AP® Psychology FRQ

When you are facing down the AP® Psychology exam, the AP® Psych FRQ can often seem much more challenging than the multiple-choice section. This is understandable because multiple choice questions allow for recognition. Even if you can’t remember something off the top of your head, you could recognize the correct answer. However, the AP® Psychology FRQ is an entirely different kind of question. Having the challenge of straight recall can create added anxiety to students, more than they may already have when confronting the AP® Psychology exam. This Ultimate Guide to the 2015 AP® Psychology FRQ will show you how to gain a full score of 7 on this FRQ to be better prepared for your future exam.

Another thing that may be causing you added anxiety about the AP® Psychology FRQ is the actual writing portion. What you need to remember is that you aren’t being tested on the quality of your writing in the way that you would be on an AP® English exam. You won’t be graded on your writing quality, your grammar, or even your spelling! As long as the scorer can understand what you are trying to say (or your spelling is close enough that they can figure out what the word is), then you can still be awarded a point. What you should concentrate on is making your question correct and concise. If you only need one or two sentences to answer the question correctly, then go for it!

You do need to keep in mind that if you give just a definition of a concept on the AP® Psychology FRQ, you will not score a point. The point of the FRQ is to test your ability to apply psychological concepts to a random scenario placed in front of you. In order to score a full point, you need to be able to demonstrate an application of a concept to the scenario. Also, you should know that you won’t be penalized for putting down something incorrect. We have a tendency, as students, to become accustomed to receiving partial credit from teachers on exams for short answer questions. A scorer on the AP® Psychology exam will grade similarly. Don’t be concerned with putting down something incorrect; if it doesn’t directly contradict your correct answer, you will still receive credit.

Question 1

This question follows a typical AP® Psychology FRQ format by using a research study. For this question, the research design is a naturalistic study of hyperactivity in young children. When you are confronted with a research design based question on the FRQ, you will be provided with the study. Subsequently, you will need to answer questions regarding the study. This will assess your understanding of research designs. In this study, the children were at a party and researchers determined hyperactivity by the number of times the children got out of their seats. They also recorded the sugary snacks that were served at the party. Researchers found a strong positive correlation between the sugary snacks as well as the hyperactivity. Therefore, they determined that sugar causes hyperactivity. On question 1, the mean score students received was a 3.85 out of 7.

Part A:

How might the following explain why people may easily accept the conclusion of the study described above? Confirmation bias, availability heuristic, and misunderstanding of correlational studies.

Confirmation Bias

For this point, you have to explain in some way how people will be more likely to accept a conclusion of a study if that conclusion aligns with or supports beliefs they already have. For example, an answer that would score a point would simply explain that people would pay more attention to or more easily believe the results of this study because it offers a conclusion they already believe.

Availability Heuristic

For this point, you need to demonstrate how the conclusion of the study (sugar causes hyperactivity) would come to someone’s mind quicker and would lead to easier acceptance of the study’s conclusion.

Misunderstanding of Correlational Studies

This point brings up a very key idea in psychology and one that will serve you well to remember in all of psychology. Correlation is not causation. One thing could have a 100% positive correlation rate with something else, but that does not imply causation. In order to score a point, all you need to do is state that the researchers failed to understand that correlation does not prove causation.

Part B:

As a follow-up study, researchers are designing an experiment to test whether sugar causes hyperactivity. Please do the following for the experiment: state a possible hypothesis, operationally define the dependent variable, and describe how random assignment can be achieved.

State a Possible Hypothesis

For this question, you need to provide a hypothesis that demonstrates a causal relationship between sugar and hyperactivity. For example, your hypothesis could be that sugar has no effect on hyperactivity, or that sugar has a great effect on hyperactivity.

Operationally Define the Dependent Variable

For this section, you need to provide an operational definition for hyperactivity. Essentially, you need to provide an example of how hyperactivity will be measured. For example, the researchers in the original study measured hyperactivity by how often the children got up from their seats.

Describe how Random Assignment can be Achieved

To answer this question, you must understand how random assignment works. Essentially, you have to provide an explanation of how all the subjects have an equal probability of being placed into either of the groups or conditions. Don’t get random assignment confused with random selection!

Part C:

Based on the results of the follow-up experiment described in Part B, researchers conclude that sugar does not cause any change in hyperactivity. Draw a correctly labeled bar graph depicting this result.

This part of question 1 is 2 points, the first for labeling the axes correctly and the other for a correctly drawn bar graph. The X (horizontal) axis must be labeled with sugar, with the Y axis (vertical) must be labeled as hyperactivity. To properly draw the bars on this graph and to earn the point, the bars on the graph must be roughly the same length.

Where did Students have Difficulty?

Although they were able to demonstrate knowledge of an availability heuristic, students had difficulty relating this concept to the research study. Students also had difficulty with the question about the graph, since many students incorrectly labeled the two axes. There is a high probability of receiving questions about graphs and/or research studies, and it’s vital (for the exam and the future) to understand the difference between the x and y-axis and how to properly label them.

Question 2

This question follows the typical AP® Psychology FRQ format. In this question, you are given a scenario and a list of concepts to which you need to relate it. This scenario is that Chandler and Alex have moved to a new city and need to find a new home to live in. After looking at houses, they finally found and bought one that met all their criteria. In each of the different parts, you are given a slightly different aspect of this question with concepts that you need to apply. On question 2, the mean score students received was a 2.64 out of 7.

Part A

In Part A of this question, you need to explain how the following concepts relate to Chandler and Alex’s decision to buy a home: prefrontal cortex and algorithm.

First, for prefrontal cortex, it is important to remember that your prefrontal cortex regulates executive functioning. First, you need to specify an active cognitive process (such as executive functioning) and give an example of how Chandler and Alex would use it towards their decision of buying a home. For example, you could say that Chandler and Alex used their prefrontal corticies/executive functioning to weigh the pros and cons of the houses.

Next, for algorithm, you need to give a step-by-step procedure that Chandler and Alex would use in order to make their decision. For example, you could say that they created a formula in order to figure out how much money they could spend on a house.

Part B

In Part B, the situation is about Chandler and Alex packing to move. At first they asked their friends to help them move. One week before the day they thought they were moving, they were told they needed to move out within 48 hours and had to hurry and quickly finish packing. You need to explain how these concepts relate to the moving process: social loafing and alarm stage of the general adaptation syndrome.

First, remember that you need to apply social loafing to the moving process. For this point, you have to explain the connection between the presence of others and a decrease in effort. For example, you could say that since there were a lot of people packing, everyone slacked off and each individual assumed someone else would pack.

Next, for the alarm stage of the general adaptation syndrome, you must refer to this physiological response and relate it to the moving process. For example, your answer could be that once they found out they had 48 hours to move out, their body entered the alarm stage and increased their adrenaline, allowing them to work faster.

Part C

For Part C, you need to take the following concepts and explain how they relate to Chandler and Alex’s new life in the new home and neighborhood: proactive interference, habituation, and normative social influence.

First, for proactive interference, your example must demonstrate how old thoughts or behaviors would create difficulty in learning or remembering new thoughts or behaviors. A simple example would be that both Alex and Chandler had difficulty memorizing their new address because they kept remembering their old one.

Second, for habituation, you have to connect a decreased responsiveness to a specific recurring stimulus. For example, if Alex and Chandler lived near train tracks, they would most likely be able to hear the train whenever it passed by. However, they stopped actively hearing the train whenever it passed by because they became habituated to it.

Finally, for normative social influence, you must give an example of a specific behavior that is in agreement with a group, and you must also reference the motivation to fit in or be liked. For example, if Chandler and Alex lived in a neighborhood where everyone had flags on their front lawn, Chandler and Alex would put a flag on their lawn in order to be accepted.

Where did Students have Difficulty?

Students mainly had difficulty with the prefrontal cortex in terms of specifying a cognitive process (such as decision-making or planning). For that point, students needed to specifically demonstrate the deliberative nature of how the prefrontal cortex is the processing center of our brain. Another point they had a difficult time with was the alarm stage of general adaptation syndrome. Many students incorrectly associated this stage with panic rather than just an increased level of physiological stress.

Conclusion

The most important thing to keep in mind when you are given the AP® Psychology FRQ is that you cannot get away with just definitions alone! You need to demonstrate that you understand the concepts well enough to apply them to specific scenarios. With the research study question, you need to be able to demonstrate your ability to critically analyze a study. Many students who take the AP® Psychology exam struggle with the AP® Psychology FRQ. As you can see for this test, the mean score was less than half for both questions. However, the best way to overcome this is through FRQ practice. And remember, don’t ever leave a part blank! Even if you are unsure or you completely can’t remember something, try and put down whatever you can. The only way to ensure you won’t get a point is by leaving a part blank. So, that’s it for this Ultimate Guide to the 2015 AP® Psychology FRQs! Do you need help with review for a different psychological concept? Check out some of our review articles, like our AP® Psychology Bystander Effect Review. Is there a topic that you want us to cover, but you can’t find it on the blog? Make sure to let us know! And good luck on your exam this year!

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