ELITE COMPREHENSIVE
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) PSYCHOLOGY
BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR COMPREHENSIVE
REVIEW GUIDE
NEUROSCIENCE • THE BRAIN • NERVOUS SYSTEM •
GENETICS • SENSATION
SPRING EXAMINATION MAY 2026
nature
• the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical
growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions
nurture
• external factors that one experiences, such as family interactions or
education.
Genetic predisposition
• an inherited genetic pattern that makes one susceptible to a certain disease
or behaviors
1|Page
,evolutionary perspective of psychology
• explores how natural selection affects the expression of
• behavior and mental processes to increase survival and reproductive
success.
natural selection
• A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to
survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of
those traits.
eugenics
• study of factors that influence the hereditary qualities of the human race
and ways to improve those qualities
twin studies
• a common method of investigating whether nature or nurture affects
behavior
family studies
2|Page
, • researchers assess hereditary influence by examining blood relatives to see
how much they resemble one another on a specific trait
adoption studies
• assess hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between
adopted children and both their biological and their adoptive parents
central nervous system
• brain and spinal cord; interacts with all processes in the body.
peripheral nervous system
• relays messages from the central nervous system
• to the rest of the body and includes the autonomic and somatic nervous
systems.
Autonomic nervous system
• governs processes that are involuntary and includes
• the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
sympathetic nervous system
3|Page
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) PSYCHOLOGY
BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR COMPREHENSIVE
REVIEW GUIDE
NEUROSCIENCE • THE BRAIN • NERVOUS SYSTEM •
GENETICS • SENSATION
SPRING EXAMINATION MAY 2026
nature
• the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical
growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions
nurture
• external factors that one experiences, such as family interactions or
education.
Genetic predisposition
• an inherited genetic pattern that makes one susceptible to a certain disease
or behaviors
1|Page
,evolutionary perspective of psychology
• explores how natural selection affects the expression of
• behavior and mental processes to increase survival and reproductive
success.
natural selection
• A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to
survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of
those traits.
eugenics
• study of factors that influence the hereditary qualities of the human race
and ways to improve those qualities
twin studies
• a common method of investigating whether nature or nurture affects
behavior
family studies
2|Page
, • researchers assess hereditary influence by examining blood relatives to see
how much they resemble one another on a specific trait
adoption studies
• assess hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between
adopted children and both their biological and their adoptive parents
central nervous system
• brain and spinal cord; interacts with all processes in the body.
peripheral nervous system
• relays messages from the central nervous system
• to the rest of the body and includes the autonomic and somatic nervous
systems.
Autonomic nervous system
• governs processes that are involuntary and includes
• the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
sympathetic nervous system
3|Page
