AP PSYCHOLOGY PRACTICE TEST I (WITH EXPLANATIONS) EXAM

Which of the following is an example of habituation?
(A) The first time Ilene wear high-heeled shoes, she finds them extremely
uncomfortable.
(B) Ilene can only tolerate wearing high-heeled shoes for a few hours because they
hurt.
(C) Ilene wore high-heeled shoes for the first time two weeks ago; now she wears them
every day.
(D) High-heeled shoes always hurt Ilene's fee, but she forces herself to wear them
because they are fashionable.
(E) When Ilene wears high-heeled shoes all day he feet usually only hurt for the first few
minutes. - Correct Answer-E - Habituation—the process whereby a stimulus has less
effect after repeated or continuous exposure.
Predict the Answer: Look for the scenario in which somebody is less affected by
something because she gets used to it. Choice (A) simply states that Ilene wore high
heels once and found them uncomfortable, (eliminate (A)). Choice (B) states that Ilene
can only stand wearing high heels for a few hours, suggesting there is no habituation
(eliminate (B) too). Choice (C) states that Ilene wore heels for the first time two weeks
ago and now wears them every day. Who cares? There's no information about
discomfort or her response to it. This trick answer choice describes the development of
a "habit" in the ordinary sense of the word, not "habituation" as a technical term
(eliminate (C). Similarly, (D) tells us that Ilene forces herself to wear heels because
they're fashionable, even though they hurt. There's nothing to suggest she has
habituated to the discomfort. Choice (E) is exactly what we need here. When Ilene
wears heels they only hurt for the first few minutes (because she gets used to them).
Which of the following is NOT a symptom of major depressive disorder?
(A) Loss of appetite
(B) Mania
(C) Social withdrawal
(D) Prolonged feelings of sadness
(E) Suicidal ideation - Correct Answer-B - Mania, a symptom of bipolar disorder, doesn't
fit in with the rest of the depressive symptoms listed. All other answers are symptoms of
severe depression.
Joe's psychotherapist often asks him to recount his dreams, discuss his early childhood,
and explore possible feelings and motivations of which he is unaware. His therapist
would best be described as
(A) behavioral
(B) psychodynamic
(C) client-centered
(D) cognitive-behavioral
(E) eclectic - Correct Answer-B - Joe's therapy deals with dreams, his early childhood,
and motivations and feelings he's not aware of (i.e. "unconscious"). Yep, Freud! These
are the hallmarks of psychodynamic (Freudian-based) therapy and are generally