Year 12 Cambridge Psychology: Quick Memorization Guide for Key Terms | 剑桥12年级心理学：核心术语速记指南

📚 Year 12 Cambridge Psychology: Quick Memorization Guide for Key Terms | 剑桥12年级心理学：核心术语速记指南

Mastering the precise terminology of Cambridge AS Level Psychology (9990) is the single most effective way to move from vague description to exam-ready analysis. This guide breaks down high-yield terms from biological, cognitive, learning and social approaches, and equips you with proven memory techniques to recall them effortlessly under timed conditions.

精准掌握剑桥AS阶段心理学(9990)的专业术语，是让你从笼统描述迈向考试级别分析最有效的一步。本指南拆解了生物、认知、学习和社会心理学等领域的核心高频术语，并为你配备了经过验证的记忆技巧，让你在限时考试中轻松调用这些词汇。

1. Why terminology mastery matters | 为何掌握术语至关重要

In Cambridge AS Psychology, a candidate who writes ‘participants remembered more words from the start of the list’ scores only part marks; the candidate who uses ‘primacy effect’ immediately demonstrates conceptual understanding and gains credit for accurate psychological language. Examiners are trained to look for key terms as indicators of syllabus coverage.

在剑桥AS心理学考试中，写“参与者记住了列表开头的更多单词”只能得到部分分数；而使用“首因效应”的考生能立刻展现概念理解，并因正确的心理学语言得分。考官受过训练，会将关键术语视为覆盖考纲内容的标志。

2. Categorise terms by psychological approaches | 按心理学流派分类术语

Rather than learning an alphabetical list, group terms under the four AS approaches plus research methods. This mirrors the exam structure and helps your brain build schemas. For example, terms like ‘neurotransmitter’, ‘synapse’ and ‘localisation of function’ belong to the biological approach, while ‘operant conditioning’, ‘reinforcement schedule’ and ‘shaping’ fit under learning.

与其按字母顺序死记硬背，不如将术语按照AS阶段的四大流派以及研究方法进行分类。这不仅能映射考试结构，还能帮助大脑构建图式。例如，“神经递质”、“突触”和“功能定位”属于生物心理学；而“操作性条件反射”、“强化程序”和“行为塑造”则归属于学习流派。

3. Acronyms and mnemonics | 首字母缩略词与记忆术

Create vivid acronyms for lists of terms. For the ethical guidelines in human research, remember ‘CARD PC’: Consent, Avoid deception, Right to withdraw, Debrief, Privacy, Confidentiality. For the five-factor model (Big Five), ‘OCEAN’ stands for Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism. The more absurd the sentence you build, the stronger the recall.

为一系列术语创建生动的首字母缩略词。对于人类研究伦理准则，记住“CARD PC”：知情同意(Consent)、避免欺骗(Avoid deception)、退出权(Right to withdraw)、事后说明(Debrief)、隐私(Privacy)、保密(Confidentiality)。对于五因素模型（大五人格），“OCEAN”代表开放性(Openness)、尽责性(Conscientiousness)、外向性(Extraversion)、宜人性(Agreeableness)和神经质(Neuroticism)。你编造的句子越荒诞，记忆效果就越强。

4. Etymology: unlocking word roots | 词源法：破解词根

Many psychological terms share Greek or Latin roots. Once you know that ‘cogn-‘ means ‘to know’ (cognition, cognitive, recognition) and ‘schema’ comes from Greek for ‘form’ or ‘plan’, the words stop being arbitrary labels. Similarly, ‘amygdala’ (almond-shaped structure) becomes easier to recall when you link its shape to its role in fear processing.

许多心理学术语共享希腊或拉丁词根。一旦你了解“cogn-”意为“知道”（如cognition认知、cognitive认知的、recognition再认），并且“schema”源自希腊语的“形式”或“计划”，这些词就不再是随意的标签。同样，当你知道“杏仁核”因其形状得名，并将其形状与恐惧加工的功能联系起来时，这个术语就更容易记忆了。

5. Visualisation and bizarre stories | 可视化与荒诞故事

Turn abstract terms into striking mental images. For ‘anterograde amnesia’, imagine a person whose memory ‘DVD burner’ is broken – they cannot save new information after the damage, but old discs still play. For ‘cognitive dissonance’, picture a fox staring at grapes it cannot reach, convincing itself ‘they’re probably sour’ – the classic Festinger tension between belief and behaviour.

把抽象术语转化为冲击性的心理图像。对于“顺行性遗忘症”，想象一个人的记忆“DVD刻录机”坏了——损伤后无法储存新信息，但旧光盘仍能播放。对于“认知失调”，想象一只狐狸盯着够不着的葡萄，说服自己“它们肯定是酸的”——这正是费斯廷格提出的信念与行为之间的经典紧张状态。

6. High-frequency AS Level terms table | AS阶段高频术语表

Term	Simple definition	Approach
Operant conditioning	Learning through consequences (reinforcement & punishment)	Learning
Classical conditioning	Learning by association, pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus	Learning
Schema	A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that organises information	Cognitive
Working memory model	An active short-term memory system with a central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad and episodic buffer	Cognitive
Social identity theory	Part of self-concept comes from group membership, leading to in-group favouritism	Social
Conformity	Yielding to group pressure, either publicly (compliance) or privately (internalisation)	Social
Neurotransmitter	A chemical that transmits signals across a synapse (e.g. serotonin, dopamine)	Biological
fMRI	Functional magnetic resonance imaging; measures brain activity via blood flow changes	Biological / R.Methods
Demand characteristics	Cues that reveal the study’s aim to participants, altering their behaviour	Research methods
Ecological validity	The extent to which findings can be generalised to real-life settings	Research methods

Use this table as a rapid self-check: cover the definition column and try to recall the exact phrase. Better still, add your own column linking each term to a specific study from the syllabus – for instance, link ‘operant conditioning’ to Skinner’s box and ‘conformity’ to Asch’s line experiments.

将此表用作快速自检工具：遮住定义列，试着回忆确切的表述。更进一步，添加一列将每个术语与考纲中的具体研究对应起来——例如，将“操作性条件反射”与斯金纳箱相连，将“从众”与阿希的线段实验相连。

7. Confusing pairs: classic confusions | 易混淆术语辨析

Students frequently mix up ‘negative reinforcement’ and ‘punishment’. Negative reinforcement increases a behaviour by removing an unpleasant stimulus (e.g., taking a painkiller to end a headache), while punishment decreases a behaviour by adding an unpleasant stimulus (positive punishment) or removing a pleasant one (negative punishment). Another common trap is ‘independent variable’ versus ‘dependent variable’: the IV is what the researcher manipulates, the DV is what is measured.

学生经常混淆“负强化”和“惩罚”。负强化是通过移除令人不快的刺激来增加行为（如服用止痛药消除头痛），而惩罚则是通过添加不快刺激（正惩罚）或移除愉快刺激（负惩罚）来减少行为。另一个常见陷阱是“自变量”与“因变量”：自变量是研究者操纵的变量，因变量是测量的结果。

8. Flashcards that work | 制作高效记忆卡

Ditch pre-made flashcards and create your own. On one side write the term (English only), on the reverse write the definition in your own words, a coded approach label (B for biological, C for cognitive, etc.), and one line linking it to a study or real-world example. This triple encoding – meaning, category and association – greatly strengthens retrieval paths.

放弃预制闪卡，自己动手制作。一面写上术语（仅英文），背面用自己的话写定义、一个类别代码（B代表生物、C代表认知等），以及一句联系该术语与研究或现实例子的句子。这种三重编码——意义、类别和关联——能极大地强化提取通路。

9. Active recall and spaced repetition | 主动回忆与间隔重复

Reading a glossary ten times is a waste of time. Instead, close the book and force yourself to write a definition from memory. Check it, correct errors, and repeat the process after one day, then three days, then a week. Apps like Anki can automate this, but a simple paper calendar and self-testing schedule works just as well. The struggle of active recall is what builds durable memory traces.

把术语表读十遍是浪费时间。相反，合上书，强迫自己凭记忆写出定义。核对，纠正错误，然后在一天后、三天后、一周后重复这一过程。像Anki这样的应用程序可以自动执行此操作，但简单的纸质日历和自测计划同样有效。主动回忆时经历的“挣扎”，正是构建持久记忆痕迹的关键。

10. Apply terms in exam-style answers | 在考试答案中运用术语

Merely dropping a term into a sentence is not enough. Aim for T-E term sandwich: state the Term, Explain it briefly, then Embed it into the specific scenario or study. For example: ‘The study lacked ecological validity (Term) because the artificial lab setting did not reflect real-life memory use (Explain); therefore, participants’ recall of nonsense syllables tells us little about everyday forgetting (Embed).’ This structure shows the examiner you really understand the concept.

仅仅在句子中抛出一个术语是不够的。要追求“T-E术语三明治”结构：陈述术语(Term)，简单解释(Explain)，然后将其嵌入具体情境或研究(Embed)。例如：“这项研究缺乏生态效度（术语），因为人工实验室环境未能反映真实生活中的记忆使用（解释）；因此，参与者对无意义音节的回忆几乎不能说明日常遗忘（嵌入）。”这种结构向考官展示了你真正理解这个概念。

11. Practice with past paper scenarios | 真题情境练习

Cambridge exam questions often present a short vignette: ‘A teacher gives gold stars to students who complete homework on time. Over time, homework completion rises.’ Your task is to identify the correct terminology (positive reinforcement) and justify why. Regular exposure to such scenarios builds automaticity, so you no longer waste mental energy searching for the right label during the exam.

剑桥试题经常呈现一个简短情境：“一位老师给按时完成作业的学生发金星贴纸。一段时间后，作业完成率上升。”你的任务是识别出正确的术语（正强化）并给出理由。定期接触此类情境能够培养自动化反应，让你在考试中不再浪费脑力去寻找正确的标签。

12. Final tips and review cycle | 终极提示与复习循环

Keep a ‘terminology log’ at the back of your notebook. Every time you encounter a new term in a past paper, add it with a one-sentence definition. Weekly, pick 10 random terms and write a short paragraph connecting them – this builds the flexibility needed for extended response questions. Finally, teach the terms to a friend or even an empty chair: verbalising forces you to organise your knowledge logically.

在笔记本末尾设置一个“术语日志”。每次在真题中遇到新术语时，就把它连同单句定义记录下来。每周随机抽取10个术语，写一小段将它们串联起来的文字——这能培养应对拓展型问题的思维灵活性。最后，向朋友甚至向一把空椅子讲授这些术语：口头表达能迫使你逻辑地组织知识。

Published by TutorHao | Psychology Revision Series | aleveler.com

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