Are you looking for the best AP Psychology review books so you can pass your exam and score a 5?
Then you’re in luck. We’ve found the Best AP Psychology textbooks for you use for your studying to get the highest possible score.
The AP Psychology Exam measures your understanding of the 14 key topics and fields of study in psychology and tests your ability to define, compare, and apply concepts and research findings.
Questions are based on key terminology, scientific methodology, and theories associated with each subfield.
Free-response questions may require you to interrelate different content areas and to analyze and evaluate psychological constructs and, more generally, theoretical perspectives.
Best AP Psychology Review Books
| Rating & Pricing | Description |
|---|---|
Our Review 5/5: Best AP Psychology Textbook  | Myers' Psychology for AP You may come across a lot of different AP Psychology review books, but we recommend Myers' Psychology for AP. This book is the highest in the ranks amongst other books for the best AP Psychology textbook. This book masterfully helps you fully understand the concepts of Psychology. It covers all the core functions of that you will need to know for the exam. It is considered the holy grail of psychology. This textbook will successfully prepare you for your AP Psychology Exam and it is a very in-depth book. It is VERY heavy, but the knowledge this book holds is incredible. Very expensive, but well worth the price if you are serious about getting a 5 on your AP Psychology exam. Before getting any other review book, or guide, you should consider getting this textbook. |
Our Review 4.6/5: Best Psychology Review Book  | 5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology McGraw Hill’s 5 Steps to a 5: AP Psychology is great for the value it brings since it can definitely help you study for the AP exam. It's a short read (368 pages) but definitely a good AP Psychology review book. We would recommend this book to those out there who don't want to read a 1000 page book as part of your studying. Many have stated they received a score of 4, and some even 5, by using this book to study. This book is definitely the best bang for your buck. |
Our Review 4.7/5: Best AP Psychology Prep Book  | Barron's AP Psychology The textbook should be sufficient for your studying requirements, but if you want more practice then we recommend buying Barron's AP Psychology. It provided great material and almost everything you need to know for the exam. There is only around 5% of the questions on the AP exam that aren't in this book. The book has real-life situations/exams for psychology terms, which we really enjoyed as they aid in learning. Also, there are some chapters that require great memorization. We recommend taking notes or your own labels so that you can go back to them and review, without having to reread the whole chapter. Many other chapters provide summary charts at the end, which we recommend also jotting notes next to so that when you're reviewing the charts they'd be easier for you to understand. Like all prep books, this one only contains information that you specifically need for the AP Psychology exam. It took our spot for the best AP Psychology prep book. |
Our Review 4.7/5: Best Psychology Refresher Book  | Cracking the AP Psychology Exam: Proven Techniques to Help You Score a 5 (College Test Preparation) Another option for you if you wanted the best bang for your buck is the cracking the AP Psychology Exam book. This book weeds out the important information that you need to know. What we love most about this book is that the information is concise, but it doesn't skimp on words when explaining concepts; everything you may have trouble wrapping your mind around suddenly may "click" when you read this book. Disclaimer: Rushing through this book the week before the test doesn't guarantee you a 5 on the exam; what you put into it is what you get out of it. This book is especially useful to highlight and review, take notes, and get a refresher before the big exam. |
AP Psychology Exam Overview
The AP Psychology exam is 2 hours long and has two sections — multiple choice/short answer and free-response. Each section is divided into two parts. You can see here for more on the AP Psychology Exam Overview.
College Board provides free example test questions, so click here if you want to check them out.
Next Exam Date
See updated 📅 AP Exam Schedule 2022.
Last Time The Exam Changed
The AP Psychology exam hasn’t changed recently and there is no indication that it will change in the near future.
Ap Psychology Exam Resources
AP Psychology Video Study Guide
It’s very important to take your studying seriously and aim for the highest possible score so you can get into a great college. AP Psych is one of the more popular tests to take so getting a higher score is critical in order to stand out.
This video can be a very helpful refresher for you to absorb the material in the books. You should take some time to watch this video:
Textbooks
The most important thing you can do, truthfully, is to get a good textbook for your AP exam. It’s your tool for helping you learn the material that will be on the exam, help structure your preparation, and allow you to test your learning comprehension with review questions. It’s critical that you choose the books that are recommended as those will help you best prepare.
| If you wanted the best textbook then we recommend studying with the Myers’ Psychology for AP book in order to fully prepare for the AP Psychology Exam. |
Here are some ideas for finding other good textbooks:
- Check the College Board’s list of textbook recommendations on the AP course audit page for your exam.
- If you’re self-studying for an AP course that your school is offering, you can see if they have a textbook used for the actual course.
- Be diligent in reading reviews of any textbook you are planning on buying, and see if it helped others prepare for the AP exam.
Review Books
A good AP review book is probably the second-most important resource you can have, after a good textbook. It’s not the most comprehensive manner of studying, but, it will allow you to review the most important information for the AP exam. For example, if you have gone through your textbook, then as your test day draws closer, you may want a review book to keep the information lucid in your short-term memory. The Princeton Review and Barron’s are two generally well-regarded AP review book sources, but make sure you’re getting the best book for the specific course you are studying.
| Our review book of choice for the AP Psychology Exam is 5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology. |
Prep Books
A good AP prep book is probably the third-most important resource you can have, after a good textbook and review book. These prep book offer tips include everything you need to know to achieve a high score and it has a comprehensive content review for all test topics, so if you know you’ll be fully covered to score a 5 on your next AP exam. The best part about prep books? They include tried-and-true strategies to help you avoid traps and beat the test, and that’s all that matters right now.
| Our prep book choice for the AP Psychology Exam is Barron’s AP Psychology.
These are only necessary if you are a time-crunched student, the last-minute studier, or anyone who wants a refresher on the subject as the Myers’ Psychology textbook provides sufficient material. |
Best AP Psychology Books Review
| Rating & Pricing | Description |
|---|---|
| Our Review 5/5: Best AP Psychology Textbook | Myers' Psychology for AP You may come across a lot of different AP Psychology review books, but we recommend Myers' Psychology for AP. This book is the highest in the ranks amongst other books for the best AP Psychology textbook. This book masterfully helps you fully understand the concepts of Psychology. It covers all the core functions of that you will need to know for the exam. It is considered the holy grail of psychology. This textbook will successfully prepare you for your AP Psychology Exam and it is a very in-depth book. It is VERY heavy, but the knowledge this book holds is incredible. Very expensive, but well worth the price if you are serious about getting a 5 on your AP Psychology exam. Before getting any other review book, or guide, you should consider getting this textbook. |
| Our Review 4.6/5: Best Psychology Review Book | 5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology McGraw Hill’s 5 Steps to a 5: AP Psychology is great for the value it brings since it can definitely help you study for the AP exam. It's a short read (368 pages) but definitely a good AP Psychology review book. We would recommend this book to those out there who don't want to read a 1000 page book as part of your studying. Many have stated they received a score of 4, and some even 5, by using this book to study. This book is definitely the best bang for your buck. |
| Our Review 4.7/5: Best AP Psychology Prep Book | Barron's AP Psychology The textbook should be sufficient for your studying requirements, but if you want more practice then we recommend buying Barron's AP Psychology. It provided great material and almost everything you need to know for the exam. There is only around 5% of the questions on the AP exam that aren't in this book. The book has real-life situations/exams for psychology terms, which we really enjoyed as they aid in learning. Also, there are some chapters that require great memorization. We recommend taking notes or your own labels so that you can go back to them and review, without having to reread the whole chapter. Many other chapters provide summary charts at the end, which we recommend also jotting notes next to so that when you're reviewing the charts they'd be easier for you to understand. Like all prep books, this one only contains information that you specifically need for the AP Psychology exam. It took our spot for the best AP Psychology prep book. |
| Our Review 4.7/5: Best Psychology Refresher Book | Cracking the AP Psychology Exam: Proven Techniques to Help You Score a 5 (College Test Preparation) Another option for you if you wanted the best bang for your buck is the cracking the AP Psychology Exam book. This book weeds out the important information that you need to know. What we love most about this book is that the information is concise, but it doesn't skimp on words when explaining concepts; everything you may have trouble wrapping your mind around suddenly may "click" when you read this book. Disclaimer: Rushing through this book the week before the test doesn't guarantee you a 5 on the exam; what you put into it is what you get out of it. This book is especially useful to highlight and review, take notes, and get a refresher before the big exam. |
