<p>Okay....pretty crazy idea, but...how viable would it be for me to self study AP European History and AP Psychology? [not necessarily in the same year, but just if I didn't take those classes].</p>
<p>I have plenty of experience in writing [AP World History+AP English Lang/Comp.] and I have good memorizing skills [AP Bio+AP Spanish IV].</p>
<p>Are there any good books I MUST HAVE to study? Any other things I should practice to get this knowledge down and just do well on the exam?</p>
<p>I’m taking AP Psych this year with a class, and it is easy. You just need to memorize details in a review book and your fine. AP European History, on the other hand, is similar to Bio IMO. Lots and lots of information!</p>
<p>I think it’s possible to get a 4 on Psych if you don’t study at all, so long as you’re pretty good at guessing/have taken some bio/stats. English, too, for that matter, depending on the class. (Mine pulled both Maslow and Kohlberg’s psych theories and applied them to two of the books we read, and that was more in depth than what Psych expects you to know of those guys). So self-studying for a 5 is completely feasible! I took the psych exam last year, and I honestly spent most of my time in the actual class revieiwng for APUSH…</p>
<p>You’ll be fine; I was a bit worried, too (mostly because I was like, Screw this! I don’t want to study for this. DDD:) but for whatever reason, psych knowledge is almost subconscious. You don’t feel like you know anything about it, but when it comes to test time, you remember more than you think! Make sure you can differentiate between the social psych terms (social loafing, groupthink, hindsight bias, etc. etc. etc.) and you know the more major psych experiments and their findings, as well as who conducting them. The salivating dog guy, the electroshock one (had to do with following authority?), maybe the prison one (gah, I don’t remember the name of the guy who did this one; he wrote “The Lucifer Effect” though, if Googling that helps). Basically, if you know your vocab pretty well, you can get a good portion of the MC and it’ll be a LOT of help on the essays.</p>
<p>Obviously, the test is imminent, but if you have the time, get the book Forty Studies That Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research by Roger Hock. The book is kind of long, but it provides a nice overview of a lot of the major experiments that shaped psychology. Had to read it as part of a summer project for my AP psych class this year, and it’s really helped me in the course.</p>