AP Psychology : Biology and Sensation

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #4 : Attention And Focus

Which of the following is characteristic of a child in the concrete operational stage of development?

Possible Answers:

Jackie explores the world around her by crawling and touching the objects in her environment.

Liz believes that everyone else sees, hears, and experiences things the same way that she does.

Andrew continues trying to drink from a leaking cup without attempting to find the source of the leak.

When Jeff pours orange juice from a large cup into a smaller one, he recognizes that the amount of juice remains the same.

Eli is able to complete algebra problems on his own.

Correct answer:

When Jeff pours orange juice from a large cup into a smaller one, he recognizes that the amount of juice remains the same.

Explanation:

Jeff's knowledge that the amount of juice stayed constant is evidence that he understands conservation. According to Piaget, a child's understanding of the conservation concept is characteristic of the concrete operational stage, as this stage marks the start of logical and operational thinking. 

Example Question #2 : Attention And Focus

Timmy looks at a car engine, then from looking at the fully assembled engine attempts he figures out how the spark plugs work. Timmy is using __________

Possible Answers:

bottom-up processing

cocktail party phenomenon

top-down processing

perceptual set

Correct answer:

top-down processing

Explanation:

Top-down processing involves processing information by utilizing prior knowledge and conceptual knowledge of the whole. This allows the perception of how the smaller pieces make the whole. Timmy sees the whole, assembled structure of the engine in order to understand the workings of the spark plugs. Had he looked a spark plug, then attempted to figure out the workings of the engine, that would have been bottom-up processing.

Example Question #5 : Attention And Focus

Sam is driving down a busy street when a dog runs out of a yard and right in front of his car. Sam did not see the dog until it was in front of his car. This causes him to swerve and hit another vehicle. Why did Sam not see the car that was next to him?

Possible Answers:

His focus was narrowed by bottom up processing

He was experiencing choice paralysis

He was experiencing the cocktail party effect

He was experiencing inattentional blindess

Correct answer:

He was experiencing inattentional blindess

Explanation:

Inattentional blindness describes the ability of the human mind to block out all but a single, deeply focused on piece of sensory input. The sudden sensory input of the dog in front of his car caused Sam's focus to narrow so significantly that he was inattentonally blind to the car next to him. The cocktail party effect, on the other hand, describes a person's ability to single out one voice among many in a room, and even to shift that focus, picking individual sounds on which to focus in a noisy room.

Example Question #121 : Biology And Sensation

What is inattentional blindness?

Possible Answers:

One's ability to focus one's attention on multiple sources.

Focusing awareness on an unknown stimulus.

Failing to see objects when one's attention is directed elsewhere.

Looking at the big picture as opposed to focusing on smaller details.

A developmental disease impacting one's vision.

Correct answer:

Failing to see objects when one's attention is directed elsewhere.

Explanation:

Inattentional blindness is failing to see objects when our attention is directed elsewhere. An example of this would be going through a red light while driving because your attention was focused on texting. 

Example Question #1291 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following is not a principle of Gestalt psychology?

Possible Answers:

Similarity

Gradient

Continuity

Connectedness

Closure

Correct answer:

Gradient

Explanation:

Gestalt psychology emphasizes "the whole" because humans tend to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. Gestalt therapy focuses on individual responsibility. Gradient is not a principle of Gestalt psychology, while all of the other answer choices convey how humans process information in wholes. 

Example Question #121 : Biology And Sensation

Rick is an avid sports fan. While watching a football game, he focuses intently on the position of the ball and follows it very carefully. He jumps for joy when a player carries the ball downfield to score a touchdown, but is surprised and upset when the referee says that there was a penalty in the play on a different player, which negates the touchdown. Rick may have just experienced which of the following phenomena?

Possible Answers:

Inattentional blindness

Phi phenomenon

Blind spot

Optical illusion

Correct answer:

Inattentional blindness

Explanation:

Inattentional blindness occurs when someone is hyper-focused on one stimulus and unable to take in other information. Rick was so focused on where the ball was and he missed another player making a seemingly blatant foul. The blind spot is the point where the optic nerve exits the eye from the retina to the brain. Optical illusion is an umbrella term that can refer to many different principles of perceptual organization. The Phi Phenomenon is the illusion of movement created by presenting visual stimuli in rapid succession (much like a cartoon flip book). 

Example Question #122 : Biology And Sensation

Robin is trying to remember a series of numbers. She decides to divide them into meaningful units. What memory strategy is Robin using?

Possible Answers:

Peg-word system

Mnemonic device

Echoic memory

Chunking

Primacy effect

Correct answer:

Chunking

Explanation:

In this example Robin is making use of chunking, which improves short-term memory by grouping items together. For example, if Robin had to memorize a string of numbers (e.g. 91769512), then she could chunk together into four number strings reminiscent of years (e.g. "1976" and "1925"). A mnemonic device is a string of words or an acronym to help recall information. For example, ROYGBIV helps some people remember the colors of the rainbow. The peg-word system is another memory strategy that involves memorizing a list of words by associating the words with specific numbers that are "pegged" onto an imaginary board, such as "two" and "shoe." The primacy effect refers to the tendency to remember the first item on a list better than later items. Echoic memory is a form of sensory memory that can be retained for 3 to 4 seconds. Last, the primacy effect and echoic memory do not refer to memorization strategies. 

Example Question #1 : Neurons And Action Potentials

Which of the following parts of the neuron speeds up the relay of messages?

Possible Answers:

Soma

Myelin sheath

Axon

Dendrite

Correct answer:

Myelin sheath

Explanation:

The myelin sheath coats the axon of a neuron and speeds up the transmission of messages. Myelin is a fatty coating that is unable to perpetuate the action potential signal. As a result, the signal jumps over the myelinated areas, bypassing much of the axon and speeding up transmission. This process is known as saltatory conduction.

The axon is the long, slender projection of a neuron that conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body. Dendrites are the branched projections of a neuron that recieve electrical stimulation from synapses and convey them to the cell body. The soma is the cell body of the neuron that contains the cell nucleus

Example Question #1 : Neurons And Action Potentials

What compound surrounds the axons of white matter neurons?

Possible Answers:

Astrocytes

Myelin

Cerebrospinal Ffuid

Blood brain barrier

Dendrites

Correct answer:

Myelin

Explanation:

Myelin is a white, fatty compound that surrounds the axons of white matter neurons. Its purpose is to increase the speed of an action potential.

Example Question #1295 : Ap Psychology

Which ion rushes into the axon of a neuron during an action potential?

Possible Answers:

Oxygen

Chlorine

Potassium

Sodium

Calcium

Correct answer:

Sodium

Explanation:

At rest, there is a high concentration of sodium (Na+) outside the neuron and a high concentration of potassium (K+) inside the neuron. During an action potential, the gated channels for sodium open and, because there is such a difference in concentration, the sodium rushes into the axon. This makes the axon much more positive in charge. This positivity propagates along the axon until it reaches the end of the axon, where it triggers release of neurotransmitters into the synapse.

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