How to Study for AP Psychology in 2 Weeks: A Day-by-Day Cram Plan

Last updated: April 2026 | Based on the revised AP Psychology Course and Exam Description

If you have two weeks before the AP Psychology exam, you don't need to relearn everything from scratch. You need to study in the shape of the exam: broad coverage across all five units, active recall of the most testable concepts, and timed practice with both multiple-choice and free-response questions.

Here's the thing most students get wrong. They spend too long on the unit they like and run out of time for the rest. AP Psychology tests you evenly across all five units. Each one is worth 15% to 25% of the multiple-choice section. You can't afford to skip any of them.

What's on the AP Psychology exam?

The AP Psychology exam is 2 hours and 40 minutes long. It has two sections:

Section 1: Multiple Choice — 75 questions in 90 minutes. All five units are tested. Questions are often scenario-based, meaning you'll read a short description and identify the correct psychological concept.

Section 2: Free Response — 2 questions in 70 minutes. One is an Article Analysis Question where you read a short research summary and answer questions about it. The other is an Evidence-Based Question where you make an argument using psychological concepts and evidence.

Both FRQ types matter. A lot of students only prep for multiple-choice and then freeze on the free response. This plan builds in FRQ practice starting in the first week so you're not scrambling at the end.

The five AP Psychology units (and what each one covers)

The AP Psychology course is organized into five units. Here's what you need to know about each one and where to focus your review time.

Unit 1: Biological Bases of Behavior (15-25% of the exam)

This is the most vocabulary-heavy unit. It covers everything from neurons to sleep to how your eyes and ears work. Students who do well here are the ones who drill the terminology until it's automatic. Flashcards are your best friend for this unit.

What to focus on:

• Nature vs. nurture, twin studies, and the evolutionary perspective
• The nervous system: central, peripheral, autonomic, sympathetic, parasympathetic, and somatic
• Neuron structure, action potential, threshold, reuptake, agonists vs. antagonists
• The eight neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate, GABA, endorphins, substance P, and acetylcholine
• The five hormones: adrenaline, leptin, ghrelin, melatonin, and oxytocin
• Brain structures: brain stem, cerebellum, limbic system (thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala), the four lobes, Broca's area, Wernicke's area, and split-brain research
• Sleep stages, circadian rhythm, dream theories (activation-synthesis and consolidation), and sleep disorders
• Sensation basics: absolute threshold, just-noticeable difference, Weber's law, sensory adaptation, and how each sense works

📖 Read the full Unit 1 review →

Unit 2: Cognition (15-25% of the exam)

Cognition is one of the most testable units because it combines vocabulary with application. The exam loves to give you a scenario and ask which type of memory or which heuristic is being described. The most common mistakes here are mixing up types of memory and confusing heuristics with each other.

What to focus on:

• Bottom-up vs. top-down processing, Gestalt principles (closure, figure-ground, proximity, similarity), and change blindness
• Concepts, prototypes, algorithms, heuristics (representativeness and availability), mental set, priming, framing, gambler's fallacy, and sunk-cost fallacy
• Types of memory: explicit (episodic and semantic), implicit (procedural), prospective memory
• Memory models: working memory model (central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad) and the multi-store model
• Encoding strategies: chunking, mnemonic devices, method of loci, spacing effect, serial position effect
• Retrieval: recall vs. recognition, context-dependent memory, mood-congruent memory, state-dependent memory
• Forgetting: forgetting curve, encoding failure, proactive and retroactive interference, misinformation effect, source amnesia
• Intelligence: general intelligence (g), multiple intelligences debate, IQ testing, aptitude vs. achievement, reliability vs. validity, Flynn Effect, fixed vs. growth mindset

📖 Read the full Unit 2 review →

Unit 3: Development and Learning (15-25% of the exam)

This unit is broad. It covers two big topics: how humans develop across the lifespan and how learning actually works (classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning). The best approach is to split your review into development days and learning days.

What to focus on:

• Developmental research methods: cross-sectional vs. longitudinal studies
• Key developmental themes: stability vs. change, nature vs. nurture, continuous vs. discontinuous development
• Physical development: prenatal teratogens, reflexes, motor development, puberty, and aging
• Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (object permanence), preoperational (egocentrism, conservation), concrete operational, formal operational
• Vygotsky: zone of proximal development and scaffolding
• Language development: phonemes, morphemes, semantics, grammar, syntax
• Social-emotional development: attachment styles, temperament, parenting styles, identity development
• Classical conditioning: acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination, UCS, UCR, CS, CR
• Operant conditioning: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, negative punishment, shaping, schedules of reinforcement
• Observational learning, cognitive factors in learning, and neurological factors in learning

📖 Read the full Unit 3 review →

Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality (15-25% of the exam)

This unit shows up heavily in scenario-based questions. The exam gives you a story about a person's behavior and asks you to identify which social psychology concept or personality theory explains it. You need to be able to apply these ideas, not just define them.

What to focus on:

• Attribution theory: fundamental attribution error, self-serving bias, actor-observer bias
• Attitude formation and change, cognitive dissonance
• Conformity (Asch), obedience (Milgram), group polarization, groupthink, social facilitation, social loafing, bystander effect, deindividuation
• Psychodynamic theory: Freud's structure of personality, defense mechanisms
• Humanistic theory: Rogers' self-concept and unconditional positive regard
• Trait theories: Big Five (OCEAN), factor analysis
• Social-cognitive theory: Bandura's reciprocal determinism, self-efficacy, locus of control
• Motivation theories: drive reduction, arousal theory, incentive theory, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
• Emotion theories: body-first, simultaneous, two-factor perspectives, facial feedback hypothesis

📖 Read the full Unit 4 review →

Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health (15-25% of the exam)

This is where AP Psychology gets practical. You need to know how psychologists classify and treat disorders, what health psychology and positive psychology mean, and how biological, cognitive, behavioral, and sociocultural factors all play a role in mental health.

What to focus on:

• Health psychology: stress and coping, the connection between behavior and physical well-being
• Positive psychology: protective factors, resilience, flow, character strengths
• How psychological disorders are classified and explained (the biopsychosocial model)
• Key disorder categories: anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia spectrum, dissociative disorders, OCD, PTSD, somatic symptom disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders
• Treatment approaches: psychotherapy (psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, cognitive-behavioral), biomedical (medication, ECT, TMS, psychosurgery), and group/family therapy
• How biological, cognitive, behavioral, and sociocultural perspectives each explain psychological disorders differently

📖 Read the full Unit 5 review →

How to use this 2-week AP Psychology study plan

The approach is simple. Each day:

1. Review the assigned topic. Read your notes or textbook section for that day's focus.
2. Generate flashcards in StarSpark. Copy the flashcard prompt from the table below, paste it into StarSpark, and quiz yourself.
3. Generate a quiz in StarSpark. Copy the quiz prompt, paste it in, and test your application skills with scenario-based questions.
4. Explain concepts out loud. If you can explain it clearly without looking at your notes, you know it. If you can't, go back to the flashcards.
5. Revisit previous days briefly. Spend 10 minutes pulling up flashcards from earlier in the week. This is spaced repetition and it works.

Two more things that matter:

Don't skip the FRQ practice. This plan includes FRQ prompts on Days 6, 9, 11, and 13 so you're building that skill throughout the two weeks instead of cramming it into the last day.

Do a mixed quiz every few days. On Days 7 and 10, the quiz prompts are cumulative on purpose. This catches concepts that are slipping before it's too late.

Your 14-day AP Psychology study plan

Tips for the last 48 hours before the exam

Why this study plan works

Generate your first set of flashcards right now

You don't have to wait until tomorrow to start. Open StarSpark, paste the Day 1 flashcard prompt, and start quizzing yourself in under a minute.

The AP Psychology exam rewards students who study smart, not just students who study long. Two weeks is enough if every study session is focused, active, and built around how your brain actually learns.

Good luck. You've got this.

This study plan is aligned with the AP Psychology Course and Exam Description published by the College Board. AP is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of this guide.

Want more AP study plans? Check back soon for AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Calculus, and AP Statistics cram plans.