Are you having trouble finding multiple-choice questions for the new AP Psychology exam? Look no further!
My name is Claire. I'm a licensed teacher and professional tutor with over ten years of experience in education. I've helped dozens of students improve their performance in AP Psychology. I've created MCQ questions to use when working with my private clients. I'm posting them here so they can help more students!
Table of Contents
A Note On This Resource
This post is part of a series of posts containing practice questions for the AP Psychology exam. They reflect the content and style of the 2024-2025 revision of the AP Psychology exam.
It is currently challenging to find high-quality, free multiple-choice questions for students. I did not expect that this would be the case so close to the new exam. I know that many students cannot afford tutoring or paid review materials. The free materials that are available often use the old style of the AP Psychology exam. I am concerned that this situation puts some students at a significant disadvantage. I also feel that if I can assist, it is right to do so.
I want to be transparent about the limitations of my own questions. I have not tested these questions as much as I would like. I did not expect to posting them, and there is little time before the exam. Like Washington, I am unconscious of intentional error. I am too conscious of my faults to think that these questions are error-free. I hope that you will view them with indulgence.
I welcome feedback, corrections, and questions.
I would also like to make it clear that I fabricated all all names, research studies, data, and statistics. I would like to use real science like the exam! Yet, real science is often paywalled and copyrighted. This creates significant barriers to creating questions with authentic research. I have written each example to reflect with currently accepted principles in psychology. I hope that this is will avoid causing confusion and misinformation.
Okay, without further ado:
Unit 3: Learning and Development MCQs
Questions 5 through 6 use the following information.
A research wants to know if rabbits can distinguish between different colors of light. To do this, the researcher shows a rabbit a orange light and then blows a small puff of air into the rabbit's eye. The air puff causes the rabbit to blink. After several repetitions of the procedure, the researcher shows the rabbit just the orange light. The rabbit blinks after being shown the orange light.
After this, the researcher shows the rabbit a purple light. The rabbit blinks in response to the purple light. The researcher repeats this procedure several times with different rabbits. Each time, the researcher gets the same results. The researcher concludes that rabbits cannot see in color.
5. Which of the following concepts applies most directly to the method used by the researcher?
a. Classical conditioning
b. Operant conditioning
c. Latent learning
d. Mental maps
6. Which of the following most accurately describes why the researcher's conclusions are flawed?
a. The researcher should have used naturalistic observation to avoid confounding variables.
b. The rabbit may have a generalized response to all colors of light.
c. The researcher did not properly train the rabbit.
d. The researcher used the wrong type of conditioning.
Questions 7 through 9 refer to the following.
Dr. Katz is researching cognitive development. She wants to examine the relationship between age and a child's ability to think logically. She asks kindergartners to solve ten basic math problems. She records the number of questions answered correctly. She repeats the task with the same group of students in first and second grade. The number of questions answered correctly for each of the trials is recorded below.
| Student ID | Kindergarten | First Grade | Second Grade |
| Student 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Student 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Student 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Student 4 | 5 | 5 | (No response)* |
| Student 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
*Dr. Katz was unable to contact this student's family for this trial.
7. What type of research design did Dr. Katz use?
a. Cross-sectional design
b. Longitudinal design
c. Survey
d. Naturalistic observation
8. What is the mode for the scores of kindergarten students?
a. 2
b. 8
c. 6
d. 3
9. What is the range of the scores of first grade students?
a. 5
b. 3
c. 2
d. 8
10. Daniel is a child. He takes a toy from Angela, another child. Angela is upset and starts crying. His parents take the toy away and scold Daniel for taking the toy. Daniel doesn't understand why Angela is upset. He was happy to have the toy, so he thinks she should too. This type of thinking is typical of which of the following stages of cognitive development?
a. Sensorimotor
b. Preoperational
c. Concrete operational
d. Formal operational
11. Angie is a child. Angie is upset because her brother got two slices of pizza. She only got one slice. Her parents explain that her brother got two small slices, and she got one large slice. Both children got the same amount of pizza. Angie doesn't understand, and she is still upset. What developmental phenomenon best explains Angie's experience?
a. Pretend play
b. Stranger anxiety
c. Failure to understand conservation
d. Failure to understand object permanence
12. Sal is a child. Sal likes to imagine that he is a doctor. He likes to wear a white coat and a stethoscope to listen to his dog's hearbeat. Which of the following developmental concepts best explains Sal's experience?
a. Pretend play
b. Stranger anxiety
c. Conservation
d. Object permanence
13. Juan is learning English. He knows many English words, but he struggles to combine them into sentences. For example, he has a hard time making the "v" sound, like in the word very. Which of the following linguistic concepts explains Juan's experience?
a. Morphemes
b. Phonemes
c. Semantics
d. Overgeneralization
The Answer Key
1. A
2. A
3. C
4. A
5. A
6. B
7. B
8. D
9. A
I help ambitious students improve their skills and master the AP Psychology exam. Learn more here!
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