AP Psychology: Scientific Foundations

• AP Psychology is an introductory college-level psychology course.
• Students cultivate their understanding of the systematic and scientific study of human behavior and mental processes through exploration of the following topics: brain and behavior, sensation and perception, learning, cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, personality, testing and individual differences, abnormal behavior, treatment of abnormal behavior, and social psychology.

Scientific Foundations of Psychology

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
• Psychological science relies on empirical evidence to support claims.
• The scientific method involves formulating a hypothesis, conducting research, analyzing data, and drawing conclusions.
• Research methods include experiments, correlational studies, surveys, and case studies.
• Experiments involve manipulating an independent variable to determine its effect on a dependent variable, while controlling for confounding variables.
• Correlational studies examine the relationship between two or more variables, but do not establish causation.
• Descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, standard deviation) are used to summarize and describe data.
• Inferential statistics are used to draw conclusions and make generalizations based on data.
• Ethical guidelines in psychological research require informed consent, protection from harm, confidentiality, and debriefing.

Biological Bases of Behavior

• The nervous system consists of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (somatic and autonomic).
• Neurons are the basic building blocks of the nervous system, transmitting information via electrochemical signals.
• Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit signals between neurons.
• The brain is divided into three main regions: the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain.
• The hindbrain includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum, which control basic life functions and coordination.
• The midbrain is involved in motor control, vision, and hearing.
• The forebrain includes the cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus, and limbic system.
• The cerebral cortex is responsible for higher-level cognitive functions such as language, memory, and reasoning.
• The thalamus relays sensory information to the cerebral cortex.
• The hypothalamus regulates basic biological drives such as hunger, thirst, and body temperature.
• The limbic system, including the amygdala and hippocampus, is involved in emotion and memory.
• The endocrine system uses hormones to communicate throughout the body.
• Genes and heredity play a role in behavior and mental processes.

Sensation and Perception

• Sensation is the process of receiving and representing stimulus energies from the environment.
• Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
• Absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
• Difference threshold (just noticeable difference) is the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.
• Sensory adaptation is the diminished sensitivity to a constant stimulus.
• Vision involves the transduction of light energy into neural signals by photoreceptors in the retina (rods and cones).
• Hearing involves the transduction of sound waves into neural signals by hair cells in the cochlea.
• The chemical senses, taste and smell, involve the detection of chemical molecules by receptors in the mouth and nose.
• Touch involves the detection of pressure, pain, temperature, and vibration by receptors in the skin.
• Perception is influenced by attention, expectations, and context.

Learning

• Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge due to experience.
• Classical conditioning involves learning by association, in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus.
• Operant conditioning involves learning through consequences, in which behaviors are strengthened by reinforcement and weakened by punishment.
• Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior, while punishment decreases the likelihood of a behavior.
• Observational learning involves learning by watching others and imitating their behavior.
• Cognitive processes, such as attention, memory, and problem-solving, play a role in learning.

Cognitive Psychology

• Cognition refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring, storing, retrieving, and using knowledge.
• Memory is the process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information.
• Sensory memory is the immediate, initial recording of sensory information.
• Short-term memory is the temporary storage of information, with a limited capacity.
• Long-term memory is the relatively permanent storage of information, with an unlimited capacity.
• Encoding strategies include elaborative rehearsal, chunking, and mnemonics.
• Retrieval cues are stimuli that help us access information stored in memory.
• Forgetting can occur due to encoding failure, storage decay, or retrieval failure.
• Language is a system of communication that involves the use of symbols and rules.
• Problem-solving involves identifying and defining a problem, generating possible solutions, and evaluating the solutions.
• Decision-making involves choosing between alternatives based on 评估标准.

Developmental Psychology

• Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how people change over the lifespan.
• Development involves physical, cognitive, and social changes.
• Nature and nurture interact to influence development.
• Stages of development include infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
• Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes that children progress through distinct stages of cognitive development.
• Erikson's theory of psychosocial development proposes that individuals face different psychosocial crises at different stages of life.
• Attachment is the emotional bond between an infant and caregiver.
• Parenting styles can influence children's development.

Motivation, Emotion, and Stress

• Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors.
• Theories of motivation include instinct theory, drive-reduction theory, arousal theory, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
• Emotions are subjective experiences that involve physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious thoughts.
• Theories of emotion include the James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory, and Schachter-Singer two-factor theory.
• Stress is the process by which we perceive and respond to events that we appraise as threatening or challenging.
• Stress can have both positive and negative effects on health and well-being.
• Coping strategies are used to manage stress.

Personality

• Personality is an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
• Trait theories of personality seek to identify and describe the basic traits that make up personality.
• The Big Five personality traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
• Psychodynamic theories of personality emphasize the role of unconscious conflicts and early childhood experiences.
• Humanistic theories of personality emphasize the importance of self-actualization and personal growth.
• Social-cognitive theories of personality emphasize the role of learning and social experiences in shaping personality.
• Personality is assessed through interviews, observations, questionnaires, and projective tests.

Abnormal Psychology

• Abnormal psychology is the study of psychological disorders.
• Psychological disorders are patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional.
• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is used to classify and diagnose psychological disorders.
• Anxiety disorders involve excessive fear and anxiety.
• Mood disorders involve disturbances in mood and emotion.
• Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder characterized by disturbances in thought, perception, and behavior.
• Personality disorders are inflexible and maladaptive patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Treatment of Psychological Disorders

• Psychotherapy involves the use of psychological techniques to treat psychological disorders.
• Biomedical therapies involve the use of medications or other medical procedures to treat psychological disorders.
• Different types of psychotherapy include psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavioral therapy, and cognitive therapy.
• Psychodynamic therapy aims to uncover unconscious conflicts and resolve them.
• Humanistic therapy aims to promote self-awareness and self-acceptance.
• Behavioral therapy aims to change maladaptive behaviors through learning principles.
• Cognitive therapy aims to change maladaptive thoughts and beliefs.
• Biomedical therapies include drug therapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and psychosurgery.

Social Psychology

• Social psychology is the study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others.
• Attitudes are beliefs and feelings that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.
• Persuasion is the process of changing someone's attitude or behavior.
• Conformity is the tendency to adjust one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.
• Obedience is the tendency to follow the orders of an authority figure.
• Group behavior is influenced by social facilitation, social loafing, and deindividuation.
• Prejudice is an unjustifiable attitude toward a group and its members.
• Aggression is any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone.
• Altruism is unselfish regard for the welfare of others.
• Attraction is influenced by proximity, physical attractiveness, and similarity.