AP Psychology Practice test exam Questions with complete
solutions verified by experts 2025/2026
Basal metabolic rate - correct answer the body's resting rate of energy
expenditure.
Set point - correct answer the point at which an individual's "weight
thermostat" is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an
increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost
weight.
Anorexia nervosa - correct answer an eating disorder in which a normal-
weight person (usually an adolescent female) diets and becomes significantly
(15 percent or more) underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.
Bulimia nervosa - correct answer an eating disorder characterized by
episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting,
laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.
Sexual response cycle - correct answer the four stages of sexual
responding described by Masters and Johnson—excitement, plateau, orgasm,
and resolution.
Estrogen - correct answer a sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by
females than by males. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak
during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.
Refractory period - correct answer a resting period after orgasm, during
which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.
,Sexual disorder - correct answer a problem that consistently impairs sexual
arousal or functioning.
Testosterone - correct answer the most important of the male sex
hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in
males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the
development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.
Emotion - correct answer a response of the whole organism, involving (1)
physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.
James-Lange theory - correct answer the theory that our experience of
emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing
stimuli.
Cannon-Bard theory - correct answer the theory that an emotion-arousing
stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the
subjective experience of emotion.
Two-factor theory - correct answer the Schachter-Singer theory that to
experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively
label the arousal.
Polygraph - correct answer a machine, commonly used in attempts to
detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses
accompanying emotion (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and
breathing changes).
Catharsis - correct answer emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis
hypothesis maintains that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or
fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.
,Feel-good, do good phenomenon - correct answer people's tendency to be
helpful when already in a good mood.
Subjective well-being - correct answer self-perceived happiness or
satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being to
evaluate people's quality of life.
Adaptation-level phenomenon - correct answer our tendency to form
judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level definite
by our prior experience.
Relative deprivation - correct answer the perception that one is worse off
relative to those with whom one compares oneself.
Behavioral medicine - correct answer an interdisciplinary field that
integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to
healthy and disease.
Health psychology - correct answer a subfield of psychology that provides
psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine.
Stress - correct answer the process by which we perceive and respond to
certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or
challenging.
General adaptation syndrome (GAS) - correct answer Selye's concept of
the body's adaptivie responses to stress in three states -- alarm, resistance,
exhaustion.
, Coronary heart disease - correct answer the clogging of the vessels that
nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed
countries.
Type A - correct answer Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive,
hard-driving impatient, verbally agressive, and anger-prone people.
Type B - correct answer Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing,
relaxed people.
Psychophysiological illness - correct answer literally, "mind-body" illness;
any stress related physical illness, such as hypertension and some
headaches.
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) - correct answer the study of how
psychological nueral, and endocrine processes together affect the immune
system and resulting health.
Lymphocytes - correct answer two types of white blood cells that are a part
of the immune system: B-lymphocytes form in the bone marrow and release
antibodies to fight bacterial infection. T-lymphocytes form in the thymus and
attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.
Biofeedback - correct answer a system for electronically recording,
amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological
state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension.
Facial feedback - correct answer The effect of facial expressions on
experienced emotions, as when a facial expression of anger or happiness
intensifies feelings of anger or happiness
solutions verified by experts 2025/2026
Basal metabolic rate - correct answer the body's resting rate of energy
expenditure.
Set point - correct answer the point at which an individual's "weight
thermostat" is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an
increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost
weight.
Anorexia nervosa - correct answer an eating disorder in which a normal-
weight person (usually an adolescent female) diets and becomes significantly
(15 percent or more) underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.
Bulimia nervosa - correct answer an eating disorder characterized by
episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting,
laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.
Sexual response cycle - correct answer the four stages of sexual
responding described by Masters and Johnson—excitement, plateau, orgasm,
and resolution.
Estrogen - correct answer a sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by
females than by males. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak
during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity.
Refractory period - correct answer a resting period after orgasm, during
which a man cannot achieve another orgasm.
,Sexual disorder - correct answer a problem that consistently impairs sexual
arousal or functioning.
Testosterone - correct answer the most important of the male sex
hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in
males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the
development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.
Emotion - correct answer a response of the whole organism, involving (1)
physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience.
James-Lange theory - correct answer the theory that our experience of
emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing
stimuli.
Cannon-Bard theory - correct answer the theory that an emotion-arousing
stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the
subjective experience of emotion.
Two-factor theory - correct answer the Schachter-Singer theory that to
experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively
label the arousal.
Polygraph - correct answer a machine, commonly used in attempts to
detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses
accompanying emotion (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and
breathing changes).
Catharsis - correct answer emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis
hypothesis maintains that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or
fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.
,Feel-good, do good phenomenon - correct answer people's tendency to be
helpful when already in a good mood.
Subjective well-being - correct answer self-perceived happiness or
satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being to
evaluate people's quality of life.
Adaptation-level phenomenon - correct answer our tendency to form
judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level definite
by our prior experience.
Relative deprivation - correct answer the perception that one is worse off
relative to those with whom one compares oneself.
Behavioral medicine - correct answer an interdisciplinary field that
integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to
healthy and disease.
Health psychology - correct answer a subfield of psychology that provides
psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine.
Stress - correct answer the process by which we perceive and respond to
certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or
challenging.
General adaptation syndrome (GAS) - correct answer Selye's concept of
the body's adaptivie responses to stress in three states -- alarm, resistance,
exhaustion.
, Coronary heart disease - correct answer the clogging of the vessels that
nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed
countries.
Type A - correct answer Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive,
hard-driving impatient, verbally agressive, and anger-prone people.
Type B - correct answer Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing,
relaxed people.
Psychophysiological illness - correct answer literally, "mind-body" illness;
any stress related physical illness, such as hypertension and some
headaches.
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) - correct answer the study of how
psychological nueral, and endocrine processes together affect the immune
system and resulting health.
Lymphocytes - correct answer two types of white blood cells that are a part
of the immune system: B-lymphocytes form in the bone marrow and release
antibodies to fight bacterial infection. T-lymphocytes form in the thymus and
attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.
Biofeedback - correct answer a system for electronically recording,
amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological
state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension.
Facial feedback - correct answer The effect of facial expressions on
experienced emotions, as when a facial expression of anger or happiness
intensifies feelings of anger or happiness
