AP Psychology: Biological Bases of Behavior

Introduction to AP Psychology

• AP Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
• It examines various aspects of human experience, including cognition, emotion, motivation, development, and social interactions.
• The course emphasizes critical thinking, research methodologies, and applying psychological principles to real-world scenarios.

Biological Bases of Behavior

• Neurons: Fundamental units of the nervous system, transmitting information electrically and chemically.
  • Structure: dendrites, cell body, axon, myelin sheath, terminal buttons.
  • Function: action potential, neurotransmitters.
• Neurotransmitters: Chemical messengers transmitting signals across synapses.
  • Examples: dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, GABA, norepinephrine, endorphins.
  • Effects on behavior and mood.
• The Nervous System:
  • Central Nervous System (CNS): brain and spinal cord.
  • Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): somatic and autonomic nervous systems (sympathetic and parasympathetic).
  • Functions of different brain regions (e.g., frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebellum, brain stem).
• The Endocrine System:
  • Glands that secrete hormones.
  • Interactions between endocrine and nervous system.
  • Hormones' influence on mood, behavior, and physiological processes.
• Genetics and Behavior:
  • Genes and environment shape behaviors.
  • Heritability and its implications.
  • Nature vs. nurture debate.

Sensation and Perception

• Sensation: Detecting physical stimuli from the environment.
  • Sensory receptors and transduction.
• Perception: Organizing and interpreting sensory information.
  • Gestalt principles, depth perception, perceptual constancies.
• Vision, Hearing, Touch, Taste, Smell:
  • Specific sensory systems: anatomy, physiology, and perceptual processes.
  • Absolute thresholds, difference thresholds (just-noticeable difference), sensory adaptation.
• Sensory Deprivation and Enhancement:
  • Effects on perception and behavior.

States of Consciousness

• Consciousness: Awareness of oneself and the environment.
  • Levels of consciousness, altered states, circadian rhythms, sleep-wake cycles, dreams.
• Sleep and Dreams:
  • Stages of sleep (NREM and REM).
  • Sleep disorders (e.g., insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea).
  • Theories of dreaming (e.g., Freud's, activation-synthesis).
• Drugs and Consciousness:
  • Psychoactive drugs and their effects on the brain and behavior.
  • Types of drug use and addiction.
  • Impact of substance use.

Learning

• Classical Conditioning:
  • Pavlov's experiments, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned response.
  • Acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination.
  • Applications in real-world scenarios.
• Operant Conditioning:
  • Skinner's experiments, reinforcement, punishment, schedules of reinforcement.
  • Shaping, observational learning (social learning), and its implications.
  • Applications in behavioral modification.
• Cognitive Learning:
  • Latent learning, insight learning, observational learning, and their impact.

Cognition

• Memory:
  • Encoding, storage, retrieval.
  • Types of memory (sensory, short-term, long-term).
  • Improving memory techniques.
  • Forgetting and its causes.
• Thinking:
  • Problem-solving, decision-making.
  • Concepts and schemas, algorithms and heuristics, biases in thinking.
• Language:
  • Structure of language, language development.
  • Language acquisition and its impact on cognitive processes.

Motivation and Emotion

• Motivation: Factors influencing behavior.
  • Biological motivations (hunger, thirst, sex).
  • Social motives.
  • Theories of motivation (e.g., drive-reduction, incentive, humanistic).
• Emotion: Subjective feelings with physiological and behavioral responses.
  • Theories of emotion (e.g., James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter-Singer).
  • Expression and regulation of emotions.

Development Across the Lifespan

• Prenatal Development: Stages of prenatal development and environmental influences.
• Infancy and Childhood: Physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development.
  • Attachment theories.
• Adolescence: Puberty, identity formation, social development; peer influence.
• Adulthood: Physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development across adulthood, changes in relationships, career, and personal growth.

Personality

• Personality Theories: Psychodynamic, humanistic, trait, social-cognitive perspectives; key theorists and their contributions.
• Assessment of Personality: Different personality assessments and their applications.
• Personality Disorders: Various disorders, their characteristics, and treatments.

Testing and Individual Differences

• Intelligence: Theories of intelligence, measurement, and cultural biases in testing.
• Aptitude and Achievement Tests: Purpose, design, interpretation of aptitude and achievement tests.
• Standardized Testing: Importance and implications of standardized tests.

Social Psychology

• Social Cognition: Attitudes, stereotypes, prejudice, attribution; cognitive processes in social interaction.
• Social Influence: Conformity, obedience, group behavior.
• Relationships: Attraction, intimacy, love, commitment.

Abnormal Psychology

• Diagnosis and Classification: Diagnostic criteria, diagnoses, and approaches to diagnosis.
• Psychological Disorders: Major categories like anxiety, mood, schizophrenia, personality, eating, and substance-related disorders (classification, characteristics, treatments).
• Treatment of Psychological Disorders: Psychotherapy, biomedical therapies (e.g., drug therapy, electroconvulsive therapy).

Research Methods

• Descriptive Research: Observational studies, case studies, surveys.
• Correlation Research: Identifying relationships between variables.
• Experimental Research: Determining cause-and-effect relationships.
• Ethical Considerations: Avoiding harm, informed consent, confidentiality, debriefing, and institutional review boards (IRBs).