CLEP Introductory Psychology study guide
CLEP Introductory Psychology · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CLEP Introductory Psychology exam is a College Board credit-by-examination test that lets students earn college credit for material typically covered in a one-semester undergraduate introductory psychology course. It is aimed at self-directed learners, adult students, and current undergraduates who already know the material and want to demonstrate that knowledge rather than repeat the course. The CLEP Introductory Psychology study guide has 12 sections and about 3,051 words.
01History, Approaches, and Methods
Psychology's roots run from structuralism (Wundt, Titchener: introspection into conscious elements) and functionalism (James: purpose and adaptation) through behaviorism (Watson, Skinner: observable behavior), psychoanalysis (Freud: unconscious conflict), humanism (Rogers, Maslow: growth and self-actualization), and today's cognitive and biological perspectives. Know the major modern approaches-biological, behavioral, cognitive, psychodynamic, humanistic, sociocultural, evolutionary-and match each to a typical research question.
285 words, about 1 min02Biological Bases of Behavior
Neurons communicate electrically within (action potential) and chemically between (neurotransmitters across the synapse). Know the all-or-nothing firing principle and refractory period.
250 words, about 1 min03Sensation and Perception
Sensation is detecting physical energy; perception is interpreting it. Psychophysics links them: absolute threshold (weakest detectable stimulus), difference threshold/just noticeable difference, and Weber's law (JND is a constant proportion of the original stimulus).
261 words, about 1 min04States of Consciousness
Consciousness varies along a continuum from focused awareness to sleep, dreaming, hypnosis, and drug-altered states. Circadian rhythms follow roughly 24-hour cycles governed by the suprachiasmatic nucleus.
277 words, about 1 min05Learning
Classical conditioning (Pavlov): a neutral stimulus paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) eliciting a conditioned response (CR). Key phenomena: acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.
266 words, about 1 min06Cognition
Cognition covers attention, memory, language, problem-solving, and decision-making. Memory has three stages: sensory memory (brief, iconic/echoic), short-term/working memory (capacity about 7±2 chunks, ~20 seconds without rehearsal), and long-term memory (unlimited).
248 words, about 1 min07Motivation and Emotion
Motivation theories include instinct/evolutionary, drive-reduction (homeostasis; Clark Hull), arousal (Yerkes-Dodson: moderate arousal optimizes performance, with the optimum varying by task difficulty), incentive, and Maslow's hierarchy (physiological needs first, self-actualization at the top). Intrinsic motivation comes from within; extrinsic from external rewards-overjustification can undermine intrinsic interest.
234 words, about 1 min08Developmental Psychology Across the Lifespan
Development is studied via cross-sectional (different ages at once) and longitudinal (same people over time) designs. Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (0–2; object permanence), preoperational (2–7; egocentrism, lack of conservation), concrete operational (7–11; conservation, logical thought about concrete things), formal operational (11+; abstract reasoning).
238 words, about 1 min09Personality
Personality theories divide into psychodynamic, trait, humanistic, social-cognitive, and biological. Freud's psychodynamic view: id (pleasure), ego (reality), superego (morality); psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital); defense mechanisms (repression, projection, displacement, rationalization, reaction formation, sublimation).
247 words, about 1 min10Psychological Disorders and Health
Disorders are classified in the DSM, which emphasizes criteria and duration. Know major categories: anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, OCD, PTSD), mood disorders (major depression, bipolar disorder), schizophrenia (positive symptoms like hallucinations/delusions; negative symptoms like flat affect; subtypes no longer emphasized), personality disorders (e.g., antisocial, borderline), and dissociative disorders.
251 words, about 1 min11Treatment of Psychological Disorders
Treatments divide into biomedical and psychological. Biomedical : antipsychotics (reduce dopamine; treat schizophrenia; side effects like tardive dyskinesia), antidepressants (SSRIs, MAOIs, tricyclics), lithium (bipolar), antianxiety drugs (benzodiazepines), and ECT (severe depression).
243 words, about 1 min12Social Psychology
Social psychology studies how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. Attribution : internal (dispositional) vs.
251 words, about 1 min