Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
Unit 1 Exam: Psychologyʼs History & Methods
1. John B. Watson was a pioneer in which of the following perspectives of psychology?
a. biological
b. functionalism
c. psychoanalytic
d. structuralism
e. behaviorism
2. Early behaviorists believed that psychology should NOT focus on “the mind” because “the mind” is
a. too complex
b. genetically determined
c. largely unconscious
d. unobservable
e. environmentally determined
3. Psychologists who emphasize the importance of personality traits are most often criticized for
a. being naive and overly optimistic
b. being subjective in interpreting unverifiable phenomena
c. overestimating the number of basic traits
d. underestimating the role of emotions
e. underestimating the variability of behavior from situation to situation
4. The quotation below is consistent with the views of which of the following schools of psychology?
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“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and Iʼll
guarantee to take any one at random and train him to be any type of specialist I might select-doctor, lawyer,
artist, merchant-chief, and, yes, even beggar-man and thief....”
a. existentialism
b. structuralism
c. humanism
d. gestalt
e. behaviorism
5. Although Paul seems bright and capable to his parents and friends, he has been failing in school. Paul
agrees to speak with a psychologist, who suggests that his problems stem from internal processes such as
unrealistic expectations and negative thinking. The psychologistʼs view is typical of which of the following
models of behavior?
a. psychoanalytic
b. humanistic
c. cognitive
d. sociobiological
e. behavioral
6. Which of the following accurately describes a major change in perspective in the field of developmental
psychology over the past twenty-five years?
a. A shift from an emphasis on childhood and adolescence to an interest in development over the life span.
b. A shift from a cognitive to a psychoanalytic interpretation of developmental phenomena.
c. A shift in research focus from cognitive to personality development
d. A decrease in interest in the physiological factors affecting growth and development
e. A decrease in interest in the study of the cognitive components of intellect
Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
7. Which of the following perspectives argues that every person has the potential to become self-actualized?
a. humanistic
b. behavioral
c. gestalt
d. cognitive
e. psychodynamic
8. Psychologists from which of the following perspectives of personality are most interested in assessing a
personʼs locus of control?
a. psychoanalytic
b. cognitive
c. evolutionary
d. humanistic
e. gestalt
9. Which of the following would be used to measure the relationship between age and reaction time?
a. correlation
b. central tendency
c. a histogram
d. standard deviation
e. a t test
Questions 10-12 refer to the following study.
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A student hypothesizes that high school students consuming different flavors of a drink before a
spelling test will perform differently. A study to test the hypothesis finds that with a bitter drink, performance is
best 6 hours after drinking it, whereas with a sweet drink, performance is better 1 hour after drinking it.
10. Which of the following are the independent variables?
a. test scores and high school students
b. test scores and time of consumption
c. flavor of drink and time of consumption
d. favor of drink and high school students
e. flavor of drink and test scores
11. Which of the following is the dependent variable?
a. flavor of drink
b. participantsʼ spelling test scores
c. participantsʼ ages
d. time the drink was consumed
e. number of drinks consumed
12. An interaction between variables complicates the researcherʼs explanation of findings. Which of the
following are most likely involved in this interaction?
a. test scores and high school students
b. test scores and time of consumption
c. flavor of drink and time of consumption
d. flavor of drink and high school students
e. flavor of drink and test scores
Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
13. Dr. Lewis decided to study the television viewing habits of her students and therefore demanded that they
complete and return a survey regarding their viewing habits. Which of the following ethical principles was
clearly violated in this study?
a. the right to have a copy of the results
b. the right to have a copy of the survey
c. the right to be protected from unnecessary risk of harm
d. the right to refuse to participate in the study
e. the right to be informed of deception
14. Which of the following is a measure of central tendency that is most influenced by extreme scores?
a. median
b. standard deviation
c. mean
d. analysis of variance
e. mode
15. A researcher conducts an experiment to test the claim that new drug Y is more effective than standard drug
X in inhibiting arousal. The researcher randomly assigns participants to receive drug Y or drug X and
subsequently measures arousal. In this experiment, participants receiving drug Y constitute the
a. dependent variable
b. confounding variable
c. experimental group
d. control group
e. placebo
16.
Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
17. A market researcher is interested in ascertaining which of two possible packages is more likely to entice
buyers to purchase a new brand of chocolate-chip cookie. In this study, which of the following pairs represents
the independent and dependent variables, respectively?
a. another brand of cookie; the new brand of cookie
b. the new brand of cookie; another brand of cookie
c. the new brand of cookie; the two types of packaging
d. total sales for each of the packages; the different types of package
e. the different types of packages; total sales for each of the packages
Questions 18-20 are based on the passage below.
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A researcher studying the effect of noise level on concentration randomly assigns student participants
to either a noisy room or a quiet room to take a problem-solving test. The researcher subsequently compares
the two groupsʼ test scores using a t-test and concludes p= .05.
18. The dependent variable in this study is the
a. p value
b. noise level
c. problem-solving test scores
d. t-test
e. experimental group
19. The independent variable in this study is the
a. p value
b. noise level
c. problem-solving test scores
d. t-test
e. experimental group
20. The researcherʼs conclusion that p=.05 most likely indicates
a. that the difference in the two groupsʼ scores is likely due to chance
b. that a loss of concentration is common among students
c. the presence of a confounding variable
d. that the difference between the two groups is statistically significant
e. that noise has no effect on concentration
21. Which of the following correlation coefficients most likely represents the relationship between length of
sleep deprivation and level of alertness?
a. 1.35
b. 0.85
c. 0.01
d. -0.4
e. -1.25
22. In an experiment, which of the following variables refers to the outcome that is measured by the
experimenter?
a. independent
b. dependent
c. control
d. random
e. stimulus
Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
23. Drawing a random sample of people from a town for an interview study of social attitudes ensures that
a. each person in town has the same probability of being chosen for the study
b. an equal number of males and females are selected for interviews
c. the study includes at least some respondents from every social class in town
d. the study will uncover widely differing social attitudes among the respondents
e. the sample will be large enough even though some people may refuse to be interviewed
24. A double-blind control is essential for which of the following?
a. a study comparing the IQ test scores of children from different educational systems
b. a study of relationships among family members
c. an experiment to determine the effect of a food reward on the bar-pressing rate of a rat
d. assessment of a treatment designed to reduce schizophrenic symptoms
e. a survey of drug use among teenagers
25. According to the ethical guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA), which of the
following is true of psychological research in which animals are used as subjects?
a. It must not involve the use of surgical procedures.
b. It is no longer permitted by the APA without special authorization.
c. It should conform to all APA ethical guidelines for animal research.
d. It must be limited to investigation that use correlational procedures.
e. It may not be conducted by psychologists who do not have a license.
26. A survey shows that children who have encyclopedias in their homes earn better grades in school than
children whose homes lack encyclopedias. The researcher concludes that having encyclopedias at home
improves grades. This conclusion is erroneous primarily because the researcher has incorrectly
a. failed to allow for experimenter bias
b. identified the independent variable
c. identified the dependent variable
d. inferred correlation from causation
e. inferred causation from correlation
27. In a normal distribution of test scores, the percentage of scores that fall at or below the mean score is
a. 17.5
b. 25
c. 50
d. 66.6
e. 95
28. The mean will be higher than the median in any distribution that
a. is symmetrical
b. is not normal
c. is positively skewed
d. represents measures for a random sample
e. represents measures for a biased sample
Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
29. A researcher surveyed social adjustment in the same group of 20 people from early childhood through
adulthood. In this example, the group of 20 people surveyed was the studyʼs
a. sample
b. population
c. operational definition
d. control group
e. randomization
30. Respondents to surveys and questionnaires often report that they are healthier, happier, and less
prejudiced than would be expected based on the results of other types of research. This finding can best be
explained by which of the following?
a. sampling bias
b. experimenter bias
c. the social desirability bias
d. the bystander effect
e. the placebo effect
Set A
60
56
58
62
61
59
Set B
60
41
76
35
65
50
31. Which of the following is true of the two sets of scores above?
a. Set A has a larger standard deviation.
b. Set B has a larger standard deviation.
c. The range is the same for both distributions.
d. Set A has a lower median score than set B.
e. The mean score is the same for both distributions.
32. A teacher finds the distribution of scores on a final exam to be positively skewed with low variability. On the
basis of this information, the teacher would be most justified in concluding that
a. a small number of students in the class did poorly on the exam
b. the students in her classroom have a very wide range of intellectual abilities
c. the exam was too difficult
d. the exam is not a reliable assessment tool
e. most of her students are of above average ability
33. Arguments as to whether psychological differences between men and women result from biological or
social influences most clearly involve a debate over the issue of
a. evolution versus natural selection.
b. stage development versus continuous development.
c. structuralism versus functionalism.
d. behavior versus mental processes.
e. nature versus nurture.
Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
34. The inheritance of behavioral characteristics was emphasized by
a. John Locke.
b. John Watson.
c. Wilhelm Wundt.
d. CharlesDarwin.
e. B.F. Skinner.
35. When you read a bar graph, it is most important for you to
a. understand the concept of the overconfidence effect
b. mentally transform the data into a scatterplot
c. identify the value of the standard deviation
d. note the range and size of the scale values
e. remember that correlation facilitates prediction
36. The scientific attitude of humility is most likely to be undermined by
a. operational definitions
b. overconfidence
c. random assignment
d. naturalistic observation
e. the double-blind procedure
37. Basing decisions or conclusions on observable evidence describes which of the following?
a. hindsight bias
b. confirmation bias
c. empirical approach
d. overconfidence
e. operational definition
38. Dr. Roberts hypothesized that students in a classroom seating 30 would get higher course grades than
students seated in an auditorium seating 300. In this example,
a. Dr. Roberts has found a cause-effect relationship
b. Dr. Roberts has found a positive correlation between classroom size and course grades
c. the independent variable is the measurement of course grades
d. classroom size has been operationally defined
e. Dr. Roberts has demonstrated the importance of random sampling
39. Dr. Wilson attributes the delinquent behaviors of many teens to the pressures associated with being
members of gangs. Her account best illustrates a(n) _______________ perspective.
a. psychodynamic
b. behavioral
c. social-cultural
d. biological
e. evolutionary
Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
40. Mr. Kay is interested in whether individual differences affect learning. Mr. Kay is most likely a(n)
___________psychologist.
a. human factors
b. developmental
c. educational
d. social
e. clinical
41. The relief of pain following the ingestion of an inert substance that is presumed to have medicinal benefits
illustrates
a. random assignment
b. the hindsight bias
c. the double-blind effect
d. the placebo effect
e. illusory correlation
42. Evelyn wants to know how consistent her bowling scores have been during the past season. Which of the
following measures would be most relevant to this specific concern?
a. mean
b. median
c. scatterplot
d. standard deviation
e. correlation coefficient
43. Which makes finding statistical significance more likely?
a. random sampling
b. skewed distributions
c. small sample size
d. large sample size
e. operational definitions
44. A researcher who gathers and analyzes data from student essay test responses without talking with the
students about the study violates which ethical principle of human experimentation?
a. informed consent
b. protection from harm
c. confidentiality
d. debriefing
e. coercion
45. Which of the following is a positive correlation?
a. as study time decreases, students achieve lower grades
b. as levels of self-esteem decline, levels of depression increase
c. people who exercise regularly are less likely to be obese
d. gas mileage decreases as vehicle weight increases
e. repeatedly shooting free throws is associated with a smaller percentage of missed free throw shots
Ms. Berdelle
AP Psychology
PSYCHOLOGY
SECTION II
Time—25 minutes
Percent of total score — 33 1/3
Free Response Question
1. Professor Hahn received a grant to study the relationship between childhood obesity and video game
playing. Answer the following questions about Professor Hahn's research study:
A. Explain how Professor Hahn could use each of the following research methods to study this topic:
• Case study
• Survey
• Naturalistic observation
B. Design an experiment Professor Hahn could use to investigate this topic, including the following terms
in the context of your design.
• Operational definition
• Independent and dependent variable
• Random assignment
C. Explain how Professor Hahn's experimental design would conform to ethical guidelines.
D. Explain how Professor Hahn would use statistics (including at least one measure of central tendency
and inferential statistics) to examine the data from the study to reach a conclusion.
PSYCHOLOGY
SECTION II
Time—25 minutes
Percent of total score — 33 1/3
Free Response Question
1. Professor Hahn received a grant to study the relationship between childhood obesity and video game
playing. Answer the following questions about Professor Hahn's research study:
A. Explain how Professor Hahn could use each of the following research methods to study this topic:
• Case study
• Survey
• Naturalistic observation
B. Design an experiment Professor Hahn could use to investigate this topic, including the following terms
in the context of your design.
• Operational definition
• Independent and dependent variable
• Random assignment
C. Explain how Professor Hahn's experimental design would conform to ethical guidelines.
D. Explain how Professor Hahn would use statistics (including at least one measure of central tendency
and inferential statistics) to examine the data from the study to reach a conclusion.