AP Psychology practice test
Practice questions for every unit of the redesigned AP Psychology course, plus research methods. Answer in your browser and read why each answer is right. Pick a unit to focus on, or take them all.
Question 1 of 27
A patient with Parkinson's disease has tremors and trouble starting movements. Loss of neurons that produce which neurotransmitter is most associated with these symptoms?
Question 2 of 27
After a stroke, a woman understands what people say but speaks slowly in short, effortful phrases. Which area was most likely damaged?
Question 3 of 27
During REM sleep, a person's EEG most closely resembles which pattern?
Question 4 of 27
Maya can just tell that a 105-gram weight is heavier than a 100-gram weight. According to Weber's law, about how heavy would a weight need to be for her to just notice it is heavier than 200 grams?
Question 5 of 27
A car swerves toward you; your heart races and your pupils dilate. Which part of the nervous system produced this response?
Question 6 of 27
After hearing a list of 20 words once, students best remember the first few words. This is called the
Question 7 of 27
Sam got a new locker combination this year, but he keeps entering last year's. This is an example of
Question 8 of 27
A teacher easily reads a student's messy handwriting because she knows what the essay is about. Which process does this show?
Question 9 of 27
After several news stories about plane crashes, Leo decides flying is more dangerous than driving, though driving is riskier per mile traveled. Leo is relying on the
Question 10 of 27
A test gives nearly the same scores when the same people take it twice a month apart. The test has high
Question 11 of 27
A 4-year-old says a tall, thin glass holds more juice than a short, wide glass with the same amount. According to Piaget, the child is in which stage?
Question 12 of 27
In the Strange Situation, a toddler explores while her mother is present, gets upset when she leaves, and is quickly comforted when she returns. This pattern is
Question 13 of 27
A dog salivates when it hears the can opener, because the sound has often come right before food. The sound of the can opener is now the
Question 14 of 27
To stop a teenager from coming home late, his parents take away his phone for a week. This is
Question 15 of 27
Slot machines pay out after an unpredictable number of plays. This is which schedule of reinforcement?
Question 16 of 27
A stranger cuts in front of you in line, and you immediately decide he is a rude person, without considering that he might be rushing to an emergency. This is the
Question 17 of 27
In Solomon Asch's studies, participants sometimes gave obviously wrong answers about line lengths after hearing a group give them. These studies demonstrated
Question 18 of 27
An expert pianist plays better in front of an audience, while a beginner plays worse. This pattern is explained by
Question 19 of 27
After paying $1,000 for a course she found boring, Ana tells her friends it was worth every penny. Her change in attitude is best explained by
Question 20 of 27
Someone described as organized, dependable and careful would score high on which Big Five trait?
Question 21 of 27
Jen has repeated, unexpected episodes of intense fear with a pounding heart and shortness of breath, and she now worries constantly about having another. The most likely diagnosis is
Question 22 of 27
Which disorder involves episodes of depression alternating with episodes of mania?
Question 23 of 27
A therapist helps a client notice and challenge thoughts like “If I fail this test, I'm a complete failure.” This approach is
Question 24 of 27
To treat a fear of dogs, a therapist teaches relaxation, then has the client relax while imagining steadily scarier scenes with dogs. This technique is
Question 25 of 27
After weeks of constant exam stress, Jordan feels drained and catches a cold. In Selye's general adaptation syndrome, he has reached which stage?
Question 26 of 27
Students are randomly assigned to sleep either 4 or 8 hours, then take a memory test. What is the independent variable?
Question 27 of 27
A study finds a correlation of −0.60 between daily screen time and sleep quality. Which conclusion is justified?
AP Psychology key terms
Flip through these flashcards to review the terms that come up most often. Use the arrow keys or click a card to flip it.
| Neurotransmitter | Chemical messenger that crosses the synapse between neurons, such as dopamine, serotonin or GABA. |
| Myelin sheath | Fatty layer around many axons that speeds up neural impulses. |
| Hippocampus | Limbic structure that helps form new explicit (declarative) memories. |
| Amygdala | Limbic structure involved in emotion, especially fear and aggression. |
| Absolute threshold | Minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time. |
| Weber's law | The just-noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus, not a constant amount. |
| Encoding specificity | Recall is better when cues present at retrieval match those present when the memory was formed. |
| Availability heuristic | Judging how likely something is by how easily examples come to mind. |
| Functional fixedness | Seeing objects only in their usual use, which blocks creative problem solving. |
| Conservation | Piaget: understanding that quantity stays the same when shape changes; develops in the concrete operational stage. |
| Negative reinforcement | Removing something unpleasant to make a behavior more likely, such as taking aspirin to stop a headache. |
| Observational learning | Learning by watching others, shown in Bandura's Bobo doll studies. |
| Fundamental attribution error | Overestimating personality and underestimating the situation when explaining others' behavior. |
| Cognitive dissonance | Discomfort from holding conflicting thoughts or acting against one's beliefs, often resolved by changing an attitude. |
| Social loafing | People putting in less effort when working in a group than when working alone. |
| Yerkes-Dodson law | Performance is best at a moderate level of arousal; easy tasks tolerate higher arousal than hard ones. |
| Major depressive disorder | At least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest, plus other symptoms, with no history of mania. |
| Schizophrenia | Disorder with psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations and disorganized speech. |
| Exposure therapy | Treating anxiety by repeated, safe exposure to the feared object or situation. |
| Independent variable | The factor the researcher manipulates in an experiment to see its effect on the dependent variable. |
See all 20 cards
NeurotransmitterChemical messenger that crosses the synapse between neurons, such as dopamine, serotonin or GABA.
Myelin sheathFatty layer around many axons that speeds up neural impulses.
HippocampusLimbic structure that helps form new explicit (declarative) memories.
AmygdalaLimbic structure involved in emotion, especially fear and aggression.
Absolute thresholdMinimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.
Weber's lawThe just-noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus, not a constant amount.
Encoding specificityRecall is better when cues present at retrieval match those present when the memory was formed.
Availability heuristicJudging how likely something is by how easily examples come to mind.
Functional fixednessSeeing objects only in their usual use, which blocks creative problem solving.
ConservationPiaget: understanding that quantity stays the same when shape changes; develops in the concrete operational stage.
Negative reinforcementRemoving something unpleasant to make a behavior more likely, such as taking aspirin to stop a headache.
Observational learningLearning by watching others, shown in Bandura's Bobo doll studies.
Fundamental attribution errorOverestimating personality and underestimating the situation when explaining others' behavior.
Cognitive dissonanceDiscomfort from holding conflicting thoughts or acting against one's beliefs, often resolved by changing an attitude.
Social loafingPeople putting in less effort when working in a group than when working alone.
Yerkes-Dodson lawPerformance is best at a moderate level of arousal; easy tasks tolerate higher arousal than hard ones.
Major depressive disorderAt least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest, plus other symptoms, with no history of mania.
SchizophreniaDisorder with psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations and disorganized speech.
Exposure therapyTreating anxiety by repeated, safe exposure to the feared object or situation.
Independent variableThe factor the researcher manipulates in an experiment to see its effect on the dependent variable.
About the AP Psychology exam
- Section I: 75 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, worth two-thirds of the score.
- Section II: 2 free-response questions in 70 minutes, worth one-third: an Article Analysis Question (AAQ) and an Evidence-Based Question (EBQ).
- Five units, each about 15–25% of the exam. Research methods are tested throughout rather than as a separate unit.
Questions
Are these real AP Psychology exam questions?
No. They are original practice questions written to match the topics and style of the AP Psychology course. For released exam questions, see AP Central from the College Board.
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