AP Psychology : Individual Psychology and Behavior

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #1112 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following is an example of a recall test?

Possible Answers:

Fill-in-the-blank

Multiple-choice

Open-book essay

Take-home test

Matching

Correct answer:

Fill-in-the-blank

Explanation:

A fill-in-the-blank test is the only type of test listed that purely relies on a student's ability to retrieve learned information with no context clues (e.g. multiple choices or use of notes). 

Example Question #104 : Cognition

Suppose Anne has fallen off the stairs and suffered a head injury. As a result, she cannot remember certain events before her injury. What is the best term to describe her amnesia?

Possible Answers:

Anterograde Amnesia

Source Amnesia

Retrograde Amnesia

Childhood Amnesia

Global Amnesia

Correct answer:

Retrograde Amnesia

Explanation:

The correct answer is: Retrograde Amnesia, which describes a memory-loss associated with a specific traumatic event. The memory lost precedes the accident. Anne cannot recall certain events that occurred before her accident.

Anterograde Amnesia refers to the inability to form new memories after a traumatic event.

The other answer choices are irrelevant.

 

Example Question #1 : Conscious Thought And Problem Solving

Which of the following is an example of availability heuristic?

Possible Answers:

Someone goes to a therapist who encourages them to look at pictures and watch videos of sharks to get over their phobia of sharks

Someone decides whether to be more afraid of bees or sharks by creating an algorithim 

Someone who already fears sharks a lot looks for evidence that confirms that fear

Someone is more afraid of bees than sharks because they know bees cause more deaths annually

Someone is more afraid of sharks than bees because they see more deaths caused by sharks on the news than bee deaths (even though bees cause more deaths)

Correct answer:

Someone is more afraid of sharks than bees because they see more deaths caused by sharks on the news than bee deaths (even though bees cause more deaths)

Explanation:

Availability heuristic is the tendency to assume that events remembered more easily (shark deaths on the news) actually occur more frequently.

"Someone is more afraid of bees than sharks because they know bees cause more deaths annually" is the opposite of availability heuristic since the person is relying on actual probability rather than perceived probability based on vividness of memory. "Someone decides whether to be more afraid of bees or sharks by creating an algorithim" is also incorrect because an algorithim (a rule based on a formula) is the opposite of a heuristic (an unscientific rule of thumb). "Someone who already fears sharks a lot looks for evidence that confirms that fear" is an example of confirmation bias and "someone goes to a therapist who encourages them to look at pictures and watch videos of sharks to get over their phobia of sharks" is an example of exposure therapy. 

Example Question #103 : Cognition

The perceived difference between saying something has a 70% success rate and a 30% failure rate is a result of which cognitive bias?

Possible Answers:

The availability heuristic

The framing effect

The representativeness heuristic

The sunk cost fallacy

The functional fixedness

Correct answer:

The framing effect

Explanation:

The difference between the positive perception of a 70% success rate and the more negative perception of a 30% failure rate is an example of the framing effect-- the way a situation is presented affects our perception of it. Sunk cost fallacy describes our tendency to move forward in an undesirable investment because of past costs, availability heuristic is the tendency to think that events that are easier to remember happen more frequently, representativeness heuristic is making a probability judgment by comparing something to the perceived prototype (instead of using probability), and functional fixedness is the inability to see the possible functions of an object beyond its usual function.

Example Question #111 : Cognition

Which of the following is true about the relationship between heuristics and algorithims?

Possible Answers:

Algorithims are always better to use than heuristics because they are more accurate

Heuristics and algorithims can both be helpful—it depends on the situation

Heuristics are always better to use than algorithims because they are faster

Heuristics are always better to use than algorithims because they are more accurate

Algorithims are always better to use than heuristics because they are faster

Correct answer:

Heuristics and algorithims can both be helpful—it depends on the situation

Explanation:

When learning about the cognitive errors associated with heuristics (unscientific rules of thumb), it is easy to start to assume that heuristics are always wrong or are useless in some way. However, small life decisions, such as which route to take to work when there is a little extra traffic, would take way too long if algorithims (rules based on formulas) were used for everything. Therefore, heuristics tend to be faster and algorithims more accurate, but the situation determines which is going to be best to use. 

Example Question #11 : Conscious Thought And Problem Solving

Choose the answer which correctly fills in the blanks.

________ thinking is directed toward finding one solution, whereas ________ thinking looks for multiple solutions and is more often associated with creativity.

Possible Answers:

convergent; divergent

inductive; deductive

exclusive; associative

None of the other answers

convalescent; distributive

Correct answer:

convergent; divergent

Explanation:

Convergent thinking looks at obtaining one solution to a problem. Divergent thinking is more often associated with creativity and creative thinking because it seeks to find several different solutions to the same problem.

Example Question #111 : Cognition

Which of the following best describes a heuristic?

Possible Answers:

While trying to solve a problem, a sudden realization that leads to the answer

A logical procedure that guarantees a correct solution to a problem

The prime representation of a certain category

None of the other answers

A "rule-of-thumb" used for problem solving and making judgments that may not always yield a correct solution

Correct answer:

A "rule-of-thumb" used for problem solving and making judgments that may not always yield a correct solution

Explanation:

A heuristic does not guarantee a correct answer, but it typically leads to one. It is like a "rule-of-thumb" that is helpful in solving a problem, but may not provide the correct result. The two main kinds of heuristics are Availability Heuristics (basing one's assessment on prior comparable experiences, rather than judging that situation individually) and Representativeness Heuristics (basing one's assessment on common knowledge, stereotypes, or prototypes).

Example Question #1121 : Ap Psychology

Which of the following is NOT often an impediment in clear judgment?

Possible Answers:

Fixation

Overconfidence

Belief bias

All of these are potential impediments to rational judgment

Belief perseverance

Correct answer:

All of these are potential impediments to rational judgment

Explanation:

All four of these are common obstacles to making judgments. Fixation refers to being unable to look at a situation from any other perspective. Belief perseverance is the tendency to continue believing something even after evidence supporting it has been contradicted. Belief bias is the tendency to view that which conflicts with one's own bias as illogical, or believing something illogical in order to support a preexisting belief. Overconfidence refers to overestimating the accuracy of one's own judgments.

Example Question #111 : Cognition

Read the two scenarios and answer the question that follows.

Scenario 1: Jean receives a text message from her boyfriend saying that he's breaking up with her. She becomes furious, saying that he didn't even have the decency to tell her face-to-face.

Scenario 2: Jean's boyfriend takes her out to lunch. As tactfully as he can, he explains to her that their relationship isn't working out and that they should break up. Jean is saddened by the conversation but accepts the situation and feels there has been closure.

Which of the following is responsible for the person's differing reactions between the two scenarios?

Possible Answers:

Fixation

Shaping

framing

Molding

Prototype

Correct answer:

framing

Explanation:

Framing refers to the way that a problem is presented to someone, and it can drastically change that person's view or reaction to the problem. In this case, the two approaches by Jean's boyfriend both lead to them breaking up, but how Jean handles it is different because of how each scenario was framed. Effectively framing a negative outcome can lessen the negative emotional impact of the event, and poor framing can exacerbate that emotional impact.

Example Question #1122 : Ap Psychology

In a rush on his way to work, Jared has accidentally locked his keys in his car. He has his suit jacket with him on a metal wire hanger. Rather than thinking to use the hanger to unlock his car by sliding it between the window and car door, Jared calls his wife in hopes that she has a spare set of keys with her. Jared's failure to realize the other use for a metal wire hanger is an example of what cognitive phenomenon?

Possible Answers:

Functional fixedness

Belief perseverance

Framing

Confirmation bias

Availability heuristic

Correct answer:

Functional fixedness

Explanation:

Functional fixedness is the tendency to see things only in their usual function. So, Jared only thought of the wire hanger as a hanger and not also a lock-pick.

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