AP Psychology : AP Psychology

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #1531 : Ap Psychology

What is the experimental design term for the ways in which experimenters try to minimize the effects of outside factors in a study?

Possible Answers:

Counterbalancing

Single Blind

Correlation

Control

Double Blind

Correct answer:

Control

Explanation:

Control is the way that experimenters try to minimize the effects of any other variables besides the IV and DV.

A double blind experiment is when neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental and which are in the control group.

A single blind experiment is when the subjects do not know all of the information about the study while it is occurring, especially which group (experimental or control) they belong to.

Correlation is a number that describes the relationship between two variables.

Counterbalancing is when different sets of participants get all of the conditions of the study in different orders so that order effects are accounted for.

Example Question #1532 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following describes a study in which neither the experimenters nor the subjects know all of the information about the study, such as who is in the experimental group and who in the control, in order to reduce bias?

Possible Answers:

Control

Counterbalancing

Single Blind

Correlation

Double Blind

Correct answer:

Double Blind

Explanation:

A double blind experiment is when neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental and which are in the control group.

A single blind experiment is when the subjects do not know all of the information about the study while it is occurring, especially which group (experimental or control) they belong to.

Counterbalancing is when different sets of participants get all of the conditions of the study in different orders so that order effects are accounted for.

Control is the way that experimenters try to minimize the effects of any other variables besides the IV and DV.

Correlation is a number that describes the relationship between two variables.

Example Question #1533 : Ap Psychology

What is the term for the relationship between two variables?

Possible Answers:

Counterbalancing

Control

Single Blind

Double Blind

Correlation

Correct answer:

Correlation

Explanation:

Correlation is a number that describes the relationship between two variables.

A double blind experiment is when neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental and which are in the control group.

A single blind experiment is when the subjects do not know all of the information about the study while it is occurring, especially which group (experimental or control) they belong to.

Control is the way that experimenters try to minimize the effects of any other variables besides the IV and DV.

Counterbalancing is when different sets of participants get all of the conditions of the study in different orders so that order effects are accounted for.

Example Question #1534 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following best describes the difference between basic and applied psychological research?

Possible Answers:

Applied research is more theoretical while basic research is more practical

Basic research is used for simple problems while applied research is used for complex problems

Basic research is more biological while applied research is more philosophical

Basic research is more theoretical while applied research is more practical

Basic research is used for complex problems while applied research is used for simple problems

Correct answer:

Basic research is more theoretical while applied research is more practical

Explanation:

The distinction between basic and applied research does not have to do with the difficulty of the problem or to which branch of psychology it relates. Basic research is more theoretical and focused on understanding a phenomenon, whereas applied research is more focused on solving a real-world problem.

Example Question #1531 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following is an example of applied psychological research?

Possible Answers:

Understanding the psychological patterns that explain why some couples divorce and some do not 

Testing the efficacy of an educational program designed to raise the IQ scores of low-income students

Developing a theory about different types of anxiety

Figuring out how brain structure relates to political ideology

Understanding the ways that different cultures view emotion

Correct answer:

Testing the efficacy of an educational program designed to raise the IQ scores of low-income students

Explanation:

Basic research is more theoretical and focused on understanding a phenomenon, whereas applied research is more focused on solving a real-world problem. In the answer choices, the only issue that would immediately solve a real-world problem is "testing the efficacy of an educational program designed to raise the IQ scores of low-income students." Developing theories and understanding patterns are more characteristic of basic research.

Example Question #1536 : Ap Psychology

A researcher is curious about how temperature relates to aggression and predicts that as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well. What is the experimental design term used to describe "temperature" and "aggression"?

Possible Answers:

Hypotheses

Independent variables

Dependent variables

Variables

Theories

Correct answer:

Variables

Explanation:

A “variable” is described something that varies between people or objects—in this case, temperature and aggression are the variables. The “independent variable” (IV) is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher (temperature) and the “dependent variable” (DV) is the variable that changes as a result of a change in the IV (aggression). A “hypothesis” describes the relationship between variables and is generally what the researcher predicts will happen (i.e. “as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well”). Last, a “theory” is a principle or set of principles that explains a phenomenon.

Example Question #1537 : Ap Psychology

A researcher is curious about how temperature relates to aggression and predicts that as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well. What is the experimental design term for "temperature" in this scenario?

Possible Answers:

Hypothesis

Dependent variable

Theory

Independent variable

Variables

Correct answer:

Independent variable

Explanation:

A “variable” is described something that varies between people or objects—in this case, temperature and aggression are the variables. The “independent variable” (IV) is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher (temperature) and the “dependent variable” (DV) is the variable that changes as a result of a change in the IV (aggression). A “hypothesis” describes the relationship between variables and is generally what the researcher predicts will happen (i.e. “as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well”). Last, a “theory” is a principle or set of principles that explains a phenomenon.

Example Question #1538 : Ap Psychology

A researcher is curious about how temperature relates to aggression and predicts that as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well. What is the experimental design term for "aggression" in this scenario?

Possible Answers:

Variables

Hypothesis

Dependent variable

Independent variable

Theory

Correct answer:

Dependent variable

Explanation:

A “variable” is described something that varies between people or objects—in this case, temperature and aggression are the variables. The “independent variable” (IV) is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher (temperature) and the “dependent variable” (DV) is the variable that changes as a result of a change in the IV (aggression). A “hypothesis” describes the relationship between variables and is generally what the researcher predicts will happen (i.e. “as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well”). Last, a “theory” is a principle or set of principles that explains a phenomenon.

Example Question #1539 : Ap Psychology

A researcher is curious about how temperature relates to aggression and predicts that as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well. What is the experimental design term for the researcher's prediction about temperature's relationship to aggression?

Possible Answers:

Dependent variable

Hypothesis

Independent variable

Variable

Theory

Correct answer:

Hypothesis

Explanation:

A “variable” is described something that varies between people or objects—in this case, temperature and aggression are the variables. The “independent variable” (IV) is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher (temperature) and the “dependent variable” (DV) is the variable that changes as a result of a change in the IV (aggression). A “hypothesis” describes the relationship between variables and is generally what the researcher predicts will happen (i.e. “as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well”). Last, a “theory” is a principle or set of principles that explains a phenomenon.

Example Question #1532 : Ap Psychology

Can a researcher's hypothesis ever be proven?

Possible Answers:

No, hypotheses can never be proven; they can only fail to be disproven

Yes, if the researcher finds enough evidence that supports their hypothesis through a study and that study is replicated by other researchers

Yes, if the researcher finds evidence that supports their hypothesis through a study

No, the researcher will never find enough evidence

None of these

Correct answer:

No, hypotheses can never be proven; they can only fail to be disproven

Explanation:

Proving a hypothesis is actually impossible—we can only fail to disprove or add support for a hypothesis. Essentially, the closest we can get to "proving" a hypothesis is to not find evidence that contradicts it. This is because there could always be an exception to the hypothesis that we have not discovered.

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