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AP Psychology
History and Research Practice Test
For the following items, choose the best answer
1. John Locke emphasized that human knowledge is a product of
a. sensory experience.
b. evolution.
c. brain chemistry.
d. animal spirits.
2. Which school of psychology attempted to identify the basic elements of the mind?
a. structuralism
b. pragmatism
c. behaviorism
d. psychoanalysis
3. The value of introspection was most clearly dismissed by:
a. psychoanalysts
b. functionalists.
c. structuralists.
d. behaviorists.
4. Mr. Firkin wonders whether his quiet and introverted 15-year-old son will ever become a more extraverted
and talkative adult. Mr. Firkin is primarily concerned with the issue of
a. structuralism versus functionalism.
b. nature versus nurture.
c. rationality versus irrationality.
d. stability versus change.
5. Charles Darwin suggested that the evolution of living organisms is guided by:
a. rational thought.
b. natural selection.
c. introspection.
d. unconscious motives.
6. In a class lecture, Professor Hampton emphasized the extent to which abnormal blood chemistry can
contribute to psychological disorders. The professor's lecture highlighted a(n) ________ perspective on
psychological disorders.
a. psychodynamic
b. evolutionary
c. biological
d. social-cultural
e. cognitive
7. A clinical psychologist who explains behavior in terms of unconscious drives and conflicts is employing a(n)
________ perspective.
a. evolutionary
b. psychodynamic
c. behavioral
d. social-cultural
8. Natassia believes that boys learn to be more aggressive than girls primarily because boys are more frequently
exposed to external pressures to fight. Natassia's belief most directly exemplifies the ________ perspective.
a. behavioral
b. cognitive
c. psychodynamic
d. biological
9. Which psychological perspective is most likely to examine how group membership influences individual
attitudes and behaviors?
a. biological
b. psychodynamic
c. evolutionary
d. social-cultural
10. Working in a community mental health center, Dr. Thatcher treats adults who suffer from severe depression.
Dr. Thatcher is most likely a(n) _ psychologist.
a. personality
b. industrial/organizational
c. clinical
d. psychiatric
11. If falsely informed that they had correctly identified a homicide suspect, research participants subsequently
recalled being highly confident at the time they made their identification. This best illustrates the dangers of
a. the false consensus effect. b. illusory correlation c. an illusion of control.
d. the hindsight bias.
12. Questioning the validity of cause-effect conclusions derived from correlational evidence best illustrates:
a. the hindsight bias.
b. critical thinking. c. the false consensus effect. d. random sampling.
13. Hypotheses are best described as:
a. assumptions.
b. replications.
c. explanations.
d. predictions.
14. In reporting the impact of alcohol consumption on self-consciousness, psychological researchers would specify
exactly how they measured self-consciousness, providing a(n):
a. experimental hypothesis.
b. standard deviation. c. double-blind procedure. d. operational definition.
15. According to Professor Bolden, his experimental research demonstrates that eating an apple every day
improves children's reading skills. How might he best offer further support for the reliability of this finding?
a. replication
b. naturalistic observations
c. case studies
d. correlational research
16. A majority of respondents in a national survey agreed that "classroom prayer should not be allowed in public
schools." Only 33 percent of respondents in a similar survey agreed that "classroom prayer in public schools
should be banned." These divergent findings best illustrate the importance of
a. overconfidence.
b. the hindsight bias.
c. the false consensus effect.
d. random assignment.
e. wording effects.
17. Christine, who is opposed to capital punishment, was extremely surprised to learn that the results of a
survey indicated that the majority of the population approved of capital punishment. Christine's surprise best
illustrates the power of.
a. the false consensus effect.
b. the placebo effect
c. random assignment.
d. the double-blind procedure.
e. the hindsight bias.
18. A random sample of a large group of people is one in which:
a. the number of people included in the sample is determined by chance.
b. every person in the large group has an equal chance of being included in the sample.
c. personality differences among those in the sample are practically nonexistent.
d. all the above are true.
19. Mrs. Blair concludes that boys do not read as well as girls because the vast majority of students in her
remedial reading classes are boys. Mrs. Blair's conclusion best illustrates the danger of.
a. the hindsight bias.
b. illusory correlation
c. confusing correlation with causation.
d. random sampling.
20. According to Shere Hite's highly publicized research, 70 percent of women married five or more years
reported having extramarital affairs. Her survey results were misleading because she failed to use a technique
known as:
a. random sampling.
b. replication.
c. the double-blind procedure.
d. naturalistic observation.
e. statistical inference.
21. In order to study the development of relationships, Dr. Luther carefully observed and recorded patterns of
verbal and nonverbal behaviors among men and women in singles bars. Which research method did Dr. Luther
use?
a. naturalistic observation b. replication c. the survey d. the case study
22. A statistical measure that indicates how well one factor predicts a second factor is called a(n):
a. dependent variable.
b. independent variable.
c. survey.
d. correlation coefficient. e. replication.
23. A scatterplot graphically depicts the:
a. standard deviation of a distribution of scores.
b. arithmetic average of a distribution of scores
c. total population from which samples may be drawn. d. degree of relationship between two variables.
24. If college graduates typically earn more money than high school graduates, this would indicate that level of
education and income are:
a. causally related.
b. positively correlated.
c. independent variables.
d. dependent variables.
e. negatively correlated.
25. A correlation between self-esteem and annual income of -.75 would indicate that:
a. lower levels of self-esteem are associated with lower levels of annual income.
b. higher levels of annual income are associated with lower levels of self-esteem.
c. it is impossible to predict annual income levels from knowledge of self-esteem levels.
d. self-esteem has no causal influence on annual income.
26. Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the strongest degree of relationship between two
variables?
a. +.10
b. -.67
c. .00
d. -.10
e. +.59
27. If psychologists discovered that people who live at the poverty level have more aggressive children than do
wealthy people, this would indicate that:
a. poverty has a negative influence on children's behavior.
b. some of the same factors that lead to poverty also contribute to aggressiveness.
c. people's economic status and the aggressiveness of their children are negatively correlated.
d. all the above are true.
28. Experimentation is more useful than correlational measures for testing the claim that:
a.children who view a great deal of television violence are also likely to be unusually aggressive.
b.people who exercise frequently are less likely to suffer from depression than infrequent exercisers.
c.people's friendliness and feelings of happiness are increased by the consumption of alcohol.
d.people who consume excessive amounts of coffee experience higher than normal levels of anxiety.
29. Unlike correlational studies, experiments involve:
a. randomly selecting participants
b. manipulating the factors of interest.
c. studying observable behaviors.
d. replication of previous research.
30. Abdul has volunteered to participate in an experiment evaluating the effectiveness of aspirin. Neither he nor
the experimenters know whether or not the pills he takes during the experiment contain aspirin or are merely
placebos. The investigators are apparently making use of
a. a blind procedure.
b. random sampling.
c. a double-blind procedure.
d. replication.
e. the false consensus effect.
31. Research participants consumed either caffeinated or decaffeinated beverages in a study of the effects of
caffeine on anxiety levels. Those who received the decaffeinated drinks were exposed to the______condition.
a. survey
b. experimental
c. correlational
d. control
32. Random assignment is most likely to be utilized in_______research.
a. survey
b. case study
c. correlational
d. experimental
33. Professor Woo noticed that the distribution of students' scores on her last biology test had an extremely
small standard deviation. This indicates that the:
a. test was given to a very small class of students.
b. test was a poor measure of the students' knowledge.
c. mean test score was lower than the median score.
d. students' scores tended to be very similar.
34. A random sample of females was observed to exhibit a lower average level of self-esteem than a random
sample of males. In order to assess the likelihood that this observed difference reflects a real difference in the
average self-esteem of the total population of males and females, it is necessary to:
a. construct a scatterplot.
b. calculate a correlation coefficient.
c. plot the distribution of self-esteem levels among all males and females.
d. conduct a test of statistical significance.
35. Contemporary psychology is best defined as the science of:
a. conscious and unconscious mental activity.
b. observable responses to the environment.
c. behavior and mental processes.
d. thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.
e. maladaptive and adaptive behaviors.
36. In a normal distribution of scores with a mean of 80 and a standard deviation of 5, what percentage of people
would score above a 75?
a. 68
b. 84
c. 95
d. 16
37. Mrs. Thompson believes that her son has learned to play the piano because she consistently rewards his
efforts to learn with praise and affection. Her belief best illustrates a ________ perspective.
a. sociocultural
b. cognitive
c. biological
d. psychoanalytic
e. behavioral
38. In order to learn about the TV viewing habits of all the children attending Cobb County Schools, a school
psychologist randomly selected and interviewed 100 of the school system’s students. In this instance, all of the
children attending school in Cobb County are considered to be a(n):
a. population.
b. representative sample.
c. case study.
d. independent variable.
Questions 39 & 40 refer to the following study: A researcher hypothesizes that high school students eating
different kinds of candy before a math test will perform differently. A study to set the hypothesis finds that with
a peanut candy, performance is best 6 hours after eating it, while with a sugary candy, performance is better 1
hour after eating it.
39. Which of the following are the independent variables?
a. Test scores and high school students
b. Test scores and time of consumption
c. Type of candy and time of consumption
d. Type of candy and high school students
e. Type of candy and test scores
40. Which of the following is the dependent variable?
a. Type of candy
b. Participants’ test scores
c. Participants’ ages
d. Time the candy was consumed
e. Number of pieces of candy consumed
41. Dr. Jones completed an experiment in which she compared reasoning ability in a sample of females and a
sample of males. The means of the female and male samples equaled 21 and 19, respectively, on a 25-point scale.
A statistical test revealed that the results were not statistically significant. What can Dr. Jones conclude?
a. Females have higher reasoning ability.
b. The p value was probably <.05
c. The results probably occurred by chance.
d. All of these are true.
42. If a distribution shows a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 5, what is the variance?
a. 10,000
b. 500
c. 25
d. .25