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
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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
2. In order to determine the average amount spent in November on Amazon.com a random sample of 144 Amazon accounts were selected. The sample mean amount spent in November was $250 with a standard deviation of $25. Assuming that the population standard deviation is unknown, what is a 95% confidence interval for the population mean amount spent on Amazon.com in November?
σA = 0.3 × (0.07)2 + 0.4 × (0.06)2 + 0.3 × (0.08)2 − (0.021)2 = 0.004389,
If John gets an 90 on a physics test where the mean is 85 and the standard deviation is 3, where does he stand in relation to his classmates? (he is in the top 5%, he is in the top 10%, he is in the bottom 5%, or bottom 1%)
3) A nurse takes care of a patient with cardiac dysrhythmia. Which of the following laboratory values is a priority for the nurse to monitor?
The number of cell phone minutes used by high school seniors follows a normal distribution with a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 50. What is the probability that a student uses more than 350 minutes?
Fry Brothers heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. employs Larry Clark and George Murnen to make service calls to repair furnaces and air conditioning units in homes. Tom Fry, the owner, would like to know whether there is a difference in the mean number of service calls they make per day. Assume the population standard deviation for Larry Clark is 1.05 calls per day and 1.23 calls per day for George Murnen. A random sample of 40 days last year showed that Larry Clark made an average of
10. If you are avoiding a specific food because of a bad memory, it is called food aversion. Which brain region is associated with food aversion?
A hypothesis is an explanation that can be tested based on observation. A statistical hypothesis is testable explanation based on observation and different variables. A null hypothesis explains what the results of the experiment will be if the original hypothesis is wrong. An alternate hypothesis is the opposite result if there is or isn’t a null hypothesis. Semmelweis hypothesized that bacteria/virus filled extremities resulted in higher death rates.
Your memory of your first day of high school would be an example of which of the following types of memory?
1. Why is a z score a standard score? Why can standard scores be used to compare scores from different distributions? It is a scores relationship to the mean indicating whether it is above or below the mean. It does this by converting scores to z score. Yes – keep going – just a bit more is needed.2 out of 3 pts
Females scored an average of 7.375, and had a standard deviation of 2.2. In this test the females had scored a higher average score than the males. Although the males had a standard deviation closer to one, therefore the males score were more closely associated with each other, while the females had scores that were much more scattered.
So, we have a distribution with a mean of 20,000 and a standard deviation of 5,102.
When one speaks of intelligence or how bright another person is, the often quoted figure is the IQ or intelligence quotient. It is the most often used standard of how smart a person is. This paper shall look at what intelligence tests measure, how the IQ tests measure intelligence and interrogate their history. It shall then apply the tests to school policy and hence evaluate their validity.
I intend to research on the concept and background knowledge of Standardized Testing. A question I would like to answer is, does a standardized test really conclude someone’s intelligence? Another question to consider is; do minority students not perform as well because it is not written fairly for them? The topic of standardized testing is a major controversy in our education system today; as its pros and cons. Standardized testing has been around since the 1800’s and the No Child Left Behind Act authorized this procedural test in all fifty states. As a class we argued Human Capital vs Seed People. Everyone in our class agreed with the ‘Seed’ side, stating that standardized tests should not define a student and that one number should not dictate where that child will continue his or her schooling along with how well he/she will be performing in the rest of their academic careers. I am interested in finding and researching if schools really need this test to prove a student’s intelligence. How can a test influence teacher and parents? Will teachers only start teaching to the test and eliminate the creativity aspect of the classrooms; along with knowing that how well their students perform on the test, the better they look and can be paid more. This topic is a major controversy today, which has so many people on edge. Is the test right or wrong in the eyes of people who examine them, and base future decisions on just that number? I am going to explore all the possible ideas,