AP Psychology Exam Tomorrow?

Focus your last review on the concepts, research skills, and FRQ moves most worth having fresh.

The current AP Psychology exam rewards application, not just vocabulary. Use this page to review research methods, AAQ and EBQ structure, high-confusion concept pairs, and the five content units.

AP Psychology Exam at a Glance

Fully digital — taken in the Bluebook testing app.

2 hours 40 minutes total.

Section I: 75 multiple-choice questions — 90 minutes — 66.7% of the exam score.

Section II: 2 free-response questions — 70 minutes — 33.3% of the exam score.

FRQ 1: Article Analysis Question (AAQ). FRQ 2: Evidence-Based Question (EBQ). Each is worth up to 7 points.

All five course units are weighted 15%–25% of the multiple-choice section.

Know what the exam is actually testing

On the multiple-choice section, about 65% of the weighting is concept application, 25% is research methods and design, and 10% is data interpretation. Argumentation is assessed in the free-response section.

AP scores are reported from 1–5. There is no universal published “passing percentage.” Colleges set their own credit and placement policies.

Free AP Psychology Cram Sheet

Keep the highest-value distinctions, research terms, FRQ structure, and rapid-review facts on one compact reference.

Don’t Waste Last-Minute Time on Legacy Topics

Older AP Psychology materials may still emphasize topics that the current College Board course framework explicitly places outside the exam scope.

Specific names of classic theories of emotion are outside the current exam scope.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is outside the current exam scope.

Freud’s psychosexual stage theory is outside the current exam scope.

Delayed, trace, simultaneous, and backward conditioning are outside the current exam scope.

Use current materials when old study guides conflict with the present course framework.

Research Methods & Data: Your Highest-Leverage Review

Research methods and design account for about 25% of the multiple-choice weighting, and research analysis is central to the AAQ. Know these distinctions cold.

Experiment — Manipulates an independent variable and uses random assignment. A well-designed experiment can support cause-and-effect conclusions.

Correlation — Measures how variables relate without manipulating them. Correlation does not establish causation.

Case study — Intensive examination of one person, group, or unusual case. It can provide detailed information but may have limited generalizability.

Naturalistic observation — Observes behavior in a natural setting without manipulating variables.

Meta-analysis — Combines results from multiple studies to estimate an overall pattern.

Random sampling ≠ random assignment

Random sampling is about who enters the sample and affects how well results may generalize to a population. Random assignment is about which experimental condition participants enter and helps reduce preexisting differences between groups.

Variables and Design

Independent variable (IV) — what the researcher manipulates.
Dependent variable (DV) — what the researcher measures.
Confounding variable — an uncontrolled factor that could provide another explanation for the results.
Operational definition — exactly how a variable is measured or manipulated so the study can be understood and replicated.
Sample — the participants selected from a larger population.
Representative sample — a sample whose characteristics appropriately reflect the population of interest.
Placebo and blind procedures — tools that can reduce expectancy-related effects.

AAQ Ethics Checklist

Institutional review — research is reviewed before it is conducted when required.
Informed consent or assent — participants receive appropriate information and agree to participate.
Protection from harm — researchers must address risks to participants.
Confidentiality or anonymity — researchers protect participant information or identity as appropriate.
Deception — may be used only when justified within ethical research procedures.
Debriefing — participants receive appropriate information after participation, particularly when deception was used.

For current AAQs, Part D requires you to identify an ethical guideline described in the study AND describe how the researchers applied it.

Statistics to Interpret

Mean — arithmetic average.
Median — middle score when values are ordered.
Mode — most frequent score.
Range — highest score minus lowest score.
Standard deviation — how spread out scores are around the mean.
Percentile rank — percentage of scores at or below a particular score.
Correlation coefficient — ranges from −1.00 to +1.00; the sign indicates direction and the absolute value indicates strength.
Statistical significance — indicates that results are unlikely to be due to chance; it does not by itself tell you that an effect is large or practically important.
Effect size — indicates the strength of a relationship or the size of a difference. College Board’s usual interpretation is 0.2 or below = small, 0.3–0.7 = medium, and 0.8 or above = large.

Fast rule: no manipulated independent variable and no random assignment? Do not claim the study established cause and effect.

Know the Two AP Psychology FRQs

FRQ mistake to avoid: evidence by itself is not reasoning. State the evidence, then explain the psychological connection.

AAQ — Article Analysis Question

One summarized peer-reviewed source. Up to 7 points across six parts. Suggested time: about 25 minutes, including about 10 minutes to read.

A — Identify the research method.
B — State the requested operational definition or research variable.
C — Describe what the requested statistic means in the context of the study.
D — Identify one ethical guideline described in the study and describe how the researchers applied it.
E — Explain the extent to which the findings may or may not generalize, using specific participant information from the study.
F — Use a specific study result to explain how the evidence supports or refutes the psychological concept or hypothesis presented in the question.

EBQ — Evidence-Based Question

Three summarized peer-reviewed sources. Up to 7 points. Suggested time: about 45 minutes, including about 15 minutes to read.

A — Make a specific, defensible claim grounded in psychological science.
B — Use specific evidence from one source, cite that source, and explain why the evidence supports the claim using an AP Psychology perspective, theory, concept, or research finding.
C — Use additional evidence from a different source, cite that source, and explain why it supports the claim using a different AP Psychology perspective, theory, concept, or research finding.

Unit 1 — Biological Bases of Behavior

Think function → behavior. The current course framework emphasizes how biological systems influence behavior and mental processes rather than anatomy labeling for its own sake.

Nervous System

Central nervous system (CNS) — brain and spinal cord.
Peripheral nervous system (PNS) — nerves connecting the CNS with the rest of the body.
Somatic nervous system — controls voluntary skeletal-muscle movement.
Autonomic nervous system — regulates automatic internal functions.
Sympathetic division — mobilizes the body for action.
Parasympathetic division — calms the body and conserves energy.

Neural Communication

Neural firing follows the all-or-none principle. Neurotransmitters cross a synapse and interact with receptor sites. Agonists encourage or mimic neurotransmitter action; antagonists inhibit or block it.

Current Scope: Neurotransmitters & Hormones

The current AP Psychology framework limits neurotransmitters in scope to dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate, GABA, endorphins, substance P, and acetylcholine. Effects can depend on where a neurotransmitter acts, so avoid treating each as a one-function chemical.

Hormones specifically listed for study are adrenaline, leptin, ghrelin, melatonin, and oxytocin. Detailed knowledge of endocrine glands other than the pituitary gland is outside the current exam scope.

Brain Functions to Keep Straight

Medulla — basic functions such as breathing and heart rate.
Cerebellum — coordination of movement, balance, and some procedural learning.
Thalamus — major sensory relay; smell is the exception to the usual thalamic relay.
Hypothalamus — contributes to homeostasis, motivated behavior, and endocrine regulation through the pituitary.
Amygdala — involved in emotional processing.
Hippocampus — important in the formation of explicit memories.
Frontal lobe — planning, judgment, voluntary movement, and other executive functions.
Occipital lobe — vision.
Temporal lobe — auditory processing and important language functions.
Parietal lobe — somatosensory and spatial processing.

Sensation is the detection and transduction of sensory information. Perception is the organization and interpretation of sensory information.

Unit 2 — Cognition

Bottom-up processing — perception primarily driven by incoming sensory information.

Top-down processing — prior knowledge, expectations, and context influence perception.

Schema — a mental framework used to organize and interpret information.

Confirmation bias — favoring information that supports an existing belief.

Hindsight bias — after learning an outcome, perceiving it as having been more predictable.

Availability heuristic — judging likelihood partly by how easily examples come to mind.

Representativeness heuristic — judging something by how closely it resembles a mental prototype.

Memory

Encoding → storage → retrieval.
Explicit memory — conscious memory for information such as facts and events.
Implicit memory — memory that can influence behavior without conscious recollection, including learned skills and conditioned associations.
Recall — producing learned information with relatively few cues.
Recognition — identifying information as previously learned.
Proactive interference — older information interferes with learning or retrieving newer information.
Retroactive interference — newer information interferes with retrieving older information.
Misinformation effect — misleading information received after an event can alter later memory.

Psychological Testing

Standardization — consistent procedures and conditions are used to administer an assessment.
Validity — the assessment measures what it is intended to measure.
Reliability — the assessment produces reasonably consistent results.

Unit 3 — Development and Learning

Cross-sectional research compares different age groups at one point in time. Longitudinal research follows the same participants across time.

Piaget: Keep the Stage Sequence Straight

Sensorimotor — infancy through toddlerhood; children learn through action and sensation, and object permanence develops.
Preoperational — toddlerhood through early childhood; symbolic thought develops, while egocentrism and errors involving conservation and reversibility are common.
Concrete operational — early through late childhood; thinking becomes more logical and realistic about concrete situations.
Formal operational — late childhood through adulthood; abstract and hypothetical reasoning can develop. Piaget proposed that not everyone achieves formal-operational thinking.

Classical ≠ Operant

Classical conditioning associates stimuli so that a stimulus comes to elicit a response. Operant conditioning associates behavior with consequences that make the behavior more or less likely.

Reinforcement increases behavior. Punishment decreases behavior.
Positive means a stimulus is added. Negative means a stimulus is removed.
Positive reinforcement — add a desirable consequence to increase behavior.
Negative reinforcement — remove an unpleasant condition to increase behavior.
Positive punishment — add an unpleasant consequence to decrease behavior.
Negative punishment — remove a desirable condition to decrease behavior.

Reinforcement Schedules

Fixed ratio — reinforcement after a set number of responses.
Variable ratio — reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses.
Fixed interval — reinforcement for the first qualifying response after a set amount of time.
Variable interval — reinforcement for the first qualifying response after changing, unpredictable time intervals.

Unit 4 — Social Psychology and Personality

Conformity ≠ obedience: social pressure and group expectations versus directives from an authority figure.

Personality Approaches

Psychodynamic — emphasizes unconscious processes in personality.
Humanistic — emphasizes self-concept, unconditional regard, and the tendency toward growth.
Social-cognitive — emphasizes interaction among behavior, cognition, and environmental influences.
Trait — explains personality using relatively enduring characteristics.

Emotion: Know the Pattern, Not Legacy Names

Current AP Psychology expects you to understand different ways physiological and cognitive experiences can relate to emotion, but the specific names of the classic emotion theories are outside the exam scope.

Some approaches propose that physiological and cognitive experiences occur in succession.
Other approaches propose that physiological and cognitive experiences occur simultaneously.
Other approaches emphasize that a cognitive label is necessary for the emotional experience.
Facial-feedback hypothesis — facial expression may influence emotional experience; research findings are mixed.
Broaden-and-build theory — positive emotions can broaden awareness and encourage new thoughts and actions, while negative emotions can narrow attention and action.

Unit 5 — Mental and Physical Health

Eustress — a stressor experienced as motivating.
Distress — a stressor experienced as debilitating.
General adaptation syndrome — alarm → resistance → exhaustion.
Problem-focused coping — treating the stressor as a problem to be solved.
Emotion-focused coping — managing the emotional reaction to stress.

High-Confusion Disorder Distinctions

OCD vs. OCPD — obsessive-compulsive disorder involves obsessions and/or compulsions; obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a Cluster C personality disorder. Do not treat the similar names as interchangeable.
Depressive vs. bipolar disorders — depressive disorders center on depressive symptoms; bipolar disorders include periods of mania as well as periods of depression.
Schizophrenia — a psychotic disorder that can include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or behavior, and negative symptoms. It is not the same as dissociative identity disorder.

Treatment Approaches

Psychodynamic therapy — addresses unconscious processes and patterns.
Humanistic therapy — emphasizes active listening, unconditional positive regard, and person-centered interaction.
Behavior therapy — applies principles of conditioning; exposure approaches are an important example.
Cognitive therapy — addresses maladaptive patterns of thinking.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy — combines cognitive and behavioral techniques.
Biological interventions — can include psychoactive medication and other medical interventions.

Use diagnostic terminology here only to study AP Psychology concepts and exam scenarios. Real clinical diagnosis belongs to appropriately trained professionals.

If You Only Have 30 Minutes

Do not try to relearn the whole course. Check whether you can explain these without looking:

Last-minute priority: retrieve and apply the distinctions you already know. The current exam is built around applying psychology to scenarios, research, data, and evidence—not just reciting definitions.

Readyward is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by College Board or the Advanced Placement Program. AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks of College Board. Exam content, formats, and policies can change; confirm current official information with College Board.

Fundamental attribution error — overemphasizing dispositional factors and underestimating situational factors when explaining another person’s behavior.

Self-serving bias — interpreting outcomes in ways that tend to protect or enhance one’s view of oneself.

Cognitive dissonance — discomfort created by inconsistency among attitudes, beliefs, or behavior; people may change attitudes or behavior to reduce the inconsistency.

Conformity — responding to social pressure, norms, or expectations.

Obedience — complying with directives from an authority figure.

Social facilitation — the presence of other people can affect performance.

Social loafing — individuals may reduce their effort when working as part of a group.

Groupthink — pressure for group agreement can interfere with realistic evaluation of alternatives.

Bystander effect — situational and attentional factors can influence whether someone helps another person.

• Random sampling vs. random assignment

• IV vs. DV vs. confounding variable

• Correlation vs. causation

• Statistical significance vs. effect size

• AAQ six-part structure

• EBQ claim → evidence → psychological reasoning

• Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic

• Bottom-up vs. top-down processing

• Proactive vs. retroactive interference

• Classical vs. operant conditioning

• Reinforcement vs. punishment

• Positive vs. negative consequences

• Conformity vs. obedience

• OCD vs. OCPD

• Reliability vs. validity