AP Psychology : AP Psychology

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #62 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Erik Erikson is well known for his theory of psychosocial development: the idea that every stage of life contains a crisis in need of resolution. 

According to Erikson, which of the following choices best describes the rationale for adolescents trying out different "selves"?

Possible Answers:

To establish a group identity

To establish autonomy 

To establish parent and peer relationships

To establish an identity

To develop a capacity for intimacy 

Correct answer:

To establish an identity

Explanation:

Erik Erikson was a theorist who believed that each stage of life had its own task to overcome. Erickson’s psychosocial stages included the following: infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, elementary school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. He assigned each stage with an approximate age range. In the adolescence stage, he believed that teens experienced issues associated with identity versus role confusion. He contended that it was normal for adolescents to "try" different roles in attempt to resolve this issue. In this process, the teen establishes a sense of self. Erikson theorized that roles and sense of self could be integrated to create a single identity. Erikson argued that a failure to do so would result in an adolescent that was confused and unsure of where he or she belonged in society. 

Example Question #152 : Developmental Psychology

Erik Erikson is well known for his theory of psychosocial development: the idea that every stage of life contains a crisis in need of resolution. 

According to Erikson, which of the following stages faces issues associated with identity versus role confusion?

Possible Answers:

Late adulthood 

Middle adulthood 

Elementary school 

Adolescence 

Young adulthood

Correct answer:

Adolescence 

Explanation:

Erik Erikson was a theorist who believed that each stage of life had its own task to overcome. Erickson’s psychosocial stages included the following: infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, elementary school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. He assigned each stage with an approximate age range. In the adolescence stage (from early teens into the twenties), Erikson believed people needed to resolve issues associated with identity versus role confusion. He hypothesized that teens at this stage are trying to determine which role fits them best in order to establish a sense of self. He theorized that eventually adolescents would integrate their roles and sense of self to establish a single identity. If this is not achieved, then the teen may experience identity related confusion. The other provided options are stages in Erikson's stages of psychosocial development; however, they each have their own tasks (i.e. intimacy versus isolation or identity versus role confusion) and are incorrect. 

Example Question #62 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Body contact or touch is one important component of in the development of feelings associated with attachment. Out of the provided options, which of the following would also be an important factor for attachment?

Possible Answers:

Nourishment 

Imprinting 

Familiarity 

Warmth 

Security

Correct answer:

Familiarity 

Explanation:

Familiarity is crucial for many animals when forming attachment during the critical period. This period is an optimal period where certain events must take place for proper development. A widely known example is with ducklings and chicks. Their critical periods occur shortly after hatching where they will attach to the first moving object they see—usually their mothers. This process of attachment is known as imprinting; therefore, imprinting would be an incorrect answer.  

While human children do not go through the imprinting process, familiarity does still play an important role. Children will become attached and show fondness toward things they already know and have been exposed to. 

Nourishment, warmth, and security would be incorrect answers because while they seem logical, they are dimensions of body contact and touch. These were qualities that were identified in the Harlow monkey experiment. 

Example Question #901 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following parenting styles would most likely produce a child with high levels of self-esteem, self-reliance, and social competence?

Possible Answers:

Permissive 

Aggressive 

Passive 

Authoritative 

Authoritarian 

Correct answer:

Authoritative 

Explanation:

The three parenting types that have been identified are authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive; therefore, “passive” and “aggressive” would be incorrect answers.

“Authoritative” and “authoritarian” may be easily confused because of their similar spelling. The authoritative parenting style is when parents are both demanding and responsive. While they exert control, they also explain and show reason. For instance, parents may set rules but encourage discussion with their children while doing so. Studies have indicated that the authoritative parenting usually has a high correlation with children that possess the highest self-esteem, self-reliance, and social competence rather than the "too hard" or "too soft" approaches that are represented by the other parenting types.

Example Question #902 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following parenting styles would most likely produce a child with fewer social skills and low self-esteem?

Possible Answers:

Authoritative 

Aggressive

Passive

Authoritarian 

Permissive

Correct answer:

Authoritarian 

Explanation:

The three parenting types that have been identified are authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive; therefore, “passive” and “aggressive” would be incorrect answers.

“Authoritative” and “authoritarian” may be easily confused because of their similar spelling. The authoritarian parenting style is when parents merely impose rules and restrictions while expecting obedience. While they exert control, they do not explain or show reason. For instance, they may exhibit demands (e.g. "Don't interrupt" or "Why? Because I said so"). Studies have indicated that this "too hard" parenting usually correlates with children with low self-esteem and low social competence, unlike the "just right" and "too soft" parenting styles.

Example Question #903 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following parenting styles would most likely produce a child that is aggressive and immature?

Possible Answers:

Authoritarian 

Authoritative

Passive 

Permissive 

Aggressive

Correct answer:

Permissive 

Explanation:

The three parenting types that have been identified are authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive; therefore, “passive” and “aggressive” would be incorrect answers.

Permissive is essentially a passive take on parenting. It has also been called the "too soft" parenting method. This is when the parents will submit to their children's desires. There will be very few demands from their child while very little punishment. The parents will make very little effort to exert any kind of control. Research has indicated a correlation with children reared by permissive parents tending to grow up to be aggressive and immature.

Example Question #904 : Ap Psychology

Erik Erikson is well known for his stage-based theory of social development. Erikson believed that each stage contains a crisis in need of resolution. Erikson would say that the __________ stage faced the issue of trust versus mistrust. 

Possible Answers:

adolescence 

infancy 

preschool 

late adulthood 

young adulthood

Correct answer:

infancy 

Explanation:

Erik Erikson was a theorist who believed each stage of life has its own task to overcome. The stages included: infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, elementary school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. He assigned each stage an approximate age range.

In terms of the infancy stage (from birth to one year old), Erikson believed the issue to be resolved was associated with trust versus mistrust. His understanding was that as long as the child's needs are met through being dependent, the infant would be able to develop a sense of basic trust. If needs were not met, then the child would develop a sense of mistrust.

While the other provided options are staged in Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, they each have their own tasks such as initiative versus guilt or identity versus role confusion. 

Example Question #905 : Ap Psychology

Erik Erikson is well known for his stage-based theory of social development. Erikson believed that each stage contains a crisis in need of resolution. Erikson would say that the __________ stage faced the issue of autonomy versus shame and doubt.

Possible Answers:

infancy 

adolescence 

elementary school

young adulthood 

toddlerhood

Correct answer:

toddlerhood

Explanation:

Erik Erikson was a theorist who believed each stage of life has its own task to overcome. The stages included: infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, elementary school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. He assigned each stage an approximate age range.

In terms of the toddlerhood stage (from one to three years of age), Erikson believed the issue be resolved was associated with autonomy versus shame and doubt. His understanding was that a toddler would begin to do things for itself and exercise its will. If the toddler does not exercise its autonomy, then he or she will doubt its own abilities.

While the other provided options are stages in Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, they each have their own tasks such as trust versus mistrust or identity versus role confusion.

Example Question #902 : Ap Psychology

It was originally believed that the origins of attachment for the infant-parent bond were associated solely on nourishment. It was theorized that the infant would become attached to those who satisfied its nourishment needs; however, Harlow's 1950s monkey experiment disproved the idea that nourishment alone formed the foundation of infant-parent attachment. In this experiment, monkeys were placed in cages with two artificial mothers. One was fashioned using a bare wire cylinder and a woodenhead and another consisted of a cylinder wrapped with terry cloth.

Which of the following best describes the observation collected during this experiment that helped disprove the idea of nourishment based attachment?

Possible Answers:

Both mothers were equally appealing

The soft mother was more appealing

Neither one of the mothers were appealing 

The wire mother was more appealing

The mother with food was more appealing

Correct answer:

The soft mother was more appealing

Explanation:

In this experiment, Harry and Margaret Harlow used a cylinder wire “mother” that had a feeding bottle attached to it and a terry cloth “mother” had no feeding source. The dominating theory of the time hypothesized that infants were attached to those that provided nourishment. If this were true, then the monkey would have been expected to cling to the wire cylinder “mother” with the feeding source. The test monkeys were observed and it was noted that they possessed a tendency to cling to the terry cloth surrogate mothers. They not only showed an overwhelming preference for this surrogate but also were visibly distressed when separated from the terry cloth figure. Researchers noticed that the baby monkeys would cling to the soft mother in times of distress or anxiety. Similarly, human children have been observed to use their parents as secure bases when exploring new environments. This experiment led researchers to realize that it was body contact and touch as opposed to nourishment that created the grounds for attachment.

Example Question #906 : Ap Psychology

Thirty-year-old Jamie feels as though her life is not going the way she expected. Although she has started her career, she is anxious about finding the right mate to marry and having children. Jamie’s off-track feelings reflect which of the following?

Possible Answers:

None of these

Mentorship 

Career consolidation 

Social/biological clock  

Correct answer:

Social/biological clock  

Explanation:

The developmental factor described in the scenario is the social/biological clock (i.e. the invisible time-bound expectation that young adults have regarding the order in which life events such as career, marriage, and parenthood must occur). When they begin to have these transitions out of order or these transitions are delayed, it may cause distress in certain individuals. 

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