All AP Courses

AP Psychology

How psychologists explain behavior

AP Psychology asks you to do more than define a term. Almost every question puts a concept in a situation you have not seen and asks which idea explains it, or hands you a study and asks what it can and cannot show. Each lesson here practices both, a few minutes at a time, with feedback that says why a wrong answer is wrong.

AP Psychology Exam Friday, May 14, 2027

Start Lesson 1.1 Interaction of Heredity and Environment

Units

Every unit is assessed on the AP Exam. Research methods are not a unit of their own: College Board treats them as a practice that runs through the whole course, so every lesson has a question about how a study was done.

  1. Unit 1 Biological Bases of Behavior 15–25% of the multiple-choice section · 6 topics
    1. 1.1Interaction of Heredity and Environment
    2. 1.2Overview of the Nervous System
    3. 1.3The Neuron and Neural Firing
    4. 1.4The Brain
    5. 1.5Sleep
    6. 1.6Sensation

    Unit 1 overview

  2. Unit 2 Cognition 15–25% of the multiple-choice section · 8 topics
    1. 2.1Perception
    2. 2.2Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgments, and Decision-Making
    3. 2.3Introduction to Memory
    4. 2.4Encoding Memories
    5. 2.5Storing Memories
    6. 2.6Retrieving Memories
    7. 2.7Forgetting and Other Memory Challenges
    8. 2.8Intelligence and Achievement

    Unit 2 overview

  3. Unit 3 Development and Learning 15–25% of the multiple-choice section · 9 topics
    1. 3.1Themes and Methods in Developmental Psychology
    2. 3.2Physical Development Across the Lifespan
    3. 3.3Gender and Sexual Orientation
    4. 3.4Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan
    5. 3.5Communication and Language Development
    6. 3.6Social-Emotional Development Across the Lifespan
    7. 3.7Classical Conditioning
    8. 3.8Operant Conditioning
    9. 3.9Social, Cognitive, and Neurological Factors in Learning

    Unit 3 overview

  4. Unit 4 Social Psychology and Personality 15–25% of the multiple-choice section · 7 topics
    1. 4.1Attribution Theory and Person Perception
    2. 4.2Attitude Formation and Attitude Change
    3. 4.3Psychology of Social Situations
    4. 4.4Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories of Personality
    5. 4.5Social-Cognitive and Trait Theories of Personality
    6. 4.6Motivation
    7. 4.7Emotion

    Unit 4 overview

  5. Unit 5 Mental and Physical Health 15–25% of the multiple-choice section · 5 topics
    1. 5.1Introduction to Health Psychology
    2. 5.2Positive Psychology
    3. 5.3Explaining and Classifying Psychological Disorders
    4. 5.4Selection of Categories of Psychological Disorders
    5. 5.5Treatment of Psychological Disorders

    Unit 5 overview

Labs

Labs for this course are being built.

The exam

The exam is fully digital: you answer both sections in the Bluebook app.

Exam format and practice

2 full practice exams