AP Psychology 7th Edition (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the AP Exam (Test Preps)

Positives: (l) It covers a fair amount of important material, some of which may not be in your textbook (e.g., Yerkes-Dodson inverted U curve of arousal; approach-avoidance conflict; Wundt). Learning all of the material in this book, if you can, should improve your test score. (2) The multiple-choice questions can help you detect areas in which you are weak.

Negatives: (l) The essay questions bear no resemblance to the essays on the Psychology A/P Test; practicing on these is a complete waste of time. (2) The multiple-choice questions are not similar enough to the ones on the A/P Test; Barron's questions are more representative. (3) There are some errors and misstatements. For example: p. 1, psychology is the study of behavior AND MENTAL PROCESSES; p. 13, statistics are ALWAYS calculated on samples (a number that refers to a population is called a parameter); p. 12, inferential statistics ARE USED TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS/INFERENCES ABOUT A POPULATION BASED ON DATA OBTAINED FROM A SAMPLE and are NOT limited to testing differences between groups; p. 135, The Oedipus complex in Adler's work OCCURS AMONG CHILDREN WHO WERE PAMPERED BY THEIR MOTHERS AND WISH TO CONTINUE THIS "SPOILING". (4) The book is not well written; some material is too condensed and difficult to read. (5) The chapter-ending quizzes are a waste of time--too brief and in the wrong format (the A/P test does not have fill in the blanks). (6) As with any review book, important material is omitted; but it also spends too much time on material that is very unlikely to appear on the test.

In sum: Spend most of your time studying your textbook and class notes and practicing on previous Psychology A/P Tests. Then read Barron's and try those sample tests. If you're highly motivated and have extra time, then, perhaps, spend some time with this book.


Excellent   October 17, 1999
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I would recommend this book to anyone taking the AP Psyche exam. I was in a regular psyche course at my school (no AP or honors avail). I read this the weekend before the test, and I got a four.


I'd buy it if I was you.   July 17, 1999
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

All I have to say is that I read this book the weekend before the AP exam and got a 4. I never took the class. I didn't even look at the tests that were in the book. I just read the review. I'd say it was worth my money.


This book was not worth the money!!   May 21, 1999
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

You want my opinion, here it is and it's not pretty. I took the AP Psychology Exam on May 17, 1999. I was enrolled in an AP Psychology course at school and I was only using this book for the tests and essay questions. It was NOTHING like the AP Exam. The multiple choice tests focused on one topic entirely too much and there were hardly any statistical questions on the actual exam. The essays were way to easy and they did not even come close to the type of free response questions on the AP Exam which typically give you a list of items that you should use to answer a question even though they really do not relate to the question. This book, however, made for a good review to quickly and briefly (and I do mean briefly) look over the material, but if you are unaware of a concept you will have to get a text book to look it up to get an understandable answer. Unfortunately there is not another AP Psychology review book.


It's really good in some areas, but vague on others...   May 17, 1999
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I took the AP Psychology exam on 5/17/99. The book is great for independent study for the exam (I didn't have an AP Psychology course at my school.) From this book, I gained test confidence and a positive attitude. The sample test questions in the book were different than the ones on the test, though. If you want to know more about the test and the book, email me and I'll be happy to tell you!