxygen changes associated with activity. It gives useful spatial detail but measures an indirect, slower-changing signal rather than each neuron's firing. Both methods can track changes over time; that phrase alone does not distinguish them. A regional change during a task does not, by itself, establish that the region is necessary for the task or reveal exact thoughts. Match the research aim to the signal and state a limitation.

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 evidence-based generalization (2025 AP Psychology Set 1 Article Analysis). The study recruited 127 students at one large university for course credit. They were aged 18–39, with a mean age of 21.21; 69% were women and 31% men. Consider how far the findings can be extended to adults aged 65 and over.

One supported response is: the findings may not extend to adults aged 65 and over because all participants were university students aged 18–39. The study provides no direct participant evidence about that older population. This is a limit on the evidence, not proof that older adults would behave differently. A sample's size alone does not show that it represents every population. Random assignment to misinformation conditions helps compare the experimental groups; it does not turn a university sample into a representative sample of all adults.

The official Part E criterion requires a generalization claim supported by specific, relevant participant evidence. Name the population, select a participant feature and explain the link. An unexplained label such as “biased” or a statement about sample size is insufficient. This is an authored model response grounded in the source and scoring criterion, not a quotation of a scored student answer.

• 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. EEG records rapid electrical patterns; fMRI commonly tracks regional blood-oxygen changes associated with activity.

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 is a systematic procedure. The course contrasts searching possible solutions until a correct one is found with using a shortcut. Exhaustive search succeeds when the possibilities can all be checked, a solution exists within them, and the checker works. Algorithms are not always exhaustive or 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.

Worked search comparison. A classroom puzzle has eight possible answers, A–H, exactly one correct answer and a reliable checker. Testing A, then B and continuing in order systematically covers the possibilities. Starting with D because similar puzzles used D is a heuristic: it may save time but may mislead. The guarantee of the systematic search depends on the finite set, the included solution and the checker.

Worked judgement comparison. Judging cycling accidents to be common because vivid crash reports come easily to mind illustrates availability: ease of recall alone does not establish frequency. Assuming a quiet person who likes books must be a librarian illustrates representativeness: resemblance to a prototype replaces consideration of other relevant information. Identify the cue used, rather than assuming every shortcut gives a wrong answer.

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.

Worked model comparison. Noor briefly sees route directions, repeats the street names while planning turns, and recalls the route the next day. The multi-store model helps distinguish sensory, short-term and long-term demands. The working memory model explains active processing: the phonological loop supports the names, the visuospatial sketchpad supports the mental route, and the central executive coordinates attention. The levels of processing model predicts a benefit from connecting a street name's meaning to a familiar place, compared with only noticing its shape or sound. These are model applications, not proof that a memory moves through literal boxes.

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: 2025 Article Analysis Question, Part F. After viewing a video, participants received summaries with different amounts of misinformation. Mean correct responses were 74% in the low-misinformation group and 63% in the high group; mean misled responses were 19% and 30%, respectively. An original worked response is: "Participants in the high-misinformation group chose misleading answers on 30% of responses, compared with 19% in the low group. This supports the misinformation effect because more later misleading detail was reflected in participants' reports of the earlier video." The difference is 11 percentage points. The misled category specifically identifies answers matching the later false details. The official criterion requires an accurately interpreted specific finding linked to the concept; a definition alone or an unexplained number is insufficient for both points. A relevant qualitative finding can also supply evidence.

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 administered and scored using consistent procedures and conditions. Norm-based interpretation additionally uses an appropriate 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.

Worked testing comparison. A proposed spatial-reasoning test uses the same instructions, time and conditions for everyone: this supports standardization. Similar results across occasions support test-retest reliability; agreement between comparable halves supports split-half reliability. If its items mainly measure vocabulary, it has a construct-validity problem for spatial reasoning despite consistent scores. To assess predictive validity for later spatial-design course performance, compare scores with an appropriate, independently measured course outcome. Repeating the test tomorrow does not answer that prediction question. Judge validity for the stated construct or use.

The course describes general increases in IQ scores over time across much of the world (the Flynn effect 弗林效应), linked to societal factors such as nutrition, health care and socioeconomic conditions. 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.
• Use a specific finding and explain how it supports or refutes the concept. A relevant qualitative result can also supply evidence.

Developmental psychology 发展心理学 studies how people change across the lifespan. Ask how change happens, how stable a feature is, and how inherited characteristics interact with experience (nature and nurture 先天与后天).

• 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, and can show change within people. A cohort effect 同辈群体效应 is a difference linked to a generation’s experiences rather than age alone. Longitudinal research can be affected by participant dropout and repeated testing; following people does not by itself prove what caused a change.

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 often follows a similar general order, but timing varies. Gross motor skills 大肌肉动作技能 use large muscle groups, as in walking; fine motor skills 精细动作技能 use smaller coordinated movements, as in grasping a pencil. Newborns show reflexes 反射 that provide evidence about development, such as the rooting reflex 觅食反射 (turning towards a touch on the cheek). The visual cliff 视崖 apparatus provides evidence about early depth perception. Avoidance of its apparent drop is not proof that fear of heights is entirely innate; experience and the task also matter.

A critical period 关键期 is a limited window when particular input is necessary for typical development of a function; a sensitive period 敏感期 is a time of heightened responsiveness in which later learning can still occur. Some animals show imprinting 印刻, an early attachment-like following response during a limited developmental window. Do not equate it with every human attachment.

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 (reproductive organs and their development) and secondary sex characteristics 第二性征 (such as voice changes and body hair). Menarche 初潮 is the first menstrual period; spermarche 首次遗精 refers to the first ejaculation. Adulthood spans most of life. Mobility, flexibility, reaction time and sensory acuity can change at different rates; decline is not identical for every person or ability. Menopause 更年期 marks the end of menstrual cycling and reproductive change, not the end of learning or social development.

Sex 生理性别 refers to biological characteristics, while gender 社会性别 includes social roles and expectations as well as identity. Sex, gender identity, gender roles and sexual orientation are distinct concepts. 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. For example, different encouragement from adults can shape opportunities to practise a skill. A group difference alone does not establish a biological cause. Do not infer a person’s identity or orientation from clothing, toys or one behaviour.

Piaget 皮亚杰 proposed that children build schemas 图式, mental frameworks for organising experience. Assimilation 同化 fits new experience into an existing schema; accommodation 顺应 changes the schema when it does not fit. His theory includes four stages; their broad age descriptions are not precise deadlines for every child:

• 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 has difficulty with conservation 守恒 (quantity staying the same when shape changes) and reversibility 可逆性 (mentally reversing an action). Animism 泛灵论 attributes life-like qualities to objects. Theory of mind 心智理论, understanding that other people can have different beliefs and knowledge, begins developing during this period. Egocentrism describes difficulty taking another perspective, not simply selfishness.
• 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. Piaget did not propose that every person achieves it in all situations.

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 temporary, adjusted support that helps the learner perform a task and is reduced as independence grows. Piaget also recognised experience, and Vygotsky’s account does not say solitary learning is impossible.

Adult cognition changes too, and here the fluid/crystallised split from Unit 2 returns: fluid reasoning tends to decline on average while crystallised knowledge is relatively stable through much of adulthood. Individual trajectories vary. Dementia 痴呆 involves cognitive impairment beyond typical ageing; a classroom vignette or one forgotten item cannot establish a diagnosis.

Language 语言 is a shared system of arbitrary symbols used to communicate. Phonemes 音素 are distinctive sound units; morphemes 语素 are the smallest meaningful units, such as a word or a meaningful ending. Semantics 语义 concerns meaning; syntax 句法 concerns word order, within grammar 语法. Rule-governed combinations let people generate new messages. Development includes: 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 (short combinations that often omit function words). Timing varies, and gestures continue alongside speech; they are not abandoned when speaking starts.

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 interacting environments over time. The microsystem 微系统 involves direct contacts; the mesosystem 中间系统 involves links between them, such as parent–teacher cooperation. The exosystem 外系统 includes indirect influences, such as a caregiver’s workplace. The macrosystem 宏系统 involves broader cultural conditions; the chronosystem 时间系统 concerns time, life transitions and changing circumstances.

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). Cultural context affects how practices relate to outcomes; these categories do not make a single parenting choice determine a child’s future.

Attachment 依恋 is the emotional bond between infant and caregiver, studied with the strange situation 陌生情境 procedure. Patterns across separation and reunion inform classification; one isolated reaction does not establish a permanent label. Temperament 气质, relatively characteristic emotional reactivity, also relates to attachment. 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. Monkey studies highlighted contact comfort 接触安慰 when infants preferred a soft surrogate while feeding from another. This challenged food-only explanations of attachment; it did not show food is unnecessary or that animal results transfer without limits to humans.

Peer relationships develop through parallel play 平行游戏 and pretend play 假装游戏 in childhood, and adolescents often rely more on peers as they age. An imaginary audience 假想观众 is a belief that others are especially focused on oneself; a personal fable 个人神话 is a belief in the uniqueness of one’s experience, sometimes including invulnerability. These are distinct from early-childhood perspective-taking errors.

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. Across Erikson’s theory, conflicts concern trust versus mistrust; autonomy versus shame and doubt; initiative versus guilt; industry versus inferiority; identity versus role confusion; intimacy versus isolation; generativity versus stagnation; integrity versus despair. These are theoretical developmental tasks, not diagnoses or a guarantee of one fixed outcome. A social clock 社会时钟 describes culturally shaped expectations about life-event timing; emerging adulthood 成年初显期 is a transition recognised in some social contexts. Supportive adult relationships can develop in families and other close networks. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) 童年不良经历 can influence later relationships and health, with context and support affecting outcomes; they do not make a future outcome inevitable. Identity formation can involve exploration and commitment: achievement 同一性达成 follows exploration and commitment; moratorium 同一性延缓 involves exploration without commitment; foreclosure 同一性早闭 involves commitment without exploration; diffusion 同一性弥散 involves little of either. These processes can concern occupational, religious, racial/ethnic, gender, sexual and family identities.

The behavioral perspective 行为主义视角 traditionally emphasised observable behaviour and conditioning, often excluding mental processes from its explanations. Later learning accounts also consider cognition.

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 return of a reduced or extinguished CR after a rest interval when the CS is presented again, without a new UCS pairing. Extinction is not necessarily erasure of all prior learning.
• Generalization 泛化 is responding to similar stimuli; stimulus discrimination 刺激辨别 is learning to respond differently to relevant stimuli, rather than requiring a stimulus to be physically identical every time.
• In higher-order conditioning 高级条件作用 a learned CS can support conditioning to another cue without directly pairing that new cue with the original UCS; it is not thereby an originally unlearned stimulus.

Emotional responses can be conditioned, and taste aversion 味觉厌恶 shows that some associations are learned in a single trial and illustrates biological preparedness 生物准备性: some associations are more readily learned than others. Counterconditioning 对抗条件作用 pairs a cue with a response incompatible with the previously learned response; this is a learning principle, not a classroom treatment instruction. 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 - Ratio schedules depend on response counts; interval schedules reinforce the first qualifying response after time has elapsed. Fixed means predictable, variable means changing. Variable-ratio schedules commonly produce high, steady responding and resistance to extinction; this is not a universal ranking independent of the procedure and values used.

The law of effect 效果律 relates consequences to the future likelihood of behaviour. Reinforcers and punishers are identified by their observed effect, not the adult’s intention. Instinctive drift 本能漂移 occurs when species-typical behaviour interferes with a trained response. Operant discrimination and generalisation concern responding differently, or similarly, across situations.

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 rather than an overt sequence of rewarded approximations; it need not imply no previous experience of any kind. 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.

All following tasks are original. Attempt before reading each worked check.

Developmental design. Researchers test 20-, 40- and 60-year-olds once on an unfamiliar digital task. Older groups score lower. Identify the design and explain why the result alone does not establish within-person cognitive decline.

Check. This is cross-sectional: different ages are compared at one time. Differences in technology experience across cohorts could contribute. Following the same people would reveal within-person change, but attrition and practice effects would still need attention.

Schemas and perspective. Mei expects all round play objects to bounce. She tries bouncing a wooden bead, then changes her category to distinguish beads from rubber balls. Later she holds up a picture facing herself and assumes her friend can see it. Explain assimilation, accommodation and egocentrism using separate details.

Check. Treating the bead as a familiar bouncing object fits an existing schema: assimilation. Revising the category is accommodation. Assuming the friend sees her own view demonstrates difficulty taking another perspective, not proof of selfish intent.

Classical conditioning. A harmless tone repeatedly precedes a puff of air that naturally causes blinking. Later the tone alone causes blinking. Identify UCS, UCR, CS and CR. Repeated tones without air reduce blinking; after a rest, the tone again elicits some blinking. Explain these two changes.

Check. Air puff is UCS, blinking to air is UCR, the learned tone is CS, and blinking to the tone is CR. Reduced responding without air is extinction; return after rest without renewed air pairing is spontaneous recovery. UCR and CR share a response category but need not have identical strength or timing. This is a hypothetical learning example, not an instruction for an experiment on classmates.

Operant consequences. In a fictional case, fastening a seatbelt stops a buzzer and future prompt fastening increases. Separately, a learner loses game time after interrupting and future interruption decreases. Classify both using the event added/removed and observed change in behaviour.

Check. Stopping the buzzer is removal plus increased fastening: negative reinforcement. Removing game time with decreased interruption is negative punishment. If behaviour did not change, the intended label would not be established by the consequence alone.

Schedule comparison. A reward follows every fifth correct response in A; the first correct response after five minutes in B; and a changing number of correct responses averaging five in C. Identify schedules and explain why persistent responding alone would not establish C.

Check. A is fixed-ratio, B fixed-interval and C variable-ratio. The programmed contingency determines the label. Persistence without information about response count, time and predictability is insufficient.

Evidence and discrimination. Fictional task data: after training that rewards a response to a blue signal but not a yellow signal, mean responses in equal 60-second test periods are 8 for blue and 2 for yellow. Explain how the result supports discrimination and give a limit.

Check. More responding to the rewarded cue than the other cue is consistent with learned discrimination. The difference in means is 6 responses, but these means alone do not establish statistical significance, prove every individual discriminated or exclude every alternative explanation. This is not actual study data.

Use the scenario’s relevant detail and explain the concept–detail connection. A definition alone does not demonstrate application; follow the specific question rather than relying on a universal mark formula. For evidence questions, use a specific result and explain why it supports or qualifies the claim. Distinguish age from cohort, participation from formal labels, learning from its visible performance, and intended consequences from observed changes in behaviour. Identify a reinforcement schedule from its contingency, not a gambling-like mood or persistence alone.

Scope: local AP Psychology CED topics 3.1–3.9, PDF pages 81–95, with College Board’s October 2025 clarifications, including spontaneous recovery. Excluded prenatal stage names, psychosexual stage theory, language pragmatics and named timing subtypes of conditioning are not added.

The local 2024 set 1 Q1 and official guidelines were read to verify the older Gavin scenario’s concept-application demands. This is a legacy-format example, not the current exam format. Local 2025 set 2 AAQ and its official guidelines were spot-checked for operational definitions, data interpretation, generalisability and evidence-based explanation of stimulus discrimination. Original practice targets these skills without reproducing a whole exam. College Board’s released-exam page notes that older materials do not completely align with the revised exam. Historical papers, bank entries and syllabus files were not changed.

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: evidence and a course concept. In the 2025 Evidence-Based Question, Source 1 studied 45 male undergraduates. Researchers compared an attentive audience with working alone. Participants completed their own-shoe tasks faster with an audience, but took longer on unfamiliar clothing tasks with an audience. An original worked response is: "An audience can improve well-learned performance but impair difficult, unfamiliar performance. Participants completed their own-shoe tasks faster with an attentive audience, but took longer on unfamiliar clothing tasks than when alone (Source 1). Social facilitation explains the opposite changes by task difficulty and familiarity, supporting a conditional claim rather than a rule that others always help." The official B(ii) criterion distinguishes explaining the evidence from applying a course concept to explain how it supports the claim. This practises Part A and B; a full EBQ also needs evidence from a different source and a different concept in Part C.

Group-pressure comparison. Mei privately believes B but says A because all her classmates say A and she wants to fit in. Matching the group is conformity; her stated wish for acceptance supports normative influence. If she were unsure and believed the others knew better, informational influence would fit. Arun follows a teacher's instruction to hand in his paper: this is obedience to authority. If one classmate now says B, the loss of unanimity can reduce pressure on Mei, but does not guarantee her choice. Use the motive and source of pressure; the same visible action may have more than one explanation.

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 links performance to arousal. The optimal level depends on the task: difficult or unfamiliar tasks generally require lower arousal than easy, well-learned tasks. Increasing arousal does not always improve performance.
• 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, in many non-human animals. The course says humans do not seem to show these patterns; this does not deny innate capacities or reflexes. An unlearned choice alone does not establish a fixed, stimulus-triggered instinct.
• 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.

Worked motivation comparison. Jia drinks after a long run because she is thirsty: drive reduction explains reducing a physical need and restoring homeostasis. She chooses a new puzzle because her usual game feels dull: arousal theory explains seeking suitable stimulation. A promised reward for a school task illustrates incentives and extrinsic motivation. Enjoying the puzzle itself illustrates intrinsic motivation. The same activity can have both motives; identify the stated reason rather than assuming one theory explains every action.

Worked conflicts. Choosing between two enjoyable events at the same time is approach-approach. Choosing between an unpleasant chore now and missing an outing later is avoidance-avoidance. One performance that offers an exciting opportunity but also possible embarrassment is approach-avoidance: the same option has an attraction and a cost. Identify the options before classifying the conflict.

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. The exam requires comparison of physiological and cognitive experiences in succession or simultaneously, and accounts requiring a cognitive label. Specific historical theory names are outside the AP Psychology Exam scope. As optional historical context, 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.

Worked emotion comparison. Sam notices a racing heart on entering a room. Interpreting the setting as dangerous accompanies fear; interpreting it as a celebration accompanies excitement. In a cognitive-label account, context supplies an interpretation of arousal. A successive account instead proposes bodily changes before experienced emotion, while a simultaneous account proposes arousal and conscious emotion together. These illustrative cases compare the proposed mechanisms; they are not experimental evidence proving one account.

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. For your own behaviour, distinguish actor-observer explanations from self-serving explanations of success or failure.
• 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.
• For emotion, compare succession, simultaneous responses and cognitive labelling. Specific historical theory names are outside the exam scope.

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. Prolonged stress can affect health and immune regulation. This does not mean every stress response causes illness or that stress is the only cause of a 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 continues responding to a demand), and exhaustion 衰竭期 (resources are spent and vulnerability to illness can rise).

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 can support subjective well-being 主观幸福感. Assess the design and outcome measure before interpreting a study.
• People who use their signature strengths 标志性优势 report greater happiness and well-being. A self-report remains a subjective measure; an association alone does not prove causation. The CED groups character strengths around six virtues: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence.
• Posttraumatic growth 创伤后成长 is positive psychological change that can follow a struggle with trauma. It is not inevitable and does not mean the trauma was beneficial or distress has ended.

The course uses three considerations when discussing disordered behaviour: 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, context matters. These considerations are not a checklist requiring all three, and being unusual alone is not a diagnosis.

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. The DSM 精神障碍诊断与统计手册 and ICD 国际疾病分类 provide classification frameworks; they do not by themselves establish why a particular person developed a disorder.

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: considers behavior and mental processes in relation to adaptation and survival; an evolutionary proposal is not proof of a particular disorder’s cause.
• 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 an interaction between underlying vulnerability and stressful life experience. The CED emphasises genetic vulnerability. It is a model of risk, not a diagnostic formula or a guarantee that a person with both inputs develops a disorder.