AP Psychology : AP Psychology

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #1681 : Ap Psychology

Research has indicated that the level of intelligence in the world has has been steadily increasing over time. This is shown by increasing IQ scores over generations of students. This effect has been labeled as which of the following?

Possible Answers:

Terman effect

Binet effect

Galton effect

Flynn effect

Sternberg effect

Correct answer:

Flynn effect

Explanation:

The answer is the "Flynn effect." The Flynn effect is the finding that IQ scores have steadily been surpassing previous generations. The reason for this effect has not been identified yet, but it is generally attributed to better nutrition and education. 

Example Question #1682 : Ap Psychology

Garth believes that there is a relationship between eating yogurt and doing well on important tests. Since there is not actually a relationship between these two variables, Garth's thinking represents an __________________.

Possible Answers:

hindsight bias

illusory correlation

groupthink

false consensus effect

anecdotal correlation

Correct answer:

illusory correlation

Explanation:

Garth's thinking represents an illusory correlation. Although Garth believes that eating yogurt will help him to score higher on his important tests, there is no actual relationship between these two variables.

Example Question #1 : Influential Psychologists

Which psychologist studied the instinctive behavior in greylag geese and jackdaws, investigated the principle of imprinting, and became widely known for his descriptions of imprinting as an instinctive emotional bond?

Possible Answers:

Phineas Gage

Charles Darwin

Kondrad Lorenz

Lev Vygotsky

Alfred Kinsey

Correct answer:

Kondrad Lorenz

Explanation:

Konrad Lorenz was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology. Lorenz won the Nobel Prize in 1973 for Physiology or Medicine (alongside Nikolass Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch) and is the author of numerous books. 

Example Question #2 : Influential Psychologists

Who is credited with creating a scale that measures an individual's sexuality on a scale from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual)?

Possible Answers:

Rollo May

Karen Horney

Alfred Kinsey

Havelock Ellis

Sigmund Freud

Correct answer:

Alfred Kinsey

Explanation:

This measure, known today as the Kinsey Scale, was developed by its namesake at Indiana University during his study of male and female sexuality from 1940 to 1953.

Example Question #3 : Influential Psychologists

Elizabeth Loftus' "Lost in the Mall" Study aimed to examine the creation of __________.

Possible Answers:

stereotypes and prejudice

schemae

self-fulfilling prophecies

false memories

romantic attachment

Correct answer:

false memories

Explanation:

The study asked participants to recall and write down information about an event from their childhood in which they became separated from their parent in a crowded shopping mall. What the participants did not know was that this "event" was a fictional scenario designed to appear as a plausible part of their pasts.

Example Question #1685 : Ap Psychology

Which famous theorist believed most of human desire laid in the unconscious state of mind? 

Possible Answers:

Abraham Maslow 

Jean Piaget 

B.F. Skinner 

Sigmund Freud 

Lawrence Kohlberg 

Correct answer:

Sigmund Freud 

Explanation:

Freud was a huge proponent of the unconscious state of mind and believed human beings buried most of their unwanted thoughts and desires there. This concept is the basis for Freudian psychoanalytic theory and principles.

Example Question #4 : Influential Psychologists

Who theorized that there are certain archetypes that are common across cultures, also known as the collective unconscious? 

Possible Answers:

Carl Jung

Albert Bandura

Noam Chomsky

William James

Sigmund Freud

Correct answer:

Carl Jung

Explanation:

Carl Jung was strongly influenced by Freud's idea of the unconscious mind, and took it one step further into society as a whole. He believed that members of the same species have inborn ideas and images that are common across cultures.

Example Question #5 : Influential Psychologists

Which of the following pairings of psychologists and their schools is incorrect?

Possible Answers:

Carl Rogers - Humanism

John Watson - Behavioralism

B.F. Skinner - Humanism

Sigmund Freud - Psychoanalysis

Rollo May - Existential Psychology

Correct answer:

B.F. Skinner - Humanism

Explanation:

Like John Watson, B. F. Skinner was a Behavioralist. He is best known for developing the theory of operant conditioning as an alternative to Pavlov's classical conditioning.

Example Question #6 : Influential Psychologists

Which famous psychologist developed a model for psychosocial development that includes eight stages?

Possible Answers:

Ivan Pavlov

Jean Piaget

Albert Bandura

Sigmund Freud

Erik Erikson

Correct answer:

Erik Erikson

Explanation:

Erik Erikson believed that psychosocial development follows an eight-stage progression. Each stage consists of two competing paths of development (e.g. trust v. mistrust).

Erikson's eight stages are trust v. mistrust, autonomy v. shame/doubt, initiative v. guilt, industry v. inferiority, identity v. role confusion, intimacy v. isolation, generativity v. stagnation, and integrity v. despair.

Example Question #7 : Influential Psychologists

Who developed the first psychology lab in 1879?

Possible Answers:

Carl Jung

William James

John Harrison

Sigmund Freud

Wilhelm Wundt

Correct answer:

Wilhelm Wundt

Explanation:

Wilhelm Wundt, also known as the "Father of Experimental Psychology", developed the first formal psychology lab at the University of Leipzig in 1879.

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