AP Psychology

Free Response Questions Sample

The following questions are samples of the free response questions from past AP Psychology exams. The free response sections are worth 33 1/3 percent of the total grade. Students have 50 minutes to answer two questions. The key to successfully answering these questions is to: completely define the terms using appropriate psychological terminology and then critically apply each term. Many students concentrate their efforts on the multiple-choice sections. However, the free response section is extremely important. While grammar and spelling do not count, students should make a serious effort at producing a quality piece of writing to ensure their points are completely understood by the reader. However, an opening paragraph with a thesis statement is not necessary. The purpose of these essay questions was to give teachers/students/parents a small sampling of past essays. Students are strongly encouraged to visit the www.collegeboard.org/ap for more information on exam content, multiple-choice questions, free-response questions, scoring guidelines, and grade distributions from previous years.

Question #1

1.  Psychologists use a variety of research methods to study behavior. Three of the main research methods used are:

·  Case study

·  Correlational study, and

·  Experiment

A.  Students should be able to critically discuss one advantage of each of the research methods (It is critical students make sure they cover each method).

B.  Student should be able to critically discuss one disadvantage of each of the research methods.

Pretend you are a psychologist who will use each of the three research methods – case study, correlational study, and experiment – to determine the effect of taking vitamin J to improve memory.

C.  For each of the methods listed above, explain a key characteristic of the basic approach you could use to reach a scientific conclusion about the relationship between taking vitamin J and improving memory. You need not design a complete study.

Key points:

·  Readers who grade the AP free response sections are working from a rubric. They are looking for key terms and the correct application of those terms

·  Some students find it helpful to take two minutes and make a small chart or brief outline to ensure all the terms are defined and applied and the question is answered completely.

Question #2

2.  Zoey wants to buy a new car but is having difficulty deciding what kind of car to buy. She is feeling anxious and wants to make a decision soon. Zoey visits several local car dealers and asks for the advice of some of her friends. Explain how each of the following could influence her decision. Be sure to discuss each concept in the context of Zoey’s decision.

·  Approach-avoidance conflict

·  Central route to persuasion

·  Heuristics

·  Individualism

·  Rationalization

·  Self-efficacy

·  The autonomic nervous system

·  The foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Key points:

·  Again, the readers grade from a rubrics and are looking for the student to be able to define each of the items listed above in psychological terms and then apply each term in relationship to the scenario provided.

·  Make sure to answer the questions completely. In this case a student should be able to define the eight terms and then apply all eight.

·  Should a student forget the meaning of a term, it is OK to make an educated guess. However, the key is to make an educated guess.

Questions #1 and #2 were on the 2006 AP Psychology exam produced by the College Board and Educational Testing Serivce.

Question #3

This question was from the 2003 exam. Students who have a strong background in statistics and biology tend to do well on the AP psychology exam. If a student cannot completely answer the following questions, reviewing some basic statistics skills is necessary. There are usually a few statistics questions in the multiple-choice sections of the exam. A student should be able to analyze graphs/charts also. For example, how can a student tell if information is positively or negatively correlated by looking at a scatter-plot?

3.  A. Statistics are often used to describe and interpret the results of intelligence testing.

·  Describe three measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode).

·  Describe a skewed distribution.

·  Relate the three measures of central tendency to a normal distribution

·  Relate the three measures of central tendency to a positively skewed distribution.

·  An intelligence test for which the scores are normally distributed has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Use this information to describe how the scores are distributed.

·  In two normal distributions, the means are 100 for group I, and 115 for group II. Can an individual in group I have a higher score than the mean score for group II? Explain.

B.  Apply knowledge of psychological research in answering the following questions about intelligence scores.

·  Explain why norms for standardized intelligence tests are periodically updated.

·  Describe how to determine whether an intelligence test is biased.

Question #4 is also from the 2003 AP Exam produced by The College Board and Educational Testing Service.

4.  A. Define the following psychological concepts.

·  Cognitive dissonance

·  Conformity

·  Incentive motivation

·  Negative reinforcement

·  Physiological addiction

B.  Use one specific example for each of the concepts in part A to explain how the concept might relate to either the development of or the continuation of a smoking habit. It is not necessary to sue the same example for each concept.

Key

a.  Again, this is a define and apply essay. The purpose is for students not only to demonstrate that they can define the terms but that they can appropriately apply that knowledge. In this case, the application piece is applying basic vocabulary to the habit of smoking.

Question #5 is from the 2002 AP Exam produced by The College Board and Educational Testing Service.

5. The human organism display various reactions that are characterized by opposing tendencies. Use a specific psychological or psychological mechanism to explain how both aspect of opposing processes apply to EACH of the following.

b.  Appetite

c.  Autonomic nervous system

d.  Color vision

e.  Drug use

f.  Nerve firing

Question #6 is from the 2002 AP Exam produced by The College Board and Educational Testing Service.

6. Five-year-old Jessie went to a fire station with her kindergarten class. When she got home, Jessie, who is in the preoperational stage of cognitive development, eagerly told the story of her adventure to her older brother. Describe how the following factors might have influenced the story she told. Be sure to define and provide an appropriate example of EACH factor.

·  Egocentrism

·  Observational learning

·  Overregulization or overgeneralization in language

·  Reconstructive memory

·  Schema

Question #7 is from the 2005 AP Exam produced by The College Board and Educational Testing Service

7. Dr. Franklin investigated the relationship between stress and physical illness. She persuaded a high school principal to require all female athletes in the school to participate in her study. She explained the purpose of her research to the athletes and asked them to use a standard form to rate the severity of their stress over the last six months. More than 250 athletes completed the form. Then Dr. Franklin analyzed the forms returned by the first 100 athletes. She requested the attendance records from the nurse’s office for each of those athletes to verify the number of days absent due to illness during the same six-month period. In the debriefing summary that Dr. Franklin sent to the 100 athletes after she completed the study, she stated that athletes who reported more stress also experienced more frequent illness. Dr. Franklin concluded that stress causes physical illness.

·  Identify the research method used by Dr. Franklin

·  Describe the operational definitions of the TWO key variables that Dr. Franklin used in the study.

·  Based on the information provided, describe ONE appropriate and ONE inappropriate ethical feature of the study.

·  Identify ONE statistical technique that Dr. Franklin could use to represent the relationship between the variables in the study.

·  Describe TWO aspects of research design that weaken the validity of Dr. Franklin’s conclusion that stress causes physical illness.

Question # 8 is from the 2205 AP Exam produced by the College Board and Educational Testing Service.

8. Time is an important variable in many psychological concepts. Describe a specific example that clearly demonstrates an understanding of each of the following concepts and how it relates to or is affected by time. Use a different example for each concept.

·  Critical period

·  Fluid intelligence

·  Group polarization

·  James-Lange theory of emotion

·  Presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in classical conditioning

·  Refractory period in neural firing

·  Sound localization

·  Spontaneous recovery