This year’s AP Psychology Exam will be at 12pm on Thursday May 9, 2024.

So what can you expect? Here’s a quick summary of the question types and the areas of psychology that are covered in AP Psychology.

The Format

The AP Psychology exam consists of two sections.

• The first section is multiple choice. There are 100 multiple choice questions and you’ll have 70 minutes to answer them. Hopefully you’ll be well-prepared and able to breeze through many of these questions quickly, though some may require a little more deliberation.

After the multiple choice section you’ll have a 10-minute break.

• Following the break is the Free-Response Section. This section consists of two free-response questions and you’ll have 50 minutes to complete both of them. Unfortunately you won’t be able to flip back through the multiple choice section to help you out on this section, so hopefully you’ve got all the important terms and concepts ready for quick recall so you can get writing.

The good news is that the free-response is not an essay. There’s no need for introductory paragraphs, smooth transitions, beautiful prose, or weighty conclusions. Each free response question presents a scenario followed by a list of terms and your job is to explain, using examples, how those terms relate to the situation presented (see details for each question type below). This can usually be done in just a couple sentences for each term, so you won’t need to write pages upon pages in order to get full credit. As long as you make it clear that you know the term and you correctly explain how it relates to the prompt you’ll earn credit for that term.

The Content

The main difficulty of the AP Psychology Exam is that it covers a great deal of content. The content isn’t necessarily hard to learn, it just takes time and review to make sure that you learn all of it. In 2019 the CollegeBoard combined some of the previous unit divisions resulting in 9 total units. These are listed below, along with the chapter divisions used in most textbooks, the major concepts tested, and an estimated percentage of the exam that each unit represents.

For a detailed breakdown of the units, along with links to tutorial videos, check out this post. Or click the links on each section for a YouTube playlist of related content. 

Scientific Foundations of Psychology 10-14%

Chapters: History & Approaches, Research Methods

Concepts: key historical figures, research methods, the experimental method, statistical analysis, ethical guidelines

Biological Bases of Behavior 8-10%

Chapters: Biological Bases of Behavior, States of Consciousness

Concepts: neural firing; the nervous system; the brain; the influence of drugs; brain imaging & scanning techniques; heredity & environment; sleep & dreaming

Sensation and Perception 6-8%

Chapters: Sensation & Perception

Concepts: principles of sensation & perception (psychophysics, Gestalt laws); visual anatomy & perception; auditory sensation & perception, chemical senses (smell & taste); body senses (touch, vestibular, kinesthetic)

Learning 7-9%

Chapters: Learning

Concepts: classical conditioning; operant conditioning; social & cognitive factors in learning

Cognitive Psychology 13-17%

Chapters: Memory, Language & Cognition, Intelligence & Testing

Concepts: encoding, storage, & retrieval; forgetting & memory distortion; problem-solving & decision-making; biases & errors in thinking; linguistics & language acquisition; intelligence testing & psychometric principles

Developmental Psychology 7-9%

Chapters: Development

Concepts: physical development & the lifespan; cognitive development; social development; adolescent development; adulthood & aging; moral development; gender & sexual orientation

Motivation, Emotion, & Personality 11-15%

Chapters: Motivation & Emotion, Personality, Stress & Health

Concepts: theories of motivation; hunger; sexual motivation; theories of emotion; emotional expression; psychoanalytic theories of personality; trait theories of personality; personality assessment; behaviorism & social cognitive theories of personality; humanistic psychology; stress & coping

Clinical Psychology 12-16%

Chapters: Psychological Disorders, Treatment of Psychological Disorders

Concepts: perspectives on abnormality; etiology of disorders; neurodevelopmental disorders; schizophrenic spectrum disorders; bipolar, depressive, anxiety, & obsessive compulsive disorders; trauma & stressor-related disorders; somatic symptoms & related disorders; eating disorders; substance & addictive disorders; personality disorders; biological approach to treatment; psychological approaches to treatment; strengths, weaknesses, & effectiveness of treatments

Social Psychology 8-10%

Chapters: Social Psychology

Concepts: attribution theory; attitude formation & change; conformity compliance, & obedience; group influences on behavior; bias, prejudice, & discrimination; aggression & altruism; interpersonal attraction

While you certainly aren’t expected to memorize all the breakdown numbers, it’s worth taking note of which units are more heavily tested and therefore should be your top priorities when reviewing.

It’s also worth remembering that there is a great deal of overlap in many of these units. For instance, a question about serotonin and SSRI treatments for depression relates to your understanding of biological mechanisms as well as approaches to treatment. Similarly, a question about a personality assessment could relate to units on personality, testing, and/or research methods. Try to avoid thinking of each unit as an isolated box of material and remember that many concepts will inevitably be linked to multiple units.

Looking for some multiple choice practice? Check out this playlist with practice questions and explanations of the answers: Psychology Practice Questions

The Free Response Questions

Both Free Response Questions will contain 7 terms which need to be applied. Correct application of each term is worth 1 point, and there is no partial credit. 

The first FRQ will focus on concept application. This means that the prompt will describe a real-life situation, then you must explain how each of the key terms listed can be applied to the scenario. 

The second FRQ will focus on research design. In this prompt, you’ll be given information about a psychological study and must then apply the terms to demonstrate understanding of the concepts, data analysis, and principles of scientific investigation. 

You can find a number of previous exam FRQs on the Collegeboard Website here.

You can also find the Collegeboard’s full Course & Exam Description for AP Psychology here.

 

Having trouble understanding some of the key concepts in psychology? My book series “Master Introductory Psychology” can help!

Additional AP Exam Prep Resources