Tips for Multiple Choice Questions Multiple Choice Question Structure Stem1.Which of the following is responsible for focusing the image on the retina?

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsMultiple Choice Question Structure

Stem 1.Which of the following is responsible for focusing the image on the retina?

Decoys/distracters A. cornea

B. optic nerve

C. rods

D. cones

Correct Answer E. lens

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsAnticipate the answer

As you read the stem of each multiple choice question, anticipate the answer if you can, before looking at the options. If the answer you anticipated is among the options, it is likely to be the correct one.


When Shelly first had cable television service installed, Public Broadcasting (PBS) was on channel 9. Her cable company then switched PBS to channel 16. Shelly now has trouble remembering that PBS is on channel 16 and not on channel 9. This memory problem represents

(AP Psychology Exam 2004 #86)



(A) memory decay

(B) retrograde amnesia

(C) reconstruction errors

(D) retroactive interference

(E) proactive interference




(A) memory decay

(B) retrograde amnesia

(C) reconstruction errors

(D) retroactive interference

(E) proactive interference


Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsCompletely read each question and every answer

Always read each question completely. Continue reading even if you find your anticipated answer among the options. There may be a more complete option farther down the list.


Which of the following is evidence of the reliability of a new intelligence test?

(A) A correlation of +0.90 exists between scores on the new test and scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.

(B) The test predicts students’ ability to succeed in college.

(C) The correlation between scores for identical twins taking the test is +0.90.

(D) Baseline data for test norming are obtained from a diverse sample of several thousand participants.

(E) The correlation between scores of participants who take two forms of the test

is +0.90. (AP Psychology Exam 2004 #70)


Which of the following is evidence of the reliability of a new intelligence test?

(A) A correlation of +0.90 exists between scores on the new test and scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.

(B) The test predicts students’ ability to succeed in college.

(C) The correlation between scores for identical twins taking the test is +0.90.

(D) Baseline data for test norming are obtained from a diverse sample of several thousand participants.

(E) The correlation between scores of participants who take two forms of the test

is +0.90. (AP Psychology Exam 2004 #70)

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsRe-phrase complicated questions

If the question is too complex try to re-phrase it into a form you can understand.

“In their deliberations and discussions regarding the process of developmental maturation, the advocates of the importance of nurture in the nature/nurture controversy emphasize which of the following concepts?”

Which of the following do those who believe in nurture believe?

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsStick to the subject matter

Watch for answers that have nothing to do with the subject matter of the course or have nothing to do with the subject matter of the particular unit the question is testing.


Alfred Binet’s most important contribution to psychology was in the area of

(A) intelligence testing

(B) visual perception

(C) psychopathology

(D) comparative psychology

(E) classical conditioning



Alfred Binet’s most important contribution to psychology was in the area of

(A) intelligence testing

(B) visual perception

(C) psychopathology

(D) comparative psychology

(E) classical conditioning


Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsWatch for help

Look for answers or help within other questions of the test.


Which of the following theoretical frameworks would argue most strongly that a healthy child will choose what is good for his or her growth?

(A) Social learning theory

(B) Psychoanalytic

(C) Behavioral

(D) Humanistic

(E) Psychodynamic



Which of the following theoretical frameworks would argue most strongly that a healthy child will choose what is good for his or her growth?

(A) Social learning theory

(B) Psychoanalytic

(C) Behavioral

(D) Humanistic

(E) Psychodynamic



The humanistic perspective in psychology suggests that

(A) most behavior can be explained by operant conditioning principles

(B) all humans have peak experiences

(C) all humans are by nature good

(D) humans are doomed to a life of neurosis and suffering

(E) self-actualization can happen only through therapy



The humanistic perspective in psychology suggests that

(A) most behavior can be explained by operant conditioning principles

(B) all humans have peak experiences

(C) all humans are by nature good

(D) humans are doomed to a life of neurosis and suffering

(E) self-actualization can happen only through therapy


Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsUse “all of the above” to your advantage

On items that have "all of the above" as an option, if you know that just two of the options are correct, you should choose "all of the above."

If you are confident that one of the options is incorrect, you should eliminate this option and "all of the above" and choose from the remaining options.

AP Psychology exam has not had any “all of the above” or “none of the above” questions

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsUse qualifiers and 100% words

Qualifiers: often, sometimes, perhaps, may, generally, some, seldom, usually, ordinarily, etc.

Options that use qualifiers tend to be correct.

100% words: never, none, no, every, always, all, only, entirely, necessarily, completely, totally, etc.

Options that represent broad, sweeping generalizations tend to be incorrect.

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsUse flaws within the test to your advantage

Many writers of test questions make mistakes that you can use to help determine the correct answer.

Common Flaws in Multiple Choice Items

Flaw #1The incorrect options are highly implausible

The part of the brain responsible for higher order thinking is the:

A. cerebrum

B. pupil

C. repression

D. pituitary gland

E. mania


Flaw #1The incorrect options are highly implausible

The part of the brain responsible for higher order thinking is the:

A. cerebrum

B. pupil

C. repression

D. pituitary gland

E. mania

Common Flaws in Multiple Choice ItemsFlaw #2Equivalence and/or contradictions among options

allow one to eliminate the incorrect options.

Which of the following is a anxiety disorder?

A. manic depression

B. bipolar disorder

C. phobia

D. dissociative amnesia

E. psychogenic amnesia

Common Flaws in Multiple Choice ItemsFlaw #2Equivalence and/or contradictions among options

allow one to eliminate the incorrect options.

Which of the following is a anxiety disorder?

A. manic depression

B. bipolar disorder

C. phobia

D. dissociative amnesia

E. psychogenic amnesia


Flaw #3Content information in other items provides the

answer.Flaw #4The correct option is more detailed and/or more

specific than all the other options.Flaw #5The correct option is longer than all the other

options.


Flaw #6There is grammatical inconsistency between the

stem and the incorrect options but not the correct option.

Flaw #7The incorrect options include certain key words that

tend to appear in false statements (i.e. always, must, never, and so on).

Common Flaws in Multiple Choice ItemsFlaw #8There is a resemblance between the stem and

correct option but not the incorrect options.

Skinner and the other behaviorists would promote which of the following therapies?

A. psychoanalysis

B. humanistic therapy

C. behavioral therapy

D. Gestalt therapy

E. cognitive therapy

Common Flaws in Multiple Choice ItemsFlaw #8There is a resemblance between the stem and

correct option but not the incorrect options.

Skinner and the other behaviorists would promote which of the following therapies?

A. psychoanalysis

B. humanistic therapy

C. behavioral therapy

D. Gestalt therapy

E. cognitive therapy

Common Flaws in Multiple Choice ItemsFlaw #1 - The incorrect options are highly implausible

Flaw #2 - Equivalence and/or contradictions among options allow one to eliminate the incorrect options.

Flaw #3 - Content information in other items provides the answer.

Flaw #4 - The correct option is more detailed and/or more specific than all the other options.

Flaw #5 - The correct option is longer than all the other options.

Flaw #6 - There is grammatical inconsistency between the stem and the incorrect options but not the correct option.

Flaw #7 - The incorrect options include certain key words that tend to appear in false statements (i.e. always, must, never, and so on).

Flaw #8 - There is a resemblance between the stem and correct option but not the incorrect options.

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsEliminate implausible answers

Learn how to quickly eliminate options that are high implausible. Many questions have only two plausible options, accompanied by "throwaway" options for filler. You should work at spotting these implausible options so that you can quickly discard them and narrow your task.

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsEliminate implausible answersAccording to Benjamin Whorf’s linguistic relatively hypothesis,

which of the following is true?(A) Individuals have a natural predisposition to

walk in the first two years of life.(B) Individuals learn positive instances of

reinforcement faster than they learn negative instances.

(C) Children learn “object permanence” much sooner than Piaget proposed in his cognitive theory.

(D) Different languages predispose those individuals who speak them to think about the world in

different ways.(E) Children learn quantifying behaviors through

their interactions with adults before learning qualifying behaviors.

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsEliminate implausible answersAccording to Benjamin Whorf’s linguistic relatively hypothesis,

which of the following is true?(A) Individuals have a natural predisposition to

walk in the first two years of life.(B) Individuals learn positive instances of

reinforcement faster than they learn negative instances.

(C) Children learn “object permanence” much sooner than Piaget proposed in his cognitive theory.

(D) Different languages predispose those individuals who speak them to think about the world in

different ways.(E) Children learn quantifying behaviors through

their interactions with adults before learning qualifying behaviors.

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsEliminate implausible answersWhich of the following is an example of a metacognition?

(A) Explaining the significance of the client’s dreams to their disorder.

(B) Protecting the terminal buttons of the neuron from destruction by enzymes in the spinal cord.

(C) Viewing personality disorders as adjustments to the environment.

(D) Understanding the role of various parts of the brain in motor coordination.

(E) Knowing the effectiveness of different strategies for learning statistical formulas.

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsEliminate implausible answersWhich of the following is an example of a metacognition?

(A) Explaining the significance of the client’s dreams to their disorder.

(B) Protecting the terminal buttons of the neuron from destruction by enzymes in the spinal cord.

(C) Viewing personality disorders as adjustments to the environment.

(D) Understanding the role of various parts of the brain in motor coordination.

(E) Knowing the effectiveness of different strategies for learning statistical formulas.

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsEliminate implausible answersA college student experiences a lost of sensation in her

right arm before exams. Doctors can find no physiological basis for her condition. This student is most likely experiencing which of the following kinds of disorders?

(A) Somatoform

(B) Dissociative

(C) Anxiety

(D) Mood

(E) Personality(AP Psychology Exam 2004 #64)

Tips for Multiple Choice QuestionsEliminate implausible answersA college student experiences a lost of sensation in her

right arm before exams. Doctors can find no physiological basis for her condition. This student is most likely experiencing which of the following kinds of disorders?

(A) Somatoform

(B) Dissociative

(C) Anxiety

(D) Mood

(E) Personality(AP Psychology Exam 2004 #64)

Process of Elimination Test01. A race car driver participates in a highly

competitive race. The part of his brain that enables him to plan a strategy to win the race is said to be the:

A. spinal cord

B. pons

C. corpus callosum

D. frontal lobe.

E. optic disk

Process of Elimination Test01. A race car driver participates in a highly

competitive race. The part of his brain that enables him to plan a strategy to win the race is said to be the:

A. spinal cord

B. pons

C. corpus callosum

D. frontal lobe.

E. optic disk

Process of Elimination Test02. Marion Diamond, who is seen freezing

and slicing sections of a rat’s cortex, has observed that removing the ________ of newly born female rats facilitates the development of ________ hemisphere of their brains.

A. ovaries; the right

B. testes; the right

C. ovaries; both

D. testes; both

E. testes and ovaries; both

Process of Elimination Test02. Marion Diamond, who is seen freezing

and slicing sections of a rat’s cortex, has observed that removing the ________ of newly born female rats facilitates the development of ________ hemisphere of their brains.

A. ovaries; the right

B. testes; the right

C. ovaries; both

D. testes; both

E. testes and ovaries; both

Process of Elimination Test03. A picture of a woman on the telephone was

briefly flashed in the left visual field of Vicki, a split-brain patient which goes to the left side of her brain. In order to indicate that she had actually seen the telephone, Vicki used her ________ hand to write ________

A. left; the word "telephone"

B. right; the word "telephone".C. left; draw a picture of a telephone

D. right; draw a picture of a telephone

E. left; an X on a picture of a woman on the telephone

Process of Elimination Test03. A picture of a woman on the telephone was

briefly flashed in the left visual field of Vicki, a split-brain patient which goes to the left side of her brain. In order to indicate that she had actually seen the telephone, Vicki used her ________ hand to write ________

A. left; the word "telephone"

B. right; the word "telephone".C. left; draw a picture of a telephone

D. right; draw a picture of a telephone

E. left; an X on a picture of a woman on the telephone

Process of Elimination Test04. In describing a visual pathway that moves down

to the inferior temporal lobe, Mortimer Mishkin notes that single cumulative cells in this region of monkey brains have been found to be selectively activated by:

A. an increase in tone waves of a specific frequency

B. changes in auditory stimulation

C. a decrease in tone waves of a specific frequency

D. the loudness or amplitude of the stimulus

E. monkey faces.

Process of Elimination Test04. In describing a visual pathway that moves down

to the inferior temporal lobe, Mortimer Mishkin notes that single cumulative cells in this region of monkey brains have been found to be selectively activated by:

A. an increase in tone waves of a specific frequency

B. changes in auditory stimulation

C. a decrease in tone waves of a specific frequency

D. the loudness or amplitude of the stimulus

E. monkey faces.

Process of Elimination Test05. In this module, Michael Siffre describes

his experience of living underground in a Texas cave for 7 months. His research confirmed the findings that most humans are biologically programmed to follow a:

A. 5-minute sleep cycle

B. 16-hour sleep cycle

C. 8-hour wake cycle

D. 168-hour circadian (daily) rhythm

E. 25-hour circadian (daily) rhythm.

Process of Elimination Test05. In this module, Michael Siffre describes

his experience of living underground in a Texas cave for 7 months. His research confirmed the findings that most humans are biologically programmed to follow a:

A. 5-minute sleep cycle

B. 16-hour sleep cycle

C. 8-hour wake cycle

D. 168-hour circadian (daily) rhythm

E. 25-hour circadian (daily) rhythm.

Process of Elimination Test06. J. Allan Hobson's theory is that dreams

result from bursts of neural activity originating from the:

A. brainstem.

B. retina

C. acetylcholineD. endorphin

E. GABA

Process of Elimination Test06. J. Allan Hobson's theory is that dreams

result from bursts of neural activity originating from the:

A. brainstem.

B. retina

C. acetylcholineD. endorphin

E. GABA

Process of Elimination Test07. After attempting to identify the area of a

rat's brain where memories are stored, Karl Lashley concluded that memories:

A. are localized in the glutamote

B. are localized in the pons

C. are localized in the pituitary

D. are localized in the rat’s DNA

E. cannot be discretely localized.

Process of Elimination Test07. After attempting to identify the area of a

rat's brain where memories are stored, Karl Lashley concluded that memories:

A. are localized in the glutamote

B. are localized in the pons

C. are localized in the pituitary

D. are localized in the rat’s DNA

E. cannot be discretely localized.

Process of Elimination Test08. Alzheimer's disease results from a

deterioration of the nucleus basalis and the loss of:

A. acetylcholine.

B. the medulla

C. the UCS

D. the cerebellum

E. the cones

Process of Elimination Test08. Alzheimer's disease results from a

deterioration of the nucleus basalis and the loss of:

A. acetylcholine.

B. the medulla

C. the UCS

D. the cerebellum

E. the cones

Process of Elimination Test09. When spoken language is processed in the

brain, sound first travels as nerve impulses to:

A. Wernicke's area.

B. the iris

C. the eardrum

D. the semicircular canals

E. the hammer, anvil, and stirrup

Process of Elimination Test09. When spoken language is processed in the

brain, sound first travels as nerve impulses to:

A. Wernicke's area.

B. the iris

C. the eardrum

D. the semicircular canals

E. the hammer, anvil, and stirrup

Process of Elimination Test10. In the case studies of Sharon and Nicole,

who suffered brain damage from hydrocephalus, CT scans reveal an expansion in the size of the brain's:

A. adrenal gland

B. cochlea

C. papilla

D. ventricles.

E. cornea

Process of Elimination Test10. In the case studies of Sharon and Nicole,

who suffered brain damage from hydrocephalus, CT scans reveal an expansion in the size of the brain's:

A. adrenal gland

B. cochlea

C. papilla

D. ventricles.

E. cornea

Process of Elimination Test11. After Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis

performs three spectacular dives, the narrator indicates that underlying Greg's elegant body movements are the coordinated activities of the basal ganglia, motor cortex, and:

A. Delta wave activity

B. cerebellum.

C. delusions of persecution

D. the bystander effect

E. placebos

Process of Elimination Test11. After Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis

performs three spectacular dives, the narrator indicates that underlying Greg's elegant body movements are the coordinated activities of the basal ganglia, motor cortex, and:

A. Delta wave activity

B. cerebellum.

C. delusions of persecution

D. the bystander effect

E. placebos

Process of Elimination Test12. This module suggests that learning involves

physical changes in brain circuitry. Gary Lynch describes his research on the formation of new synaptic connections in which sections of rat brains were monitored before and after:

A. electrical stimulation.

B. agoraphobia

C. the rats reach Piaget’s formal operation stage

D. naturalistic observation

E. random assignment

Process of Elimination Test12. This module suggests that learning involves

physical changes in brain circuitry. Gary Lynch describes his research on the formation of new synaptic connections in which sections of rat brains were monitored before and after:

A. electrical stimulation.

B. agoraphobia

C. the rats reach Piaget’s formal operation stage

D. naturalistic observation

E. random assignment

Process of Elimination Test13. Drugs that interfere with the ability of

rats to remember the location of a platform in a water maze provide evidence that memory consolidation is mediated by:

A. a lobotomy

B. egocentrism

C. phenotypes

D. LTP.

E. genotypes

Process of Elimination Test13. Drugs that interfere with the ability of

rats to remember the location of a platform in a water maze provide evidence that memory consolidation is mediated by:

A. a lobotomy

B. egocentrism

C. phenotypes

D. LTP.

E. genotypes

Process of Elimination Test14. This module highlights the case of Mark

Larribus, who was accused of almost killing his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter. Mark's aggressiveness was dramatically reduced after removal of a brain tumor that exerted pressure on his:

A. optic nerve

B. ovaries

C. axons

D. serotonin

E. hypothalamus.

Process of Elimination Test14. This module highlights the case of Mark

Larribus, who was accused of almost killing his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter. Mark's aggressiveness was dramatically reduced after removal of a brain tumor that exerted pressure on his:

A. optic nerve

B. ovaries

C. axons

D. serotonin

E. hypothalamus.

Process of Elimination Test15. By studying brain sections at autopsy, Dr.

Margaret Bauman and her colleagues discovered that autism is related to structural abnormalities in:

A. the collective unconscious

B. limbic and cerebellar circuits.

C. the medulla not functioning at all

D. the adrenal gland

E. amplitude

Process of Elimination Test15. By studying brain sections at autopsy, Dr.

Margaret Bauman and her colleagues discovered that autism is related to structural abnormalities in:

A. the collective unconscious

B. limbic and cerebellar circuits.

C. the medulla not functioning at all

D. the adrenal gland

E. amplitude

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Tips for Multiple Choice Questions Multiple Choice Question Structure Stem1.Which of the following is responsible for focusing the image on the retina?