Changes for the 2024 - 2025 School Year
I am getting a lot of questions about AP® Psychology this year. People are curious about what's new and what has changed. I put together this post to discuss the changes to the content covered in the course. Check out this post for more details about changes to the exam questions.
I was apprehensive when the College Board announced the changes. It's always a big shift to adapt to a new curriculum, and sometimes changes are not positive. I spent this summer doing a deep-dive on the changes, and now am confident and excited.
Below, I'll go into more detail about those changes. I'll also discuss how they will help make the course more relevant and engaging.
Unit 1: Biological Basis of Behavior
This unit starts with many topics that are like the old curriculum. First, there's a discussion of heredity and nature versus nurture. The College Board put more emphasis on the scientific method in this version of the course. There is an extensive discussion on different kinds of family studies as a result.
This is a logical place to start the course, but this has always been a challenging topic. I am a little concerned that may be a sticking point for students.
After that, we're on to the anatomy and physiology section. This section has significant changes that will benefit students.. First, this version includes fewer parts of the nervous system. It is specific about which neurotransmitters and hormones are important to know. In the past, the sheer number of vocabulary words was overwhelming. Lack of clarity about what students needed to know made this problem much worse than it needed to be. The College Board has done a good job of providing enough examples to illustrate key points. At the same time, the narrower focus avoids getting bogged down in the weeds.
Like before, this section of the course also covers consciousness. This includes a discussion of the sleep-wake cycle and psychoactive drugs. The College Board shifted the emphasis away from the minutiae of brain waves. A welcome change! Now, the emphasis is on why different states of consciousness exist. They also emphasize their impact on human behavior and mental processes.
It is interesting that substance use disorder and sleep disorders are in this unit. Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health covers all the other disorders. I'm not sure why these weren't treated in the same way.
Finally, perception moved into the following unit. This is an excellent change. There is a distinct difference between sensation and perception. Students struggle with this concept. Putting perception into the section that covers other brain processes is great. It highlights the key distinction between the two terms.
On the whole, I'm pleased with the increased specificity and focus. On to Unit 2!
Unit 2: Cognition
This is my favorite unit. Cognition is thought, and thought is the foundation of psychology.
Many of the topics here are the same as before. For example, there is an extensive discussion of problem-solving and creativity. Like before, much of this unit emphasizes memory and forgetting.
There are some new topics that I'm excited about. The course now includes discussion of executive function and mindset. We're seeing these two terms all over the news and social media. These concepts aren't new. They are more popular and discussed than they ever have been before. This is one area where the new material will help keep the course relevant and up-to date.
As noted before, I also appreciate that perception has to this section. The College Board clarified which aspects of Gestalt psychology will be on the exam. They also specified which examples of depth perception students need to know.
This is my favorite unit, and the additions made here are excellent.
Unit 3: Learning and Development
Unit 3 is the first unit that groups together two related, but distinct topics. Let's look at each of them in turn.
Human development covers how human behavior and mental processes change over the lifespan. Most of this is identical to the old curriculum. Students learn about physical and psychological milestones in development. There is still a discussion of attachment styles and parenting styles. The course also covers important research methods like cross-sectional and longitudinal research methods.
There are significant changes to the section on stage theories of development. These theories propose that humans go through specific, predictable stages of developments. The College Board opted to keep Erikson's psychosocial stages and Piaget's cognitive stages. Kohlberg's stages of moral development are gone. This is sensible given the extensive criticism of his research methods and conclusions.
There are two major additions to this section. First, there is more emphasis placed on adolescence and identity development. The College Board has added the insights of Dr. James E. Marcia to the course. This is a good change. Students taking this class are often grappling with the realities of adolescence. This change keeps the course relevant. It may help students understand themselves better. The course also now includes the impact of adverse childhood events (ACEs) into the course. Trauma is a concept that has become a popular topic of discussion among teens. I like that the course is tackling issues like childhood trauma in a scientific way. There is endless misinformation about this topic on social media. This is another resource for students to turn to.
The second half of this unit discusses learning. Learning is changes in behavior or mental processes that remain for long periods of time.
Fans of behaviorists will note that the information on conditioning is almost unchanged. Both operant and classical conditioning are in the new course. The course covers the same concepts, with a few exceptions. This includes generalization, extinction, and reinforcement schedules. I love the added guidance about the application of these theories in the real world. Again, this helps narrow down the focus of the course without losing rigor or coverage.
This part of the course also discusses intelligence, language, and reasoning. Unlike the cognitive section, it emphasizes the role these factors play in learning.
Good stuff! On to Unit 4!
Unit 4: Personality and Social Psychology
This unit also covers two related topics. There were significant, needed changes made to this section.
Social psychology is the study of how groups impact an individual. This includes changes to the individual's behavior and mental processes. Social psychology also studies how individuals think and behave towards other people.
One thing immediately jumped out to me. In the past decade, many of the classic studies in social psychology have come under fire. The College Board has removed many of these studies from the course. This includes the now redacted story of Kitty Genovse's murder. It also includes the Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram's Obedience Experiment. Researchers have criticized the methods and ethics of both these studies.
I do think the course opens up new ways of discussing these studies. In the past, the have shock value, and that is part of the reason that they've persisted. A better use for these studies is underscoring the importance of ethics in research. Social media and the news bombards us with questionable research. This is a great opportunity to also discuss turning a critical eye on findings. Questioning shocking research is a life skill.
Other things are the same. This includes topics like attribution, attitude formation, persuasion, prejudice, and discrimination.
Personality is the study of individual's characteristic mental processes and behaviors.
Freud finally appears in this section! The course revisions cut many of his ideas. This is sensible, as it what they've chosen to keep. Like the social psychologists mentioned above, Freud's research gets attention because it's salacious. That's not to see say that he didn't contribute to the field. Many of his ideas remain influential. This includes the psyche, unconscious drives, childhood experiences, and defense mechanisms. These ideas remain in the course.
The College Board moved social-cognitive theory to this section of the course. Before, they paired this theory with behaviorism. That was an awkward fit. It's true that social-cognitive theory has its roots in behaviorism. Yet, placing it there downplays important aspects of the theory. This arrangement allows for proper attention to concepts like self-efficacy and self-esteem.
Finally, this is where emotion and motivation landed in the new curriculum. These two topics always get shoehorned into a weird spot. On the one hand, it seems odd to place them here. Motivation and emotions don't fit perfectly into either social psychology or personality psychology. But, I can't think of a better place to put them. Unit 5 is an option, but it's already a long unit. It might put undo emphasis on how emotions go wrong, and that's not ideal either.
We can all be happy about the changes to the emotion section. The course no longer emphasizes the confusing, and often outdated, early theories. I like that they've chosen to emphasize the big picture. This is also a great place for students to learn about the many things we don't know. That includes what an emotion is.
Unit 5: Physical and Mental Health
I am really, truly jazzed for this unit.
I applaud the College Board's decision to re-frame mental health disorders. The old curriculum separated these disorders into their own category. While the intentions weren't bad, that framing does stigmatize disorders. It also emphasizes dysfunction and disease. Placing them with other health considerations helps demystify and de-stigmatize psychological disorders.
Second, I love that this unit focuses on health and well-being. One of the best things students get from the course is an understanding of what is going on with their brains. Adolescence is a stressful period of life, and many things change. This causes students a significant amount of stress. It's great to see a part of the curriculum focus on mental well being. It also has some practical tips for coping with stress. The coverage of disorders can help students recognize signs of deeper issues. These are critical skills that students will need to lead healthy lives. Unfortunately, there are many problematic takes about these issues on social media. It's critical for students to get scientific information from reputable sources.
I appreciate the extended coverage of therapeutic techniques. This section used to emphasize the contributions of individual researchers and practitioners. The new curriculum focuses on current, scientifically-backed treatment options. Frauds and hucksters often target disabled individuals and individuals with mental health conditions. It is also true that many treatment options exist, and sometimes the first option doesn't work. I love that the College Board is giving people more information. This can help people make informed decisions about their health.
Finally, positive psychology makes an appearance in this unit! Positive psychology focuses on how individuals can apply psychology to improve their lives. This form of psychology doesn't emphasize disease, dysfunction, and damage. Psychology has the potential to improve people's lives. This is a valuable contribution to that.
One thing surprised me, and was disappointing. The neurodiversity movement or the social model of disability are not covered. The curriculum does outline that mental health diagnoses can be stigmatizing. They missed a bigger opportunity to discuss the weight of judgement and exclusion. Social media has helped expose more people to these concepts. I always want students to have many sources of credible information.
Still, this section is another welcome change.
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This material is based on my interpretation of the AP Psychology Course and Exam Description (revised for 2024-2025) and my experience working in education for the past decade. The views expressed on this page are my own. AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks registered and owned by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this site.