CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
PSYCHOLOGY 200 EXAM 2026 PRACTICE
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS ORIGINAL
QUESTIONS, DETAILED RATIONALES &
STUDY GUIDE
1. A researcher wants to determine whether exposure to chronic
academic stress causes changes in students’ working-memory
performance. Students are randomly assigned either to a structured
stress-management intervention or to a control condition, and
working-memory performance is measured afterward. Which
feature most strongly supports a causal interpretation of the
findings?
A. The use of a large sample
B. Random assignment to conditions
C. The use of a standardized memory test
D. Measuring stress before the experiment
Answer: B. Random assignment to conditions
Rationale: Random assignment helps distribute preexisting individual
differences across experimental conditions, reducing confounding
variables. If the groups differ systematically in working-memory
performance after the manipulation, the researcher can more
confidently attribute the difference to the experimental treatment
rather than to preexisting differences.
2. A psychology student observes that students who report sleeping
more hours tend to obtain higher examination scores. The
1
, correlation between sleep duration and examination performance is
positive. Which conclusion is most scientifically appropriate?
A. Sleeping more definitely causes higher grades
B. Higher grades cause students to sleep more
C. Sleep duration and examination performance are associated
D. The relationship proves that sleep is the only determinant of grades
Answer: C. Sleep duration and examination performance are
associated
Rationale: Correlation establishes an association between variables
but does not by itself establish causation. A third variable, such as
time-management ability, stress level, health, or study habits, could
influence both sleep and examination performance.
3. A psychologist is studying obedience and wants to minimize the
possibility that participants will change their behavior because they
know they are being observed. Which methodological concern is
most relevant?
A. Observer effect
B. Random sampling
C. Statistical significance
D. External validity
Answer: A. Observer effect
Rationale: Participants may alter their behavior when they know they
are being observed or studied. This phenomenon can threaten the
validity of behavioral observations because the behavior displayed in
the research setting may not accurately represent ordinary behavior.
2
, 4. A university administers a personality inventory to 500 students.
Researchers want to know whether the inventory produces similar
results when the same individuals complete it twice under similar
circumstances. Which psychometric property is being evaluated?
A. Construct validity
B. Test-retest reliability
C. Ecological validity
D. Sampling validity
Answer: B. Test-retest reliability
Rationale: Test-retest reliability refers to the consistency of scores
across repeated administrations of the same measurement instrument.
High test-retest reliability indicates that the measure produces
relatively stable results over time when the underlying characteristic
has not substantially changed.
5. A researcher develops a new questionnaire intended to measure
depression. Experts examine the questions and determine that the
items adequately represent the major symptoms and dimensions of
depression. What type of validity is primarily being assessed?
A. Content validity
B. Predictive validity
C. External validity
D. Statistical validity
Answer: A. Content validity
Rationale: Content validity concerns whether a measurement
adequately covers the relevant dimensions of the construct being
measured. Expert evaluation of whether questionnaire items represent
the important aspects of depression is a classic example.
3
, 6. A student experiences intense physiological arousal immediately
before giving a public presentation. The student's heart rate
increases, palms become sweaty, and attention becomes focused on
the upcoming speech. Which psychological concept best describes
the student's state?
A. Emotional arousal
B. Habituation
C. Cognitive dissonance
D. Sensory adaptation
Answer: A. Emotional arousal
Rationale: Emotional arousal involves physiological activation
associated with an emotional state. Increased heart rate, sweating,
heightened alertness, and changes in attention commonly accompany
anxiety, fear, excitement, and other emotionally arousing experiences.
7. A person sees a partially obscured object and automatically
interprets the incomplete visual information as a familiar whole
object. Which Gestalt principle best explains this process?
A. Similarity
B. Closure
C. Proximity
D. Figure-ground separation
Answer: B. Closure
Rationale: The Gestalt principle of closure describes the tendency to
perceive incomplete figures as complete by mentally filling in missing
information. This allows people to organize fragmented sensory
information into meaningful wholes.
4
PSYCHOLOGY 200 EXAM 2026 PRACTICE
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS ORIGINAL
QUESTIONS, DETAILED RATIONALES &
STUDY GUIDE
1. A researcher wants to determine whether exposure to chronic
academic stress causes changes in students’ working-memory
performance. Students are randomly assigned either to a structured
stress-management intervention or to a control condition, and
working-memory performance is measured afterward. Which
feature most strongly supports a causal interpretation of the
findings?
A. The use of a large sample
B. Random assignment to conditions
C. The use of a standardized memory test
D. Measuring stress before the experiment
Answer: B. Random assignment to conditions
Rationale: Random assignment helps distribute preexisting individual
differences across experimental conditions, reducing confounding
variables. If the groups differ systematically in working-memory
performance after the manipulation, the researcher can more
confidently attribute the difference to the experimental treatment
rather than to preexisting differences.
2. A psychology student observes that students who report sleeping
more hours tend to obtain higher examination scores. The
1
, correlation between sleep duration and examination performance is
positive. Which conclusion is most scientifically appropriate?
A. Sleeping more definitely causes higher grades
B. Higher grades cause students to sleep more
C. Sleep duration and examination performance are associated
D. The relationship proves that sleep is the only determinant of grades
Answer: C. Sleep duration and examination performance are
associated
Rationale: Correlation establishes an association between variables
but does not by itself establish causation. A third variable, such as
time-management ability, stress level, health, or study habits, could
influence both sleep and examination performance.
3. A psychologist is studying obedience and wants to minimize the
possibility that participants will change their behavior because they
know they are being observed. Which methodological concern is
most relevant?
A. Observer effect
B. Random sampling
C. Statistical significance
D. External validity
Answer: A. Observer effect
Rationale: Participants may alter their behavior when they know they
are being observed or studied. This phenomenon can threaten the
validity of behavioral observations because the behavior displayed in
the research setting may not accurately represent ordinary behavior.
2
, 4. A university administers a personality inventory to 500 students.
Researchers want to know whether the inventory produces similar
results when the same individuals complete it twice under similar
circumstances. Which psychometric property is being evaluated?
A. Construct validity
B. Test-retest reliability
C. Ecological validity
D. Sampling validity
Answer: B. Test-retest reliability
Rationale: Test-retest reliability refers to the consistency of scores
across repeated administrations of the same measurement instrument.
High test-retest reliability indicates that the measure produces
relatively stable results over time when the underlying characteristic
has not substantially changed.
5. A researcher develops a new questionnaire intended to measure
depression. Experts examine the questions and determine that the
items adequately represent the major symptoms and dimensions of
depression. What type of validity is primarily being assessed?
A. Content validity
B. Predictive validity
C. External validity
D. Statistical validity
Answer: A. Content validity
Rationale: Content validity concerns whether a measurement
adequately covers the relevant dimensions of the construct being
measured. Expert evaluation of whether questionnaire items represent
the important aspects of depression is a classic example.
3
, 6. A student experiences intense physiological arousal immediately
before giving a public presentation. The student's heart rate
increases, palms become sweaty, and attention becomes focused on
the upcoming speech. Which psychological concept best describes
the student's state?
A. Emotional arousal
B. Habituation
C. Cognitive dissonance
D. Sensory adaptation
Answer: A. Emotional arousal
Rationale: Emotional arousal involves physiological activation
associated with an emotional state. Increased heart rate, sweating,
heightened alertness, and changes in attention commonly accompany
anxiety, fear, excitement, and other emotionally arousing experiences.
7. A person sees a partially obscured object and automatically
interprets the incomplete visual information as a familiar whole
object. Which Gestalt principle best explains this process?
A. Similarity
B. Closure
C. Proximity
D. Figure-ground separation
Answer: B. Closure
Rationale: The Gestalt principle of closure describes the tendency to
perceive incomplete figures as complete by mentally filling in missing
information. This allows people to organize fragmented sensory
information into meaningful wholes.
4
