Guide to the AP Psychology Exam (2024)

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Guide to the AP Psychology Exam (1)

Interested in the scientific study of behavior and mental processes? The AP® Psychology Exam is a college-level exam administered every year in May upon completion of an Advanced Placement Psychology course taken at your high school. If you score high enough, yourAP score could earn youcollege credit!

Check out our AP Psychology Guide for the essential info you need about the exam:

  • Exam Overview
  • Scoring
  • How to Prepare

What's on the APPsychologyExam?

The College Board requires your AP teacher to cover certain topics in the AP Psychologycourse. As you complete your Psych review, make sure you are familiar with the following topics:

  • Scientific Foundations of Psychology: Introducing Psychology; Research Methods in Psychology; Defining Psychological Science: The Experimental Method; Selecting a Research Method; Statistical Analysis in Psychology; Ethical Guidelines in Psychology

  • Biological Bases of Behavior: Interaction of Hereditary and Environment; The Endocrine System; Overview of the Nervous System and the Neuron; Neural Firing; Influence of Drugs on Neural Firing; The Brain; Tools for Examining Brain Structure and Function; The Adaptable Brain; Sleep and Dreaming

  • Sensation and Perception: Principles of Sensation; Principles of Perception; Visual Anatomy; Visual Perception; Auditory Sensation and Perception; Chemical Senses; Body Sense

  • Learning: Introduction to Learning; Classical Conditioning; Operant Conditioning; Social and Cognitive Factors in Learning

  • Cognitive Psychology: Introduction to Memory; Encoding; Storing; Retrieving; Forgetting and Memory Distortion; Biological Bases of Memory; Introduction to Thinking and Problem Solving; Biases and Errors in Thinking; Introduction to Intelligence; Psychometric Principles and Intelligence Testing; Components of Language and Language Acquisition

  • Developmental Psychology: The Lifespan and Physical Development in Childhood; Social Development in Childhood; Cognitive Development in Childhood; Adolescent Development; Adulthood and Aging; Moral Development; Gender and Sexual Orientation

  • Motivation, Emotion, and Personality: Theories of Motivation; Specific Topics of Motivation; Theories of Emotion; Stress and Coping; Introduction to Personality; Psychoanalytic Theories of Personality; Behaviorism and Social Cognitive Theories of Personality; Humanistic Theories of Personality; Trait Theories of Personality; Measuring Personality

  • Clinical Psychology: Introduction to Psychological Disorders; Psychological Perspectives and Etiology of Disorders; Neurodevelopmental and Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders; Bipolar, Depressive, Anxiety, and Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders; Trauma- and Stressor- Related, Dissociative, and Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders; Feeding and Eating, Substance and Addictive, and Personality Disorders; Introduction to Treatment of Psychological Disorders; Psychological Perspectives and Treatment of Disorders; Treatment of Disorders from the Biological Perspective; Evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, and Empirical Support for Treatments of Disorders

  • Social Psychology: Attribution Theory and Person Perception; Attitude Formation and Attitude Change; Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience; Group Influences on Behavior and Mental Processes; Bias, Prejudice, and Discrimination; Altruism and Aggression; Interpersonal Attraction

Read More: Review for the exam with our AP Psychology Crash Courses

Sections & Question Types

The AP Psych exam is 2 hours long and has two sections: a multiple-choice section and a a free-response section.

Timing

Number of Questions

Exam Weighting


Section 1

70 minutes

100 multiple-choice questions

66.7%

Section 2

50 minutes

2 free-response questions

33.3%

Multiple-Choice Questions

The AP Psychology multiple-choice questions test the following skills:

  • Concept Understanding
  • Data Analysis
  • Scientific Investigation

Free-Response Questions

The APPsych FRQs consists of two questions:

  • Question 1 is about Concept Application, assessing a student’s ability to explain and apply theories and perspectives in authentic contexts
  • Question 2 is about Research Design, assessing a student’s ability to analyze psychological research studies that include quantitative data.

For a comprehensive content review, check out our book,AP Psychology Premium Prep

What’s a good AP Psychology Score?

AP scores are reported from 1 to 5. Colleges are generally looking for a 4 or 5 on the AP Psychology exam, but some may grant credit for a 3. Here’s how students scored on the May 2020 test:

Score

Meaning

Percentage of Test Takers

5

Extremely qualified

22.4%

4

Well qualified

25.4%

3

Qualified

23.5%

2

Possibly qualified

9.6%

1

No recommendation

19.1%

Source: College Board

How can I prepare?

AP classes are great, but for many students they’re not enough! For a thorough review of AP Psychology content and strategy, pick theAP prep optionthat works best for your goals and learning style.

Read More

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Guide to the AP Psychology Exam (2024)

FAQs

How many questions do you need to get right to pass the AP Psych exam? ›

According to the AP® Psychology score calculator provided by Albert (previewed below), you will need to answer 53 of the 100 multiple-choice questions correctly and score at least 4 of the 7 possible points on each of the two free-response questions.

What percent is a 5 on AP Psych? ›

Many students ask, “What percentage is a 5 on the AP Psychology exam?” As you can see from the table above, scoring around 75% on the AP Psych exam at that time would have translated to getting that coveted 5!

What percent do you need on AP Psych to get a 4? ›

Understanding the scoring for AP exams can be a bit tricky since it's not just about the percentage correct but also about how the scores are scaled each year. However, a rough estimate for a 4 on the AP Psych exam is typically around 65-75% of the total possible points. Remember, they grade on a curve!

What is the best way to study for the AP Psych exam? ›

The best way to prepare for the AP® Psychology exam is to test yourself using practice exams from previous years and review questions from other sources. When you're first starting out with your reviewing and studying, don't worry too much about setting a time limit on your practice exams.

Is the AP Psych exam curved? ›

Curving scores provide a uniform assessment of AP® Psychology students. As we mentioned, the exams change slightly every year and have different average scores. The curve ensures that students taking a harder version of the exam are not underestimated compared to students taking the exam at other times.

How hard is a 5 on AP Psych? ›

The 5 rate for the AP Psych exam is 17%, which is about average when compared with other AP exams. There are 12 AP exams that have 5 rates higher than AP Psychology and 25 with lower 5 rates. This might make you think that the test is average in difficulty.

Is a 70% a 5 on the AP exam? ›

Usually, a 70 to 75 percent out of 100 translates to a 5. However, there are some exams that are exceptions to this rule of thumb. The AP Grades that are reported to students, high schools, colleges, and universities in July are on AP's five-point scale: 5: Extremely well qualified.

What is a 60 on the AP Psych exam? ›

45-59% = 3. 60-74% = 4. 75% or more = 5.

What AP has the lowest pass rate? ›

The top 6 subjects with the lowest pass rates:
  • AP Physics 1 – 45.60%
  • AP US History – 47.50%
  • AP US Government – 49.20%
  • AP Environmental Science – 53.70%
  • AP Human Geography – 54.40%
  • AP English Language – 56.10%
Mar 8, 2024

How are AP exams curved? ›

AP test scores are indeed "curved," but it's more accurate to call it a "scaling process." Instead of a traditional curve that compares your performance to other students' performance, the AP exam scaling process converts your raw score (the number of points you earned through multiple-choice questions and free- ...

How to memorize AP Psychology? ›

A good starting block is practicing ten questions a night two months before the exam. Then, ramp up your studying sessions with fifteen a night; before long, you can answer twenty a night. Remember, every 100 questions you practice is the equivalent of having taken one full AP® Psychology multiple choice section.

How is AP Psych FRQ graded? ›

With Section II (free-response), each FRQ is worth a total of 25 raw points, meaning that the two questions together are worth 50 points. Each FRQ contains 7 key terms, and you earn points by correctly applying these terms. This means that each term is worth about 3.57 points.

Is AP Psych the easiest? ›

AP Psychology is one of the easiest AP classes, with a difficulty rating of 3.5/10 by the class alumnae. It's the 2nd-easiest out of 28 large AP classes surveyed.

Do colleges look at AP Psych? ›

More than 2,000 colleges award credit for passing scores on the AP Psychology exam.

Is AP Psych hard to self study? ›

It is very possible to successfully self-study for AP exams, including AP Psychology. It's fantastic that you're taking the initiative! A combination of textbooks, online resources, and creating a solid study plan will be key to your success.

What is a passing grade for AP Psych? ›

Is AP Psychology hard? AP Psychology is a challenging, college-level course that introduces you to foundational psychology concepts. Based on the most recent AP score data from the College Board, 58.3% of students who take the AP Psychology exam earn a passing score, while 17% earn a perfect score.

What percent is a 3 on an AP exam? ›

As a general guide, though, you can consider roughly more than 70% correct as being in the 5 range, 50-69% for a score of 4, 40-49% for a score of 3, 30-39% for a 2, and below 30% would likely be a 1. Again, these ranges are approximations and can vary by subject and by year.

What is a 4 on an AP exam equivalent to? ›

AP Exam scores of 4 are equivalent to grades of A-, B+, and B in college. AP Exam scores of 3 are equivalent to grades of B-, C+, and C in college.

How many questions are on the free-response portion of the AP Psychology exam? ›

The AP Psychology exam lasts for two hours. The test consists of a multiple-choice section and a free-response section. There are 100 multiple-choice questions and two free-response questions.

References

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