Getting ready for the AP Psychology exam? These 20 free practice questions cover key ideas from all five units of the course, from the biology of behavior to mental and physical health, each with a clear explanation. Try each question on your own first, then tap Show answer to check your thinking.
The questions are written in the style of the multiple-choice section of the exam. Most AP Psychology questions describe a person, a situation or a study and ask which concept fits, so focus on applying each term, not just defining it.
What the AP Psychology exam covers
- Biological Bases of Behavior: neurons, neurotransmitters, the brain, sleep and sensation
- Cognition: perception, memory, thinking, problem solving and intelligence
- Development and Learning: development across the lifespan, language, and classical, operant and social learning
- Social Psychology and Personality: attribution, attitudes, conformity and group behavior, personality, motivation and emotion
- Mental and Physical Health: stress and coping, positive psychology, psychological disorders and treatment
- Research methods and data (across every unit): study designs, variables, ethics and basic statistics such as means, standard deviations and correlations
How to use these questions
Work through the questions without notes, the way you would on test day. Keep track of the ones you miss, and note which unit each one comes from. Two or three misses in the same unit is a sign to review that unit before moving on.
Read every explanation, even for questions you got right. Pay special attention to pairs of terms that are easy to mix up, such as negative reinforcement and punishment, or Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area. Those mix-ups are where many points are lost.
Practice questions
Question 1
In a study testing whether a new medication reduces anxiety, neither the participants nor the researchers who rate their anxiety know who received the medication and who received a placebo. The main purpose of this procedure is to
A. make sure the sample represents the population
B. reduce the effects of participant expectations and experimenter bias
C. increase the size of the sample
D. allow the researchers to calculate a correlation
Show answer
Answer: B. This is a double-blind procedure. Because no one involved knows who got the real medication, participants’ expectations (the placebo effect) and researchers’ hopes can’t influence the results. Representative samples come from random sampling, which is a different procedure.
Question 2
A disease gradually destroys the myelin sheath that covers the axons of many neurons. Which effect is most likely?
A. Neural impulses travel more slowly and less reliably along the axons
B. Neurons release more neurotransmitter into the synapse
C. Dendrites can no longer receive any messages
D. Neurons produce stronger action potentials
Show answer
Answer: A. Myelin insulates the axon and lets the impulse jump quickly from one gap in the sheath to the next. When myelin breaks down, as in multiple sclerosis, signals slow down or fail, which can affect movement and sensation.
Question 3
A person can just barely tell the difference between a 100-gram weight and a 104-gram weight. According to Weber’s law, which weight could she most likely just barely tell apart from a 500-gram weight?
A. 504 grams
B. 510 grams
C. 520 grams
D. 600 grams
Show answer
Answer: C. Weber’s law says the difference threshold is a constant proportion of the original stimulus, not a constant amount. Here the just-noticeable difference is 4 percent (4 grams out of 100), and 4 percent of 500 grams is 20 grams, so she would notice 520 grams. Choice A is the trap: it keeps the same 4-gram difference.
Question 4
Two groups read the same list of words. Group 1 decides whether each word is printed in capital letters. Group 2 decides whether each word describes them. On a surprise recall test, Group 2 remembers far more of the words. This finding best supports the idea that
A. deeper processing of meaning leads to better memory
B. memory is best for the first and last items on a list
C. old learning interferes with new learning
D. sensory memory has unlimited capacity
Show answer
Answer: A. Judging how letters look is shallow processing, while thinking about what a word means and how it relates to you is deep, semantic processing. Deeper processing creates stronger, more connected memories, so Group 2 recalls more. Relating information to yourself, called the self-reference effect, is an especially strong form of deep processing.
Question 5
Each time Lena gets a shot at the doctor’s office, she smells a strong antiseptic. After several visits, the smell alone makes her feel anxious. In this example, the smell of the antiseptic is the
A. unconditioned stimulus
B. unconditioned response
C. conditioned stimulus
D. conditioned response
Show answer
Answer: C. The painful shot is the unconditioned stimulus, because it causes fear without any learning. The smell was neutral at first, but after being paired with the shot it now triggers anxiety on its own, which makes it the conditioned stimulus. The anxiety she feels at the smell is the conditioned response.
Question 6
A teenager comes home after curfew, and his parents take away his phone for the weekend. After that, he comes home on time. Which concept does this example best illustrate?
A. Positive reinforcement
B. Negative reinforcement
C. Positive punishment
D. Negative punishment
Show answer
Answer: D. Something he values (the phone) was taken away, and the unwanted behavior (coming home late) decreased. Removing something pleasant to decrease a behavior is negative punishment. The common trap is negative reinforcement, which removes something unpleasant to increase a behavior.
Question 7
When a stranger cuts in front of him in traffic, Marcus decides the driver must be a rude, careless person. He doesn’t consider that the driver might be rushing to a hospital. Marcus’s judgment best illustrates
A. the self-serving bias
B. the fundamental attribution error
C. cognitive dissonance
D. the mere exposure effect
Show answer
Answer: B. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to explain other people’s behavior by their personality while underestimating the situation. Marcus blames the driver’s character and ignores possible situational causes. The self-serving bias is about how people explain their own successes and failures.
Question 8
An experienced pianist plays better in front of a large audience than when practicing alone, but a beginner makes more mistakes when people are watching. This pattern is best explained by
A. social loafing
B. social facilitation
C. deindividuation
D. group polarization
Show answer
Answer: B. Social facilitation is the finding that the presence of others raises arousal, which improves performance on well-learned or easy tasks and hurts performance on new or difficult ones. Social loafing is reduced effort when individual work in a group can’t be identified.
Question 9
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a common medication for depressive disorders, work mainly by
A. blocking serotonin receptors so serotonin cannot bind
B. preventing the sending neuron from reabsorbing serotonin, which leaves more serotonin in the synapse
C. breaking down serotonin in the synapse
D. increasing dopamine production in the cerebellum
Show answer
Answer: B. Reuptake is the process in which the sending neuron reabsorbs neurotransmitter from the synapse. SSRIs block reuptake of serotonin, so more serotonin stays available to act on the receiving neuron. Blocking receptors, as in choice A, describes an antagonist, which would have the opposite effect.
Question 10
Several times a month, Priya has sudden episodes of intense fear with a pounding heart, shortness of breath and dizziness. The episodes peak within minutes and come without an obvious trigger, and she now worries constantly about having another one. This pattern most closely resembles
A. generalized anxiety disorder
B. panic disorder
C. a specific phobia
D. obsessive-compulsive disorder
Show answer
Answer: B. Repeated, unexpected panic attacks followed by ongoing worry about having more of them fit the pattern of panic disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder involves steady, long-lasting worry about many things rather than sudden attacks, and a specific phobia is fear triggered by a particular object or situation.
More practice from the AP+ workbook
These next 10 questions come straight from our AP+ Review Workbook, with the same explanations you’ll find in its answer key.
Question 11
After left temporal lobe damage, a patient speaks fluently, but her sentences make little sense and she cannot follow spoken instructions. The damaged area is most likely
A. Broca’s area.
B. the motor cortex.
C. Wernicke’s area.
D. the cerebellum.
Show answer
Answer: C. Wernicke’s area, in the left temporal lobe, supports language comprehension. Damage there leaves speech fluent but meaningless and makes it hard to understand spoken language. Damage to Broca’s area would instead make speech slow and effortful.
Question 12
A split-brain participant sees a spoon in the left visual field only. The image is processed primarily in the
A. left hemisphere.
B. right hemisphere.
C. spinal cord.
D. pituitary gland.
Show answer
Answer: B. Information from the left visual field travels to the right hemisphere. In a split-brain patient, the corpus callosum has been cut, so the image stays in the right hemisphere and isn’t shared with the left.
Question 13
Ninety adults were randomly assigned to drink a beverage containing 0, 100, or 200 mg of caffeine. Thirty minutes later, reaction time to a light was measured in milliseconds (ms); lower is faster.
0 mg: mean reaction time 320 ms (SD 25)
100 mg: mean reaction time 290 ms (SD 28)
200 mg: mean reaction time 285 ms (SD 40)
Which conclusion is best supported by the data?
A. Caffeine slowed reaction time.
B. 200 mg was twice as effective as 100 mg.
C. Caffeine caused anxiety in the 200 mg group.
D. Caffeine sped reaction time, with little extra benefit above 100 mg.
Show answer
Answer: D. Lower reaction times are faster. Mean reaction time fell by 30 ms from 0 mg to 100 mg, but only 5 ms more from 100 mg to 200 mg, so caffeine sped reactions with little added benefit above 100 mg. The study did not measure anxiety, so choice C goes beyond the data.
Question 14
After two friends get food poisoning at a restaurant, a student judges the chance of getting sick there as very high, though health records show few cases. This reflects
A. the representativeness heuristic.
B. algorithmic thinking.
C. latent learning.
D. the availability heuristic.
Show answer
Answer: D. The availability heuristic is judging how likely something is by how easily examples come to mind. The friends’ vivid, easy-to-recall cases lead the student to overestimate the risk, even though the health records show few cases.
Question 15
A factory worker is paid $10 for every 20 shirts she finishes. She is on a
A. variable-ratio schedule.
B. fixed-interval schedule.
C. variable-interval schedule.
D. fixed-ratio schedule.
Show answer
Answer: D. Reinforcement comes after a set number of responses (every 20 shirts), which defines a fixed-ratio schedule. If the reward depended on the passage of time instead, it would be an interval schedule.
Question 16
A child says stealing is wrong “because you’ll get grounded.” Kohlberg would classify this reasoning as
A. conventional.
B. postconventional.
C. preconventional.
D. formal operational.
Show answer
Answer: C. Reasoning based on avoiding punishment marks Kohlberg’s preconventional level. Conventional reasoning focuses on following rules and gaining approval, and postconventional reasoning appeals to broader ethical principles. Formal operational is one of Piaget’s stages, not a Kohlberg level.
Question 17
A student changes his opinion during a class discussion because he wants his classmates to like him. This is
A. informational social influence.
B. normative social influence.
C. obedience.
D. deindividuation.
Show answer
Answer: B. Normative social influence is going along with a group in order to be liked or accepted. Informational social influence is going along because you believe the group is right.
Question 18
A basketball player makes the most free throws when moderately excited and fewer when bored or extremely anxious. This pattern fits
A. the Yerkes-Dodson law.
B. drive-reduction theory.
C. instinct theory.
D. the overjustification effect.
Show answer
Answer: A. The Yerkes-Dodson law states that performance peaks at a moderate level of arousal. Too little arousal (boredom) or too much (extreme anxiety) lowers performance.
Question 19
A man is certain, despite all evidence, that a celebrity is secretly in love with him. This is a
A. hallucination.
B. delusion.
C. compulsion.
D. phobia.
Show answer
Answer: B. A fixed false belief that persists despite evidence is a delusion. A hallucination is a false sensory perception, such as hearing voices that aren’t there.
Question 20
The exhaustion stage of the general adaptation syndrome is associated with
A. initial sympathetic activation only.
B. an immediate return to baseline.
C. depleted resources and vulnerability to illness.
D. increased resistance to all disease.
Show answer
Answer: C. In the general adaptation syndrome, prolonged stress moves the body from alarm to resistance and finally to exhaustion. By the exhaustion stage, the body’s resources are depleted, which leaves a person more vulnerable to illness.
How did you do?
If you got 17 or more right, you have a strong foundation. Focus your review on the explanations for any you missed. If you got 12 to 16 right, you’re on track, but a few units need more practice. If you got 11 or fewer right, start with the unit reviews before doing more practice questions.
Our AP+ Psychology Review Workbook covers every unit with clear concept notes, scenario practice, data checks, step-by-step AAQ and EBQ practice, a diagnostic test and a full-length practice exam with answers and explanations. It’s available as an instant PDF download or a paperback.
See the AP+ Psychology Review Workbook →
Studying for more than one AP exam? Browse the full AP+ Exam Prep series.
Frequently asked questions
Are these questions like the real AP Psychology exam?
They’re written in the style of the multiple-choice section and cover the same units and skills, including applying concepts to scenarios and reading research data. Official practice materials from the College Board are also worth using alongside them.
What’s the best way to study for AP Psychology?
Learn each term by applying it to examples of your own, practice identifying research methods and reading simple statistics, and do mixed practice questions from different units regularly. Reading the explanation for every question, including ones you get right, helps you tell similar concepts apart.
When is the AP Psychology exam?
AP exams are given each May. Check the College Board’s AP website for the current exam schedule.
AP is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this page or our workbooks.