CLEP Psychology Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: E

Use a single-blind procedure: The study is already single-blind (participants are unaware); the remaining bias comes from the raters, who would still know the groups.

Replace the placebo with no pill at all: Removing the placebo would add participant expectancy effects and would not hide group membership from the raters.

Increase the number of participants: A larger sample reduces random error but does not remove a systematic bias in how ratings are made.

Switch to a correlational design: A correlational design would lose the ability to test cause and effect and would not address rater bias.

Use a double-blind procedure: Correct. In a double-blind procedure neither the participants nor the people collecting the data know who received the medication, so the assistants' expectations cannot shape their ratings.

Single-blind hides the condition from participants; double-blind also hides it from the experimenters who collect the data.

Answer: C

Playing video games causes students' grades to decline.: Correlation does not establish causation; a third variable or reverse direction could explain the association.

The relationship is weak because the coefficient is negative.: The sign gives direction, not strength; −.62 is as strong as +.62.

Students who play more video games tend to have lower GPAs.: Correct. A negative correlation means that as one variable goes up the other tends to go down; −.62 is a moderately strong relationship, but it describes association only.

Students with lower grades play video games to cope with failure.: This is a possible reverse-causation explanation, but a correlation cannot establish it either.

Sixty-two percent of students who play video games have low grades.: A correlation coefficient is not a percentage of people; it summarizes the linear relationship across the whole sample.

The sign of r gives direction and its absolute value gives strength; no correlation, however strong, by itself shows cause.

Answer: B

Wernicke's area in the left temporal lobe: Damage to Wernicke's area impairs comprehension and produces fluent but meaningless speech, the opposite of this pattern.

Broca's area in the left frontal lobe: Correct. Broca's area, in the left frontal lobe, supports speech production; damage leaves comprehension relatively intact but makes speech slow, halting and telegraphic, as with Mr. Okafor.

the cerebellum: Cerebellar damage disrupts balance and the coordination of movement, including slurred articulation, but not the word-finding and telegraphic grammar described while comprehension stays intact.

the primary auditory cortex: Damage to the auditory cortex would impair hearing and understanding of sounds, yet Mr. Okafor understands speech well.

the occipital lobe: The occipital lobe processes vision; damage there causes visual deficits, not a speech-production problem.

Broca's area = producing speech (slow, effortful); Wernicke's area = understanding language (fluent but empty speech when damaged).

Answer: A

response criterion: Correct. The response criterion (decision bias) is the level of evidence a person requires before reporting a signal; raising the cost of a miss shifted her criterion so she says "yes" more readily, increasing both hits and false alarms.

absolute threshold: The absolute threshold is the minimum stimulus detected half the time; her sensory capacity is unchanged, only her willingness to say "yes."

difference threshold: The difference threshold is the smallest detectable change between two stimuli; nothing about her discrimination ability changed.

sensory adaptation: Sensory adaptation is reduced receptor responsiveness to a constant stimulus; it would lower detection rather than increase "yes" responses.

sensitivity: Sensitivity is the ability to distinguish signal from noise; the stem states that her skill at telling shadows apart has not changed.

Signal detection theory separates sensitivity (true detection ability) from the response criterion (motivation and expectations); more hits plus more false alarms signals a criterion shift.

Answer: B

Hypnotized people often act in the way they believe a hypnotized person is expected to act.: Acting out expected roles supports the social-cognitive (role) explanation of hypnosis, the main rival of the dissociation view.

Hypnotized people told they feel no pain report little pain, yet a "hidden part" of them, when asked, reports the pain.: Correct. Hilgard's hidden observer findings suggest that one stream of awareness registers the pain while another reports none, the central evidence for the dissociation (divided consciousness) view.

Hypnosis reliably makes people recall past events more accurately.: Hypnosis does not reliably improve memory accuracy; it can increase confidence in false memories.

Hypnosis can force people to carry out acts against their own values.: Research does not show that hypnosis can compel people to act against their values, and such a finding would not test dissociation.

The EEG of hypnotized people closely resembles that of deep sleep.: Hypnotized people show wake-like EEG patterns, not sleep patterns.

Dissociation view (Hilgard's hidden observer) vs social-cognitive view (role enactment); hypnosis does not boost memory accuracy.

Answer: B

Imitation occurs only when the observer is directly reinforced.: The children learned the acts without any direct reinforcement of their own; the treats came only later, to reveal what they had already learned.

A behavior can be learned through observation even when it is not performed.: Correct. The incentive revealed that children in the punished-model group had learned the aggressive acts as well as the others; seeing the model punished suppressed performance, not learning.

Seeing a model punished prevents the observer from learning the behavior.: If the behavior had not been learned, children in the punished-model group could not have reproduced it once treats were offered.

Aggression in children is mainly an inborn, instinctive drive.: The children copied specific novel acts they had watched, which points to learning rather than instinct.

Children imitate only models who are the same sex as themselves.: Model characteristics affected how much the children imitated, but the key finding was that learning and performance can differ.

Bandura distinguished acquisition from performance: vicarious punishment can suppress the display of a behavior that has still been learned.

Answer: A

functional fixedness: Correct. Functional fixedness is the tendency to think of an object only in terms of its usual function; Rosa sees the flashlight only as a light, not as a possible hammer.

confirmation bias: Confirmation bias is favoring evidence that supports one's beliefs; Rosa is not testing a belief.

mental set: Mental set is persisting with a problem-solving strategy that worked before; Rosa's block is about seeing a new use for an object, not about a previous strategy.

insight: Insight is a sudden realization of a solution; Rosa never reaches the solution.

the availability heuristic: The availability heuristic is a shortcut for judging how likely something is; Rosa is solving a practical problem, not estimating probability.

Functional fixedness concerns objects (seeing only their usual use); mental set concerns strategies (repeating an approach that worked before).

Answer: C

The advantage for the last words remains, but the advantage for the first words largely disappears.: This reverses the pattern; the last items are the ones held only in short-term memory and are lost during the counting task.

The advantages for both the first and the last words become stronger.: A distracting delay cannot strengthen items held only in short-term memory; recency is reduced.

The advantage for the first words remains, but the advantage for the last words largely disappears.: Correct. The recency effect depends on the last items still being in short-term memory, so a distracting delay wipes it out; the primacy effect reflects rehearsal into long-term memory and survives.

Words from the middle of the list become the best remembered.: Middle items receive the least rehearsal and are not in short-term memory at recall, so they remain the worst remembered.

The advantages for both the first and the last words disappear equally.: Primacy is supported by long-term memory, which a 30-second distraction does not erase.

Primacy reflects long-term memory (early items get more rehearsal); recency reflects short-term memory, so delay removes recency but spares primacy.

Answer: C

James-Lange theory: The James-Lange theory says the feeling follows from perceiving bodily changes, so Jonah's terror should have come after his pounding heart, not at the same instant.

Schachter-Singer two-factor theory: The two-factor theory says emotion arises when arousal is cognitively labeled, so the feeling would depend on and follow the arousal rather than occur independently of it.

Cannon-Bard theory: Correct. The Cannon-Bard theory holds that an emotional stimulus triggers bodily arousal and the conscious feeling simultaneously and independently (Cannon credited the thalamus with relaying the signal), matching Jonah's report that terror and heart pounding struck together, neither causing the other.

opponent-process theory: Opponent-process theory explains an emotion being followed by an opposing reaction over time, such as relief after fear, not the timing of arousal and feeling.

facial feedback hypothesis: The facial feedback hypothesis claims facial expressions influence felt emotion; Jonah says nothing about his expression shaping his fear.

James-Lange: body first, then feeling. Cannon-Bard: body and feeling at the same time, independently. Schachter-Singer: arousal plus a cognitive label.

Answer: E

attrition: Attrition, participants dropping out over time, is a weakness of longitudinal studies; this study tests each person only once.

experimenter bias: Experimenter bias is distortion from the researcher's expectations; the critic's argument concerns the different technology each group grew up with.

a practice effect: A practice effect comes from repeated testing of the same people, which a one-time cross-sectional survey does not involve.

regression toward the mean: Regression toward the mean concerns extreme scores moving toward the average on retesting, which is not the critic's point.

a cohort effect: Correct. A cohort effect is a difference due to the historical period in which a group was born and raised; the critic notes that the age groups grew up with very different technology, so their differences may reflect upbringing rather than aging. Comparing different age groups at one time confounds age with cohort.

Cross-sectional studies are fast but confound age with cohort; longitudinal studies follow the same people but suffer from attrition and practice effects.

Answer: B

Secure attachment: A securely attached infant may be upset at separation but is comforted quickly on reunion and returns to play.

Insecure-resistant (ambivalent) attachment: Correct. Resistant infants are intensely upset by separation and, on reunion, mix contact seeking with angry resistance and are hard to soothe, as Noah is.

Insecure-avoidant attachment: An avoidant infant shows little distress at separation and ignores or turns away from the mother on her return rather than clinging.

Disorganized attachment: Disorganized infants lack a coherent strategy (freezing, dazed or fearful approach); Noah shows the consistent cling-and-resist pattern of resistant attachment.

Slow-to-warm-up temperament: Slow-to-warm-up is a temperament category (Thomas and Chess) describing gradual adaptation to new situations, not an attachment classification based on reunion behavior.

Reunion behavior separates the classifications: secure infants are soothed, avoidant infants ignore the caregiver, resistant infants cling yet resist, and disorganized infants show confused, contradictory behavior.

Answer: C

Self-efficacy: Self-efficacy (Beatriz's belief about her speaking ability) is only one part of the pattern; it does not capture how her behavior and her classmates' responses feed back on that belief.

Observational learning: Observational learning is acquiring behavior by watching models, which the stem does not describe.

Reciprocal determinism: Correct. Reciprocal determinism holds that personal factors, behavior, and environment continually influence one another; Beatriz's belief, her avoidance, and her classmates' responses form such a loop.

External locus of control: An external locus of control (Rotter) is a belief that outcomes depend on luck or others; Beatriz's belief is about her own ability.

Vicarious reinforcement: Vicarious reinforcement is being influenced by seeing others rewarded; Beatriz is not watching others receive consequences.

In reciprocal determinism, thoughts, behavior, and environment are each both causes and effects of one another.

Answer: C

Histrionic personality disorder: Histrionic personality disorder centres on attention-seeking and shallow, dramatic emotion, without the self-harm and fear of abandonment described.

Antisocial personality disorder: Antisocial personality disorder involves disregard for and violation of others' rights and lack of remorse, not fear of abandonment.

Borderline personality disorder: Correct. Borderline personality disorder is a pervasive instability of relationships, self-image and emotion, with marked impulsivity. Its features include frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, chronic emptiness and self-harm, all present here.

Dependent personality disorder: Dependent personality disorder involves submissive, clinging reliance on others, without the idealize-then-devalue swings, emptiness and self-harm.

Narcissistic personality disorder: Narcissistic personality disorder involves grandiosity, a need for admiration and lack of empathy.

Unstable relationships, identity and emotion with self-harm and fear of abandonment point to borderline personality disorder; dependent personality disorder is clingy but stable and submissive.

Answer: B

Generalized anxiety disorder: Generalized anxiety disorder is chronic, diffuse worry about many everyday matters, not sudden, discrete attacks of intense fear.

Panic disorder: Correct. Panic disorder is recurrent, unexpected panic attacks followed by at least a month of persistent worry about further attacks or a change in behavior, which matches Aisha's attacks and her constant worry.

Social anxiety disorder: Social anxiety disorder is fear of being scrutinized or judged in social situations, which the stem never mentions.

Illness anxiety disorder: Illness anxiety disorder is long-term preoccupation with having a serious illness, not recurrent sudden attacks of intense fear.

Specific phobia: Specific phobia is fear cued by a particular object or situation; Aisha's attacks are unexpected and have no trigger.

Panic disorder is defined by unexpected attacks plus fear of future attacks; generalized anxiety disorder is steady, free-floating worry with no discrete attacks.

Answer: D

informational social influence: Informational influence occurs when people conform because they believe the group is correct; Luis's correct private answer shows he did not accept the group's judgment.

obedience to authority: Obedience is following direct orders from an authority figure; no one ordered Luis how to answer.

group polarization: Group polarization is the strengthening of a group's shared leaning after discussion, not one person going along with a unanimous majority.

normative social influence: Correct. Normative social influence is conforming to gain acceptance or avoid disapproval; Luis knew the right answer, as his private form shows, but went along publicly.

social facilitation: Social facilitation is improved performance of easy tasks in the presence of others, not changing an answer to match them.

Normative influence changes public behavior to fit in; informational influence changes private belief because others seem to know better.