AP Psychology

Help Questions

AP Psychology › AP Psychology

Questions 1 - 10
1

How did Noam Chomsky propose that we acquire language?

We are born with an innate capacity to rapidly learn language

We acquire language through teachings from caregivers and peers

We acquire the native language of our parents

We acquire the dominant language of the society in which we live

Explanation

Noam Chomsky proposed that we all are born with a "language acquisition device" in our minds, which gives us universal principles of human language. We learn our language's own "settings" for human communication according to these universal principles. For instance, if all human language has temporal tenses, we learn how our particular language expresses tense. Although the behaviorists believe we only learn language through our environment, Chomsky pointed out that we learn language very quickly through processes that appear similar to the human species, regardless of environment.

2

What is the role of the myelin sheath?

The myelin sheath insulates neurons and speeds their transmission of signals.

The myelin sheath protects neurons from radiation damage.

The myelin sheath protects neurons from attack by pathogens.

The myelin sheath secures neurons in place.

The myelin sheath nourishes the neurons.

Explanation

Myelin is a fatty substance produced by glial cells which encases some neurons and serves to insulate them, allowing electrical signals to transmit more quickly along them. Myelin cannot protect the neurons from radiation damage, or from attack by pathogens. Glial cells in the brain form myelin, and contribute to the nourishment and support of nerve cells; however, myelin itself does not serve this function. When myelin deteriorates, nerve transmission can be impaired, as in the case of multiple sclerosis.

3

Which of these characteristics is a basic tenet of a fantasy-prone personality?

Vivid imagination

Dislike of authority

Strong fluid reasoning

Left-handedness

Ability to speak a second language

Explanation

Those with a fantasy-prone personality spend much time daydreaming, thus utilizing their vivid imagination. They are often able to recall their fantasies with near perfect accuracy.

4

Which of these characteristics is a basic tenet of a fantasy-prone personality?

Vivid imagination

Dislike of authority

Strong fluid reasoning

Left-handedness

Ability to speak a second language

Explanation

Those with a fantasy-prone personality spend much time daydreaming, thus utilizing their vivid imagination. They are often able to recall their fantasies with near perfect accuracy.

5

Which of the following is the term for information that is processed below the threshold for conscious awareness?

Subliminal

Paranormal

Subtypical

Unconsciousness

Explanation

"Subliminal" is defined as "beneath the threshold" and it refers to information which is processed without entering into consciousness. Such information has been demonstrated to impact decision making in laboratory conditions, but failed to provide a significant enough influence to justify its use in advertising or politics. This allayed the concerns over a possible "brainwashing" of the public by the media which arose when this phenomenon was discovered.

Though in Freudian terminology the subconsciousness is described as a component of mental life which is inaccessible to regular consciousness, "unconsciousness" does not match this or the correct answer to the question. Finally, subliminal information is not "paranormal," or outside of the natural laws of physics, in any regard, and neither is it "subtypical", which is in fact, not a word at all.

6

Which of the following is not one of the four stages of Martin Hoffman's theory of empathy development?

Theory of Mind

Global Distress Reaction

Person Permanence

Role Taking

Comprehensive Empathy

Explanation

Theory of Mind refers to a person's general understanding that the people around them each have their own unique beliefs, perceptions, and desires. The other four answers are specifically the four stages of Hoffman's Theory (in order: Global Distress Reaction, Person Permanence, Role Taking, and Comprehensive Empathy).

7

A series of lights rapidly blinking off and on in succession creates the illusion of motion. This effect, which is often used in animation pictures, is referred to as which of the following?

Phi phenomenon

Prägnanz effect

Gestaltian experience

Opponent-process theory

Explanation

The Gestalt laws of perception are a set of principles that govern the way humans tend to perceive visual stimuli as a collective whole, rather than discrete individual objects or events. Different names are given to the specific applications of this overarching principle. For example, the phi phenomenon refers to the tendency to perceive a series of lights blinking on and off down a line as a single light moving along, instead of a number of lights turning on and off for no apparent reason. The law of prägnanz (not the prägnanz effect that was listed as an answer choice) is the Gestalt law that suggests that people perceive visual stimuli in terms of the simplest explanation or form possible. Opponent-process theory is a concept of visual perception that explains why some colors seem to be incompatible (e.g. we might see a yellowish green, but we cannot really imagine a reddish green).

8

Research has indicated that physical attractiveness has an effect on which of the following?

All of these

Job interviews

Romantic relationships

Perception of intelligence

Average salary

Explanation

Physical attractiveness has an affect in nearly every part of life. Due to psychological phenomena like the halo effect (e.g. when one character trait of a person leads others to assume other traits about them), physical attractiveness can lead individuals to believe that someone seems more intelligent, likeable, or competent. In terms of job interviews and average salary, studies have shown that conventionally attractive people tend to get jobs more easily and make more money. And, of course, physical attractiveness is one criterion that people consider important with regard to dating and relationships.

9

What is the name for the least amount of energy required for a sensation to take place?

The absolute threshold

The minimum threshold

Transduction

The just noticeable difference

Explanation

The minimum amount of energy for a stimulus to be registered as a sensation is known as the absolute threshold. Any stimulus that occurs too weakly to surpass this threshold will not result in a sensation, and will thus be undetected.

The just noticeable difference refers to the minimum amount of change in a stimulus necessary for a difference in its intensity to be recognized.

Transduction is the conversion of energy from one form into another, for example, from light energy into electrical energy during vision.

The minimum threshold may sound like the correct answer, but it is in fact not the correct term. The absolute threshold is the appropriate label for the phenomenon.

10

Erik Erikson is well known for his theory of psychosocial development: the idea that every stage of life contains a crisis in need of resolution.

According to Erikson, which of the following stages faces issues associated with initiative versus guilt?

Preschool

Elementary school

Infancy

Toddlerhood

Young adult

Explanation

Erik Erikson was a theorist who believed that each stage of life had its own task to overcome. Erickson’s psychosocial stages included the following: infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, elementary school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. He assigned each stage with an approximate age range. In the preschool stage (from about 3 to 6 years of age), Erikson believed people needed to resolve issues associated with initiative versus guilt. He hypothesized that children at this stage will learn to either take the initiative to start and carry out tasks or that they will feel guilty about their attempts to be independent. The other provided options are stages in Erikson's stages of psychosocial development; however, they each have their own tasks (i.e. trust versus mistrust or autonomy versus shame and doubt) and are incorrect.

Page 1 of 100