Exam prep · AP Psychology

AP Psychology flashcards for the five-unit course

AP Psychology is the most term-heavy AP exam, which makes it the most flashcard-friendly one. The decks below cover memory, cognition, learning and the core concepts; add every bolded term from your textbook as you go.

Updated 2026-10-23. Decks are shared by Quizcard and its users; study them on the page or copy them into a free account.

AP Psychology at a glance

What the AP Psychology tests

• Unit 1: Biological Bases of Behavior. 15 to 25%. Neurons, brain regions, sleep, sensation.
• Unit 2: Cognition. 15 to 25%. Perception, memory, thinking, intelligence.
• Unit 3: Development and Learning. 15 to 25%. Lifespan development, classical and operant conditioning, social learning.
• Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality. 15 to 25%. Attribution, conformity, group behavior, personality theories.
• Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health. 15 to 25%. Stress, disorders, treatment approaches.
• Research methods and statistics. Woven through every unit and central to both free-response questions.

Free AP Psychology flashcard decks

• AP Psychology: Memory, Cognition, and Learning30 cards · High school · Cognition · Encoding · Forgetting · Learning
• Introduction to Psychology: Core Concepts30 cards · University · Biology · Development · Disorders · Foundations
• MCAT Psychology and Sociology: High-Yield Terms49 cards · University · Cognition & Language · Emotion · Identity & Development · Learning
• AP Psychology: Biological Bases of Behavior62 cards · High school · Action Potential · Brain Imaging · Brainstem & Subcortical Structures · Cerebral Cortex

Missing a topic? Upload the chapter from your prep book and Quizcard builds the deck for you, grouped by topic, with figures kept from PDFs. How it works.

Test yourself: free AP Psychology practice quizzes

• AP Psychology: Memory, Cognition, and Learning quiz18 multiple-choice questions with explanations · no account needed
• MCAT Psychology and Sociology: High-Yield Terms quiz15 multiple-choice questions with explanations · no account needed
• AP Psychology: Biological Bases of Behavior quiz15 multiple-choice questions with explanations · no account needed

Each quiz scores you at the end and explains every answer. Redo it any time; the questions reshuffle.

Sample cards from “AP Psychology: Memory, Cognition, and Learning”

What is the testing effect?

Answer: Retrieving information through practice tests strengthens memory more than rereading.

Explanation

Why flashcards work.

What are the four reinforcement schedules?

Answer: Fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, variable-interval.

Explanation

Variable-ratio (slot machines) produces the highest, steadiest response.

What are acquisition, extinction, and spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?

Answer: Acquisition: learning the CS-US link. Extinction: the CR fades when the CS appears alone. Spontaneous recovery: the CR reappears after a rest.

Explanation

Generalization and discrimination also apply.

What is framing?

Answer: How an issue is presented affects decisions.

Explanation

'90% survival' vs '10% mortality.'

What is functional fixedness?

Answer: Seeing an object only in its usual function, which blocks creative solutions.

Explanation

Duncker's candle problem.

What is confirmation bias?

Answer: Seeking and favoring evidence that supports existing beliefs.

Explanation

Related to belief perseverance.

Showing 6 of 30 cards. Study the whole deck or copy it into your account.

A flashcard study plan for the AP Psychology

1. Through the year: card every bolded term the week it comes up. Upload the chapter and generate a deck, then prune to the terms you do not already know.
2. 6 weeks out: one unit per week from the decks and your own. Practice one Article Analysis question a week.
3. 2 weeks out: full practice exam. Card the terms you confused (for example, negative reinforcement versus punishment).
4. Final week: research-methods cards (variables, validity, reliability, ethics) and the missed deck.

How to write AP Psychology cards that work

• Pair confusable terms on one card: “proactive versus retroactive interference, with an example of each.”
• Name-to-idea cards for the researchers: Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura, Piaget, Erikson, Milgram, Asch, Loftus.
• Research-method cards should name the flaw: “a study with no control group cannot show causation.”
• For the Evidence-Based question, card how to cite a source and tie it to a claim in one sentence.

Questions

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Official information: College Board: AP Psychology. Formats and weights change; check the official page before test day.