AP Psychology : AP Psychology
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology
All AP Psychology Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #172 : History And Research
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?
Sternberg effect
Terman effect
Binet effect
Galton effect
Flynn effect
Flynn effect
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 #173 : History And Research
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 __________________.
groupthink
illusory correlation
false consensus effect
hindsight bias
anecdotal correlation
illusory correlation
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 : History And Principles Of Psychology
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?
Alfred Kinsey
Charles Darwin
Phineas Gage
Lev Vygotsky
Kondrad Lorenz
Kondrad Lorenz
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)?
Sigmund Freud
Karen Horney
Havelock Ellis
Alfred Kinsey
Rollo May
Alfred Kinsey
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 #1681 : Ap Psychology
Elizabeth Loftus' "Lost in the Mall" Study aimed to examine the creation of __________.
self-fulfilling prophecies
stereotypes and prejudice
false memories
schemae
romantic attachment
false memories
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 #2 : History And Principles Of Psychology
Which famous theorist believed most of human desire laid in the unconscious state of mind?
Abraham Maslow
Jean Piaget
B.F. Skinner
Sigmund Freud
Lawrence Kohlberg
Sigmund Freud
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 : History And Principles Of Psychology
Who theorized that there are certain archetypes that are common across cultures, also known as the collective unconscious?
Noam Chomsky
Albert Bandura
Sigmund Freud
William James
Carl Jung
Carl Jung
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 #2 : Influential Psychologists
Which of the following pairings of psychologists and their schools is incorrect?
Rollo May - Existential Psychology
Sigmund Freud - Psychoanalysis
Carl Rogers - Humanism
John Watson - Behavioralism
B.F. Skinner - Humanism
B.F. Skinner - Humanism
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 #1 : History And Principles Of Psychology
Which famous psychologist developed a model for psychosocial development that includes eight stages?
Erik Erikson
Ivan Pavlov
Jean Piaget
Sigmund Freud
Albert Bandura
Erik Erikson
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 #8 : History And Principles Of Psychology
Who developed the first psychology lab in 1879?
Wilhelm Wundt
William James
Carl Jung
Sigmund Freud
John Harrison
Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt, also known as the "Father of Experimental Psychology", developed the first formal psychology lab at the University of Leipzig in 1879.
Certified Tutor
All AP Psychology Resources
