AP PSYCH QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
2025/2026
How is psychology a science and why is it that the rat always wins? ---psych findings come from
close/careful observation and testing. the rat is always correct bc facts are facts even when they
may come as a surprise
what are the 3 key elements of the scientific attitude and how do they support scientific inquiry?
----curiosity: asking questions
- skepticism: sifting reality from fantasy and demanding evidence
- humility: accepting incorrect predictions
how does critical thinking feed a scientific attitude and smarter thinking for everyday life? ---
critical thinking puts ideas to the test by examining assumptions, appraising the source,
discerning hidden biases, evaluating evidence, and assessing conclusions
Examining assumptions, discerning hidden values, evaluating evidence, assessing conclusions,
appraising the source ---critical thinking
- mind and body are separate
- mind continues after death
- knowledge is innate ---socrates and plato
- need data
- knowledge comes from experience
- knowledge is NOT innate ---aristotle
- agreed with Socrates and Plato
- dissected animals
- fluid in brain flows through nerves to muscles causing movement ---rené descartes
- founder of modern science
- empiricism
- perception of order in random events ---francis bacon
- tabula rasa
- the mind at birth is a blank slate on which experience writes ---john locke
- established the first psychology lab
- wanted to measure the "atoms of the mind" the fastest mental processes ---wilhelm wundt
describe Wundt's experiment and the conclusions made from it ---in 2 separate trials, subjects
were asked to press a telegraph key as soon as they heard the sound of a ball hitting a platform or
when they were consciously aware of perceiving the sound.
,Outcomes:
- first trial the subjects pressed the button in 1/10th of a second when they heard the sound of a
ball hitting a platform
- second trial: it took 2/10th of a second to wait until they were consciously aware of perceiving
the sound
- introduced structuralism to study the elements of the mind
- used introspection (process of looking inward to directly observe one's own psychological
processes ---edward bradford titchener
- natural selection of mental and physical traits
- adaptive evolution
- influenced William James ---Charles Darwin
- introduced functionalism
- wrote principles of psychology ---william james
- student of William James
- denied her PhD due to gender
- memory researcher
- first female president of the APA ---Mary Whiton Calkins
- student of Edward Titchener
- first female to earn PhD in psychology
- wrote The Animal Mind ---Margaret Floy Washburn
- interested in application of psychology to help patients
- developed psychoanalysis ---Sigmund Freud
- psychology should be an objective science
- observable behavior is important to study... not the unseen mental processes ---behaviorism
what are the two early schools of thought in psychology? ---structuralism and functionalism
promoted by Wundt and Titchener
used self-reflection to learn about the mind's structure. ---structuralism
promoted by James
explored how behavior and thinking function ---functionalism
early researchers defined psychology as "the science of mental life." In the 1920s, under the
influence of John B. Watson and the behaviorists. the field's focus changed to the _________ ---
"scientific study of observable behavior"
the second major force of Freudian psychology, along with the influence of humanistic
psychology, revived interest in the study of what? ---mental processes
,thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines
assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. ---critical
thinking
The idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation
enable scientific knowledge ---empiricism
an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the
structure of the human mind ---structuralism
the process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one's own psychological
processes ---introspection
an early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental
and behavioral processes function- how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish -
--functionalism
the view that psychology 1) should be an objective science that 2) studies behavior without
reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
---behaviorism
a historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential ---humanistic
psychology
Study multiple choice quizzes at the end of each module ---...
the study of how behaviors and mental processes present in the species today exist because they
were naturally selected ---evolutionary psychology
the study of the relative influence and limits of genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture)
influences on behaviors and mental processes ---behavior genetics
identical (monozygotic) twins share ______ % of the same genes. fraternal (dizygotic) twins
share ______% of the same genes ---100%
50%
twin studies provide evidence for the relative influence of nature and nurture and are used in
__________ genetics ---behavior
the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of humans and other animals ---
psychology
consists of any observable and measurable action taken by a person or other animal.. anything a
person or animal DOES ---behavior
, consist of the internal, subjective experiences inferred from behavior... so sensations,
perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings ---mental processes
What is cognitive psychology? ---the study of mental processes: thinking, perceiving, learning,
remembering, communicating, and solving problems
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception,
thinking, memory, and language) ---cognitive neuroscience
the shared ideas, values, behaviors, and traditions, shared by a group of people and passed from
one generation to the next ---culture
what are some thinks culture impacts? ---- perception of time and promtness
- ideal personal space
- beliefs about marriage and sex
- emotional display
socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female ---
gender
what are some reported gender differences ---- how emotions are expressed or detected
- what we dream
- risk for certain psychological disorders
what are some gender biological similarities ---- age of first steps
- how we remember and forget
- overall intelligence and well-being
what are some shared biological processes guide behavior across cultures? ---- individuals with
specific learning disorder (dyslexia) show the same brain malfunction across diverse cultures
- all human languages share the same deep principles of grammar
- nonverbal communication of basic emotion is universal (message of a smile)
- the scientific study of human flourishing
- goal of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues
- strengthening individuals and communities ---positive psychology
What is the biopsychosocial approach? ---understanding behavior or mental processes from three
key viewpoints
how learned and observable behaviors impact behavior and mental processes ---behavior
perspective
how biological (genetics, neural, hormonal) and physiological processes impact behavior and
mental processes ---biological perspective
2025/2026
How is psychology a science and why is it that the rat always wins? ---psych findings come from
close/careful observation and testing. the rat is always correct bc facts are facts even when they
may come as a surprise
what are the 3 key elements of the scientific attitude and how do they support scientific inquiry?
----curiosity: asking questions
- skepticism: sifting reality from fantasy and demanding evidence
- humility: accepting incorrect predictions
how does critical thinking feed a scientific attitude and smarter thinking for everyday life? ---
critical thinking puts ideas to the test by examining assumptions, appraising the source,
discerning hidden biases, evaluating evidence, and assessing conclusions
Examining assumptions, discerning hidden values, evaluating evidence, assessing conclusions,
appraising the source ---critical thinking
- mind and body are separate
- mind continues after death
- knowledge is innate ---socrates and plato
- need data
- knowledge comes from experience
- knowledge is NOT innate ---aristotle
- agreed with Socrates and Plato
- dissected animals
- fluid in brain flows through nerves to muscles causing movement ---rené descartes
- founder of modern science
- empiricism
- perception of order in random events ---francis bacon
- tabula rasa
- the mind at birth is a blank slate on which experience writes ---john locke
- established the first psychology lab
- wanted to measure the "atoms of the mind" the fastest mental processes ---wilhelm wundt
describe Wundt's experiment and the conclusions made from it ---in 2 separate trials, subjects
were asked to press a telegraph key as soon as they heard the sound of a ball hitting a platform or
when they were consciously aware of perceiving the sound.
,Outcomes:
- first trial the subjects pressed the button in 1/10th of a second when they heard the sound of a
ball hitting a platform
- second trial: it took 2/10th of a second to wait until they were consciously aware of perceiving
the sound
- introduced structuralism to study the elements of the mind
- used introspection (process of looking inward to directly observe one's own psychological
processes ---edward bradford titchener
- natural selection of mental and physical traits
- adaptive evolution
- influenced William James ---Charles Darwin
- introduced functionalism
- wrote principles of psychology ---william james
- student of William James
- denied her PhD due to gender
- memory researcher
- first female president of the APA ---Mary Whiton Calkins
- student of Edward Titchener
- first female to earn PhD in psychology
- wrote The Animal Mind ---Margaret Floy Washburn
- interested in application of psychology to help patients
- developed psychoanalysis ---Sigmund Freud
- psychology should be an objective science
- observable behavior is important to study... not the unseen mental processes ---behaviorism
what are the two early schools of thought in psychology? ---structuralism and functionalism
promoted by Wundt and Titchener
used self-reflection to learn about the mind's structure. ---structuralism
promoted by James
explored how behavior and thinking function ---functionalism
early researchers defined psychology as "the science of mental life." In the 1920s, under the
influence of John B. Watson and the behaviorists. the field's focus changed to the _________ ---
"scientific study of observable behavior"
the second major force of Freudian psychology, along with the influence of humanistic
psychology, revived interest in the study of what? ---mental processes
,thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines
assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. ---critical
thinking
The idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation
enable scientific knowledge ---empiricism
an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the
structure of the human mind ---structuralism
the process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one's own psychological
processes ---introspection
an early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental
and behavioral processes function- how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish -
--functionalism
the view that psychology 1) should be an objective science that 2) studies behavior without
reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
---behaviorism
a historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential ---humanistic
psychology
Study multiple choice quizzes at the end of each module ---...
the study of how behaviors and mental processes present in the species today exist because they
were naturally selected ---evolutionary psychology
the study of the relative influence and limits of genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture)
influences on behaviors and mental processes ---behavior genetics
identical (monozygotic) twins share ______ % of the same genes. fraternal (dizygotic) twins
share ______% of the same genes ---100%
50%
twin studies provide evidence for the relative influence of nature and nurture and are used in
__________ genetics ---behavior
the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of humans and other animals ---
psychology
consists of any observable and measurable action taken by a person or other animal.. anything a
person or animal DOES ---behavior
, consist of the internal, subjective experiences inferred from behavior... so sensations,
perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings ---mental processes
What is cognitive psychology? ---the study of mental processes: thinking, perceiving, learning,
remembering, communicating, and solving problems
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception,
thinking, memory, and language) ---cognitive neuroscience
the shared ideas, values, behaviors, and traditions, shared by a group of people and passed from
one generation to the next ---culture
what are some thinks culture impacts? ---- perception of time and promtness
- ideal personal space
- beliefs about marriage and sex
- emotional display
socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female ---
gender
what are some reported gender differences ---- how emotions are expressed or detected
- what we dream
- risk for certain psychological disorders
what are some gender biological similarities ---- age of first steps
- how we remember and forget
- overall intelligence and well-being
what are some shared biological processes guide behavior across cultures? ---- individuals with
specific learning disorder (dyslexia) show the same brain malfunction across diverse cultures
- all human languages share the same deep principles of grammar
- nonverbal communication of basic emotion is universal (message of a smile)
- the scientific study of human flourishing
- goal of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues
- strengthening individuals and communities ---positive psychology
What is the biopsychosocial approach? ---understanding behavior or mental processes from three
key viewpoints
how learned and observable behaviors impact behavior and mental processes ---behavior
perspective
how biological (genetics, neural, hormonal) and physiological processes impact behavior and
mental processes ---biological perspective
