AP Psychology Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality Practice Exam

1. [Skill: 1.A | Topic: 4.1] A student watches a classmate, Maya, arrive late to class. The student says, “Maya is so irresponsible.” Later that day, the same student arrives late to class and says, “The traffic was terrible because of an accident.” Which concept best explains the student’s different explanations for Maya’s lateness versus their own lateness?

2. [Skill: 2.A | Topic: 4.1] A researcher studies whether repeated exposure to an unfamiliar symbol affects how much students like it. Participants are randomly assigned to see the symbol either 1 time, 5 times, or 20 times during a brief slideshow. Afterward, participants rate how much they like the symbol on a scale from 1 (do not like) to 10 (like a lot). [Image Cue]: Bar graph, "Average Liking Rating by Number of Exposures". X-axis: Exposures (1, 5, 20). Y-axis: Average liking rating (1–10). Data: 1 exposure = 3.2; 5 exposures = 5.1; 20 exposures = 6.0. Trend: liking increases as exposures increase. Which conclusion is best supported by the results?

3. [Skill: 2A | Topic: 4.2] A school district conducted an audit of disciplinary decisions. Administrators were given identical written descriptions of student behavior (e.g., “talked back to the teacher,” “left seat without permission”) paired with student photos. Although administrators reported that they “treat all students the same,” the audit found that students pictured as members of one racial group were more likely to receive harsher consequences than students pictured as members of another racial group. Which of the following best explains the administrators’ behavior, based on the findings?

4. [Skill: 1B | Topic: 4.2] In a classic laboratory study, participants who privately opposed a new campus policy were asked to write a persuasive speech supporting it. One group was paid 1 dollar for writing the speech, and another group was paid 50 dollars. Afterward, participants again rated their attitudes toward the policy. The 1 dollar group reported more favorable attitudes toward the policy than they had reported earlier. Which of the following best explains the attitude change in the 1 dollar group?

5. [Skill: 1.A | Topic: 4.3] A researcher tests how different campaign messages influence attitudes about a proposed campus sustainability fee. Participants are randomly assigned to view one of two videos: - Condition 1 (Strong-Argument Message): A student speaker presents detailed evidence (statistics, costs, and projected outcomes). - Condition 2 (Cue-Based Message): A popular athlete endorses the fee using a catchy slogan, upbeat music, and attractive visuals but gives few details. Before viewing, participants report whether the issue is highly personally relevant to them (high involvement) or not (low involvement). After viewing, they rate their support for the fee. Results: - High-involvement participants show a larger increase in support in Condition 1 than in Condition 2. - Low-involvement participants show a larger increase in support in Condition 2 than in Condition 1. Which of the following best explains the pattern of results?

6. [Skill: 1.A | Topic: 4.3] A study examines helping behavior on a college campus. A staged situation occurs in which a confederate drops a stack of papers and appears to struggle. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two conditions: - Alone condition: The participant is the only bystander present. - Group condition: Two additional bystanders are present (also confederates), and they do not help. The proportion of participants who help is shown below: - Alone condition: 0.72 - Group condition: 0.31 Which of the following best explains why helping decreased in the group condition?

7. [Skill: 2A | Topic: 4.4] A psychologist who primarily follows a psychodynamic approach wants to assess a client’s personality. During the assessment, the psychologist presents a set of ambiguous inkblots and asks the client to describe what each inkblot looks like. The psychologist then interprets the client’s responses as reflecting underlying motives and conflicts. Which of the following best explains why this assessment method is consistent with the psychodynamic perspective?

8. **1.** [Skill: 2A | Topic: 4.5] A school counselor interviews Maya, a 10th-grade student, about her sudden increase in confidence during class discussions. Maya reports that at the start of the year she believed she was “bad at speaking” and avoided raising her hand. After a teacher privately encouraged her and suggested she try answering one question per week, Maya began participating more often. As classmates responded positively, Maya started volunteering even more, joined the debate club, and now describes herself as “someone who can speak up.” Which of the following best explains Maya’s personality change from the social-cognitive perspective?

9. [Skill: 2A | Topic: 4.6] Researchers investigated why people sometimes eat when they are not physiologically hungry. All participants ate a full meal at 12:00 p.m. In the lab at 2:00 p.m., participants provided a saliva sample to estimate hunger/satiety hormones and were then seated for 15 minutes in one of two rooms with a bowl of cookies available. [Image Cue]: Bar graph titled "Cookie Consumption by Room Condition" with x-axis labeled "Condition" (Two bars: "Neutral Room" and "Social Food-Cue Room") and y-axis labeled "Average cookies eaten (number)". The Neutral Room bar is about 1 cookie; the Social Food-Cue Room bar is about 4 cookies. A note on the figure states: "Average hormone levels at 2:00 p.m. did not differ between conditions (ghrelin low; leptin high)." The Social Food-Cue Room is described as having a strong cookie smell and two confederates eating cookies. Which of the following best explains the difference in cookie consumption between the two conditions?

10. [Skill: 2A | Topic: 4.7] In a study on emotion, participants are randomly assigned to receive an injection that causes physiological arousal (e.g., increased heart rate). Half of the participants are accurately told the injection will cause arousal, and the other half are told it will have no side effects. While waiting, each participant sits with a confederate who behaves either euphorically (laughing, playing with objects) or angrily (complaining, tearing up paperwork). Participants then report how they feel. Results: Participants who were not told to expect arousal report emotions that match the confederate’s behavior (more happiness with the euphoric confederate and more anger with the angry confederate) more strongly than participants who were told to expect arousal. Which theory of emotion is most directly supported by these results?