All AP Psychology Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #11 : Fundamental Psychological Theories
Anna is a bright student. She studies nightly and can explain all of the concepts discussed in class. On test day Anna feels anxious and stressed out. She feels like her heart is racing and it's hard to breathe. This high level of emotional arousal keeps her from adequately answering the questions on the test. By looking at her physical symptoms to explain her testing behavior what psychology perspective is being utilized?
Biological
Psychoanalytic
Cognitive
Evolutionary
Biological
Biological perspective explains behavior by looking at genetics, structures, and biological processes. In this case, Karen's biological processes (heart beat, breathing) are examined in order to explain the behavior that results from them. A psychoanalytic perspective would, in all likelihood, look for underlying reasons, possibly from the past, that would explain Karen's manifestation of these emotions in a physical manner.
Example Question #12 : Fundamental Psychological Theories
The first field of psychology, structuralism, was also one of its most short lived fields. Why did the field of structuralism fall out of favor?
It relied too much on introspection
It was preposed by a woman
It did not have early support
It was too objective
It relied too much on introspection
Due to structuralism's heavy reliance of introspection it was not able to make truly objective insight. Introspection relies too much on interpretation and is not uniformed for anyone, and is thus highly subjective, which makes it difficult to consolidate data and draw conclusions. Structuralism was proposed in part by Wilhelm Wundt, a male psychologist, and indeed had early support.
Example Question #12 : Fundamental Psychological Theories
How does humanistic psychology differ from behaviorism and psychoanalysis?
It does not include aspects of free will
It emphasizes the conscious experiences
It relies solely on experimentation
None of these
It emphasizes the conscious experiences
Humanistic psychology follows a conscious experience and focuses the individual potential of each person. It strongly focuses on free will, does not rely on experimentation and emphasizes psychological growth.
Example Question #13 : Fundamental Psychological Theories
What are the three forces of psychology?
Structuralism, functionalism, biology
Psychodynamics, physiology, behaviorism
Behaviorism, psychoanalysis, humanism
Behaviorism, psychoanalysis, functionalism
Behaviorism, psychoanalysis, humanism
The three forces of psychology are behaviorism, humanism, and psychoanalysis which are the schools of thought that are still in use today. Functionalism and structuralism are not widely used today and physiology is a separate field from psychology. Behaviorism focuses on individual behaviors, humanism emphasizes the importance of the human experience, and psychoanalysis is a set of theories developed largely by Sigmund Freud that is stemmed from clinical research.
Example Question #93 : History And Principles Of Psychology
How does psychoanalysis different from the preceding schools of thought?
It focuses on the unconscious
The field was founded by an African American psychologist
It did not reference scientific principles
It heavily uses introspection
It focuses on the unconscious
Both functionalism and structuralism focused on conscious experience while psychoanalysis focused on the unconscious. It did not focus on introspection, used scientific principles and Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, was not African American.
Example Question #94 : History And Principles Of Psychology
Which scientist most directly influenced William James?
Archimedes
Galileo
Charles Darwin
Issac Newton
Charles Darwin
The functionalism school of thought is influenced by natural selection which was described by Charles Darwin in his work "On the Origin of Species." Williams incorporated aspects of survival in his idea of biological and intellectual fitness. The other scientists did not directly influence the theories of William James.
Example Question #12 : Fundamental Psychological Theories
What is the earliest major school of thought in the field of psychology?
Functionalism
Humanistic psychology
Structuralism
Transcendentalism
Structuralism
Structuralism was founded in 1892. Functionalism was founded in the nineteenth century. Humanistic psychology came about in the mid twentieth century. Transcendentalism was introduced by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1830's, but it is not a major psychological school of thought, rather, it is a philosophical movement.
Example Question #12 : Fundamental Psychological Theories
Which of the following correctly lists, in chronological order, the five psychosexual stages of Freud's theory of childhood development?
Oral, anal, genital, latency, phallic
Anal, oral, latency, phallic, genital
Genital, oral, latency, phallic, anal
Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
During each of these stages, lasting from months to years, Freud theorized the id sought pleasure from a distinct set of bodily sensations and accompanying psychosexual schemas.
Example Question #14 : Fundamental Psychological Theories
George is always punctual to appointments, attempts to never rely on others for emotional or financial support, and believes in an objective good and evil. Which of the unconscious impulses does George likely follow most closely?
None of these
Superego
Id
Ego
Superego
In psychoanalytic theory, the superego is the seat of objective internalized ideals and judgments, which provides a reference for comparison to actualized words and deeds in the exterior conscious self. People who follow the superego too closely may develop fixations or neuroses when the world (and they themselves) fail to live up to their extreme expectations.
Example Question #11 : Fundamental Psychological Theories
Which of the following is the best example of the displacement defense mechanism?
Luanne, overwhelmed by stresses at school and at home, begins softly singing and muttering to herself when she is alone.
Susan is reprimanded at work for a mistake that wasn't hers. When she arrives home, she finds an unwashed dish and angrily lectures her husband for half an hour.
Sylvester feels guilty about overeating, so he lectures his overweight friend about the dangers of obesity.
James is attracted to a coworker but is forbidden from fraternization, so he instead mistreats the coworker in an attempt to drive them away.
Susan is reprimanded at work for a mistake that wasn't hers. When she arrives home, she finds an unwashed dish and angrily lectures her husband for half an hour.
Displacement occurs when an individual redirects socially or personally unacceptable behaviors and thoughts by shifting those behaviors and thoughts onto a more acceptable target. The redirection of energy may be to a less threatening target or merely to a more socially acceptable one.
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