AP Psychology Unit 2 practice questions
Try 10 multiple-choice questions from Unit 2 here. Pick an answer to see why it's right or wrong, then take the timed test above for a full AP-style set.
Question 1
Source:Adapted from PeerJ. Sievwright et al. (2021). Misinformation effects in an online sample: results of an experimental study with a five day retention interval.
Researchers investigated how misinformation affects memory for events viewed online. Ninety-nine participants watched a 10-minute video of a fictional school shooting. Between 5 and 10 days later, participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The misinformation group read several statements about the video that contained incorrect information mixed with true information. The control group did not receive any misinformation. Both groups then completed a recognition test where they had to identify which statements about the video were true and which were false. The researchers measured how accurately participants in each group could discriminate between true statements and false statements about the video content they had watched.
Group Number of Participants Average Accuracy Score (out of 10) Control (no misinformation) 49 7.8 Misinformation 50 6.4 Which of the following best categorizes the research methodology used to investigate the participants' memory of the video?
Experimental design, because the researchers manipulated exposure to incorrect information.
Correlational study, because the researchers measured the relationship between two variables.
Quasi-experiment, because the participants were tested days after watching the video.
Naturalistic observation, because the participants viewed the fictional video online independently.
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Answer: (A)
Random assignment to conditions and the deliberate manipulation of an independent variable (presence or absence of misinformation) are the defining features of a true experiment, distinguishing it from observational or correlational methods.
Question 2
A researcher uses retrospective self-report measures of childhood maltreatment and adult attachment in 400 adults recruited from online mental health forums. They find a strong correlation between maltreatment severity and anxious attachment (r = .58, p < .001) and propose that maltreatment causes insecure adult attachment. Which non-experimental design changes would best strengthen causal inference?
Use a prospective longitudinal design with repeated measures, controls, and cross-lagged models.
Increase sample size and use more reliable measures to improve power and precision.
Randomly assign participants to a disclosure intervention or control to test causal effects.
Recruit from clinical settings rather than online forums to improve sample representativeness.
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Answer: (A)
A prospective longitudinal design establishes temporal precedence and captures change over time. Statistical controls reduce confounding and cross-lagged models test directionality between maltreatment and attachment.
Question 3
A neurotransmitter study measures glutamate levels in the hippocampus during learning tasks. Participants show glutamate spikes (from 2.1 to 5.8 micromolar) when encoding new information, with higher spikes correlating with better memory retention 24 hours later (r = 0.71). Which aspect of neural transmission is demonstrated by this relationship between glutamate activity and learning?
Excitatory neurotransmitter activity facilitates synaptic strengthening for memory formation
Excitatory neurotransmitter activity temporarily activates neural pathways during encoding
Excitatory neurotransmitter activity facilitates synaptic strengthening for attentional focus
Excitatory neurotransmitter activity facilitates synaptic strengthening for immediate memory retrieval
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Answer: (A)
Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the hippocampus; its increased activity during learning reflects enhanced neural communication that supports synaptic plasticity and memory consolidation. The strong correlation (r = 0.71) between glutamate spikes and later memory retention demonstrates how excitatory neurotransmitter function directly relates to cognitive processes, connecting neural transmission to behavioral/mental outcomes.
Question 4
An fMRI study shows hippocampal activation is high during early skill practice but declines after weeks. Which explanation best accounts for this change?
Skill control shifts from hippocampal explicit memory to cerebellar procedural memory
Hippocampal damage from repeated activation leads to reduced activity
Participant fatigue causes global brain activity decline including the hippocampus
Prefrontal cortex takes over hippocampal memory functions as expertise develops
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Answer: (A)
Practice shifts control from hippocampal explicit encoding to procedural systems. Cerebellum and motor networks assume control as the skill becomes automatic, reducing hippocampal activation.
Question 5
An fMRI study examined brain activation during a memory task in two groups: younger adults (ages 20-30) and older adults (ages 65-75). The data show activation levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex during encoding (learning) and retrieval (recall) phases. Younger adults showed high hippocampal activation during encoding and moderate prefrontal activation during retrieval. Older adults showed lower hippocampal activation during encoding but higher prefrontal activation during both phases. What does this activation pattern suggest about age-related changes in memory processes?
Older adults rely more on prefrontal cortex executive processes to compensate for reduced hippocampal efficiency in memory formation.
Older adults have damaged hippocampi that no longer function, forcing them to rely entirely on prefrontal cortex for memory.
Younger adults' higher hippocampal activation indicates superior memory ability, while older adults' higher prefrontal activation indicates memory decline.
The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus compete for neural resources, so increased prefrontal activation in older adults necessarily reduces hippocampal function.
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Answer: (A)
Comparing activation patterns across age groups reveals a compensatory mechanism: older adults show decreased hippocampal engagement (the primary memory formation structure) but increased prefrontal activation (executive function region).
Question 6
A patient with selective hippocampal damage has intact remote memories but cannot form new explicit memories. The patient can still learn new motor skills without recalling practice. What does this dissociation reveal about hippocampal function?
Hippocampus required for new explicit memory formation but not for procedural learning.
Hippocampus controls all memory types so preserved skills imply incomplete damage.
Hippocampus only handles temporary memory processing and not long-term storage.
Hippocampus unnecessary for any learning so deficits stem from other damage.
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Answer: (A)
Selective hippocampal damage abolished new explicit memories while sparing procedural learning, showing the hippocampus supports explicit memory formation rather than procedural skills.
Question 7
Researchers used fMRI to scan the brains of participants learning to play a new video game over four weeks. Brain activation patterns showed high activity in the cerebellum during week 1 (mean activation = 8.2 arbitrary units) that decreased significantly by week 4 (mean activation = 3.1 units), while prefrontal cortex activation remained stable across all weeks. Which concept best explains this neuroimaging pattern?
Procedural learning involves initial cerebellar engagement that decreases as motor skills become automatized
Procedural learning involves initial cerebellar engagement that decreases as motor skills transfer to prefrontal cortex control
Procedural learning involves initial cerebellar engagement that decreases as the task becomes less cognitively demanding rather than automatized
Procedural learning involves initial hippocampal engagement reflected in cerebellar activity that decreases as motor skills become automatized
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Answer: (A)
The cerebellar activation pattern—high initially then declining—reflects the shift from conscious, effortful motor coordination to automatic skill execution. This matches the cerebellum's role in procedural learning and motor automatization, where conscious attention (prefrontal cortex) remains constant while cerebellar involvement decreases as the skill becomes routine.
Question 8
A study measured typing speed improvement immediately after learning and 24 hours later under three sleep conditions: normal sleep (+12 wpm), partial deprivation (+4 wpm), and total deprivation (0 wpm). What does this pattern indicate about sleep's role in memory consolidation?
Sleep amount directly supports procedural memory consolidation in a dose-dependent way
Sleep has minimal effect since deprived groups still showed modest improvement
Improvements reflect practice time so sleep does not affect consolidation
Total deprivation blocks consolidation while partial sleep yields incomplete consolidation
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Answer: (A)
The pattern shows a dose-response relation with more sleep producing larger gains. Normal sleep improved 12 wpm, partial 4 wpm, and total 0 wpm, showing sleep supports consolidation of motor skills.
Question 9
During a motor learning study, participants learned a complex dance sequence over 5 days. Average movement errors (number of missteps per 30-second routine) were 8.2 on Day 1, 6.1 on Day 2, 4.3 on Day 3, 2.9 on Day 4, and 2.1 on Day 5. Participants reported they stopped consciously thinking about foot placement by Day 3. Which interpretation best explains the relationship between kinesthetic awareness and motor performance in these data?
Kinesthetic feedback allowed automatic movement coordination after initial conscious processing, reducing errors as proprioceptive integration improved.
Kinesthetic feedback allowed automatic movement coordination through muscle memory storage, reducing errors as motor patterns became encoded.
Kinesthetic feedback allowed gradual movement refinement through continued conscious processing across all five days, reducing errors as proprioceptive integration improved.
Kinesthetic feedback allowed automatic movement coordination after initial conscious processing, with errors stabilizing once movements became automatic by Day 3.
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Answer: (A)
The steady drop in errors after Day 3, when participants stopped consciously monitoring foot placement, shows that kinesthetic feedback from muscle spindles and joint receptors took over movement control, allowing proprioceptive integration to refine coordination automatically.
Question 10
During a vestibular adaptation study, participants wore prism glasses that shifted visual input 20 degrees for 2 weeks. Head movement error (degrees of error) was 18.5° on Day 1, 14.2° on Day 3, 8.1° on Day 7, and 2.3° on Day 14. After the glasses were removed, errors temporarily rose to 3.8° before returning to normal. What does this adaptation and aftereffect pattern reveal about vestibular system function?
Vestibular systems adapt to sensory conflicts through neural recalibration, then show aftereffects when the conflict is removed.
Vestibular systems adapt to sensory conflicts through peripheral receptor adjustment, then show aftereffects when the conflict is removed.
Vestibular systems adapt to sensory conflicts through neural recalibration, but aftereffects indicate the adaptation was incomplete.
Vestibular systems adapt to sensory conflicts through neural recalibration that continues as long as the conflict persists.
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Answer: (A)
The rapid error reduction (18.5° to 2.3°) indicates vestibular-visual integration recalibrates to the shifted input, while the temporary aftereffect (3.8°) when glasses are removed shows the system had adapted to the conflict.
What's on the AP Psychology Unit 2 practice test
The standard version takes about 94 minutes and follows the timing and directions of the AP exam, sized to one unit:
- 20 Multiple Choice Questions (24 minutes)
- 1 FRQ – FRQ 1 – Article Analysis Question (AAQ) (35 minutes)
- 1 FRQ – FRQ 2 – Evidence Based Question (EBQ) (35 minutes)
Questions are drawn from 1457 multiple-choice questions and 34 FRQs written for Unit 2, Cognition.
Practice AP Psychology Unit 2 FRQs
Answer the unit's free-response questions one at a time and get a score on every part.
- FRQ 1 – Article Analysis Question (AAQ) (14 questions)
- FRQ 2 – Evidence Based Question (EBQ) (20 questions)
Review Unit 2 before you start
- 2.1 Perception
- 2.2 Thinking, Problem-Solving, Judgments, and Decision-Making
- 2.3 Introduction to Memory
- 2.4 Encoding Memories
- 2.5 Storing Memories
- 2.6 Retrieving Memories
- 2.7 Forgetting and Other Memory Challenges
- 2.8 Intelligence and Achievement