QUESTION BANK
FOR
AP PSYCHOLOGY
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AP PSYCHOLOGY Scoring Guide
Unit Zero Question Bank No.1
1. A psychologist designed a study to test the effects of cell phone use on driving safety. Participants were randomly
assigned either to drive an automobile simulator while talking to a friend on a cell phone or to drive a simulator
without talking on a phone.
Which type of research does the scenario describe?
(A) Participant observation
(B) Correlational
(C) Case study
(D) Experimental
2. A researcher studying stress wants to be sure that income levels do not affect the results of the research. Which of
the following is used to reduce the effects of confounding variables in experiments?
(A) Descriptive statistics
(B) Inferential statistics
(C) An algorithm
(D) Random assignment
3. Which of the following would indicate the strongest correlation between the variables of gratitude and narcissistic
personality disorder?
(A) –.90
(B) –.23
(C) .40
(D) .72
4. Research shows that women who are referred by a physician to participate in a study of eating disorders have more
severe problems than women who volunteer on their own to participate in the study. If research on eating disorders
regularly involves only women referred by physicians, the results of the studies might be limited because of the
presence of
(A) sampling bias
(B) placebo effects
(C) dependent variables
(D) nonrandom assignment
5. On a multiple intelligences test, the mean score for a class of 100 students is 80 and the standard deviation of the
scores is 10. The professor who gave the test then realizes that she made a scoring error, which she corrects by
adding 5 points to each student’s score. The standard deviation of the students’ new scores is
AP Psychology Page 1 of 49
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Scoring Guide
Unit Zero Question Bank No.1
(A) 5
(B) 10
(C) 10.5
(D) 15
6. Petra, a graduate student, studies creativity, and she is frustrated that several studies in her field do not have precise
operational definitions for creativity or divergent thinking. It is important for researchers to use precise operational
definitions for which of the following reasons?
(A) They want to ensure that conditions are assigned randomly
(B) They want to be able to replicate the experiment
(C) They want to organize the hypotheses appropriately
(D) They are conducting experimental research but not correlational research
7. 10, 3, 5, 7, 10, 3, 10, 5, 2
The numbers above represent the quiz results for a survey on happiness. What is the median score for the class?
(A) 3
(B) 5
(C) 7
(D) 10
8. 3 4 5 5 7 7 7 8 8 10
Ten participants in a treatment group were asked to rate their feelings of self worth on a scale of one to ten, with a
value of ten indicating a very positive feeling of self-worth. The data for the participants are above.
What is the mean for these data?
(A) 6
(B) 6.4
(C) 7
(D) 7.33
9. 3 4 5 5 7 7 7 8 8 10
Ten participants in a treatment group were asked to rate their feelings of self worth on a scale of one to ten, with a
value of ten indicating a very positive feeling of self-worth. The data for the participants are above.
What is the mode for these data?
Page 2 of 49 AP Psycholo
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Scoring Guide
Unit Zero Question Bank No.1
(A) 4
(B) 5
(C) 6
(D) 7
10. A client whose improvement during therapy is the result of his or her expectation of improvement rather than the
result of the therapy itself is showing
(A) a placebo effect
(B) a disorder in remission
(C) negative transference
(D) catharsis
11. Because of studies in the past that exposed participants to danger without their knowledge, which of the following
was added to the American Psychological Association ethical guidelines?
(A) Research may not involve deception unless participants are debriefed.
(B) Participation must be voluntary.
(C) Participants must know about all aspects of the study before agreeing to participate.
(D) Participants must be offered alternative activities if research participation is a course requirement.
12. Dr. Bell works with young children who need help to manage their anxiety. By following the principle of
nonmalficence, which of the following is Dr. Bell doing for his clients?
(A) Paying them for their time and trouble.
(B) Making sure they have not participated in research in the past.
(C) Protecting them from physical and psychological harm.
(D) Keeping their information confidential.
13. A person displays behaviors of a psychological disorder that psychologists in the United States have not seen
before. The best strategy to investigate the nature of those behaviors is to conduct which of the following?
(A) an experiment
(B) a case study
(C) cross-sectional research
(D) correlational research
14. Which of the following research approaches would be best for testing the hypothesis that the presence of certain
odors causes people to gamble more?
AP Psychology Page 3 of 49
FOR
AP PSYCHOLOGY
, lOMoARcPSD|14985576
AP PSYCHOLOGY Scoring Guide
Unit Zero Question Bank No.1
1. A psychologist designed a study to test the effects of cell phone use on driving safety. Participants were randomly
assigned either to drive an automobile simulator while talking to a friend on a cell phone or to drive a simulator
without talking on a phone.
Which type of research does the scenario describe?
(A) Participant observation
(B) Correlational
(C) Case study
(D) Experimental
2. A researcher studying stress wants to be sure that income levels do not affect the results of the research. Which of
the following is used to reduce the effects of confounding variables in experiments?
(A) Descriptive statistics
(B) Inferential statistics
(C) An algorithm
(D) Random assignment
3. Which of the following would indicate the strongest correlation between the variables of gratitude and narcissistic
personality disorder?
(A) –.90
(B) –.23
(C) .40
(D) .72
4. Research shows that women who are referred by a physician to participate in a study of eating disorders have more
severe problems than women who volunteer on their own to participate in the study. If research on eating disorders
regularly involves only women referred by physicians, the results of the studies might be limited because of the
presence of
(A) sampling bias
(B) placebo effects
(C) dependent variables
(D) nonrandom assignment
5. On a multiple intelligences test, the mean score for a class of 100 students is 80 and the standard deviation of the
scores is 10. The professor who gave the test then realizes that she made a scoring error, which she corrects by
adding 5 points to each student’s score. The standard deviation of the students’ new scores is
AP Psychology Page 1 of 49
, lOMoARcPSD|14985576
Scoring Guide
Unit Zero Question Bank No.1
(A) 5
(B) 10
(C) 10.5
(D) 15
6. Petra, a graduate student, studies creativity, and she is frustrated that several studies in her field do not have precise
operational definitions for creativity or divergent thinking. It is important for researchers to use precise operational
definitions for which of the following reasons?
(A) They want to ensure that conditions are assigned randomly
(B) They want to be able to replicate the experiment
(C) They want to organize the hypotheses appropriately
(D) They are conducting experimental research but not correlational research
7. 10, 3, 5, 7, 10, 3, 10, 5, 2
The numbers above represent the quiz results for a survey on happiness. What is the median score for the class?
(A) 3
(B) 5
(C) 7
(D) 10
8. 3 4 5 5 7 7 7 8 8 10
Ten participants in a treatment group were asked to rate their feelings of self worth on a scale of one to ten, with a
value of ten indicating a very positive feeling of self-worth. The data for the participants are above.
What is the mean for these data?
(A) 6
(B) 6.4
(C) 7
(D) 7.33
9. 3 4 5 5 7 7 7 8 8 10
Ten participants in a treatment group were asked to rate their feelings of self worth on a scale of one to ten, with a
value of ten indicating a very positive feeling of self-worth. The data for the participants are above.
What is the mode for these data?
Page 2 of 49 AP Psycholo
, lOMoARcPSD|14985576
Scoring Guide
Unit Zero Question Bank No.1
(A) 4
(B) 5
(C) 6
(D) 7
10. A client whose improvement during therapy is the result of his or her expectation of improvement rather than the
result of the therapy itself is showing
(A) a placebo effect
(B) a disorder in remission
(C) negative transference
(D) catharsis
11. Because of studies in the past that exposed participants to danger without their knowledge, which of the following
was added to the American Psychological Association ethical guidelines?
(A) Research may not involve deception unless participants are debriefed.
(B) Participation must be voluntary.
(C) Participants must know about all aspects of the study before agreeing to participate.
(D) Participants must be offered alternative activities if research participation is a course requirement.
12. Dr. Bell works with young children who need help to manage their anxiety. By following the principle of
nonmalficence, which of the following is Dr. Bell doing for his clients?
(A) Paying them for their time and trouble.
(B) Making sure they have not participated in research in the past.
(C) Protecting them from physical and psychological harm.
(D) Keeping their information confidential.
13. A person displays behaviors of a psychological disorder that psychologists in the United States have not seen
before. The best strategy to investigate the nature of those behaviors is to conduct which of the following?
(A) an experiment
(B) a case study
(C) cross-sectional research
(D) correlational research
14. Which of the following research approaches would be best for testing the hypothesis that the presence of certain
odors causes people to gamble more?
AP Psychology Page 3 of 49
