AP PSYCHOLOGY Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
1. Shayna is chronically tired and decides to record how many hours of sleep she is getting. Her data for the last ten
nights include the following estimated hours: 8, 8, 8, 4, 6, 3, 6, 10, 6, 5. What number represents the median value?
(A) 10
(B) 6
(C) 8
(D) 7
2. Samantha experienced a traumatic brain injury and afterward began to exhibit bizarre symptoms that no one had
ever documented before. The best research method to study Samantha would be
(A) an experiment
(B) a correlational study
(C) a case study
(D) naturalistic observation
Dr. Copeland is interested in studying how diet impacts the nervous system activity of professional dancers. She randomly
assigns a group of professional ballet dancers to either a protein-rich diet or a carbohydrate-rich diet. After three weeks on
each food plan, she measures the function of specific parts of the brain and nervous systems while they are dancing.
3. Which of the following is true about Dr. Copeland’s study?
(A) Dr. Copeland is conducting an experiment.
(B) Dr. Copeland is conducting a case study.
(C) Dr. Copeland is using meta-analysis to test her hypothesis.
(D) Dr. Copeland is using a correlational method.
4. Dr. Copeland found that ballet dancers on a carbohydrate-rich diet had greater activity levels in the somatic nervous
system. Which is a prediction that can be made from these findings?
(A) The nervous system activation of untrained dancers on carbohydrate-rich diets would be similar.
(B) The nervous system activation for any other type of dancers on carbohydrate-rich diets would be similar.
(C) The dancers will make fewer mistakes on the carbohydrate-rich diet.
(D) The dancers will make fewer mistakes on the protein-rich diet.
5. Which of the following is most relevant to digesting carbohydrate-rich meals and resting after dance practice?
(A) Reticular activating system
(B) Somatic nervous system
(C) Parasympathetic nervous system
(D) Sympathetic nervous system
AP Psychology Page 1 of 9
Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
6.
Using the diagram, during which of the following do individuals typically dream?
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D
7. Researchers at a local veteran’s hospital wanted to explore the impact of traumatic brain injuries on veteran’s ability
to sleep. Which of the following would the researchers use if they wanted to see the brain activity in a particular
area of the brain as the veteran’s were sleeping?
(A) EEG
(B) Survey
(C) fMRI
(D) Lesioning
8. A manager of a company that makes self-driving cars is interested in showing that self-driving cars cause fewer
accidents than traditional cars. She recruited 30 people for her study. After keeping her participants awake for 24
hours straight, she randomly assigned them to either drive a traditional car or a self-driving car. Which of the
following is the most significant ethical factor that might influence the approval of this study?
(A) Informed consent
(B) Protection from harm
(C) Debriefing
(D) Confidentiality
9. Dr. Popoca studied the characteristics of individuals experiencing red-green and yellow-blue color vision
deficiency. They recruited one individual with each type of color vision deficiency and assessed each person three
times per week for a period of three months. They found that all of the participants in their study were left-handed.
Following their research, Dr. Popoca concludes that all individuals who experience dichromatism are left-handed.
Why is their conclusion inappropriate based on their research strategy?
(A) Dr. Popoca has assumed that correlation implies causation.
Dr. Popoca’s study did not include the use of random assignment, therefore they cannot draw a
(B)
conclusion about the differences between their subjects.
(C) Dr. Popoca has conducted a case study, which cannot be generalized to the population.
(D) Dr. Popoca has not operationally defined their variables.
Page 2 of 9 AP Psychology
Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
10.
A group of researchers collected the data displayed in the graph. Which of the following psychological concepts is
most likely the focus of the research?
(A) The interaction of “nature” and “nurture”
(B) The role of the brain in personal success
(C) The influence of psychoactive drugs on intelligence
(D) The role of cultural bias on intelligence testing
11. Which study is a researcher who wants to draw correct cause-and-effect conclusions about the sense of smell likely
to conduct?
A case study in which the researcher records a person’s facial expressions when the person encounters
(A)
different smells and then determines that when a person smells a good smell, the person smiles.
A study in which 50 participants are asked to rate the degree to which different smells evoke happy
(B)
memories. The researcher then determines which smells are associated with happy memories.
A study in which the researcher randomly selects two groups of 30 people and exposes one group to the
(C) smell of roses and the other group to the smell of gasoline to determine whether members of the group
that smelled roses act nicer to one another afterward.
A study in which the researcher randomly assigns 50 people to a group that is exposed to a strong smell
(D) of roses and 50 people to a group that experiences an odor-free environment to see whether the group
exposed to the strong smell of roses reports experiencing more memories.
AP Psychology Page 3 of 9
Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
12.
Dr. Gomez conducts research looking at similarities in identical twins. In one study, she is interested in looking at
athletic ability. What do the results in the graph indicate?
(A) When one twin demonstrates high athletic ability, the other does not.
(B) When one twin demonstrates high athletic ability, so does the other twin.
When one twin demonstrates high athletic ability, the other twin sometimes does and sometimes does
(C)
not.
When one twin demonstrates high athletic ability, it causes the other twin to have high athletic ability as
(D)
well.
A study was conducted to determine the power of a new chemical to increase the quality of olfactory sensations in
humans. Participants were asked to rate the quality of a chocolate bar, before and after inhaling the chemical on a scale of
1 to 10, with 1 meaning low quality and 10 meaning high quality. Analysis of the data showed that the difference in
perceived quality of the chocolate bar before and after exposure to the chemical was statistically significant.
Perceived Quality of Chocolate Bar
Participant BEFORE EXPOSURE AFTER EXPOSURE DIFFERENCE (After –
# TO CHEMICAL TO CHEMICAL Before)
1 5 8 3
2 6 10 4
3 3 6 3
4 6 9 3
5 5 7 2
Mean Difference = 3 Standard
Deviation = 0.71
13. If these data were plotted on a graph, what percent of the scores for the difference in perceived quality of the
chocolate bar are within 2.29 and 3.71?
Page 4 of 9 AP Psychology
Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
(A) 50
(B) 68
(C) 95
(D) 99.7
14. In this scenario, which of the following best describes the finding that the results were statistically significant?
The perceived quality of the chocolate bar went down after being exposed to the chemical, and this was
(A)
due to chance.
The perceived quality of the chocolate bar went up after being exposed to the chemical, and this was due
(B)
to chance.
The perceived quality of the chocolate bar went down after being exposed to the chemical, and this was
(C)
not due to chance.
The perceived quality of the chocolate bar went up after being exposed to the chemical, and this was not
(D)
due to chance.
15. Which of the following should the researchers in this study do out of a concern for ethical data collection?
(A) Only generalize these findings to people who have naturally good senses of smell.
(B) Avoid using convenience samples.
(C) Make sure the chemical does not affect the participants’ olfactory systems long-term.
(D) Divide the participants into a control and an experimental group using random assignment.
16. Which of the following biological systems is most likely responsible for an increase in heart rate while experiencing
anxiety?
(A) The central nervous system
(B) The sympathetic nervous system
(C) The parasympathetic nervous system
(D) The opponent-process system
17. A research study seeks to examine the influence of REM sleep disruption on memory and attention. To investigate
this, researchers gather a representative sample of healthy participants ages 18 to 40 years old with no prior history
of sleep disorders or psychiatric conditions. They give each participant a baseline cognitive functioning test. The
participants are housed in a sleep research lab for the duration of the study where they have their REM sleep
disrupted multiple times each night. Following a three-week period of REM sleep disruption, participants will
repeat the initial cognitive assessments to evaluate changes in performance. Which of the following research
methods is being used in this study?
(A) A naturalistic observation
(B) A correlational study
(C) An experiment
(D) A case study
AP Psychology Page 5 of 9
Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
18. Two researchers are interested in the social skills by people with synesthesia to perceive color. Researcher A
interviews people with this disorder, and Researcher B creates a survey with a dozen questions that the participants
answer using a numeric scale. Which of the following is true about this research scenario?
(A) Both researchers are using qualitative measures.
(B) Researcher A is using a quantitative measure.
(C) Researcher B is using a qualitative measure.
(D) Researcher B is using a quantitative measure.
19. Neurologists trying to find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease selected 100 individuals with moderate to severe
symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Fifty participants were randomly placed into either an experimental condition
that received a new medication that acted as an agonist for acetylcholine or the control condition which continued to
receive same care as before. The study lasted for ten weeks at which time members of both groups took a cognitive
assessment to determine their level of functioning. Which of the following best explains the operational definition
of the dependent variable in this study?
(A) The group that received the new medication.
(B) The group that continues with their treatment as before.
(C) How the participants were placed into their respective groups.
(D) The score on the cognitive assessment.
20.
Average Heart Rate Beats per Minute
Researchers presented a picture of four stimuli to a group of college students and measured their heart rate by
counting how many beats occurred in one minute. Which of the following brain structures would be most
responsible for the emotional reaction as measured by heart rate after seeing the spider and the snake?
(A) Thalamus
(B) Cerebellum
(C) Amygdala
(D) Hippocampus
Page 6 of 9 AP Psychology
Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
21. A sample of pregnant women is given a high dose of caffeine daily to determine if their babies are born with an
addiction to caffeine. Which of the following is an ethical issue in this study?
(A) There was no random assignment.
(B) Deception is not allowed in psychological research.
(C) There is possible long-term harm to the babies.
(D) Pregnant women are not a random sample.
22. Dr. Jones conducted a study in which he surveyed participants and compared their reported levels of physical
activity to their measures of brain plasticity. Dr. Jones concludes that higher levels of physical activity cause a
greater degree of neuroplastic changes in the brain. He plans to publish his findings. What mistake is Dr. Jones
making in his research conclusion?
(A) Dr. Jones’s study was correlational, so it cannot generate a causal conclusion.
(B) Dr. Jones did not fully debrief participants of his findings at the conclusion of the study.
(C) Dr. Jones plans to publish his research findings without peer review.
(D) Dr. Jones did not operationally define how he measured levels of physical activity.
23. Which of the following studies is from an evolutionary perspective?
A study to see if people who had a more congruent view of their real self and their ideal self were
(A)
happier
A study to see if women were more attracted to men who liked children than men who did not like
(B)
children
(C) A study looking at how biological, psychological, and social factors affect development
A study looking at how quickly a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement leads to extinction resistant
(D)
behaviors
AP Psychology Page 7 of 9
Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
24.
Number of Days Students Missed Classes
A school collected data on student absences during stressful final exam periods when their sympathetic nervous
systems would be activated. They graphed the data at the end of the academic term. Based on the graph, what is the
most likely standard deviation for the number of days students missed classes?
(A) 4.5
(B) 10.5
(C) 2.0
(D) 2.5
25. A researcher is interested in measuring adrenaline levels in male subjects and then comparing those levels to each
participant’s corresponding level of aggression. The researcher takes blood samples from each male participant to
identify their adrenaline levels, and then gives each participant a survey that measures aggression. The results of the
study indicate that higher levels of adrenaline were associated with higher rates of aggression. Which of the
following best describes why the researcher cannot report a causal relationship in this study?
(A) There was no manipulation of an independent variable.
(B) The sample was not large enough to be representative.
(C) There is no operational definition of aggression.
(D) There is no reliable way to measure testosterone in the subjects.
Page 8 of 9 AP Psychology
Scoring Guide
Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
26. Dr. Naum is studying the function of the medial temporal lobe of the brain by examining the case study of J.S., an
individual who incurred damage in this area during a motor vehicle accident. Dr. Naum administers a battery of
tasks multiple times over the course of several weeks to assess J.S.’s cognitive abilities. The graph below shows
J.S.’s performance on three different tasks. The bar on the left shows his accuracy forming new memories in a lab
context, the middle bar shows his accuracy on a driving course, and the bar on the right shows his accuracy on a
third task.
Based on the scores on the three tasks, Task 3 most likely involves
(A) recalling the names of all his cousins
(B) matching photos of his aunts and uncles with their siblings
(C) remembering events that occurred shortly before his accident
(D) holding a random string of numbers in memory for several seconds
AP Psychology Page 9 of 9
