AP Psychology

1. AP Psychology Final Exam Review Session Practice test

2. Question #1 Which of the following is the most important detail of Wundt's early research that established the psychology as a science? A. Wundt was a member of the upper class, which helped his credibility. B. Wundt wrote well and communicated results to large numbers of people effectively. C. Wundt set up a laboratory and focused on empirical evidence that could be replicated. D. Wundt worked outside the university system and was seen as an independent thinker. E. Wundt focused exclusively on observable behavior, not unobservable events like thinking and consciousness. C – Wundt set up the first psychological laboratory and his empirical, replicable experiments are the reason he is called the father of the science of psychology.

3. Question #2 Choosing 20 people at random from a large lecture class of 400 is an example of which of the following? A. Random assignment B. Random Sampling C. Representative assignment D. Representative sampling E. Assignment to conditions B – Choosing participants at random for a study is random sampling. Assignment occurs when participants are assigned to control and experimental groups. Representative sampling and assignment involve purposefully making groups that represent a larger population.

4. Question #3 Damage to the occipital lobes of the brain would most likely affect which of the senses? A. Hearing B. Touch C. Balance D. Sight E. Smell D – Impulses from the eyes travel to the occipital lobe where they are perceived as vision. If the occipital lobe is damaged, vision would most likely be affected.

5. Question #4 A doctor examining a car crash victim in order to determine whether the crash caused structural damage to the brain would use what kind of brain scan? A. MRI B. PET C. EEG D. fMRI E. EKG A – MRI and CAT scans provide detailed information about the structure of the brain (and other body parts). These scans would reveal any structural brain damage caused by the car crash. The PET, EEG, and fMRI scans are primarily used to detect brain function, not structure (although the fMRI would also provide structural details). An EKG scan is unrelated to brain function.

6. Question #5 Children who suffer brain damage may be able to regain their physical and mental abilities more quickly than older brain damage patients due to which of the following properties of the brain? A. Contralateral control B. Klinefelter's syndrome C. Effective psychological environment D. Brain Lateralization E. Brain plasticity E – Dendrites grow more quickly in children, so brains of younger people are more “plastic,” or changeable. A young person who suffers brain damage is more able to make new connections in nondamaged parts of the brain and regain lost functions. The other brain-related concepts listed are not related to brain plasticity.

7. Question #6 Which of the following structures in the eye is most specifically responsible for color vision? A. rods B. optic nerve C. cornea D. cones E. lens D – Although all the structures listed are involved in vision (including color vision), cones are uniquely involved. Cones are cells in the retina that respond to wavelengths of light that we perceive as color.

8. Question #7 Turning up the volume on a music player changes which aspect of sound? A. Amplitude of the wave B. Frequency of the wave C. Pitch of the tone D. Transduction of the tone E. Energy of the sound A – Volume is determined by the amplitude (height) of the sound wave. Wave frequency determines the pitch of the sound.

9. Question #8 A musician's ability to make a distinction between two very similar pitches depends on which of the following concepts? A. Absolute threshold B. Signal detection theory C. Bottom-up processing D. Difference threshold E. Frequency theory D – Detecting the difference between two very similar pitches depends on the difference threshold, the minimum difference between two stimuli that we can perceive.

10. Question #9 REM sleep deprivation generally causes what kinds of side effects? A. Intense, prolonged periods of stage 3 and 4 sleep B. Interference with memory tasks C. Decreased sleep onset D. Sleep apnea and night terrors E. Heightened manifest dream content B – People deprived of REM sleep have difficulty with memory tasks. REM sleep deprivation does not increase stage 3 and 4 sleep (in fact, people deprived of REM sleep more easily slip into sleep onset and REM sleep, not deeper sleep stages like stage 3 and 4). REM deprivation is not related to sleep apnea, night terrors, or manifest dream content.

11. Question #10 What is the first step in any example of classical conditioning? A. Following a response with a reinforcement or a punishment B. Reinforcing an organism for a behavior similar to the desired behavior C. Pairing an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus D. Rewarding a behavior with an unconditioned stimulus E. Punishing behaviors other than the target behavior C – Classical conditioning always starts with pairing a conditioned stimulus (like a bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (like food). All the other possible answers involve reinforcements and punishments, which are involved in operant conditioning, not classical conditioning.

12. Question #11 A researcher who concludes that "people who watch graphic violence in films are more likely to behave in violent ways than people who don't" is probably researching which kind of learning? A. Latent B. Behavioral C. Observational D. Insight E. Abstract C – Observational learning theorists, like Albert Bandura, were primarily concerned with how we learn through observing the actions of others (rather than learning through direct rewards and punishments).

13. Question #12 How would a psychometrician interpret an IQ score of 145? A. This score is slightly above the average score on most IQ tests. B. This score is well below the standard average of 200 on IQ tests. C. This score indicates that the person has high verbal intelligence but low logical intelligence. D. This score is three standard deviations above the average score of 100. E. This score is high for a child, but it considered average or low for an adult. D – 100 is the average score on IQ tests, with a standard deviation of 15. A score of 145 is three standard deviations above the average, and is a very high IQ score.

14. Question #13 Memory research indicates that memories may be physically stored in the brain through strengthened connections between brain neurons. What is this process called? A. proactive interference B. Long term potentiation C. state dependent memory D. semantic memory E. information processing model B – Long-term potentiation is the process of strengthened connections between brain neurons. After repeated firings, the connection is strengthened, and the receiving neuron becomes more sensitive to the neurotransmitters from the sending neuron.

15. Question #14 Seeing someone in line at the grocery store and remembering her or his name is an example of which kind of retrieval? A. recognition B. recall C. episodic D. semantic E. retroactive B – Recognition is the process of matching a current stimuli to something already in memroy (e.g., seeing someone and recognizing whether you’ve ever seen her or him before). Recall is retrieving information from memory with an external cue (e.g., looking at someone and remembering his or her name).

16. Question #15 Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theorizes that each person is motivated by what? A. desire to achieve in the eyes of others B. Satisfying needs from the next step in the hierarchy C. primary (physical) and secondary (emotional) needs D. Homeostasis needs determined by our inner self E. sex, thirst, hunger, and safety, in that order B – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs predicts that people are motivated to achieve the next step in the hierarchy of needs. The order of the hierarchy is physiological needs, safety needs, love needs, esteem needs, and finally self-actualization.

17. Question #16 Which kinds of motivations are best encourage positive behaviors to persist over long periods of time? A. primary drives B. secondary drives C. achievement motivation D. intrinsic motivation E. extrinsic motivation D – Intrinsic motives (such as enjoyment or satisfaction) are associated with behaviors that continue over a long period of time. Extrinsic motivations (e.g., rewards, such as money) are effective in the short term, but behaviors slow down or stop after some time since most extrinsic rewards are temporary.

18. Question #17 Which of the following newborn reflexes help infants find and eat food? A. Babinski B. Moro C. attachment D. conservation E. rooting E – Infants are born with the rooting reflex, which causes baby to turn her or his head toward something that touches the cheek. This reflex can help a baby find the mother’s nipple in order to eat.

19. Question #18 Which developmental stage theory explained how experiences in infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age influence later personality characteristics? A. Piaget's cognitive development theory B. Erikson's psychosocial stage theory C. Kohlberg's moral development theory D. Ainsworth's social attachment theory E. Harlow's social attachment theory B – Erikson examined the major social experiences at all stages of life and theorized how these major experiences (which he described in eight stages) impact personality.

20. Question # 19 According to Sigmund Freud, what is the dominant factor determining our personality traits? A. secondary drives and needs B. genetic and nutritional factors C. unconscious conflicts D. parenting styles E. positive and negative reinforcements C- Freud believed that unconscious conflicts (such as fixations and defense mechanisms) determined our personalities.

21. Question #20 A pencil and paper personality test that places a person in one of the several personality categories (such as extrovert/introvert,etc.) is based on which personality theory? A. psychodynamic B. trait C. biological D. behaviorist E. social cognitive B – Trait theorists believe that personalities can be described through a combination of a small number of factors, or traits. Trait theorists often use pencil and paper tests to assess personality, and the results of these tests indicate that the person falls in specific personality categories

22. Question #21 Which of the following kinds of personality theorists is the most likely to use a projective test? A. social cognitive B. behaviorist C. humanist D. psychoanalyst E. trait D – Psychoanalysts might use a projective test in order to try to uncover unconscious conflicts and motives. The theory of the projective test is that a person will “project” their unconscious conflicts and desires on to vague and ambiguous stimuli (such as inkblots).

23. Question #22 The ability to solve a new computer game based on logical puzzles probably depends on which kind of intelligence? A. fluid intelligence B. crystallized intelligence C. aptitude intelligence D. achievement intelligence E. multiple intelligence A – Fluid intelligence is the ability to solve novel, abstract problems. A new logic-based computer game probably depends on this kind of intelligence, rather than crystallized intelligence, which is the ability to use previously acquired knowledge to solve problems.

24. Question #23 A person who experiences flashbacks and nightmares after being involved in a serious car accident is likely to be diagnosed with which kind of psychological disorder? A. somatoform disorder B. dissociative disorder C. schizophrenic disorder D. personality disorder E. anxiety disorder E – The symptoms described best match post-traumatic stress disorder, which is a kind of anxiety disorder.

25. Question#24 Psychogenic amnesia and fugue states are both indications of which kind of psychological disorder? A. schizophrenia B. anxiety C. mood D. dissociative E. personality D – Psychogenic amnesia and fugue states are both categorized as dissociative disorders. All dissociative disorders involve disruptions in our consciousness, such as the loss of memory that occurs during amnesia and fugue.

26. Question #25 In what way would a person diagnosed with schizophrenia most likely differ from a person diagnosed with a dissociative disorder? A. A person with schizophrenia is likely to have more than one personality B. A person diagnosed with a dissociative disorder is likely to have delusions C. A person diagnosed with schizophrenia is likely to experience hallucinations D. A person diagnosed with a dissociative disorder may have difficulty keeping a job E. A person with schizophrenia is likely to be split from reality C – Schizophrenia is associated with hallucinations and delusions. Both schizophrenia and dissociative disorders involve splits from reality, and both disorders are very disruptive and may interfere with a career and jobs.

27. Question #26 Why are psychoanalysts sometimes interested in talking with a patient about dreams? A. Psychoanalysts discovered that neurotransmitter abnormalities sometimes cause dream disturbances B. Since all people are striving for self-actualization, psychoanalysts look at the cognitive obstacles in dreams C. Nonproductive counterconditioning behaviors are sometimes revealed in dreams D. Some psychoanalysts believe that dream symbols represent unconscious conflicts E. Dreams reflect variations in brain waves during REM sleep D – Psychoanalysts, like Sigmund Freud, feel that dreams consist of symbols that reveal unconscious conflicts. This kind of analysis is seen as useful because psychotherapists believe that personality and personality difficulties, are caused by unconscious conflicts.

28. Question #27 Which of the therapies listed below is no longer used to treat patients? A. Electroconvulsive shock therapy B. Implosive therapy C. Free association D. Gestalt therapy E. Prefrontal lobotomy E – Lobotomies were used at one time to treat a variety of disorders, but this kind of serious psychosurgery was stopped when drug therapies became more common and precise.

29. Question #28 A nonprofit environmental group includes a free gift of address labels in a letter asking for contributions. Which social psychological principle is the nonprofit group trying to use to increase contributions? A. Self-fulfilling prophecy B. Stable attribution C. Compliance strategy D. Fundamental attribution error E. Out-group homogeneity C – Including the free address labels is an example of norm of reciprocity, one of the compliance strategies. People are more likely to help if they feel someone has done them a favor, such as including a gift in a letter asking for contributions.

30. Question #29 What kinds of factors are ignored or de-emphasized when people commit the fundamental attribution error? A. Dispositional B. Situational C. Social D. Cognitive E. Behavioral B – When people commit the fundamental attribution error, they ignore the situational factors that may influence another person’s behavior and instead attribute the person’s behaviors to their inner disposition.

31. Question #30 Sherif's Robbers Cave study indicated that which of the following principles best helps reduce tensions between groups? A. Superordinate Goals B. Diffusion of responsibility C. Group polarization D. Deindividualization E. Groupthink A – Superordinate goals (goals that all groups need to work together on to accomplish) reduce tensions between groups. The other concepts listed do not relate to group tensions.

32. Question #31 What makes the psychoanalytic perspective different from the other psychological perspectives? A. Psychoanalysts focus on the unconscious mind B. Psychoanalysts relies on the scientific method C. The process of psychoanalysts takes a long time is focused on individuals, not groups D. The research psychoanalysis is based on primarily involves people with psychological disorders E. Psychoanalysis is the only perspective to involve treatment of psychological disorders A – Psychoanalysis is based on the study of the unconscious mind, a part of our consciousness that we are not consciously aware of. The other possible answers are not unique to psychoanalysis as compared to the other perspectives.

33. Question #32 Which of the following would a researcher need to use to determine if the difference between the mean scores of experimental and control groups was significant? A. Descriptive statistics B. Inferential statistics C. Field experiment D. Standard deviation E. Counterbalancing B – Inferential statistics are used to examine distributions of scores in order to find statistically significant differences. Descriptive statistics (like standard deviation) describe sets of scores, but used alone cannot help make judgments about the significance of differences between sets of scores. Field experiments and counterbalancing are terms related to research methodology and aren’t relevant to the question.

34. Question #33 Someone with brain damage who has difficulty making the muscle movements needed to produce accurate speech might have damage to which area of the brain? A. Wernicke's area B. Hippocampus C. Broca's area D. Amygdala E. Gage's area C – Broca’s area of the brain (located in the left frontal lobe in most people) helps control the muscles in the jaw, throat, and tongue needed to produce speech. Wernicke’s area is also involved in spoken language but is involved with meaning and interpretation of language. The hippocampus and amygdala areas of the brain are not involved in spoken language. Gage’s area is not an area of the brain (Phineas Gage was a famous case study in brain function, but is not related to a specific area of the brain).

35. Question #34 The case study of Phineas Gage's brain injury was significant for which of the following reasons? A. Gage's accident was one of the first to be treated with drugs that alter the neurotransmitters in the brain B. It was one of the first well-documented examples of a specific brain area being associated with a set of physical and emotional changes C. This accident provided psychiatrists with one of the first opportunities to treat a brain-damaged patient with psychotherapeutic techniques D. The CAT scan was used for the first time in the Phineas Gage case to document the extent of brain injury E. The case of Phineas Gage demonstrated that brain injury rarely causes primarily effects physical abilities, not mood or emotional B – The doctors who treated Phineas Gage documented what areas of the brain were damaged and how Gage’s physical and emotional characteristics changed after the acccident. This was one of the first cases to tie a specific brain area to a specific function.

36. Question #35 Which classical conditioning term best describes the following scenario: Later in his classical conditioning experiments, Ivan Pavlov's dogs began to salivate whenever they heard any sound similar to a bell, such as a doorbell or someone accidentally clinking a water glass. A. Discrimination B. Spontaneous recovery C. Trace conditioning D. Generalization E. Unconditioned response D – Generalization occurs in classical conditioning when an organism responds to any stimuli similar to the conditioned stimuli, such as salivating to any sound similar to a bell.

37. Question #36 Why might a researcher use a variable ratio of reinforcement rather than a fixed ratio? A. Fixed ratio schedules of reinforcements are more time intensive B. Variable ratio schedules of reinforcements produce results more quickly C. Variable ratio schedules of reinforcements avoid problems such as generalization and the Premack principle D. Variable ratio schedules of reinforcements allow researchers to use both classical and operant conditioning E. Variable ratio schedules of reinforcement are more resistant to extinction than fixed schedules E – Organisms trained using variable ratio schedules of reinforcements will continue to perform the desired behavior for a long time after reinforcement is stopped (i.e., extinction of the behavior is delayed).

38. Question #37 Which of the following is an example of an implicit memory? A. Describing the taste of the cake at your last birthday party B. Remembering how to tie a tie C. Recalling the name of your junior high school shop teacher D. Recognizing a celebrity E. Repeating the name of your first pet B – Explicit memories are memories of facts and events. Implicit memories (or nondeclarative memories) are memories of procedures or skills that we may not even realize we have, such as the skill of tying a tie.

39. Question #38 A psychology teacher who believes that all students want to learn and creates a classroom culture that encourages this intrinsic motivation is using which kind of management style? A. Approach-avoidance B. James-Lange C. Canon-Bard D. Theory X E. Theory Y E – Theory Y managers believe that workers want to do good work and set policies in order to support worker efforts to improve and do quality work. Theory X managers believe that workers will only produce if given rewards and punishments. The other options listed as answers are not associated with management style theory.

40. Question #39 Which of the following statements best describes an important difference between authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles? A. Authoritarian parents use clear rules and enforce those rules consistently B. Parents using the authoritative style allow children to set and enforce their own rules in order to encourage independence C. Authoritative parents set and enforce rules, but explain and emphasize the rationale behind the rules D. Children who grow up in authoritative households are likely to be less independent as adults because they are not used to making decisions E. Authoritative parents set fewer rules than Authoritarian parents do, but they are more likely to enforce the rules with stricter punishments and more extensive rewards C – Authoritative parents set and enforce rules for children, but they talk about the reasons behind and the importance of the rules and help children understand the rules and participate in discussions about good and bad behavior.

41. Question #40 Which of the following is a common criticism of Freud's personality theory? A. Freud's research was based mainly on students in his classes and wasn't representative B. The theory was focused on the psychologically healthy and did not apply well to people with psychological disorders C. Personality is too complex to be studied using the scientific experiments Freud used D. Genetics theory was not advanced enough in Freud's time to be used as he tried to E. The evidence for Freud's method was based only on his therapy sessions and was not tested scientifically E – Freud’s theory was build on case studies from his psychoanalytic practice and was not tested empirically. In fact, his claims about the unconscious could not be tested experimentally because the unconscious by definition is not accessbile to conscious investigation.

42. Question #41 Which of the following is one of the key factors that differentiate major depression from periods of sadness that everyone experiences? A. Major depression is indicated by specific changes in the brain. B. People who experience major depression are sad for longer than two weeks without an obvious cause. C. Individuals diagnosed with major depression experience sadness along with episodes of heightened emotions and mania. D. All mood disorders, like major depression involve tolerance and withdrawal of controlled substances. E. Normal periods of sadness are much less intense than the sadness associated with major depression. B – In order to be diagnosed with major depression a person has to have a depressed mood that lasts for longer than two weeks without an obvious cause.

43. Question #42 Which of the following was one of the factors that increased conformity in Asch’s studies? A. Presence of the authority figure B. Level of shock administered C. Placebo effect D. Size of the group E. Expectations about conformity D – Asch found that conformity increased if the group was made up of three or more people.

44. Question #43 Why can experiments determine causal relationships when no other research method can? A. Experiments are more precise than the other research methods. B. Experiments isolate the effects of independent variables on dependent variables. C. Experiments typically involve more participants than other research methods do. D. Experiments take place in more realistic, real-life settings. E. Experiments involve precise descriptive and inferential statistical methods. B – Experiments use experimental and control groups to isolate what happens when a specific variable (independent variable) is changed and to measure the impact on the variable that changes as a result (dependent variable). The other options listed are either not true about the experimental method or are not unique to the experimental method.

45. Question #44 The case study of Phineas Gage’s brain injury was significant for which of the following reasons? A. Gage’s accident was one of the first to be treated with drugs that alter the neurotransmitters in the brain. B. It was one of the first well-documented examples of a specific brain area being associated with a set of physical and emotional changes. C. This accident provided psychiatrists with one of the first opportunities to treat a brain-damaged patient with psychotherapeutic techniques. D. The CAT scan was used for the first time in the Phineas Gage case to document the extent of brain injury. E. The case of Phineas Gage demonstrated that brain injury primarily affects physical abilities, not mood or emotion. B – The doctors who treated Phineas Gage documented what areas of the brain were damaged and how Gage’s physical and emotional characteristics changed after the accident. This was one of the first cases to tie a specific brain area to a specific function.

46. Question #45 Withdrawal symptoms are most directly caused by which of the following processes? A. Tolerance B. Dissociation C. Activation-synthesis D. Role theory E. Antagonists A – Most drugs produce increased tolerance with repeated uses – the need for increasing amounts of a drug in order to produce the same physiological effects. This tolerance gradually changes the levels of specific neurotransmitters in the brain, so when a person stops using the drug, withdrawal symptoms occur as the body and brain readjust and compensate for altered levels of these neurotransmitters. The other concepts listed in the answers are not related to the tolerance-withdrawal cause-effect cycle.

47. Question #46 What is the major difference between negative reinforcement and punishment? A. Punishments are used with nonhuman animals, and negative reinforcements are used with humans. B. Negative reinforcements are used in classical conditioning, and punishments are used in operant conditioning. C. Punishments are primarily used when training an organism to perform a behavior and negative reinforcements are used to train an organism to stop performing a behavior. D. Negative reinforcements are more effective than punishments but take longer to use. E. Punishments decrease the frequency of a behavior and negative reinforcements increase the frequency of a behavior. E – Punishments are defined as stimuli that decrease the likelihood than an organism will perform the behavior that preceded the punishments. Negative reinforcements reinforce a behavior, increasing the likelihood the behavior will be repeated. They reinforce the behavior by taking away an aversive stimulus (e.g., an aspirin takes away a headache, which makes the person more likely to take an aspirin in the future).

48. Question #47 A research participant eats half a bowl of M&M candies, and then stops eating. How would a motivation researcher using drive reduction theory explain this participant’s behavior? A. Humans are instinctively driven to eat sugar and fat when presented to them. B. The Yerkes-Dodson law explains that people will eat food when presented to them, but usually in moderate amounts in order to avoid being perceived as selfish. C. The primary drive of hunger motivated the person to eat, and then stop when she/he regained homeostasis. D. The research participant was satisfying the second step on the hierarchy of needs: food needs. E. Each person uses incentives in order to determine what to be motivated to do. This person decided on a hunger incentive and ate half the candies. C – Drive Reduction theory states that we are motivated by primary drives (like hunger) and secondary drives, and that we act to satisfy these drives until we regain a state of homeostasis (balance – in this case, we are no longer hungry). The other options each relate to a different motivation theory.

49. Question #48 How would Piaget describe the process of learning something new using terminology from his cognitive development theory? A. When we can’t assimilate new information, we change our schemas through accomodation. B. As we encounter new social situations, we either develop healthy or unhealthy personality characteristics in order to cope with social demands. C. Humans develop increasing abilities to think about moral choices, and our ability to think about the rights of others develops over time. D. Rewards and punishments for behaviors are the major influence on learning in humans. E. The interaction between nature and nurture determines that genetic influcnces are a major cause of the pace of learning and learning difficulties. A – Piaget described schemas (the ways we think about the world) as going through a process of assimilation and accommodation. When we encounter something new in the world, we first try to use our existing schemas to understand it (assimilation). If that doesn’t work, we may have to change or expand our schemas in order to deal with the new object, event, or idea (accommodation). We learn through accommodation, as our schemas change and become more sophisticated.

50. Question #49 What would a psychometrician conclude about a personality test that tells a person she is an extreme extrovert the first time she takes the test and an extreme introvert the next time she takes it? A. This personality test has low reliability but high validity. B. The test is probably high in construct validity but isn’t very predictive. C. These test norms and standardization probably need improvement. D. The results indicate that the test has low test-retest reliability. E. Like most personality tests, this test is most likely an aptitude rather than an achievement test. D – Test-retest reliability is a measure of a tests ability to deliver similar results each time it is administered to the same person.