5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2010-2011 Edition (79 page)

(A) conflicting sources of psychic energy

(B) the distinctive human ability to act purposefully and to shape our own destiny

(C) the interactions between thought and the environment, which influence behavior

(D) stable sources of individual differences that characterize an individual, based on an interaction of nature and nurture

(E) evolutionary adaptation

80.
In response to a column printed in newspapers throughout the United States, an advice columnist received over 28,000 responses. Over 75% of respondents said that if they had it to do over again, they would not have children. The columnist concludes that most parents are sorry that they had children. For which of the following reasons is her conclusion not valid?

(A) Her participants were not randomly assigned in her study.

(B) The number of respondents from across the country was too small.

(C) The study was not replicated.

(D) Her sample may not have been representative of the population.

(E) The study should have been a double-blind study.

81.
According to social learning theory, gender identity results primarily from

(A) chromosomal differences in the sex chromosomes and hormones secreted during prenatal development

(B) resolution of the Oedipal complex resulting in identification with the same-sex parent

(C) observation and imitation of significant role models

(D) consistent reinforcement of gender-appropriate behaviors and punishment of gender-inappropriate behaviors

(E) labeling of a child as a boy or a girl

82.
Aisha is a beautiful, black teenager. If she is typical, she most likely believes that

(A) white teenagers are superior to black teenagers

(B) Asian teenagers are superior to black teenagers

(C) Hispanic teenagers are superior to black teenagers

(D) Hispanic teenagers are superior to Asian teenagers

(E) black teenagers are superior to white teenagers

83.
The position on the basilar membrane at which waves reach their peak depends on the frequency of a tone, according to which theory?

(A) opponent-process

(B) trichromatic

(C) place

(D) volley

(E) frequency

84.
Lev Vygotsky’s approach to the study of cognitive development was

(A) psychodynamic

(B) behavioral

(C) biological

(D) sociocultural

(E) evolutionary

85.
The left cerebral hemisphere is specialized for which of the following functions?

(A) verbal, mathematical, and recognizing emotional expressions

(B) mathematical, spatial, and musical

(C) verbal, analytic, and mathematical

(D) mathematical, spatial, and analytic

(E) spatial, musical, and identifying faces

86.
The contingency model explains classical conditioning from which of the following perspectives?

(A) behavioral

(B) psychoanalytic

(C) cognitive

(D) humanistic

(E) biomedical

87.
All people have essentially the same set of traits, differing only in terms of the extent to which they show each trait, according to which of the following personality theories?

(A) nomothetic

(B) idiographic

(C) Freudian

(D) somatotype

(E) biological

88.
After Tamika complained to her mother about how little she has, Tamika and her mother went to a soup kitchen to volunteer to serve dinner to the homeless. After serving 120 dinners, Tamika told her mother how happy she is that they can afford to buy delicious foods she loves. Tamika’s increased perception that she is happy is best explained by applying which of the following theories?

(A) relative deprivation

(B) adaptation-level

(C) Yerkes-Dodson arousal

(D) diathesis-stress

(E) attribution

89.
Standardized tests are

(A) any examination given by your state or country

(B) all examinations with exactly the same directions

(C) tests with norms, which indicate average, high, and low scores for the test

(D) tests that are given year after year without being released or returned

(E) tests for which a person’s performance can be compared with a pilot group

90.
The most common somatic nervous system neurotransmitter to cause muscle contractions is

(A) acetylcholine

(B) dopamine

(C) endorphins

(D) epinephrine

(E) GABA

91.
The rooting reflex is characterized by neonates

(A) turning their heads toward stimuli when touched on their cheeks

(B) withdrawing from painful stimuli

(C) drawing up legs and arching their backs in response to sudden noises

(D) grasping objects that press against their palms

(E) fanning their toes when their soles are stimulated

92.
Which coefficient indicates the strongest correlation?

(A) −1.00

(B) −.33

(C) 0.00

(D) +.50

(E) +.89

93.
According to gate-control theory, which condition tends to close the gate?

(A) anxiety

(B) depression

(C) focusing on the pain

(D) electrical stimulation

(E) insomnia

94.
People generally send higher contributions to charities when check-off boxes on the response card the charity sends to donors suggest $25, $35, $50, other; rather than $10, $15, $25, other. This illustrates the

(A) anchoring effect

(B) availability heuristic

(C) representativeness heuristic

(D) mental set

(E) serial position effect

95.
Mechanical energy is transduced to electrochemical energy by

(A) glandular effectors

(B) muscular effectors

(C) pressure receptors

(D) rods and cones

(E) thermoreceptors

96.
Which of the following is not a basic somatosensation?

(A) pain

(B) touch

(C) cold

(D) warmth

(E) itch

97.
All of the following are characteristic of physiological arousal EXCEPT

(A) dilation of the pupils

(B) increase in salivation

(C) increase in perspiration

(D) increase in secretion of stress hormones

(E) decrease in peristalsis

98.
Nearsightedness results from

(A) too much curvature of the cornea and lens

(B) too little curvature of the cornea and lens

(C) too much curvature of the iris and lens

(D) too little curvature of the iris and lens

(E) lack of aqueous or vitreous humor

99.
Of the following theories, the presence of Hilgard’s “hidden observer” best supports

(A) dissociation

(B) opponent process

(C) activation-synthesis

(D) diathesis-stress

(E) evolution

100.
Although many studies regarding the effects of a particular herb on memory have been conducted, results of any one study have been inconclusive. An overall conclusion might be reached by performing

(A) meta-analysis

(B) revising the data from one of the experiments

(C) calculating the statistical significance of each study

(D) cross-cultural analysis

(E) factor analysis

SECTION II
Time—50 minutes

Directions:
Take approximately 50 minutes to answer
both
of the essay questions. According to the College Board directions, “It is not enough to answer a question by merely listing facts. You should present a cogent argument based on your critical analysis of the question posed, using appropriate psychological terminology.” Write your essays on separate sheets of paper.

Essay 1:

Although historically nature versus nurture was considered an all-or-none proposition, most psychologists today agree that heredity and environment are both important in determining behavior and mental processes. Describe the extent to which heredity and the extent to which environment affect expression of each of the following:

• shyness

• language acquisition

• phenylketonuria

• violent behavior

• schizophrenia

Essay 2:

Yesterday when a brown bear unexpectedly appeared in his backyard, John ran into his house faster than he ever ran before.

a
. Describe how John’s eye and brain enabled him to see the bear. In your description include how the eye focused the image, transduced energy, and transmitted information to the brain; identify the parts of the brain involved.

b
. Explain how the “fight-or-flight” response enabled John to run faster than ever before.

c
. Using a current theory of emotion, account for why John experienced fear rather than anger or sadness.

END PRACTICE EXAM

1. B—
(
Chapter 18
) Conformity. Etan seems to want the group’s approval and so conforms to their behavior.

2. D—
(
Chapter 5
) The humanistic approach believes that man is good by nature and emphasizes the need for people to do their best and strive toward self-actualization.

3. B—
(
Chapter 13
) Authoritative. Authoritative families are democratic by nature and, though there are rules, these are flexible and children grow up helping to make their own decisions and accepting responsibility for their behavior.

4. D—
(
Chapter 11
) An algorithm. This is the problem-solving technique where there is an exhaustive search of all possible answers and a guaranteed solution.

5. A—
(
Chapter 8
) Absolute threshold. This is the minimum stimulation at which 50% of the time Bessie can detect the sweetness in the water.

6. D—
(
Chapter 10
) No longer evokes the conditioned response. Extinction is the elimination of a learned response. In classical conditioning, when the UCS is removed and the CS is repeatedly presented, eventually it will no longer produce the CR and is extinguished.

7. C—
(
Chapter 7
) PET. A PET scan shows the activity in the brain and is useful in allowing doctors to see where different tasks, such as this patient’s language, are processed in the brain. For most people, language is processed in the left hemisphere.

8. A—
(
Chapter 17
) Psychoanalytic therapy attempts to uncover unconscious conflicts, and both dream interpretation and free association are techniques used to reach the unconscious.

9. E—
(
Chapter 12
) Incentive theory attempts to use rewards to increase positive behavior and Al’s mom is trying to motivate him to do better in school.

10. D—
(
Chapter 14
) Superego. According to Freudian theory, the superego is the last part of the personality to emerge and represents our moral conscience, which would be more likely to donate money to the homeless than the selfish and self-centered id, which operates on the pleasure principle.

11. C—
(
Chapter 6
) Might have been due to chance. To be significant, results cannot be the results of a coincidence, but must depend on the relationship between the factors studied at least 19 out of 20 times.

12. C—
(
Chapter 6
) 90 appears 3 times and is the most frequently occurring number in the set.

13. C—
(
Chapter 15
) The AP test measures one’s achievement or how much was learned in the year in contrast to an aptitude test, which measures potential.

14. B—
(
Chapter 9
) Nicotine. Nicotine is a stimulant drug that arouses the central nervous system and causes some to have an increased sense of self-confidence.

15. E—
(
Chapter 10
) By answering each e-mail, Soledad is on a continuous schedule of reinforcement. One learns more quickly under this schedule, but new behaviors are also extinguished more easily than on intermittent schedules.

16. B—
(
Chapter 17
) Justin has undergone a behavior therapy known as systematic desensitization in which he unlearns a phobia and replaces it with relaxation. The procedure described also utilizes an anxiety hierarchy of progressively higher level fears involved in his phobia.

17. B—
(
Chapter 14
) According to Skinner, a famous behaviorist, all behavior is learned and one can only measure observable behavior, so personality is reduced to observable behavior. Feeling, thoughts, and other mentalistic constructs cannot be measured accurately.

18. C—
(
Chapter 11
) A flashbulb memory is one that is extremely vivid and emotional, and is remembered for years. Like other episodic memories, it is also likely to be partially confabulated.
The level of confidence in a memory does not make it more valid.

19. C—
(
Chapter 16
) Dissociative amnesia. Dissociative amnesia is a result of memories that are too painful for the conscious memory to deal with, like the horrible sight of the death of his wife and children in this example. This would support Freud’s repression theory.

20. B—
(
Chapter 10
) Occur less frequently. Thorndike’s Law of Effect states that behaviors that are followed by negative consequences are less likely to recur and those that are followed by positive consequences have a higher probability of being repeated in the future.